The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Alleged Rape Victim, 8, Dies of Malnutrition in Rangoon
• Heritage Trust Unveils ‘21st Century’ Blueprint for Rangoon
• Rice Stores Plenty for Current Fiscal Year, Official Says
• Jailed Delta Activists Refute ‘Fabricated’ Charges
• China Says Tibet Officials Must be ‘Fortress’ Against Separatism
• Dengue Fever Sweeps Asia, Hospitals Struggle to Cope
• 2 Chinese Diplomats Killed at Restaurant in Philippines

Alleged Rape Victim, 8, Dies of Malnutrition in Rangoon Posted: 22 Oct 2015 05:15 AM PDT A girl watches from the doorway of her home as soldiers walk by in Rakhine State, October 2, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — An 8-year-old Arakanese girl who was allegedly raped by a soldier last month has died of malnutrition in a Rangoon hospital, a medical official confirmed, marking an early end to a tragic life of poverty, sickness and abuse. The young girl, whose mother is deceased, was born and raised in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, where her father tended to her fragile health condition until she was transferred to Yankin Children's Hospital for emergency care. "We recorded the death as a normal case," the hospital's superintendent Dr. Htar Htar Soe told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. "Her illness is very rare and she faced severe nutritional deficiencies." The superintendent said the primary cause of death was malnutrition, a condition which also led to tuberculosis. Medical staffs were aware that the girl had recently been the victim of a violent sexual assault that resulted in internal injuries, though she was being treated specifically for malnourishment. A police official in Sittwe said the girl had suffered chronic health problems for years, leaving her unable to walk, sit and lie down comfortably. Her father, the officer said, was a poor day laborer who often drank at home with a friend who served in the Burma Army. The police officer, Sittwe No. 1 Police Station Chief Yan Naing Thet, said that on Sept. 22, a case was filed alleging that the soldier, who was staying at the girl's home while he was on leave, had brutally raped her while her father was away. The case was turned over to military officials on Sept. 25, Yan Naing Thet said, who told him the soldier would be tried by court-martial. The status of the case is presently unknown, and military officials could not be reached for comment. The girl's father was also unreachable on Thursday. A funeral was held for the victim on Oct. 22 at Rangoon's Yayway Cemetery, attended by the regional Arakan Ethnic Affairs Minister. The post Alleged Rape Victim, 8, Dies of Malnutrition in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Heritage Trust Unveils ‘21st Century’ Blueprint for Rangoon Posted: 22 Oct 2015 05:07 AM PDT The Yangon Heritage Trust's graphic rendition of a revitalized downtown Rangoon. (Picture: Yangon Heritage Trust) RANGOON — Following a four-year study of Rangoon's urban landscape, the Yangon Heritage Trust has unveiled its vision to revitalize the former capital. Released on Wednesday and open to public consultation on the organization's website, the 'Yangon as a Great 21st Century City' blueprint advocates preserving large tracts of Rangoon's urban heritage as the city develops. The plan outlines suggests conservation zones in most of the eight townships making up downtown grid, encouraging new developments around the existing circular railway line in the east and west of the city, and maintaining low-density neighborhoods in the townships between Sule Pagoda and Inya Lake. Shwe Yin Mar Oo, the YHT's communications and media manager, told The Irrawaddy that public input on the proposal will be referred to decision makers and development stakeholders for consideration as the blueprint evolves. "Our vision is to have a good urban planning system that will cover the whole of Rangoon," she said. "We think the next Rangoon government and regional parliament should make this a priority." The plan also recommends establishing a green belt around Shwedagon Pagoda and maintaining existing sightlines to the historic edifice. Along with religious campaigners, architects and leading politicians, YHT founding chairman Thant Myint-U was a notable opponent of an aborted proposal to construct mixed-use developments on 72 acres of land in Dagon Township, telling The Irrawaddy in February that preservation of the green spaces around Shwedagon Pagoda was the single most important heritage conservation issue in the city. The YHT's plan suggests that the divisional government and municipal authorities concentrate new developments around the eastern side of the city around the confluence of the Rangoon River and Pazundaung Creek, as well as allowing for mixed industrial, commercial and residential developments in the area between the western rail line and the Hlaing River. The post Heritage Trust Unveils '21st Century' Blueprint for Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rice Stores Plenty for Current Fiscal Year, Official Says Posted: 22 Oct 2015 03:49 AM PDT Rice farmers sow their crops in western Burma's Arakan State. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma has adequate rice stores to ensure food stability throughout the current fiscal year, according to an official from the Ministry of Commerce, in response to concerns about the fallout of recent flooding in the country's agricultural heartland. Myint Cho, director of the ministry's Department of Trade Promotion, said government reserves have enough rice to meet local consumption demands nationwide through April 2016 and there is "no need to worry this year." Conceding that next year could see some rice shortages, the official said the government and the Myanmar Rice federation would be prepared to suspend exports if food shortages occur. Stability over the coming year will depend on the outcome of this year's late harvest concluding in the next two months. Imports will also be an option if yields are found insufficient for local consumption, Myint Cho said. Rice exports were suspended in early August due to devastation caused by flooding in the wake of Cylone Komen, which brought torrential rains and landslides to much of the country's agricultural heartland in late July and early August. Partial exports resumed in mid-September, though the overland rice trade remained on hold until Oct. 15, when regular trade recommenced nationwide. According to ministry figures, Burma produced more than 13 million tons of rice over 23 million acres of paddy during the fiscal year 2014-15, ending in April. At least 9 million tons were used for local consumption, while about 1.7 million tons went to the export market. Yielding nearly US$645 million last year, rice is a vital export commodity, targeting markets in China, India, Japan, other Asean nations, the European Union and Africa. Trade took a hit this year due to the hiatus, though local demand appears to have been met. A new report produced jointly by the UN World Food Program (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Burmese government indicates that demand for food commodities has decreased in most flood-affected areas, while supply has decreased slightly or remained stable. Decreased demand, the report said, is likely due in part to the distribution of aid and an overall reduction in local retail because of reduced incomes. The report said that while most villages surveyed had access to key food commodities, impacts of the disaster will continue in the medium to long term, and the full extent of food insecurity has not been assessed. Most immediate damage was felt by agricultural households, and rice fields suffered the bulk of agricultural losses, with "an expected reduction in production of up to 89 percent in damaged paddy fields, compared to the same time last year." The report further recommended a food security assessment mission, to be led by the government, FAO and WFP, to "estimate the performance of agriculture for the upcoming market year and recommend measures to address the food security and nutrition implications." The post Rice Stores Plenty for Current Fiscal Year, Official Says appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Jailed Delta Activists Refute ‘Fabricated’ Charges Posted: 22 Oct 2015 03:32 AM PDT Dedaye locals Cho Lwin and Win Shwe, who were handed jail terms for allegedly destroying mangrove trees, at the township court on Wednesday. (Photo: Salai Thant Zin / The Irrawaddy) PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division — A local court in Irrawaddy Division's Dedaye Township sentenced five activists to five months in jail on Wednesday for damaging public property in relation to the alleged pasturing of water buffaloes in mangrove forests collaboratively grown by government departments. Akar Win, a ranger with the Dedaye Township Forestry Department, filed a lawsuit in July last year against Htun Htun Oo, a member of the Pathein-based Human Rights Watch and Defense Network, and four locals, charging that the accused destroyed over 5,000 mangrove trees by pasturing buffaloes in Kyone Kanap Pasture in Dedaye Township, causing over 32,000 kyat in damages. The township judge Than Than Win confirmed jail terms for the five activists— Htun Htun Oo, Cho Lwin, Win Shwe, Maung Myo and Hla Hla Yi—on Wednesday in a case which has spanned more than a year. "Five persons including me were given a five-month prison sentence and fined 1,000 kyat each. Maung Myo and I were released as remand time is deducted. Ko Cho Lwin, Ko Win Shwe and Daw Hla Hla Yi were put behind bars in Pyapon Prison," Htun Htun Oo told The Irrawaddy. In September last year, Htun Htun Oo and three locals, including Cho Lwin and Win Shwe, were handed prison sentences by the Dedaye Township Court on three separate charges of violating Burma's Peaceful Assembly Law, after a group of environmentally conscious residents gathered to plant mangroves without local authorities' permission. Dedaye Township, which has a population of just over 200,000 according to the 2014 census, has suffered large-scale coastal erosion in recent years. Htun Htun Oo refuted the latest charges and said the punishment was unfair. "We were going to Ye Dwin Gon that day as a house there had invited us for lunch. They [the Forestry Department] fabricated the charge and accused us of destroying their mangrove forests," Htun Htun Oo said. "We said at the court that the mangrove trees grown by them [the Forestry Department] had been flooded by sea water and died a long time ago. There [mangrove] forest had already turned into a bald sandbank." Cho Lwin was equally baffled by Wednesday's sentence. "I was not at the crime scene and presented witnesses to the court [to prove this]. On that day, I was at my house because of a back ache caused by a motorbike accident. But then the court sentenced me to five months in prison. I would say the ruling of the court is totally unfair," he said. The accused all said they would appeal their sentences to a higher court and would look to sue the Dedaye Township Forestry Department for what they labeled trumped-up charges. Translated by Thet Ko Ko The post Jailed Delta Activists Refute 'Fabricated' Charges appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China Says Tibet Officials Must be ‘Fortress’ Against Separatism Posted: 21 Oct 2015 10:31 PM PDT A Pro-Tibet protester is escorted by a police officer in central London on Monday. (Photo: Peter Nicholls / Reuters) BEIJING — Officials working at the grassroots in Tibet must be a “fortress” against separatism and work to ensure the ruling Communist Party’s monopoly on information is maintained, China’s top official in the restless region wrote on Thursday. China this year is marking 50 years since the founding of what it calls the Tibet Autonomous Region. Beijing says it “peacefully liberated” Tibet in 1950 and that its rule has brought prosperity and equality to a once-backward region. However, rights groups and exiles say China governs with an iron fist and represses Tibet’s Buddhist people, which leads to periodic outbreaks of violence and anti-Chinese protests. Tibet party boss Chen Quanguo, writing in the official People’s Daily, said there was “nothing more harmful than chaos”, and China’s stability as a whole rests on the stability and security of Tibet. A central element of this was to train and promote a core of high-calibre, loyal Tibet and Han Chinese officials who will be based in every county and village across the region, Chen said. “Build up grassroots party organisations which serve the masses and promote development and are a staunch combat fortress to maintain stability and oppose separatism,” Chen wrote. The “ideological security” of Tibet needs the party to control public opinion, the media and the Internet, and every house in every village must be able to watch the television or listen to the radio, he said. “Work hard to build the same spiritual home for all ethnic groups, focus on building a strong positive force for a united, beautiful, harmonious and happy socialist Tibet,” Chen said. China blames exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for unrest in Tibetan parts of the country, including a wave of self-immolations. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama denies Chinese charges he wants Tibetan independence or that he promotes violence, saying only that he wants genuine autonomy for Tibet. Unusually, Chen made no direct mention of the Dalai Lama, saying only that the “struggle against separatism has been noticeably stepped up”. The post China Says Tibet Officials Must be 'Fortress' Against Separatism appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dengue Fever Sweeps Asia, Hospitals Struggle to Cope Posted: 21 Oct 2015 10:24 PM PDT A patient awaits routine check-up as he lies under a mosquito net inside a dengue ward of a government hospital in New Delhi on Sept. 18. (Photo: Anindito Mukherjee / Reuters) MANILA — Thousands of people in Asia have been struck by dengue fever in recent months, putting medical services under strain and highlighting the need for a long-term strategy to fight the potentially lethal disease. The Philippines, Burma, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam are among countries that have seen significant spikes in the mosquito-borne disease, while India’s capital New Delhi is in the grip of its worst dengue outbreak in almost 20 years. Hospitals are overwhelmed as thousands of people with symptoms such as high fever, vomiting and joint pains seek treatment, health experts said. Dengue is the world’s fastest-spreading tropical disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There is no dedicated treatment for the virus, and sufferers are generally asked to rest, drink plenty of fluids and take medication to bring down fever and reduce joint pains. “Outbreaks like the current dengue cases can have significant impacts on health systems,” said Martin Hibberd, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “These patients are acutely ill with severe symptoms and need to be treated fast to avoid complications.” The size of the outbreak has forced some hospitals to make tough choices. In Delhi, a couple jumped to their deaths when their 7-year-old son died of dengue after being refused treatment at a number of city hospitals which said all their beds were filled with dengue patients. News reports followed of other families with acutely ill children and elderly relatives being turned away from one hospital after another due to a lack of beds or other facilities. Explosive Growth Dengue affected only a handful of countries in the 1950s but is now present in more than 125—more than malaria, historically the most notorious mosquito-borne disease. The WHO estimates that about 50 million new cases of dengue fever occur each year, but a recent study said the number could be four times as high due to underreporting. In the Asia-Pacific region the hot and humid climate and frequent flooding linked to climate change create ideal breeding conditions for dengue mosquitoes. In the Philippines, concern is growing that flooding caused by Typhoon Koppu this week will cause a spike in the number of dengue cases, already up 32 percent year on year to 108,263 so far this year, according to the WHO. In Burma, much of which was flooded in July and August, authorities recorded almost 36,000 cases from January to September, 200 percent more than in the same period last year and the highest figure since counting began in 1965, the Myanmar Times reported. More than 96,000 cases have been registered so far this year in Malaysia, up more than 19 percent, according to the WHO. Health experts say this explosion in dengue cases is closely linked to a rise in urban living as well as increased movement of people and goods. “For dengue to occur you need concentrated areas of people—it’s a city-based disease and a tricky one to eradicate because the dengue mosquito bites during the day, unlike the malaria mosquito,” said Hibberd. The dengue mosquito usually lives inside houses or in courtyards and typically lays its eggs in flowerpots or other places with a water source. Health experts said that while much attention had focused on eradicating malaria, which has higher mortality rates, the fight against dengue lacked a long-term plan and focused on controlling outbreaks instead. “It requires a shift in approach from responding to isolated outbreaks to investment in strategies that cover effective vector control, access to health services and early clinical management,” said Xavier Castellanos, Asia Pacific regional director of the International Federation of the Red Cross. There is no vaccine for dengue yet, but some are undergoing clinical trials. French drugmaker Sanofi SA hopes to win approval for the world’s first dengue vaccine soon. The post Dengue Fever Sweeps Asia, Hospitals Struggle to Cope appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

2 Chinese Diplomats Killed at Restaurant in Philippines Posted: 21 Oct 2015 10:15 PM PDT Televisions display CCTV footage showing police investigators inside the Lighthouse restaurant where three Chinese diplomats were shot in Cebu city on Monday. (Photo: Roland Santos / Reuters) MANILA — Two Chinese diplomats in the Philippines were killed and the consul-general was wounded Wednesday by a Chinese attacker armed with a pistol during a birthday celebration at a restaurant, police said. Police Chief Superintendent Prudencio Tom Banas said it was not immediately clear what prompted the attacker to open fire and kill Deputy Consul-General Sun Shan and finance officer Hui Li of the Chinese Consulate in central Cebu City. Consul-General Song Ronghua was wounded in the attack and was in stable condition at a Cebu hospital, Banas said. “This is really tragic,” Banas said by telephone. “We’re trying to find out what prompted this shooting.” A Chinese couple, including the person suspected of firing the gun, was taken into custody by police. The woman in police custody worked at the consulate and claimed diplomatic immunity, declining to immediately provide any statement to police, Banas said. Reports differed on whether the man or the woman was the suspected shooter. A police report said investigators recovered the handgun used in the attack. Police were in touch with the Chinese Embassy in Manila. Embassy spokeswoman Li Lingxao said Chinese authorities were still verifying the facts in the attack. The victims and the attacker were attending a birthday lunch in a private room at the Lighthouse restaurant when the shooting occurred, sparking panic among other customers, Banas said. Citing witnesses and video from a restaurant security camera, Banas said the attacker first fired at the consul-general and his deputy in the room. The finance officer ran outside the room but the attacker followed and shot her, and she slumped to the floor, he said. Romel Bargio, a security guard at the nearby Mango Hotel, said he saw a Chinese man dash out of the restaurant after the shooting. The man told Bargio that he was shot and asked for help in getting to a hospital. He could not wait for an ambulance and took a taxi to the hospital, Bargio said. “He was very pale. There was so much blood,” Bargio said by telephone. Cebu, a commercial hub and tourism destination of about a million people, is 570 kilometers south of Manila. Chinese and Chinese-Filipino businesspeople have had a long presence in the region, with investments in trading, hotels, condominiums and restaurants, Mayor Mike Rama said. While Cebu is a relatively safe region, the shooting offers lessons in how security should be improved, Rama said. He asked why there had been a failure to detect an attacker walking around with a gun. Attacks on diplomats are unusual in Asia. In September a South Korean court sentenced a man described as an anti-US activist to 12 years in prison for slashing and seriously injuring the US ambassador last March. The post 2 Chinese Diplomats Killed at Restaurant in Philippines appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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