The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Bomb Blast Injures Four as Clashes Continue in Shan State
• Central Bank Bullish Over Efforts to Boost Local Currency
• Ethnic Leaders Question Govt Commitment to Dialogue
• Bard on the Run, Dodging Defamation over Risqué Rhyme
• Cambodia PM Starts to ‘Like’ Facebook as Opponents Woo Voters Online
• Welcomed with Pomp and Protests, China’s Xi Hails Ties with Britain
• People Smugglers Explore New Routes to Malaysia After Thai Crackdown—Aid Groups

Bomb Blast Injures Four as Clashes Continue in Shan State Posted: 21 Oct 2015 06:09 AM PDT A map shows the locations of recent clashes between the Burma Army and Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) in Shan State's Mong Hsu Township. (Image: Myawaddy) RANGOON — Two Buddhist novices and a 12-year-old girl were among four people injured on Wednesday when a roadside bomb rocked Mong Hsu Township in central Shan State, according to a local source. The three children and the fourth victim, a middle-aged woman, were hospitalized after the explosive device went off at just after 4 pm near a Shan literature and culture center and a Buddhist monastery, said Sai Mon, a resident of Mong Hsu town who said the victims' conditions were not known. "They all are in hospital for treatment. However, no one could get inside the hospital to see those wounded persons. They closed the door inside the hospital," he told The Irrawaddy. The novices are around 14 years old, while the injured woman is in her 50s, said Sai Mon, who is a social worker helping internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled recent fighting around the Wan Hai headquarters of the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), which has accused the Burma Army of initiating an offensive against the ethnic armed group beginning Oct. 6. "Whenever there is fighting in other areas, bombs always go off in our town," Sai Mon said. Tensions between the Burma Army and SSA-N remain high, with clashes continuing on Wednesday near the Wan Hai headquarters, which is located about 20 miles west of Mong Hsu town. More than 2,000 IDPs have fled the conflict, with most taking up refuge in the town. The SSA-N and its political wing, the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), are among the ethnic armed groups that opted not to sign a so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government last week. On Tuesday, state mouthpiece The Global New Light of Myanmar reported that government troops had clashed with the SSA-N a total of 37 times from Oct. 6-19. The post Bomb Blast Injures Four as Clashes Continue in Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Central Bank Bullish Over Efforts to Boost Local Currency Posted: 21 Oct 2015 05:45 AM PDT Stacks of Burmese kyat are seen on the counter at a bank in Rangoon, October 19, 2015. (Photo: Minzayar / Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's central bank has defended its decision to revoke foreign exchange licenses last week, reiterating its determination to control "dollarization" and strengthen the country's struggling currency. Win Thaw, deputy director general of the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM), told media this week that the bank stuck by its decision, despite concern from local businesses. The CBM issued a directive to businesses dated Oct. 13 announcing the revocation of foreign exchange licenses that had permitted holders to accept transactions in US dollars. License holders include a broad sweep of businesses, including hotels, travel agencies, airlines, hospitals, restaurants and supermarkets. Sett Aung, CBM's deputy governor, said the bank had begun accepting returned licenses as of Oct. 19. The policy shift is expected to impact hundreds of businesses, with some concerned over their capacity to promptly comply. Sources in the banking sector said the CBM had discussed with bankers the potential market impacts of the new directive. "I think the government will listen to voices in the field, including from bankers here," said Nyo Myint, senior managing director of the KBZ Group of Companies. The kyat has been in steady decline against the dollar since at least the beginning of the year, with observers citing a shortage of US dollars and a burgeoning trade deficit as key drivers. The current official exchange rate is 1,281 kyat—a similar value obtainable on the black market at present—compared to a figure at 1,025 kyat as of January 1, 2015. "This policy is good," Nyo Myint said. "But what we have to consider is, after foreign exchange licenses have been revoked, and if there is a shortage of dollars in the market, the exchange rate will shift again." Win Aung, chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), told the state-run Myanmar Alin on Wednesday that the license annulment would "reduce demand for the dollar." "While some [businesses] have welcomed the instructions of the central bank, some are criticizing it as they have paid or received [transactions] in dollars in advance," he said. "[However], if we use our local currency in our country, it will reduce demand for the dollar and therefore I think it is a good directive. But businesses may face many difficulties in the transition period." Zaw Lin Htut, CEO of the Myanmar Payment Union, echoed Win Aung's assessment that, following potential short-term pain, the policy shift would bring Burma's economy into line with more standard international practices. "These licenses were issued since 1988 when the dollar was not legal here and there were no exchange counters," Zaw Lin Htut said, referring to a period when it was illegal for Burmese to carry foreign currency. Since 2011, Burmese nationals have been permitted to hold up to US$10,000. "Foreigners will also use Myanmar kyat by card or cash now, so use of kyat will increase, as it should in our country," Zaw Lin Htut said. Sean Turnell of Macquarie University in Sydney, an expert on Burma's economy, highlighted uncertain aspects of the new policy in a Facebook post this week. "It seems clear, for instance, that $US and other forex cash payments are ruled out at hotels, shops, and on buses, planes, etc. But can international credit cards be used?," he wrote. "[I]t seems… that in order to pay, say, a hotel bill hitherto levied in $US, a tourist will have to go to a bank and draw down kyat cash to settle their bill." The post Central Bank Bullish Over Efforts to Boost Local Currency appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ethnic Leaders Question Govt Commitment to Dialogue Posted: 21 Oct 2015 05:39 AM PDT Nai Hong Sar, vice-chairman of the New Mon State Party. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Ethnic leaders say they doubt the government's commitment to political dialogue with insurgent groups, despite participating in last week's "nationwide" ceasefire agreement in Naypyidaw. Observers have argued that the government's continued attacks on ethnic armed groups who did not sign the Oct. 15 accord threatened the chances of securing a lasting peace. Sai Nyunt Lwin, a spokesman for the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, said that the Burma Army's repeated attacks on the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) both before and after the accord was signed would reduce the chances of non-signatories from joining the ceasefire agreement at a later date. "Fighting will not help us to have peace. They need to use negotiations instead of armed force," he said. Nearly 3,000 people have fled their homes after a Burma Army offensive against the SSA-N, the armed wing of the Shan State Progressive Party, began on Oct. 6. Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, the chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), which signed the Oct. 15 agreement, echoed Sai Nyunt Lwin's call for an end to the attacks on the SSA-N. He told an audience in Mandalay over the weekend that the government's hopes to attract other armed groups to the ceasefire agreement at a later date would be unworkable while the Burma Army continued its operations in territory under the control of Palaung, Shan and Kachin rebel groups. Under the terms of the Oct. 15 ceasefire accord, signed by eight of the country's 21 non-state armed groups, participants have until Dec. 14 to agree upon a framework for political dialogue for future peace negotiations, which must commence by Jan. 13. The Burmese government prevented five armed groups from participating in the ceasefire accord, three of which were in a state of active conflict with the Burma Army. Several other groups who had been part of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) subsequently boycotted the Oct. 15 agreement, announcing that they were unwilling to participate unless all ethnic armed groups who wished to participate in the accord were permitted to do so. Nai Hong Sar, the NCCT leader and vice-chairman of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), said the government had behaved disingenuously by excluding some groups from participating in the ceasefire accord, and failed to recognize the motives of Burma's ethnic minorities in their quest to secure their political and human rights. "Every ruling government in our country has tried to make peace with ethnic armed groups, and the (ethnic armed groups) have showed that they want peace," he said. "But (the government) has played dirty politics in the way they have tried to solve these conflicts." The post Ethnic Leaders Question Govt Commitment to Dialogue appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bard on the Run, Dodging Defamation over Risqué Rhyme Posted: 21 Oct 2015 05:34 AM PDT A man sports a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi tattooed across his shoulder during an NLD campaign near Hmawbi, Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A young poet in the former capital has become the third known Burmese citizen to be sued over a controversial Facebook post, after sharing a graphic rhyme suggesting he had a tattoo of the president on his penis. Maung Saungkha, a writer and activist who lives in Rangoon's Shwepyithar Township, told The Irrawaddy by phone on Wednesday that he has been in hiding since Oct. 8, the day he shared a poem titled "Image," part of which reads: I have the president's portrait tattooed on my penis / How disgusted my wife is The 23-year-old director of the Poetry Lover Organization, which aims to promote peace through lyrical literature, said he was shortly after informed that the post had come to the attention of President's Office Director Zaw Htay, also known as Hmuu Zaw. Sharing the content to his own Facebook page, the official commented atop the post that Maung Saungkha "should be prepared to take responsibility for what he did." That very evening, the fugitive said, police arrived at his home in Rangoon's northern district. "Luckily, I wasn't there at the time," he said, explaining that he had not returned since, nearly two full weeks later. The Irrawaddy contacted Zaw Htay on Oct. 8, before the case had been filed, who said at the time that authorities "will proceed according to the law." Maung Sangkha during a Peace Day event in Rangoon. (Photo: Maung Saungkha / Facebook) Police in Shwepyithar confirmed that a case was filed against Maung Saungkha by Police Chief Thein Win under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, the same provision levied last week against Kachin aid worker Patrick Khum Jaa Lee—who is also the husband of esteemed peace activist May Sabe Phyu. The controversial law was wielded again on Saturday against an official for the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), after he allegedly shared a digitally altered photo on Facebook transposing the face of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi onto the body of a naked woman. Both cases followed the arrest early last week of a young woman who shared a satirical photo collage, also on Facebook, likening the Burma Army's new uniforms to Suu Kyi's htamein, or female traditional longyi. Chaw Sandi Tun faces up to five years in prison for a charge under the Electronic Transactions Law, while the Telecommunications Law carries penalties of up to three years. All three cases are charges of criminal defamation. Maung Saungkha said he had no intent to defame Burma's President, Thein Sein, claiming the verse was meant to be ambiguously about oppressive authority and not directed at any one individual. "It could be about Saddam Hussein, or Assad," the bard implored. "Why do they think it's U Thein Sein? There is not a single mention of Myanmar in my poem." "The government doesn't understand poetry. They are afraid of poets as poetry carries public voices." Inspired by images shared widely on social media of political party loyalists boasting tattoos of Suu Kyi and her father, the late Gen. Aung San, on their chests, Maung Saungkha said the pictures set his mind in motion. "If people have tattoos of those they love on their chests, I wondered where they might put a tattoo of someone they hate," he said. "Then I wrote that poem." Maung Saungkha is known among a strain of Rangoon's creative youth as a talented emerging writer who has been published in several print and online magazines. He was also active in a "white arm band" campaign earlier this year, a grassroots movement protesting a violent police crackdown on peaceful student protesters in Letpadan, Pegu Division, on March 10. The young writer and activist suspects his participation in the campaign may have put him on the radar of local authorities, posing that, "I think I have been on their list since then." The post Bard on the Run, Dodging Defamation over Risqué Rhyme appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Cambodia PM Starts to ‘Like’ Facebook as Opponents Woo Voters Online Posted: 20 Oct 2015 11:44 PM PDT A person uses a smartphone to look at the Facebook page of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, during breakfast at a restaurant in central Phnom Penh, Cambodia, October 7, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen is taking a belated leap into the digital age in a bid to court young, urban voters as he tries to fend off unprecedented competition from the opposition after three decades in power. The former Khmer Rouge soldier has started to enthusiastically embrace Facebook for the first time, coming round to the platform after almost losing a 2013 election when the opposition won a surge of support online. The self-styled "strongman" has until recently denied using Facebook, but when an account bearing his name received its millionth "like" last month, he finally admitted it was his, coinciding with the government's moves to ramp-up its cyber presence. "He uses his own messages to reach out to people and to answer questions people want to ask him," said government spokesmen Phay Siphan, when asked why Hun Sen started using Facebook. Seventy percent of Cambodia's 15 million population are under 30 years of age, while nine million of its citizens use the Internet. Hun Sen's Facebook, which now has 1.2 million "likes," carries images and videos of new infrastructure and credits him with Cambodia's speedy economic development. Some of the 63-year-old's most recent activities were sharing links to what he says are his favorite TV shows, "Cambodian Idol" and "The Voice"—local spin-offs of hit US talent contests. In June, Sen's government held two mandatory classes for 400 heads of Phnom Penh schools, which included showing them how to get Facebook accounts and write supportive messages for the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), according to people who attended the sessions. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said the classes were part of a broader exercise to train civil servants across the country to use social media to improve lines of communication. Promote and Protect Lesson materials obtained by Reuters included instructions on accessing and linking to social media accounts and websites of the CPP and its youth wing, while teachers were urged to try and defend the government from negative messages online. "We must promote what's really happening, about what government has really done," said Huot Yary, head of the capital's education department, recalling instructions during the classes. Political analysts say the CPP is trying to counter a swell of online criticism since the last election, when the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) carved off a chunk of CPP's house majority, winning 55 seats to CPP's 68, down from 90 before. Part of the opposition's gains were due to rapid online courting of young, urban Cambodians angered by issues like forced evictions, low factory wages and state graft. There are concerns, however, that the government's new social media focus is not just about using it, but controlling it. The creation of Internet laws and a cyber crime task force are being considered and some critics fear the real aim is to intimidate opponents and block-out dissent. Independent political experts forecast the 2018 election to be the closest ever in Cambodia and say the CPP has realized the battleground will now be on social media. "It is scrambling to enter the digital age and counter the active opposition presence online," said Sebastian Strangio, a journalist and author of the book, "Hun Sen's Cambodia." Many in Cambodia's younger generation doubt though that the government's bulked up online presence will have much sway on their opinions. "There are all sides of information available now already, and youths know a lot—we have education," said 21-year-old university student Kim Hong. The post Cambodia PM Starts to 'Like' Facebook as Opponents Woo Voters Online appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Welcomed with Pomp and Protests, China’s Xi Hails Ties with Britain Posted: 20 Oct 2015 11:36 PM PDT Chinese President Xi Jinping with Queen Elizabeth at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, London, during the first day of his state visit to Britain. Tuesday October 20, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) LONDON — Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the "brighter future" of close ties with Britain on Tuesday at the start of a pomp-packed visit that should seal more than US$46 billion of deals but drew criticism from rights campaigners. Britain rolled out the red carpet for Xi, welcoming him with a 41-gun salute before he rode to Buckingham Palace in a gilded carriage with Queen Elizabeth. At a state banquet, the queen called his visit a "defining moment in this very special year" for a relationship which should reach "ambitious new heights." Prime Minister David Cameron hopes to cement a lucrative place for Britain as China's closest friend in the West and win investment in infrastructure, nuclear power and in the government's transformation of northern England. Hailed as the start of a "golden era" in Sino-British ties, the visit has been criticized by activists who accuse Cameron of turning a blind eye to rights abuses, including what they call a crackdown on civil liberties since Xi came to power in 2012. It has also ruffled feathers among some of Britain's traditional allies, such as the United States, where Xi's visit last month was tainted by friction over cyber-theft and Beijing's moves in Asian maritime disputes. Xi paid little or no attention to the criticism, even when the speaker introducing his speech to both Houses of Parliament referred to Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as a symbol of freedom. He instead told lawmakers via a translator that by working together both countries would "surely embrace an even brighter future" and that his visit would "lift the friendly ties between our countries to a new height" in a speech that made reference to Chinese proverbs and William Shakespeare. Xi told the state banquet, where Britain's elite dined on turbot and venison under the glow from gilded candelabras, that "a growing China-UK relationship benefits both countries and the world as a whole". Earlier, thousands of China supporters, waving "I love China flags" outnumbered the dozens of protesters who shouted "Don't trade away human rights" and were shepherded by police who made sure they did not disrupt the carefully choreographed welcome. Nuclear Power For Britain, the four-day state visit is the culmination of a three-year charm offensive, led by finance minister George Osborne who set out his strategy in 2013 by saying: "China is what it is. We have to be here or nowhere." Britain said more than 30 billion pounds worth of deals would be signed during the visit, creating some 3,900 jobs. The expected flagship deal is a plan for two state-owned Chinese utilities to invest in a 16 billion pound nuclear power project being built by French utility EDF at Hinkley Point in southwest England. Britain has won praise from China for its discretion in dealing with human rights issues by raising them behind the scenes, a policy London says is more effective than hectoring Beijing publicly. A visit to China last month by Osborne sealed the deal, with influential tabloid the Global Times praising his "etiquette". But Cameron has said he will not duck sensitive issues such as the impact of cheap Chinese imports on struggling British steel-makers when he meets Xi on Wednesday, and Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, raised human rights at his meeting with the Chinese leader on Tuesday. Xi may express China's hopes that the European Union remains united—a thorny subject for Cameron, who has pledged to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the European Union before a referendum to be held by the end of 2017. But any such sour notes, including heir to the throne Prince Charles' decision to not attend the banquet, are unlikely to spoil a visit that has been long in the making. Britain was the top destination for Chinese money in 2014, with $5.1 billion in investment, according to law firm Baker & McKenzie. This year, it became the first Western nation to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank after Washington had pressed allies not to join. In a pointed commentary before Xi's arrival in Britain, Global Times suggested that critics were jealous. "Apparently the concept of a 'golden era' between the two countries has made some people uncomfortable," it said in an editorial. "This has hurt the twisted dignity of those who still consider the West the centre of the world." The post Welcomed with Pomp and Protests, China's Xi Hails Ties with Britain appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

People Smugglers Explore New Routes to Malaysia After Thai Crackdown—Aid Groups Posted: 20 Oct 2015 11:25 PM PDT Malaysian police carry a coffin with unidentified remains of Rohingya people found at a traffickers camp in Wang Kelian in May, to be buried in a mass grave at a cemetery near Alor Setar, Malaysia, June 22, 2015. (Photo: Olivia Harris / Reuters) BANGKOK — People smugglers are exploring new routes to Malaysia after a crackdown on trafficking in Thailand with no large migrant boat departures from Burma and Bangladesh in nearly six months, aid agencies said. Rising numbers of Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution were setting off from Burma's northern Rakhine state and Bangladesh in small boats and transferring to larger boats that could carry more than 1,000 people each. But a Thai crackdown on human traffickers in May halted journeys by large smuggling boats across the Bay of Bengal to Thailand and Malaysia with activists only hearing unconfirmed rumors of a few small boats. Aid agencies, however, fear the halt in sea crossings does not indicate an end to people trafficking but means smuggling gangs are exploring new routes. "We don't see new ones, but we know different routes are being studied so they don't have to be moved by boat," said Chris Lewa, founder of the Arakan Project, a rights project focusing on the Rohingya. "Some boats may leave, but there is definitely a strong impact of the Thai crackdown… The kind of movement and recruitment happening last year is not happening this year. It's a lot more clandestine." Lewa said new routes could be by air or overland and aid workers were now monitoring the area to identify the shift. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) had warned that "the number of people leaving on smugglers' boats in the Bay of Bengal has increased in recent years, and that trend is likely to continue unless the root causes are addressed". Halt in Boat Departures Throughout 2013 and 2014, activists tallied at least 1,000 people—and often several thousand— leaving each month from Arakan State and Bangladesh. The number peaked a year ago this month at more than 13,000 people, but stopped in May amid a boat crisis and the Thai crackdown. "There have been zero since May," said Jeff Labovitz, who heads the regional office of the International Organization for Migration. "There has been a fundamental change. There are no more big boats sailing." But aid workers say the demand is still there. The persecution of the stateless Rohingya in Burma has worsened this year and elections next month may bring in a new, hardline Buddhist party which may treat them still more harshly. Communal clashes in 2012 in Arakan State forced 140,000 Rohingya from their homes, and many are virtual prisoners in camps or in segregated villages, subject to restrictions on travel and, in some areas, access to healthcare and education. In February the Rohingya were granted temporary "white card" identification cards so they could take part in the Nov. 8 election, but after Buddhist protests the government revoked the cards, effectively denying Rohingya the right to vote. "They are politically disenfranchised. The situation in Rakhine [Arakan] is worse than a year ago," Lewa said. "The push factor is stronger than last year, but the open door to Thailand now seems to be closed." The Thai coast—not far from popular tourist areas—was a disembarkation point for many Rohingya smuggled by boat. They were then taken further south and over a porous border into Malaysia. However, traffickers began diverting migrants to secret camps near the Thai-Malaysia border, holding them for ransom and killing and torturing those whose families could not pay up. Others died of disease and neglect. After the discovery in May of dozens of graves on the Thai-Malaysia border, smugglers abandoned thousands of migrants at sea to avoid being caught by Thai and Malaysian investigators. Julia Mayerhofer, interim executive director of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), said the root cause of discontent was still there in Burma. Amnesty International, which released a report on Wednesday about the region's trafficking crisis, pressed Burma to stop violence against the Rohingya by state security forces, and to amend its laws to grant the Rohingya citizenship. "People are still desperate to leave. If you block one way, people will find another way, and that might be more dangerous and more risky for the people," Mayerhofer said. The post People Smugglers Explore New Routes to Malaysia After Thai Crackdown—Aid Groups appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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