The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Detained Student Protesters Agree to End Hunger Strike
• Parliament to Revisit Investment Laws in Final Session
• Two Girls Dead after Landmine Blast in Shan State Village
• Airstrikes, Ground Offensives Continue in Kachin, Shan States
• Deadly Rains Wreak Havoc in Southern India, Sri Lanka
• Cambodia Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy, Facing Arrest, Delays Return
• Vast Forest Fires in Indonesia Spawn Ecological Disaster

Detained Student Protesters Agree to End Hunger Strike Posted: 17 Nov 2015 04:59 AM PST Monks that took part in the Saffron Revolution in 2007 visit two of the hunger striking students at Rangoon General Hospital. (Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy) THAYAWADY, Pegu Division — A group of jailed students and their supporters have ended a hunger strike that was taking its toll on the participants' health, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABSFU) said in a statement on Tuesday. At its peak, 15 students and supporters were involved in the hunger strike that was initiated by Aung Hmein San in Thayawady prison on October 23 in protest at the continued incarceration of political prisoners in Burma. All of the students involved were jailed for their involvement in a peaceful protest movement earlier this year against a controversial National Education Law that was broken up violently by police in Pegu Division's Letpadan Township. Aung Hmein San was sent to hospital last week alongside fellow student protester Myo Myat San. Phyo Dana, who was on a hunger strike for nine days, was also admitted to Rangoon General Hospital on Nov. 11 suffering gastrointestinal problems. The ABSFU's statement said the students' decision was made to halt the hunger strike after several civil society organizations made interventions, urging the students to suspend their protest until a new government took charge in 2016. On Saturday evening, Win Htein of the National League for Democracy (NLD), visited Aung Hmein San and Myo Myat San at Rangoon General Hospital at the request of Aung San Suu Kyi. He urged them to halt their protest during a sensitive time of political transition in the country. The Former Political Prisoners Society and monks which took part in the 2007 Saffron Revolution also called on the students to stop their fast. Over 40 students, jailed since March 10 for their part in a peaceful protest for education reform, appeared for a hearing at Thayawady Court on Tuesday morning. Upon their arrival, the students sang songs and chanted in unison, "Democracy must win." The hearing was promptly adjourned until next week. Ko Thein, one of around 50 activists that remain behind bars in connection with the Letpadan crackdown, was dubious of some reports of an imminent release of political prisoners. "This government transformed from the military and their mindset has not changed yet," he said. After the opposition NLD's landslide victory in the Nov. 8 poll, Ko Thein told reporters that student movements will retain relevance in a new political climate. "We don't [expect] much of the next government because they have to do a lot in this country," he said. The post Detained Student Protesters Agree to End Hunger Strike appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Parliament to Revisit Investment Laws in Final Session Posted: 17 Nov 2015 04:42 AM PST People gather at a promotional event for Coca-Cola in Rangoon last year. A report from the US Campaign for Burma deemed the soft drinks giant a responsible investor in Burma, but other US companies were criticized for failing to disclose information. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's outgoing Parliament convened this week for its final session before surrendering their seats to newly elected lawmakers, aiming to make strides on investment reform. Lower House parliamentarian Khine Maung Yi told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that this week's agenda is set to include discussion of two new investment bills, meant to streamline and update the Myanmar Citizens Investment Law and Foreign Investment Law passed in the early days of President Thein Sein's government. The new bills, which cover both foreign and local investments, have been in the works for two years following criticism that the previous legislation favored investors too heavily and lacked sufficient human rights and environmental protection measures. The bill committee will submit amendments to the Lower House this week, Khine Maung Yi said, adding that lawmakers have already received drafts for their review. State-run newspaper Myanma Ahlin also published truncated versions of the two drafts on Tuesday for public consideration. Revisions to both laws include "coordination for power sharing for state and divisional governments," which the government can "permit" with regard to certain types of business, natural resource extraction and job creation in various administrative areas. The published amendments reveal changes to sections 12 and 13 to the Citizens Investment Law and the Foreign Investment Law, respectively, granting the Myanmar Investment Commission the authority to delegate its mandate to state and divisional administrations upon the approval of the Union government. Khin Shwe, an Upper House lawmaker and chairman of the Zaykabar Group of Companies, expressed confidence that changes to the two laws would not pose a threat to domestic business. "I've discussed the issue [in Parliament] that we [domestic entrepreneurs] should have the same rights as foreign investors, this law should not harm us," said Khin Shwe, a member of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) who lost his re-election bid last week. "I have also suggested that local businessmen take loans from foreign banks to keep our businesses afloat," he said. "I look forward to seeing it, too." The post Parliament to Revisit Investment Laws in Final Session appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Two Girls Dead after Landmine Blast in Shan State Village Posted: 17 Nov 2015 02:19 AM PST The funeral of the two young victims of the bomb blast in Mat Lan village, Laihka Township on monday. (Photo: Sai Kyaw Zeya/ Lecha) RANGOON — Two young girls, aged 13 and 8, have died after accidentally detonating a landmine near a small village in central Shan State. The victims died at the bank of the Tein Creek, on the outskirts of Mat Lan village in Laihka Township. According to a third child, who was with the pair and survived the blast unscathed, the girls found what appeared to be a motorbike battery that exploded when they touched it, sending shrapnel through the air and killing both instantly. . "We're still investigating to find out which group this mine belongs to," local police Lieutenant Hsan Lwin told The Irrawaddy. " The child who survived the blast said it was a small battery. It is unacceptable that innocent children have met their ends like this. I feel sorry that innocent civilians have fallen prey to armed conflicts." Laihka Township has historically been under the jurisdiction of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the political wing of the Shan State Army-South. Despite signing a fresh bilateral ceasefire with the Burmese government at the end of 2011, the group has been involved in dozens of clashes with the military in the years since, according to the Myanmar Peace Center. The RCSS signed the government's "nationwide" ceasefire agreement on Oct. 15, along with seven other non-state armed groups. Immediately to the north of Laihka are Mong Hsu and Kyethi townships, home to fresh clashes between the Burma Armed Forces and the Shan State Army-North, the armed wing of the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) since Oct. 6. The SSPP is not party to the government's latest ceasefire accord. Local Shan civil society organizations say that more than 10,000 people have been displaced from SSPP territory after six weeks of clashes, some of whom have fled to Laihka. On Oct. 21, a piece of unexploded ordnance detonated in Mong Hsu town's 4th ward, claiming the life of a 70-year-old woman and injuring two novice monks and a young girl. Hsan Lwin said that security has been tightened around Laihka to prevent more bomb blasts. Lecha Sai Kyaw Zeya, a lawmaker in the Shan State Parliament, told The Irrawaddy that a funeral service for the victims was held on Monday. The post Two Girls Dead after Landmine Blast in Shan State Village appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Airstrikes, Ground Offensives Continue in Kachin, Shan States Posted: 17 Nov 2015 01:35 AM PST Kachin Independence Army soldiers stationed at a frontline base near La Jar Yang village in Kachin State, November 2013. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The military's recent escalation in Shan State has continued its spread into southern Kachin, with local ethnic armed group sources saying they have been subject to air attacks and skirmishes on the ground. On Monday, the Burma Armed Forces deployed a jet fighter, helicopter gunships and ground artillery to bomb a base belonging to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), according to the group's spokesperson La Nan. "The attack yesterday was very intense," he said. "They shelled our abandoned bases and used extraordinary efforts with an airplane, artillery rounds and ground troops." "Two helicopters flew to boom the bases around noon. They were firing and shelling it until 5pm. This is not a rumor. They are really attacking. They have used air support in almost all of their offensives," he added. The attacks began on Saturday after a sharp build-up of Burma Army troops in Monhyin Township, leading the KIA to abandon two bases in the area over the following 24 hours. Outnumbered, the insurgent group also abandoned its 8th Brigade headquarters on Monday morning, located around 4 miles from Mohnyin town. "We abandoned the 8th Brigade headquarters as they strongly attacked us with heavy artillery," said La Nan. "We had no choice but to withdraw our troops. They used planes to fire at us from a distance while we only had small arms." He said that details of casualties were not available as of Tuesday morning, but at least two KIA soldiers had been injured from the shelling. The KIA has received unconfirmed reports of some wounded Burma Army soldiers arriving in Mohnyin town. Around 200 residents of the Aung Thabyay village tract are reported to have arrived in Mohnyin town to take refuge in local churches. The Myitkyina-based Kachinland News agency reported on Sunday that the Northern Regional Command, based in the Kachin capital, had warned the KIA that it would attack the group's Laiza headquarters on the Sino-Burmese border if it was unable to explain a recent skirmish between Burma Army soldiers and insurgents on the road between Myitkyina and Bhamo. Meanwhile, the military has continued its attacks on ethnic Shan rebels in Mong Hsu township with fresh aerial assaults and ground offensives. Local sources and human rights groups say around 10,000 civilians have fled their home in the area since the latest round of clashes began on Oct. 6. The Burma Army has reportedly deployed at least one helicopter gunship, which flew over Mong Hsu town and fired on Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) positions and nearby villages on Saturday, providing aerial cover for a fresh ground offensive. The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which operates in a large swath of territory in northern Shan State, also reported fresh attacks from the Burma Army over the weekend. The KIA has been at war with the military since June 2011, following the breakdown of a 17-year ceasefire, despite the current government's attempts to broker a ceasefire agreement with most of the more than 20 ethnic armed groups across the country. Neither the KIA, SSA-N, or TNLA signed the government's "nationwide" ceasefire agreement in Naypyidaw last month, which was ultimately signed by only eight non-state armed groups. Of those, only the Karen National Union and Restoration Council of Shan State had significant fighting forces. The post Airstrikes, Ground Offensives Continue in Kachin, Shan States appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Deadly Rains Wreak Havoc in Southern India, Sri Lanka Posted: 16 Nov 2015 10:25 PM PST Commuters on their vehicles move through an underpass during a heavy rain shower in Ahmedabad, India, September 18, 2015.  (Photo: Amit Dave / Reuters) CHENNAI, India — Floods in south India and Sri Lanka have killed over 70 people—inundating homes, farmland and highways—forcing authorities to shut down schools and colleges in some areas, officials and media reports said on Monday. The floods, triggered by incessant rains over the past seven days, have submerged parts of Tamil Nadu state, including its capital Chennai, where most of the deaths and devastation has taken place. Caused by a depression formed in the Bay of Bengal, the heavy rains have also affected Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states, as well as neighboring Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said a 5 billion rupee ($75 million) relief fund has been set up. She brushed aside criticisms the government was poorly prepared to deal with the flooding in Chennai, one of India's biggest cities. "The rain that was meant to be spread out over the monsoon months has poured in just a few days," Jayalalithaa told reporters during a visit to a flood-hit area in Chennai. "No precautionary measures would have managed to prevent water logging and damages. In areas where flooding and damage have been caused, relief, rescue and repair works are being taken up on a war footing," she said. There are no official figures on the number of deaths, but media reports suggested at least 71 people have died from drowning, collapsing walls and electrocution. Television pictures showed children in Chennai crammed into boats on water-logged roads, commuters wading through waist-deep waters to get to work and bridges submerged as lakes overflowed. In Sri Lanka, floods in the northern parts of the Indian Ocean island have affected 58,000 people. One person has reportedly died. India's southeast coast is vulnerable to annual cyclones in November and December, severe low pressure formations in the Bay of Bengal have resulted in heavier than usual rainfall, say weather officials. In Chennai, Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Villupuram districts, 23 to 37 centimeters (9 to 14 inches) of rain was recorded on a single day, much higher than the usual annual average. Government officials said around 10,000 people living in low-lying coastal areas have been evacuated from their homes and given refuge in relief camps. The National Disaster Response Force and the army have been called in to help distribute food rations and rescue people stranded due to damaged roads and bridges. India's weather department forecasts the rains would cease in Tamil Nadu but predicted heavy rain for Andhra Pradesh in the coming days. The post Deadly Rains Wreak Havoc in Southern India, Sri Lanka appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Cambodia Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy, Facing Arrest, Delays Return Posted: 16 Nov 2015 10:17 PM PST Sam Rainsy, center, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), prays in front of the skulls and bones of more than 8,000 victims of the Khmer Rouge regime during a Buddhist ceremony at Choeung Ek, a "killing fields" site located on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. (Photo: Samrang Pring / Reuters) PHNOM PENH — Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Monday delayed his return home from South Korea as tension comes to a head between his supporters and those of Prime Minister Hun Sen. The Southeast Asian nation is still three years away from a general election, but acrimony between the two as they jockey for position is threatening to plunge the country back into political conflict. A Cambodian court on Friday issued an arrest warrant related to an old defamation case for which Sam Rainsy had already received a royal pardon. The opposition party denounced the warrant as politically motivated. Parliament on Monday stripped Sam Rainsy of the immunity that comes with his position in parliament. Sam Rainsy had been due to arrive in Phnom Penh from South Korea on Monday. He would be arrested on arrival, said government spokesman Phay Siphan. "There won't be any political compromise because he has lost all political status," Phay Siphan said. Sam Rainsy said via Facebook that he had delayed his journey after talking to colleagues in Cambodia and a "number of international pro-democracy organizations" which suggested he arrive in daylight, "… and that I should also leave some time for diplomatic intervention to materialize with the objective of reaching a peaceful solution to the recent escalation of violence in Cambodia," he said. He would fly to Cambodia "in the next few days," he added. The warrant for his arrest was issued a day after self-styled strongman Hun Sen, in power for more than 30 years, threatened a lawsuit against Sam Rainsy for comments he made abroad about the election. Sam Rainsy called on the international community to ensure that Hun Sen sticks to the election timetable and not use the deteriorating political situation to delay the vote. The US government on Monday said it was deeply concerned by Sam Rainsy's removal from the National Assembly and called for his reinstatement and the restoration of his parliamentary immunity. "We also call on the government to revoke the arrest warrant issued against him on seven-year-old defamation charges and to allow him and other opposition parliamentarians to return to Cambodia without fear of arrest or persecution," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. Hun Sen has warned that an election victory for the opposition in 2018 would spark a return to civil war. Robust economic growth, jobs creation and sustained peace for an impoverished country roiled by decades of civil war, including under Pol Pot's 1975-79 "killing fields" regime, have ensured Hun Sen's continued re-election. But experts say he now faces a strong challenge from a rejuvenated opposition popular among urban youth. Sam Rainsy's Cambodia National Rescue Party ended a year-long parliamentary boycott after a deal in July 2014 with Hun Sen's long-ruling Cambodian People's Party that granted a series of concessions to the opposition party. The deal fell apart after a year, when opposition party lawmakers were jailed for insurrection for their role in a protest. The post Cambodia Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy, Facing Arrest, Delays Return appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Vast Forest Fires in Indonesia Spawn Ecological Disaster Posted: 16 Nov 2015 10:09 PM PST Indonesian soldiers spray water on peatland fire in Pulang Pisau regency east of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, on Oct. 29. (Photo: Darren Whiteside / Reuters) KAMPAR, Indonesia — For farmer Achmad Rusli, it was a season of smoke: ten weeks without sunlight for his oranges, guavas and durians, thanks to deliberately set forest fires that burned a chunk of Indonesia the size of New Jersey. The fires have finally died down with the arrival of monsoon rains, but too late for his crops, which are far too measly to sell. "We had not seen the sun in a two-and-a-half months," said Rusli, 34, from Riau province, in eastern Sumatra, among the six hardest-hit provinces. "How can we harvest the fruit?" The ecological disaster has inflicted a staggering toll on the region's environment, economy and human health: 2.1 million hectares (8,063 square miles) of forests and other land burned, 21 deaths, more than half a million people sickened with respiratory problems and $9 billion in economic losses, from damaged crops to hundreds of canceled flights. Palm oil and paper pulp companies illegally set fire to forests to clear land to plant more trees in the cheapest and fastest way possible. Authorities are investigating more than 300 plantation companies and 83 suspects have been arrested, according to national police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti. The licenses of three plantation companies have been revoked and those of 11 others have been suspended. The fires have been an annual problem since the mid-1990s, but this was the worst year since 1997, when blazes spread across nearly 10 million hectares. Greed is the cause. Herry Purnomo, a scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research, said it costs just $US7 to clear a hectare of land by burning, compared to $150 to do so with tractors. Indonesian law bans clearing land by burning, except by small-scale farmers who are allowed up to 2 hectares. All told, nearly 50,000 fires were detected since July, according to satellite data, with most on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. An absence of rain from the El Nino effect made them worse. The thick haze forced schools to close in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, and for the first time it reached communities in southern Thailand, where the air pollution index rose to record levels of unhealthiness. Indonesia's neighbors have grown increasingly critical, though many of the palm-oil companies operating in the country are Singaporean- and Malaysian-owned. And Indonesians endured the worst of the effects. Syarif, a 46-year-old who like many Indonesians uses a single name, failed to harvest any of his chili peppers and tomatoes, which withered and shriveled on the vine. "I lost everything… drought and smog has ruined our vegetables," Syarif said. "I have to start again from scratch." Visibility fell below 50 meters (yards) in some areas, forcing 13 airports around the country to close. Drone footage taken over smoldering forests showed the charred remains of trees poking through billowing smoke and haze that extended as far as the eye could see. Gray and white patches of ash covered the forest floor. The haze, resembling a wintry fog, is laced with tiny particles of ash that are particularly harmful to the elderly, children and those with chronic heart and lung conditions. It can lead to respiratory tract infections and pneumonia. In the six most affected provinces, home to more than 26 million people, hospitals were overwhelmed with 556,945 cases of people with smoke-related respiratory tract issues between July and the end of October—nearly three times the normal rate, according to the health ministry. In late October, the Pollution Standards Index hit a record high of 3,300 in Central Kalimantan province in Borneo, the giant island Indonesia shares with Malaysia and Brunei. Anything above 300 is deemed hazardous. Rosita Rossie, a coordinator at Riau's provincial health office, said that when pollution index rose above 300, many clinics and hospitals in the province of 6 million provided 24-hour service, with some sending health workers into remote areas to meet needs there. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency recorded 21 fire-related fatalities, including burns, pneumonia, asthma and meningitis aggravated by upper respiratory tract infections. Nearly 20,000 schools had to close in the worst-hit provinces, affecting about 2.4 million students. The fires also likely killed many endangered or threatened species, including orangutans and Sumatran rhinos, said Rosichon Ubaidilla, an animal taxonomy expert who heads the Zoology Center for Biological Research at the Indonesia Institute of Science. Researchers and local residents are scrambling to protect the estimated 50,000 wild orangutans that live only on Borneo and Sumatra. The apes must cope with not only the destruction of their habitat but also respiratory problems, said Raffles B. Panjaitan, the Forestry Ministry's director of forest fire control. The fires have also sent enormous amounts of greenhouse-gas emissions into the air. Much of the forests lost were peatland, which stores a particularly large amount of carbon. Research by the Center for International Forestry Research, or CIFOR, found that in 2012, forest fires in Riau province alone released between 1.5 billion and 2 billion tons of carbon emissions in just one week—up to 10 percent of Indonesia's total annual emissions, said Sofyan Kurnianto, a scientist with the group and the lead author of the study. Indonesia's $9 billion estimate of the damage caused by the fires excludes emissions. Willem Rampangilei, head of the disaster mitigation agency, said tentative number is based on World Bank data from 2013 that focused only on Riau province. The vast majority of the financial losses were in forestry, agriculture and manufacturing. To fight the fires, Indonesia used everything from helicopters to elephants outfitted with water pumps and hoses. Russia leased two amphibious jets, and Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Japan also sent aircraft, firefighters or chemicals and experts to help out. More than 30,000 soldiers and firefighting personnel were deployed, and the disaster agency spent $36.5 million. Ultimately, it was seasonal rains that ended this year's crisis. President Joko Widodo said he was "ashamed" that authorities failed to prevent the fires. He ordered law-enforcement agencies to punish perpetrators, including revoking forest concessions and blacklisting those responsible. The government is drafting new regulations to stiffen penalties, reduce haze pollution and avoid forest fires. But the president has also asked for patience in tackling the problem for good, saying Indonesia needs three years to solve it. Malaysia has said that is not fast enough. The post Vast Forest Fires in Indonesia Spawn Ecological Disaster appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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