The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Thai Bill to Restrict Protests Sails Through First Reading
- City Mart Director Listed in Forbes’ Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen
- Exiled Singer to Give First Concert in Burma in Two Decades
- Spanish Tourist Hospitalized After Mugging in Pegu
- National Sangha Committee Rejects Education Reform Demands
- Mac and Her Dudes
- 15 Handed Prison Terms for Destruction of Mandalay Muslim Cemetery
- Kokang Rebels Warn Refugees in China Not to Return As Shan State Fighting Continues
- Letpadaung: Fields of Fire
- UN: North Korean Company Renames Ships to Evade Sanctions
- Govt Confirms Bird Flu Outbreak in Monywa
- UN Rights Chief Warns Burma Risks Faltering on Reform Path
- Overfishing Driving Slavery on Thailand’s Seafood Boats
- Philippine Troops Attack Abu Sayyaf Militants, 7 Killed
- Reunions and Ransoms: A Day Online in Burma’s Rohingya Camps
| Thai Bill to Restrict Protests Sails Through First Reading Posted: 26 Feb 2015 03:45 PM PST  Protesters against military rule gesture by holding up their three middle fingers in the air, during a brief demonstration at a shopping mall in Bangkok June 1, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Thailand’s parliament voted overwhelmingly on Thursday in favor of a bill that restricts political demonstrations, something critics fear will be used to smother dissent after martial law is lifted. The law will impose restrictions on the "time, place and manner" of demonstrations but it was not aimed at banning protests, said Colonel Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the junta which seized power last year. "This law is not designed to prevent protests. It is aimed at giving order to public gatherings," Winthai told Reuters. The army declared martial law in May, days before it ousted an elected government in a coup. Martial law remains in place despite calls for it to be lifted from tourism industry operators who fear it damages the country’s image. Martial law includes a ban on public gatherings of more than five people. The coup followed months of street protests aimed at ousting former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Critics say the law on restricting protests that sailed through its first reading on Thursday would help the junta to stifle dissent and maintain its largely unchallenged rule. "This law will replace martial law and control political protests, which is an infringement on people’s rights," said Thanawut Wichaidit, a spokesman for the pro-Yingluck United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship activist group. The bill must pass a second and third reading for it to come law, which looks likely given its support in the National Legislative Assembly whose members were picked by the military. If the bill becomes law it would ban protests outside courts, parliament and the prime minister’s offices, known as Government House, Jate Siratharanont, a member of the assembly, told Reuters. Police would have to be informed of a protest at least 24 hours in advance and gatherings between 6 p.m and 6 a.m would be banned unless protesters got permission, Jate said. But authorities would need permission from the courts to disperse protests. Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights, a Southeast Asia-based rights group, said it would be difficult for Thailand to argue that the law was in the public interest. "On the contrary, this appears to be a move that’s inconsistent with Thailand’s human rights obligations," said Smith. The post Thai Bill to Restrict Protests Sails Through First Reading appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| City Mart Director Listed in Forbes’ Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen Posted: 26 Feb 2015 04:27 AM PST  Win Win Tint, entrepreneur and CEO of City Mart. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Forbes Magazine has listed Burmese businesswoman Win Win Tint, managing director of Burma's largest retailer City Mart Holdings, in its fourth annual Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen list. The list appeared in the March issue of Forbes Asia. "Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen list showcases a year of accomplishments by the region's female entrepreneurs and executives," the magazine said. "To make the list, candidates have to be active in the upper echelons of the business world in Asia, wield significant power and have access to robust financial resources." It is the first time that a Burmese businesswoman is included in the list. Forbes said Win Win Tint, 39, "oversees 5,500 workers and says sales have grown 25 percent to 35 percent annually for the past 5 years, to near [US] $200 million." "Initially the family hired a professional manager for the business, but Win took over after three months and has steered the company for 18 years. She holds an accounting and business administration diploma from Singapore's Thames Business School," the magazine said of the female executive. Forbes described City Mart as "a leading supplier to Myanmar's stirring consumer market. From a single grocery store in 1996, the company has burgeoned to over 100 outlets, including 18 City Mart supermarkets, 7 huge Ocean Supercenters and 45 City Express Convenience stores, as well as bakeries, pharmacies, baby clubs and bookstores." The Irrawaddy included Win Win Tint in a top 10 of Burmese women in the magazine's December issue on 'Movers and Shakers' in 2014. The post City Mart Director Listed in Forbes' Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Exiled Singer to Give First Concert in Burma in Two Decades Posted: 26 Feb 2015 03:25 AM PST  Classic singer Mun Awng's voice will return to Burma, even if he can't. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Mun Awng, a well-known exiled Kachin singer, will hold his first concert in Burma in more than 25 years on March 3, when he is scheduled to perform at Mandalay's Diamond Plaza, a concert organizer announced on Thursday. Tickets have gone on sale and prices vary from 10,000 kyats to 30,000 kyats (US$10-30), according to an announcement by Legacy Music Network posted on Facebook. He will also perform in Rangoon, Burma's biggest city, on March 10 at the National Theater. Mun Awng, aged 55, rose to fame in the mid-1980s with the release of his first album called 8/82 Inya. He was known for his protest songs calling for democracy, peace and an end to military rule in Burma. He played a role in the 1988 democratic uprising that was crushed by the Burma Army. Mun Awng was forced to flee the country like thousands of other students and dissidents. He was granted asylum in Norway where he continues to live and from where he writes songs calling for democracy in Burma. The Burmese government rejected his visa application in December last year but in January he was able to receive a visa to visit and perform in his native country. The post Exiled Singer to Give First Concert in Burma in Two Decades appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Spanish Tourist Hospitalized After Mugging in Pegu Posted: 26 Feb 2015 02:42 AM PST  The Spanish man was mugged in a village in Pegu on Feb. 23. (Photo: Facebook / Ko Gyi) RANGOON — A Spanish tourist was mugged and sustained multiple slash wounds this week near Badagon village in Pegu Township, about 50 miles northeast of Rangoon. Carlos, 31, was attacked while on a bike ride in the area on Monday evening. He was transferred to Rangoon General Hospital and the culprits remain at large, according to Pegu Township Police Station No. 3. "We have opened a case under the charge of Article 394," an officer from the police station told The Irrawaddy, referring to a Penal Code provision on causing bodily harm in an attempted robbery. "His belongings were not taken away. We sent him to Rangoon Hospital yesterday [Tuesday]. But, we heard he was brought to Thailand today [Wednesday]." Article 394 is punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment. According to the police, the victim sustained cuts on the head, forearm, elbow, knee, hand and abdomen. "This town now frequently sees [muggings]," said Pegu local Myo Min Aung. "Last month, a child was robbed of his bike. We dare not go out on a motorbike alone at night. The news spread because it was a foreigner this time." The incident could prove a threat to Burma's fledgling tourism industry, said Hnaung Hnaung Han, the general secretary of Union of Myanmar Travel Association. In the most serious case of violence against foreigners in recent memory, a Japanese woman was raped and murdered near Kyaukpadaung Township, Mandalay Division, in 2011. The post Spanish Tourist Hospitalized After Mugging in Pegu appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| National Sangha Committee Rejects Education Reform Demands Posted: 26 Feb 2015 02:36 AM PST  Student demonstrators near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon last November. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's highest religious authority has publicly rejected key planks of student demands for education reform, as the upper house announced on Tuesday that its Draft Law Committee would conduct hearings on the amendment of the National Education Law next month. The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (SSMNC), a government-appointed assembly of high-ranking monks that regulates the Buddhist clergy in Burma, sent a letter to parliament and education reform proponents on Feb. 22, demanding that religious schools be exempted from any provisions which allow the independent formation of teacher and student unions. "Buddhist universities and schools that are controlled by unions will confuse religious and political issues. This can lead to a situation where the roots of Theravada Buddhism disappear," the statement read. The International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University, state and regional Buddhist universities, abbot training schools and monastic education schools are all nominally under the control of the SSMNC. Education reform advocates said that the SSMNC's concerns were overblown, noting that the draft amendments to the education law retains a clause which exempts religious schools from the law's provisions. "We haven't erased Article 68(a), which says schools that only teach religion are not governed by this law," said Dr Arkar Moe Thu, a university lecturer and member of the National Network for Education Reform (NNER). "They should analyze how the approved education law works and not only the amendments." In its statement, the SSMNC warned that restrictions on the ability of students to influence the education curriculum under the amended law, saying that the reform proposals gave students too much power over their teachers, which it argued was contrary to Burmese custom. At present, the education law centralizes the establishment and revision of a national curriculum in a yet to be established National Education Commission, and reformers have pressed the government to allow for curriculum decisions to be made on a local level. "Education is the medium to connect with the world," said Arkar Moe Thu. "It should not only be a reflection of Myanmar's traditions. If we measure education only by our customs, we will all be left behind." The SSMNC also raised questions about plans to amend the National Education Law to allow instruction in ethnic minority languages. While Article 43(b) of the current law allows ethnic language instruction alongside Burmese at a basic education level "if there is a need", at present most children in Burma's frontier areas currently receive extracurricular native language education from monastic schools. The committee leadership's concerns were echoed on Wednesday by the State Pariyatti Sasana University, a Rangoon-based Buddhist educational institution, which were relayed by the state-run Global Light of Myanmar newspaper on Thursday. "[Too] much emphasis on freedom at schools, for students, in curriculums, languages and ideology will lead to a lack of discipline," the university's statement read. "The bill should be drafted with the aim of preservation of the nation and race and more time should be taken for drafting the bill in accordance with the voice of the majority." The Draft Law Committee's hearings on amendments to the National Education Law, to be conducted from Mar. 5-15, will be open to a cross-section of reform proponents, including 20 members each from peak student union body the Action Committee for Democratic Education (ACDE), political parties, the NNER, civil society organizations and members of the public who sent letters to lawmakers calling for a rewrite of the law. State-run newspaper The Mirror said on Wednesday that the committee would work to approve the bill with the highest priority. Meanwhile, ACDE member Min Thwe Thit told The Irrawaddy that a group of student demonstrators, who have been marching from Mandalay since Jan. 20, will resume their journey to Rangoon from Letpadan, Bago Division on Mar. 1. "In reality, the parliament doesn't need this much time to discuss the bill," he said. "The hearing period is very long…I think they are deliberately taking time to delay the bill and the government is being dishonest." The post National Sangha Committee Rejects Education Reform Demands appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Posted: 26 Feb 2015 02:31 AM PST  For Us, Surrender is Out of the Question: A Story from Burma's Never-Ending War, by Mac McClelland. (Photo: Supplied) US Reporter Mac McClelland has just released the critically acclaimed 'Irritable Hearts', her account of struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after reporting from crisis zones in Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti. In this article from 2010, The Irrawaddy reviews her earlier memoir, an account of her time spent working with Karen activists in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. After six weeks' voluntary work with a group of Karen activists in Thailand, Mac McClelland was told by one of them at a farewell party that she was "like the rain, coming to cool things and make things pleasant and then leaving and everything was sweltering again." His tribute was a polite understatement. McClelland blew into that vulnerable little community of migrants like a monsoon storm from the nearby mountains, marking the border between Thailand and Burma. At the end of her brief assignment with the ad hoc group Burma Action, as she boarded the bus to take her to Bangkok and from there to her Ohio home, McClelland left behind a group of young men—her "dudes" as she called them—whose ideas, beliefs, fears and prejudices had been shaken to their very roots. And they had changed her, too. Tears flowed as she left. And few readers of this captivating book will end it dry-eyed. Not only because of its emotive power—but also moved to laughter by the hilarious attempts of McClelland's "dudes" to cope with her invasion of their domestic menage and working lives. This is no lightweight read, however. Whenever McClelland's gutsy account of the daily routine in her unconventional Mae Sot household hits a point of reference that needs explanation she steps adroitly aside and takes up the task without once breaking the uncompromising, unconventional style and rhythm of her robust writing. A typical chapter begins with a breakfast table anecdote and ends with a harrowing account of forced labor in a Karen village or a description of the sterling work done by the Free Burma Rangers or the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, written in the same limpid, instantly accessible prose. One day's diary-like narrative, for instance, is preceded by this unforgettable passage: "The Mae Sot gongs broke the night time silence, in darkness still thorough but thin-feeling. I guessed it was 4am when the shallow tinning struck, and I listened to the distant shimmer and the dogs that caught it and spread it through the city, the far-off barking and howling coming closer and louder in a wave with the ringing at their backs until it smacked against the house, our street's dogs in a sudden frenzy, and echoed still by the woofing and tolling from the temple where it started. The monks were awake, and I was, too." McClelland was invited to help her small group of Karen rights activists hone their English skills, although her teaching was as unconventional as her writing. She followed the classroom maxim of staying one lesson ahead of the pupils. One of her prize students, she relates, "said something to me about present continuous tense which, had I not looked up practically the day before, I couldn't have named to save my life. "When once, as I wrote a sentence on the dry-erase board, he said 'That's passive voice,' I started laughing so hard that I had to put my marker down. 'I love the shit that you know, baby,' I said, and if I could whistle, I would have." As a declared atheist and an outspoken liberal thinker on sexual mores and much more, McClelland sparked lively debates in the crowded quarters she shared with her predominantly male house-mates. Table top exchanges rang with cultural clashes, east and west banging away over religion, politics, sex and any other topic of the day. The one sentiment all shared was a deep sense of outrage sparked by the reports on human rights abuses collected by the Action Burma workers. The chicanery experienced at the hands of the Thai police by the young activists—most of whom seem to have lacked legal documentation—was also witnessed first-hand by McClelland, whose reports add up to a ringing indictment of the treatment of Karen refugees in Thailand. Even here, though, McClelland mines humor in the midst of risky motorbike jaunts to bars and hangouts in Mae Sot. Her unsentimental but sympathetic record of kitchen table debates is hilarious and sad by turns. When one of the group has difficulty explaining to her the animist belief in the mystical powers of chicken bones he resorts in frustration to modern technology and gives her a power point presentation. One exercise required her students to make a list of the subjects she could video for them on her return to the US—"things they'd heard of but never seen." Three items dominated that list: clubs, strippers and city skyscrapers! A natural enough request, one supposes, from a group of inquisitive young fellows, but in the context of McClelland's book it acquires an aching poignancy—summing up the fenced-in existence of so many displaced Karen denied access to a world we take for granted. "For Us, Surrender is Out of the Question: A Story from Burma's Never-Ending War", by Mac McClelland is published by Soft Skull Press. This story first appeared in the April 2010 print edition of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Mac and Her Dudes appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| 15 Handed Prison Terms for Destruction of Mandalay Muslim Cemetery Posted: 26 Feb 2015 01:04 AM PST  Angry men accompany the funeral procession of a Buddhist man named Tun Tun, who was killed during inter-communal violence in July 2014. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — A court in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Division, on Tuesday sentenced 15 Buddhist men to prison terms for destroying the Muslim section of Kyarnikan Cemetery during inter-communal conflict in July last year, according to a lawyer involved in the case. Two men from Patheingyi Township received two years imprisonment, while the other 13 men received one year imprisonment on criminal charges of arson and damaging places and objects with the intention of insulting religion or religious beliefs. "The court found two of them were guilty of torching up buildings, while the rest were sentenced for insulting religion," said Thein Than Oo, a lawyer of some of the defendants. He said the men are being detained at Mandalay's Oh-Bo Prison, where they will serve their prison terms. In early July, clashes erupted between Buddhists and Muslim residents of Mandalay after allegations were circulated on social media that a Muslim tea shop owner had raped his Buddhist maid. In the ensuing violence, one Buddhist man and a Muslim man were killed, while 14 people were injured. The funeral procession of Buddhist man, named Tun Tun gathered a huge crowd in the city center and passed by Kyarnikan Cemetery, located on Mandalay's outskirts. Angry men, carrying bamboo and iron rods, who accompanied the funeral procession destroyed several gravestones and burned down an orphanage building, a rest house and a home of the Muslim caretaker of the Muslim section of the cemetery. The post 15 Handed Prison Terms for Destruction of Mandalay Muslim Cemetery appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Kokang Rebels Warn Refugees in China Not to Return As Shan State Fighting Continues Posted: 25 Feb 2015 11:07 PM PST  Soldiers from the Burma Army's 33rd Division on patrol in Laukkai on Feb. 15. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Ethnic Kokang rebel forces fighting the Burma Army in northern Shan State issued a statement on Wednesday warning the tens of thousands of refugees who have fled to China not to return to the Kokang Special Region as it remains unsafe. In a Burmese-language statement, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) accused the Burmese government of trying to encourage the return of ethnic Kokang civilians, who fled from the Kokang region administrative capital Laukkai to nearby China in great numbers in recent weeks. "We found that there are some people from the Burmese police who pretend to be refugees and went to refugee camps on the Chinese side. They tried to persuade the refugees to go back to the Laukkai," the MNDAA said. "But it is very dangerous to force people to go back to the region, as we found that the police and army continue to kill people who came back as they suspect them of being rebels." An article by army-owned newspaper Myawaddy on Thursday said locals were returning to Laukkai "as stability has been restored." It said 1,314 people from 389 families had returned from Feb 22-24 and were welcomed by the army and local authorities with "noodles, soft drinks and snacks." The MNDAA said it was telling refugees not to believe reports that it was safe to return, while it warned government forces not to kill ethnic Kokang civilians. "Starting from this morning [Feb. 25], we are warning you: Our armed force will take action against those persons who killed civilians," the statement said. The army established control over Laukkai early last week, but reports of fighting between the army and Kokang and Palaung ethnic rebels in the area and further outlying townships continue to emerge. Htun Myat Lin, MNDAA general-secretary, said the rebels on Wednesday had attacked the Laukkai residence of Pae Shauk Chan, who heads the township authority. He said heavy fighting also broke out at Peng Shwe Shen Village, located some 33 kilometer (20 miles) northwest of Laukkai. "They came to attack us. We did not go to attack them, 20 of their soldiers were killed yesterday, but they accused us that we came to attack them," he told The Irrawaddy. The Laukkai Township was put under a three-month period of martial law on Feb. 18 and the area is being administered by the Burma Army. The area is home to an ethnic Chinese minority that numbers around 95,000 people, according to preliminary results of the 2014 Population Census. Heavy fighting between the Burma Army and the MNDAA over control of the area broke out on Feb. 9, causing most of the population to flee north across the border into China. It remains unclear exactly how many civilians have fled to China and Chinese authorities have released little information about the situation. Thousands of workers and government staff from central Burma working in the town headed south to central Shan State in recent weeks, where they were welcomed by the Burma Army and local authorities. There have been recurrent, unconfirmed reports and photos circulated on social media claiming that scores of civilians were killed by the fighting in Laukkai. Burmese government statements have said dozens of soldiers and rebels were killed, but no information has been released on civilian deaths. Rebels have claimed that between 50 and 100 civilians were killed during the fighting. The post Kokang Rebels Warn Refugees in China Not to Return As Shan State Fighting Continues appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Posted: 25 Feb 2015 09:14 PM PST  A villager stands outside a fence being erected as part of the Letpadaung copper mining project. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) When a bulldozer rolled onto her ancestral farmland stretching under the shadow of Letpadaung mountain on a December morning last year, Ma Win Mar was among dozens of farmers who tried to stop it. But as rubber bullets, fired from cordons of police standing behind the roaring yellow machine, whistled past their ears, all the villagers could do was retreat. As she helplessly watched the broad steel blade of the machine uproot a swath of sesame, sunflower and bean crops on her seven-acre land, the 30-year-old woman broke down in tears. "Why did they do it to me? All we have is our land," Ma Win Mar said of the day she lost her farmland to one of the biggest Chinese investment projects in the country—the Letpadaung copper mining project. The project is a joint venture between China's Wanbao mining company—a subsidiary of Norinco, a weapons manufacturer—and the Myanmar military-owned conglomerate Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL). One day before Ma Win Mar lost her land, on Dec. 22, a woman in her 50s was shot dead by police during a clash with villagers at the project site while company employees tried to fence off farmland unlawfully claimed by the company. It was the latest flashpoint between security forces and local villagers who refused to take compensation from the company for the expansion of the project, from which 100,000 tons of copper is slated to be extracted annually starting from 2015. The death of Daw Khin Win, who was shot in the head, came just over two years since another violent government crackdown on Letpadaung protestors in November 2012. During the early morning raid, police used smoke bombs containing white phosphorus to disperse protestors, injuring more than 100 people, the majority of them Buddhist monks. Conditional Approval Situated on the western bank of the Chindwin River in Sagaing Region, the Letpadaung copper mine near Monywa in upper Myanmar has been a source of public outcry since 2012. Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd signed a joint venture with UMEHL in mid-2010 and a 60-year land grant for the project was acquired from the Ministry of Home Affairs in August 2012. Since then, just over 7,867 acres of land in the Letpadaung region have been confiscated to make way for the US$997 million expansion of the copper mine. Following the November 2012 crackdown, the government formed an investigation commission led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to determine whether the project should go ahead. In its report, issued in March 2013, the commission suggested the project should proceed, but only after outstanding concerns affecting "the interests of the country, local people and younger generations" were addressed. It provided 42 recommendations that included urging stakeholders to devise a new contract that was more beneficial for the country, pay land compensation to local people at the market price and carry out a more comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). Myanmar Wanbao Mining Ltd welcomed the decision of the report and pledged to heed its call to listen to the needs of the local community. The company, the government and the UMEHL signed a new contract in July 2013 that provided for the government to keep 51 percent of profits from the venture. Immediately following the report's release, President U Thein Sein formed a 15-member committee, supervised by a President's Office minister and including directors from UMEHL and Wanbao as members, to implement the findings of the inquiry commission. However, none of these official moves managed to quell local opposition to the project arising from loss of farmland, inadequate compensation, the project's environmental impact and the destruction of sacred religious structures. Over the past two years, confrontations between villagers and security forces have continued as the mine's operators attempted to extend the project's operating area. Four villages have been forced to relocate for the mine so far and land around 32 other farming villages, inhabited by more than 25,000 people, is also being acquired. Many villagers are reluctant to take compensation after growing up in families that have tilled the surrounding farmlands for generations. For them, their land is their livelihood and the only inheritance they can hand down to the next generation in their family. "We are just farmers," said 38-year-old Hse Tae villager Daw Yee Win, whose 14 acres of land were confiscated last year. "All we know is how to farm. I just want my land back as I am not sure the compensation they pay will guarantee our livelihood. We firmly believe that as long as we can work on our land, we will not go hungry." The Blame Game In the wake of the fatal shooting last December, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said the committee formed by the government to implement her report's recommendations had failed to act. "The committee did carry out some recommendations, but it has not fully implemented [them]… It has not followed the recommendations to the letter," she told the media in December. In response, U Tin Myint, the secretary of the implementation committee, claimed that 29 out of 42 recommendations had been carried out and an amended ESIA draft was underway, the state-run paper The Mirror reported on Jan. 9. U Tin Myint said that since 2011, farmland surrounding the mine project area was seized in accordance with land acquisition by laws and that the committee had paid more than 11 billion kyat in total for land compensation, at market prices, as suggested by the report. He added that, although some locals refused to accept compensation for their land, the land could still be confiscated under section 16 of the Land Acquisition Law that, according to the secretary, "permits a district administrator to seize land for a state project without any interference." U Tin Myint blamed "outside organizations and networks" for conspiring to destroy the project, a sentiment that faintly echoed a statement issued by Wanbao on Dec. 30 in which the Chinese company referred to political organizations and activists that were seeking to "make political gains." The company defended its record in implementing the inquiry commission's recommendations and claimed it had the "overwhelming support" of local communities. However, it also asserted that issues of land use and resettlement were the responsibility of the government and the UMEHL. Daw Khin San Hlaing, a Lower House parliamentarian from Sagaing Region and a member of the investigation commission, said local people had lost faith in the implementation committee as it had failed to carry out most of the recommendations. "The most evident failure is that the project still doesn't have an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. Without the assessment, the company is now trying to expand the project by fencing farmland without owners' approval," she said. "As a committee endorsed by the president, they should be honest as to why they have failed to implement the recommendations [and indicate] what else is left to be done rather than scapegoating other people." The lawmaker said if the committee failed to implement the recommendations of the report, the government should abolish it and form a new one. She also warned Wanbao that if it couldn't follow the recommendations, it should shut down the project, as the mounting issues facing the copper mine could deter potential foreign investment in Myanmar. Ma Thwe Thwe Win, a Hse Tae villager, said that local people accept the recommendations of the report but feel betrayed that the committee has failed to implement them. She said that many locals had lost faith in the project given the problems they have faced over the last two years. "Apart from the promise that [project developers] would strictly follow the recommendations [of the report], local people should have a voice in whether the project should go ahead," she said. For Ma Win Khaing, the daughter of Daw Khin Win, who was shot dead by police in the Dec. 22 clash, only the complete cancellation of the project would do. "If the project still exists, we're afraid there will be more cases like my mother's," she said. Additional reporting contributed by Zarni Mann in Mandalay. The post Letpadaung: Fields of Fire appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| UN: North Korean Company Renames Ships to Evade Sanctions Posted: 25 Feb 2015 10:12 PM PST  North Korean container ship Chong Chon Gang is seen at the Manzanillo International container terminal dock in Colon city on Aug. 14, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) UNITED NATIONS — A North Korean shipping company that famously tried to hide fighter jets under a cargo of sugar later sought to evade UN sanctions by renaming most of its vessels, a new report says. The effort by Pyongyang-headquartered Ocean Maritime Management Company is detailed in the report by a panel of experts that monitors sanctions on North Korea. The report, obtained by The Associated Press, makes clear the challenge of keeping banned arms and luxury goods from a nuclear-armed country with a history of using front companies to duck detection. The UN Security Council holds consultations Thursday on the report, which also says North Korea's government persists with its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of council resolutions. The council last year imposed sanctions on OMM after Panama in 2013 seized a ship it operated that carried undeclared military equipment from Cuba. Panamanian authorities found two Cuban fighter jets, missiles and live munitions beneath the Chong Chon Gang's cargo of sugar. The council's sanctions committee said that violated a UN arms embargo imposed in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. At the time, US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said that imposing a global asset freeze on OMM meant that the company would no longer be able to operate internationally. But the new report says that in the months after the sanctions were imposed, 13 of the 14 ships controlled by OMM changed their owners and managers, "effectively erasing" the company from a database kept by the International Maritime Organization. Twelve of the ships "reportedly stayed, visited or were sighted near ports in foreign countries," and none were frozen by member states as the panel of experts recommends. The new report explores the shipping company's global reach, using people and entities operating in at least 10 countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, Greece, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Russia, Singapore and Thailand. The report recommends updating the sanctions list with 34 OMM entities and says all 14 vessels should be subject to sanctions. No interdictions of the kind that Panama made in 2013 were reported in the period between Feb. 8 of last year and Feb. 5 of this year. But the new report warns that the panel of experts sees no evidence that North Korea "intends to cease prohibited activities." The report also says diplomats, officials and trade representatives of North Korea continue to "play key roles in facilitating the trade of prohibited items, including arms and related material and ballistic missile-related items." The panel of experts warns that some UN member states still are not implementing the council resolutions that are meant to keep North Korea from further violations. North Korea also faces an embargo on luxury goods, but the report found that it managed to bring in luxury goods from multiple countries, including with the help of its diplomatic missions. Some items were for the country's Masik Pass luxury ski resort, which opened in 2013. China told the panel of experts that the ski lift equipment it provided was acceptable because "skiing is a popular sport for people" and that ski items are not specifically prohibited. In another case, a yacht seen alongside leader Kim Jong-un in 2013 was sourced by the panel of experts to a British manufacturer, Princess Yachts International, which the panel said did not reply to a request for more information. The panel also said it has opened its first investigation into a case involving North Korean drones after the wreckage of three drones was found in South Korea in late 2013 and 2014. The report says the drones had been used for reconnaissance over South Korean military facilities and that the drones contained components "sourced from at least six foreign countries." North Korea protests that the UN sanctions are harmful to its citizens, but the report says it has found no incidents where they "directly resulted in shortages of … humanitarian aid." It does recommend that the sanctions committee propose exemptions for purely food, medical or other humanitarian needs. The post UN: North Korean Company Renames Ships to Evade Sanctions appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Govt Confirms Bird Flu Outbreak in Monywa Posted: 25 Feb 2015 08:55 PM PST  Chickens are slaughtered, defeathered and prepared for sale at a Rangoon Market. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The government has confirmed an avian flu outbreak in a poultry farming area in upper Burma, according to an announcement in state-run media on Thursday. A statement released by the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development said that a number of chickens and quail have been found dead at poultry farms in Monywa, Sagaing Division since Feb. 10, leading to a laboratory confirmation of the presence of the H5N1 influenza virus in the animal carcasses. Up to Wednesday, more than 10,000 chickens and quail have died from the virus, and more than 20,000 have been culled, according to Sagaing Division's Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department. Local media reported that poultry in the area are now under quarantine, and so far there have been no reports of human infection. The announcement said biosecurity protocols in the affected area have been tightened and guidelines have been set to prevent further infection. The post Govt Confirms Bird Flu Outbreak in Monywa appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| UN Rights Chief Warns Burma Risks Faltering on Reform Path Posted: 25 Feb 2015 08:50 PM PST  Jordan’s Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights pauses during a news conference at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva October 16, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) BERLIN — The United Nation’s top human right official says Burma is "headed in the wrong direction" amid a crackdown on dissidents and minorities. The Southeast Asian nation’s military-backed government has pledged to introduce democratic reforms and hold elections later this year. But U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein warned Wednesday that "recent developments relating to the human rights of minorities, the freedom of expression and the right to peaceful protest are calling into question the direction of that reform, and even threatening to set it back." Zeid cited the jailing of peaceful protesters, journalists and opposition figures, as well as persecution of Burma’s Rohingya, a Muslim minority group. He said "accountability for the military will be a key test for the transition." The post UN Rights Chief Warns Burma Risks Faltering on Reform Path appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Overfishing Driving Slavery on Thailand’s Seafood Boats Posted: 25 Feb 2015 09:28 PM PST  Migrant workers from Myanmar unload fish as a Thai buyer takes notes at the port of Mahachai near Bangkok Feb. 23, 2010. (Photo: Reuters) SAMUT SAKHON, Thailand — Urine pools under a bed where an emaciated Burmese man lies wearing only a T-shirt and a diaper. As he struggles to sit up and steady himself, he tears at his thick, dark hair in agitation. He cannot walk and doesn’t remember his family or even his own name. He speaks mostly gibberish in broken Indonesian — a language he learned while working in the country as a slave aboard a Thai fishing boat. Near death from a lack of proper food, he was rescued from a tiny island in Indonesia two months ago. He is just one of countless hidden casualties from the fishing industry in Thailand, the world’s third-largest seafood exporter. A report released Wednesday by the British nonprofit Environmental Justice Foundation said that overfishing and the use of illegal and undocumented trawlers have ravaged Thailand's marine ecosystems and depleted fish stocks. Boats are now catching about 85 percent less than what they brought in 50 years ago, making it "one of the most overfished regions on the planet," the report said. Shrinking fisheries in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea have, in turn, pushed Thai fishing boats farther and farther from home. The group estimates that up to half of all fish labeled a "product of Thailand" is sourced from outside its borders—mainly in Asia, but as far away as Africa. The report, compiled from the group's own research and the work of others, explains how Thailand’s vast seafood industry is almost wholly dependent on cheap migrant labor. Since few Thais are willing to take the dangerous, low-level jobs that can take them far from home, a sophisticated network of brokers and agents has emerged, regularly recruiting laborers from impoverished neighboring countries such as Burma and Cambodia, often through trickery and kidnapping. Men—and sometimes children as young as 13—are sold onto boats where they typically work 18- to 20-hour days with little food and often only boiled sea water to drink, enduring beatings and sometimes even death at the hands in their captains. Most are paid little or nothing. They can be trapped at sea for months or years at a time; transshipment vessels are routinely used to pick up catches and deliver supplies. Concerns about labor abuses, especially at sea, prompted the U.S. State Department last year to downgrade Thailand to the lowest level in its annual human trafficking report, putting the country on par with North Korea, Iran and Syria. It highlighted abuse on both ships and in processing plants, noting widespread involvement from corrupt officials. The Southeast Asian nation responded by launching a major public relations campaign, with the government drafting its own country assessment to highlight steps taken to clean up the industry since a military junta took control of Thailand in May. The unreleased Thai report, obtained by The Associated Press, includes establishing a new national registry of illegal migrant workers and plans for stricter labor regulations on vessels and in the seafood industry. However, just a month after the new government stepped in, Thailand was the only country in the world to vote against a U.N. international treaty aimed at stopping forced labor. "If you drill down, if you look at the substance of enforcement and the implementation of existing laws and regulations, it’s minimal," said Steve Trent, the group’s executive director. "What the Thai government seems to do repeatedly, again and again in the face of these accusations, is conduct a high-powered PR exercise rather than seek to address the problem." A Thai government spokesman and officials at the Department of Fisheries did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ requests for comment. Thailand, which exported US$7 billion in seafood in 2013, is one of the biggest suppliers to the U.S. But a study published last year in the journal Marine Policy estimated 25 percent to 40 percent of tuna shipped from Thailand to America is from illegal or unreported sources — the highest rate of any species or country examined — and is frequently linked to labor abuses at sea. Human rights advocates say some improvements have been noted in domestic waters, but such policies have little impact when vessels stray into the territorial waters of other countries. Traveling longer distances to catch fish raises operating costs, and increases pressure on fishing companies to save money by relying on forced, bonded and slave labor. "On long-haul boats, nothing has changed in the brutal working conditions and physical abuse meted out by captains against their crews," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, who has worked extensively on the issue. "The reality is the Thai government’s high-sounding rhetoric to stop human trafficking and clean up the fishing fleets still largely stops at the water’s edge." The man rescued from the Indonesian island in December now remembers his name—Min Min—and bits of his old life in Burma. But his mind remains far from clear. He knows he worked three years on a boat in Indonesia where his ankles were sometimes bound with rope. He recalls collapsing one day on deck during a storm and being unconscious for three hours before the Thai captain forced him to get up and haul the nets back in. Eventually, he became too sick and weak to work and was abandoned on the remote island two years ago. Min Min was on the verge of starvation when he was rescued and taken to the nonprofit Labor Rights Protection Network in Samut Sakhon, a gritty port town on the outskirts of Bangkok. He’s eating well and taking vitamins to try to regain his strength, and he can now stand and slowly shuffle across the floor. He is still far from well. He’s confused about such basics as his age, saying once that he is 43 and later that he is 36. If his family back in Burma is mentioned, he becomes rattled and stutters his thoughts as if it’s too much to bear. "Working on the boat is no good. People like to take advantage of you," he said. "If I recover from my illness, I’ll never be on a boat again in my life. Never again. I’m scared." The post Overfishing Driving Slavery on Thailand's Seafood Boats appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Philippine Troops Attack Abu Sayyaf Militants, 7 Killed Posted: 25 Feb 2015 09:23 PM PST  Soldiers aboard a military truck as they are deployed to remote villages in the southern Philippine province of Sulu last October. (Photo: Reuters) MANILA — Philippine troops, backed by artillery fire and assault helicopters, battled about 300 Abu Sayyaf rebels in fighting Wednesday that left two soldiers and five militants dead in the country’s restive south, officials said. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said 16 other soldiers were wounded in the daylong fighting in a jungle near Patikul town in Sulu province where the large number of Abu Sayyaf gunmen had gathered. At least 16 militants were wounded, Cabunoc said, citing army reports. The Abu Sayyaf gunmen, led by commander Hatib Sawadjaan, have been blamed for several ransom kidnappings, including of two German tourists who were freed in October after six months of jungle captivity, reportedly in exchange for 250 million pesos (US$5.6 million). Some of the militants who clashed with government troops Wednesday were from nearby Basilan island, and it was not clear why they had joined up with Sawadjaan’s forces in the poor, predominantly Muslim province of Sulu. The militants later split into smaller groups as they withdrew and were being pursued by army troops and marines, the military said. The Abu Sayyaf, a loose grouping of about 400 mostly poor rural fighters, has turned to kidnappings for ransom, extortion and other crimes to survive years of battle setbacks dealt by US military-backed Philippine offensives. The Sulu-based gunmen are still holding a Dutch birdwatcher who was kidnapped more than two years ago, and a Malaysian police officer who was abducted last year in Malaysia’s Sabah state. The extremist group has had links to the al-Qaida network and is on a US list of terrorist organizations for deadly bombings, kidnappings and beheadings. At least two of its commanders have pledged support for the Islamic State group, but Philippine security officials say there are no signs so far of any organizational links between the extremists. The post Philippine Troops Attack Abu Sayyaf Militants, 7 Killed appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Reunions and Ransoms: A Day Online in Burma’s Rohingya Camps Posted: 25 Feb 2015 09:16 PM PST  Jeweliyar, a 35-year-old Rohingya, counts Burmese currency while her mother Toryubar, 65, watches on in an Internet hut in Thae Chaung village near Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State in western Burma. (Photo: Reuters) THAE CHAUNG, Arakan State — In this teeming camp for displaced Rohingya Muslims in western Burma, it's easy to overlook the Internet huts. The raw emotion they generate is much harder to ignore. The huts have bamboo walls, thatched roofs and—most importantly—dusty laptop computers that allow Rohingya to re-establish contact with relatives who have left on boats for Thailand and Malaysia. The Internet connection comes via cellphones jammed into the cobweb-strewn rafters. Smoke from the camp's cooking fires seeps in through the flimsy walls. Sound drifts out just as easily, obliging callers to share their personal dramas with everyone nearby. What emerges is an intimate portrait of the Rohingya, a mostly stateless people living in often grim conditions in Burma, where many consider them illegal immigrants. The huts also provide an insight into the human traffickers who profit from the boat-people and the families they leave behind. Today, there is joy: Fatima, 56, is blessing her son's choice of bride. Connected via a Skype-like app, he sits in an Internet cafe in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, where he works as a cleaner. "Of course you must marry her, if her skin is fair," Fatima tells him. Her son promises to introduce his sweetheart in a later call. Other exchanges are tragic or sinister. Many people arrive with scraps of paper with a cellphone number with a Malaysian country code. These belong to the traffickers who each year ferry thousands of Rohingya to Thailand, where they are routinely held for ransom in remote camps near the border with Malaysia. Freedom costs US$1,200 to US$1,800—a fortune for most Rohingya living on a dollar or two a day. A trafficker is demanding $1,400 to release Rahana's 12-year-old son. Rahana, who like many Rohingya women goes by a single name, has already sent $1,100, but the trafficker wants the balance. At least she is allowed to talk briefly with her son. Usually, after an initial "proof of life" call, traffickers do not let relatives speak until paid in full. A man answers the Malaysian number Rahana calls. "Let me speak to my son," she tells him. A few seconds pass. Then a small voice says, "Mum?" Rahana's eyes fill with tears and her jaw trembles. She quickly composes herself. "I will send the money," she tells the boy. "Then they will let you go." After the call, Rahana is dazed and fretful. "My son told me he was sick," she says. "Whenever he eats, he vomits." 'They Trust Me' Thae Chaung was a fishing village until 2012, when ethnic Arakanese Buddhists drove thousands of Rohingya from the nearby city of Sittwe. Religious violence in Arakan State that year killed at least 200 people and left 140,000 homeless. Today, Thae Chaung is a grimy, overcrowded camp. For most residents, a boat to Thailand is the only way out. All those arrivals and departures presented Rohingya merchant Kyaw Thein, 29, with an opportunity. Until 2012, he sold ice and gasoline to village fishermen. Now he runs a busy Internet hut, charging 100 kyats (10 cents) per minute for an overseas call on one of three battered laptops that are in almost constant use. He provides other services too. Rohingya working overseas routinely send money to relatives back home. This can be wired to the Sittwe bank account of an Arakanese middleman, who brings the cash to Kyaw Thein. He then gives it to the relatives—minus his 1.5 percent commission. His windowless shack is also the conduit for thousands of dollars in ransom money. Relatives entrust Kyaw Thein with bricks of kyat that he delivers to a Rohingya middleman in a nearby village. He says he does not charge for this service or deal directly with the traffickers. "They trust me," he says, "but I don't trust them." In the past, Kyaw Thein says, Rohingya had to pay hundreds of dollars to board Malaysia-bound boats. Now, they pay only a few dollars to be ferried to large ships moored far offshore. Their onward voyage is free—because traffickers know they can extort much higher sums by detaining these boat people once they arrive in Thailand or Malaysia. Brokers roam the Rohingya camps dotted along the Arakan coastline, says Kyaw Thein, and get a "finder's fee" from traffickers for each passenger they deliver. Abdul Kadar blames these brokers for luring away his 14-year-old daughter. She left home one morning to visit a neighbor and never came back. She is now in a camp in Thailand or Malaysia. The traffickers want $1,500 that Abdul Kadar, a whippet-thin rickshaw driver, cannot pay. "They told me they would kick her off the top of a mountain," he says. Abdul Kadar told them to find a man who wants to marry her, then ask him to pay the ransom. He knows he is effectively giving them permission to sell his daughter. "All I have are worries," he says. "I can't do anything." The post Reunions and Ransoms: A Day Online in Burma's Rohingya Camps appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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