The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• On Political Prisoners, Does the Military Hold the Keys?
• Ethnic Armed Group Coalition Plans for ‘All-Inclusive’ Peacebuilding
• Lawyers Request Extension of Appeal Deadline in Koh Tao Murder Case
• Nissan Gears up to Open Factory in Pegu Division
• Could Cross-Border Unity Invigorate the Karen Struggle?
• Naypyidaw Blocks Peacebuilding Forum in Karenni State
• Ta’ang Troops Targeted in Burma Army Airstrikes: TNLA
• Petition Campaign Underway Against Private Hospital Project in Rangoon
• ‘The Private Sector Market is Stronger than the Public Sector’s’: IT Specialist
• Keeping it Clean: Renewable Energy a Better Way for Myanmar  
• Indonesian Muslim Leaders Reject Support for Any LGBT Groups
• Dissidents Fearful as Thailand, Once a Haven, Favors China
• Insurgents Fight On Despite Advent of Democracy

On Political Prisoners, Does the Military Hold the Keys? Posted: 18 Feb 2016 05:26 AM PST Lawmakers attend the first day of the Parliament's Lower House on Feb. 1, 2016. (JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) have indicated that freeing political prisoners will be among the party's top priorities when they take the reins of government on April 1. Aung San Suu Kyi herself was a prisoner of conscience for more than a decade under military rule and around 100 former political prisoners are among the party's MP-elects. But some observers, including ex-political prisoners, say emptying the country's jails of prisoners of conscience may be no easy task given the entrenched political position of the military. Under the country's 2008 Constitution, the army controls three powerful ministries, including the Ministry of Home Affairs which oversees the police force and the prisons department, among other state apparatus. "Many friends who themselves are former political prisoners and those with the same attitude are now in the Parliament and may be included in the NLD-led government. But they need to negotiate with the home ministry to release [political prisoners]," said Ye Aung, a former member of the Committee for Scrutinizing the Remaining Political Prisoners and himself an ex-political prisoner. Aung Myo Kyaw of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) cited the military-drafted charter enshrining the army's role in governance as a possible impediment to freeing those detained on politically-motivated charges. "Suu Kyi herself once said that even one political prisoner is one too many. So we believe when the NLD takes power they will try their best to free all political prisoners. But the president does not have full authority to free political prisoners under the Constitution," he said. At least some previous amnesties since 2011, as reported in the Global New Light of Myanmar, were undertaken in accordance with Article 204(a) of the Constitution and Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which concerns the suspension or remission of sentences. Article 204(a) simply states that the president is afforded "the power to grant a pardon." However, another clause of the 2008 charter suggests that presidential amnesties may require the involvement of a powerful body effectively under military control. Article 204(b) states that the president has "the power to grant amnesty in accord with the recommendation of the National Defence and Security Council." The council is made up of 11 members, including the president, the two vice presidents, both parliamentary speakers, the commander-in-chief and deputy commander of the Burma Armed Forces, the foreign affairs minister and the military-appointed ministers of Home Affairs, Border Affairs and Defense. As one vice president is military appointed, the army commands a majority on the council. "Section 204(b) of the Constitution is still one challenge for the NLD," said Aung Myo Kyaw. Another potential hurdle centers on the definition of a political prisoner. During President Thein Sein's term, former political prisoners and opposition lawmakers pushed the government to adopt an official definition of a "political prisoner." Opposition lawmakers advocated for amendments to Burma's prison law to include the definition. Proposed amendments to the law last year stalled in the Parliament however, with the home affairs ministry insisting there was no need to include the definition. According to the proposed definition: "Anyone who is arrested, detained, or imprisoned for political reasons… or wrongfully under criminal and civil charges because of his or her perceived or known active role, perceived or known supporting role, or in association with activities promoting freedom, justice, equality, human rights, and civil and political rights, including ethnic rights, is defined as a political prisoner." Aung Myo Kyaw said that while 87 political prisoners are still behind bars and over 400 are facing trial, the removal of people from a government blacklist, including many still in exile, is equally important to address. "In 2012, over 2,000 names were announced that were removed from the blacklist. But they only knew they were on the list when [they were removed]. And some of those who were removed from the list are yet to get back their citizenship," he said. Aung Myo Kyaw said that a lack of clarity for those who still may be blacklisted and on pathways to reinstating citizenship has prevented many activists from returning to their native country. Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the AAPP, applied to have his citizenship reinstated 18 months ago but is yet to obtain it. "He has to come to the country with a tourist visa. There are many people like him including many activists," Aung Myo Kyaw said. The Home Affairs ministry is one of three ministries involved in the screening process of citizenship applications and thus political activists claim processes may be delayed because of the ministry's objections. "We hope there will be improvements under the NLD and that negotiations between the NLD and the military will go well," Aung Myo Kyaw said. "We will support from the outside and keep pushing on the political prisoner issue." The post On Political Prisoners, Does the Military Hold the Keys? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ethnic Armed Group Coalition Plans for ‘All-Inclusive’ Peacebuilding Posted: 18 Feb 2016 04:21 AM PST Lt-Gen N'Ban La of the KIO (left) and Nai Hong Sar, vice chairman of the UNFC (right) make opening remarks at a meeting of ethnic armed group leaders on February 18, 2016. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, THAILAND— Leaders from the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of ethnic armed groups, gathered in northern Thailand on Thursday to prepare for peace negotiations with Burma's incoming National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government. Nai Hong Sar, the vice chairman of the UNFC, told reporters that this week's meeting would "focus on the analysis of the current political situation and finding ways to have an all-inclusive peacebuilding process." Although the coalition of 11 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) assisted in drafting Burma's so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA), the UNFC's members largely opted out of signing the 2015 accord, citing a lack of inclusivity. The NCA was signed by eight out of the 15 armed groups recognized by the government, with an additional five groups excluded from participation. UNFC members the Chin National Front and the Pa-O National Liberation Organization both signed the NCA. Their membership of the alliance was subsequently suspended. Following the NCA signing, the UNFC said that they could not accept the political dialogue framework drafted by the government and the ceasefire signatories. Nai Hong Sar explained that he and other leaders have been advocating for a tripartite dialogue involving EAOs, the government, and political parties. The current framework involves seven groups of stakeholders—government, Parliament, EAOs, the military, political parties, ethnic representatives, and special guests. Critics say that this approach gives the Burma Army a bigger presence and therefore an unfair advantage. The UNFC vice chairman expects that an NLD-led government will be in a position to negotiate for the all-inclusiveness sought by the EAOs, as its chairperson, Aung San Suu Kyi, is frequently meeting with the Burma Army chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing. "We uphold our demand that even if the process cannot have all-inclusive representation yet, we want the guarantee that the remaining groups will not be attacked," Nai Hong Sar said. He also explained that this UNFC meeting will serve as an opportunity to explore how the coalition might intervene in the ongoing clashes in northern Shan State between its member, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S), an NCA signatory. "We learned that both sides want to reduce the tension," he said, adding that he doubts the conflict is being instigated by outside forces, as some have suggested. In his speech to council members, Lt-Gen N'Ban La of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) urged fellow ethnic leaders to make "serious decisions" in this week's sessions and work toward actions that would benefit the public. "For the time being, we, the ethnic armed groups, have remained in stalemate," he said. The post Ethnic Armed Group Coalition Plans for 'All-Inclusive' Peacebuilding appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lawyers Request Extension of Appeal Deadline in Koh Tao Murder Case Posted: 18 Feb 2016 03:10 AM PST Burmese migrant worker Win Zaw Htun sits in a prison truck as he arrives at the Koh Samui Provincial Court on July 22, 2015. (Photo: Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters) The Lawyers Council of Thailand submitted a request Thursday to extend the appeal deadline for two Burmese migrant workers sentenced to death for the murder of two British tourists in 2014. "The council is holding a meeting now in Thailand and they will submit a request to the court for extension, as the case for appeal requires more time to collect evidence such as DNA," said Htoo Chit, a migrant rights advocate who is leading the investigation team formed by the Burmese Embassy in Thailand. The court gave a one-month deadline to appeal the verdict, which was set on January 24. Their lawyers' application to extend the appeal deadline on Thursday—beyond February 24—is the second such attempt. "Hopefully, the court will accept the request, if they really practice justice for this case," he added. A court in Koh Samui sentenced two migrant workers, Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, both 22, to death on December 24, 2015, for the killing of two British backpackers, David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, on the island of Koh Tao. The murder occurred in September 2014. Evidence submitted to the court by the Thai police, particularly DNA test results, has attracted controversy and public attention to the case. A special investigative team formed by the Burmese government, consisting of legal and forensics experts, was sent to Thailand in December 2015. After the sentencing of the two migrant workers, angry Burmese staged a series of protests in front of the Thai Embassy in Rangoon, urging the court in Thailand to review the case. The post Lawyers Request Extension of Appeal Deadline in Koh Tao Murder Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Nissan Gears up to Open Factory in Pegu Division Posted: 18 Feb 2016 03:05 AM PST The Nissan Titan Warrior concept truck is unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, January 12, 2016. (Photo: Rebecca Cook / Reuters) RANGOON — In a statement on Wednesday, Japan's Nissan announced that it will open a factory in Burma later this year, and it pledged to produce 10,000 vehicles per year. According to the press release, the new facility, delayed from last year, will be located in Pegu Division northeast of Rangoon. Since 2013 Nissan has been assembling vehicles from parts from other factories in the region, including Thailand. Nissan intends to use the facility of its Malaysia-based manufacturing partner Tan Chong Motor Group until the new site in Burma is opened. "Nissan is pleased to have the opportunity to be part of new motoring growth in [Burma]," said company vice president Toru Hasegawa in the statement. Nissan and Tan Chong Motor Group signed a facility-use contract with Pegu Division officials on Wednesday. As preparation for the facility launch, some 200 employees are being trained at the Tan Chong plant in Malaysia, with the broader aim of transferring knowledge and skills to the local workforce. Nissan and Tan Chong will also work to expand their business network, which currently includes both an office and dealers in Rangoon. The project on an 80-acre site is slated to be a state-of-the-art industrial complex. It will be the largest automobile manufacturing site in Burma and the first in Pegu Division. Spurred by Burma's economic and political reforms, industry officials anticipate demand to grow rapidly. Soe Tun, chairman of the Myanmar Automobile Dealers Association, said he is optimistic that Nissan's expansion to Burma will bode well for the country's automobile industry. "That Nissan is building a factory here is a good sign for the local market," he said. This will be the second production start-up by a Japanese vehicle manufacturer. In 2013 the Suzuki Motor Corporation announced it would re-open its Rangoon factory. The first locally manufactured Nissan car in Burma will be the Sunny, adding to a line-up that first kicked off in 2013 with a range of cars, sport utility vehicles and vans. The post Nissan Gears up to Open Factory in Pegu Division appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Could Cross-Border Unity Invigorate the Karen Struggle? Posted: 18 Feb 2016 02:43 AM PST Members of the Karen National Union (KNU) hang ribbons on soldiers during the 63rd anniversary of Karen Revolution Day at Oo Kray Kee Township in Karen State, along the Thai-Burma border, January 31, 2012. (Photo: Sukree Sukplang / Reuters) HPA-AN, Karen State — Unity among the Karen people was the theme in nearly all of the ethnic leaders' speeches on the recent occasion of Karen Revolution Day. It was estimated that over 10,000 Karen people from Burma, Thailand and the rest of the world gathered to celebrate the event. An interesting possibility is that this unity could extend beyond borders: the Karen political struggle is receiving growing support from a new and major force: Karen communities from Thailand, also known as the Thai-Karen. There are an estimated one million Karen living throughout Thailand, mostly concentrated in the country's north. Some who live on the Thai-Burma border fled Burma due to persecution and violence perpetrated by the Burma Army. The Karen National Union (KNU) formed to advocate for Karen communities. It is among Southeast Asia's oldest ethnic armed groups, fighting for autonomy and self-determination for Karen State for over six decades, since 1949—one year after Burma gained independence from the British. On Karen Revolution Day, commemorated on January 31, Karen from northern Thailand—including Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son and Tak provinces—attended the event en masse, urging all Karen people to support the KNU by whatever means possible. At a concert, a Thai-Karen singer from Chiang Mai asked, "Do you want a Karen nation?" The crowded responded: yes. The singer called for unity among the Karen people of the region in order to better support the Karen cause. He asked the crowd to offer financial, technical and educational support to the KNU. Addressing the crowd, Pastor Lwe Paw, a Thai-Karen from Chiang Mai District, also made an emotional plea. "I need to say sorry to my Karen people who have been fighting for the Karen national cause for 67 years. I didn't know what was happening with the Karen struggle until I followed the news and posts on Line and Facebook," he said. After realizing the extent of the ongoing human rights abuses in Karen State, Lwe Paw said he could not stand to be removed from the struggle any longer, and began providing assistance to the KNU. "Even dogs help each other if they are attacked. So how can we ignore when our fellow Karen are being attacked? It is a matter based on blood," he explained. "Our enemy can't kill all of us. If Karen people in Kawthoolei [the Karen-language name for their homeland] get killed, Karen people in Thailand will begin to resist. If Karen people in Thailand get killed, Karen people in Burma will start to fight. If Karen in Burma get killed, the rest of the Karen people from 47 nations will return to fight," Lwe Paw said, referring to a global diaspora. Internal Divisions The KNU's long struggle has not always been smooth. Division among Karen leaders predates Burma's independence, when members of the Karen Youth Organization, the Karen National Association and the Karen Central Organization had different opinions about whether to contest in general elections in 1947. Another more recent division—that of an internal religious divide—was worsened when a Buddhist faction, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), broke away from the largely Christian KNU and launched an offensive against its mother organization with the help of Burma Army. This led to the fall of KNU's headquarters at Manerplaw in 1995. Later, in 2007, a smaller Karen armed group who called themselves KNU/KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army) Peace Council split from the KNU. This was followed by yet another loss: the assassination of the KNU's late general secretary Mahn Sha Lah Phan in 2008 at his home in Thailand. Despite the fact that its organizational predecessors were once active in urban areas in Irrawaddy and Rangoon divisions, the KNU lost most of its influence in those areas and now maintains strongholds on Karen State's border with Thailand. The recent support from Karen communities in Thailand may therefore become a lifeline to the KNU due to geographical proximity, allowing various forms of assistance to be easily supplied. However, doubts linger about unity as a realistic political strategy, perhaps a result of the many tragedies and losses endured by the Karen people throughout their struggle. The post Could Cross-Border Unity Invigorate the Karen Struggle? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Naypyidaw Blocks Peacebuilding Forum in Karenni State Posted: 18 Feb 2016 01:09 AM PST On February 18, 2016, organizers announce to participants that the peacebuilding panel they expect to attend in Loikaw, Karenni State, must be cancelled on orders from the President's Office in Naypyidaw. (Photo: Htoo Chit / Facebook) MANDALAY — A community peacebuilding forum scheduled for Thursday in Loikaw, the Karenni State capital, was halted by local authorities who said that the President's Office in Naypyidaw had not given permission to hold the event. Organizers told The Irrawaddy that a request to hold the forum was submitted to the local administration weeks ago, but that the authorities had only informed them about the rejection of their application on Wednesday evening. "They didn't issue a letter, but met with the organizers personally at the state government office and said the forum could not be held due to an order from the President's Office," said Htoo Chit, director of the Foundation for Education Development, one of the forum's facilitators. "The authorities even told the organizers that there might be big problems if the forum were to continue without permission, so we had to hold back," he added. Since news of the prohibition came late to those in Loikaw, the organizers had to apologize to the forum's audience, invitees and panelists who came to participate in the event on Thursday morning. The two-day session, supported by USAID, was intended to foster community-based peacebuilding. Local civil society groups, ethnic armed organizations, political parties, local authorities and international observers had planned to discuss Burma's ongoing peace process and current military clashes. "I wonder why the President's Office denied permission to such a forum, which could help [create] sustainable peace and stability in the country. I feel they are going backward toward an unstable situation," said Htoo Chit. "We are not sure when the forum could be held again in Kayah [Karenni] State, however, we will find another way," he added. The post Naypyidaw Blocks Peacebuilding Forum in Karenni State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ta’ang Troops Targeted in Burma Army Airstrikes: TNLA Posted: 18 Feb 2016 12:31 AM PST Members of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) clear a poppy field in Kutkai Township, Shan State, on Wednesday, Feb. 17. (Photo: PSLF-TNLA / Facebook) RANGOON — The News and Information department of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) issued a statement on Wednesday claiming that their troops had been targeted in airstrikes by the Burmese air force in northern Shan State. Two TNLA soldiers were reportedly injured in the aerial attack which occurred on Wednesday morning while members of the group were on the ground destroying opium poppy fields near Man Nein village in Kutkai Township, the statement said. The offensive allegedly involved a fighter jet and two helicopters, reinforced by Burma Army artillery. TNLA representative Ta Barn La told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that strikes against Ta'ang troops also occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday in neighboring Namkham Township, as soldiers cleared poppy plants from the area. In each incident, he reported that Burmese troops fired up to nine explosives at the TNLA soldiers. The Ta'ang armed group has recently been involved in clashes with the Shan State Army-South which first broke out in November but intensified earlier this month. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of Feb. 16, the conflict had displaced over 4,000 civilians. Over 3,000 people were sheltering in Kyaukme town and surrounding villages, while over 1,000 were displaced to Mong Wee village in Namkham Township, the UN agency said. The post Ta'ang Troops Targeted in Burma Army Airstrikes: TNLA appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Petition Campaign Underway Against Private Hospital Project in Rangoon Posted: 17 Feb 2016 11:58 PM PST The 4.3 acre site of a new US$70 million 250 bed private hospital development close to Rangoon General Hospital. (Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A petition campaign is underway to push the government to halt a US$70 million international hospital project being built on land owned by the Ministry of Health near Rangoon General Hospital. IHH Healthcare Berhad, through its "indirect wholly-owned subsidiary," Parkway Healthcare Indo-China Pte Ltd, broke ground for the 250-bed hospital in Rangoon on January 24, the company said in a statement released on the same day. On Tuesday, the project attracted criticism from medical professionals and students of the Black Ribbon Campaign for Myanmar, a movement begun last year to protest against the appointment of military officers to positions within the Ministry of Health. Dr Alinka, the leader of the movement, told The Irrawaddy that the group is against the project as the site had been designated as an extension of the public Rangoon General Hospital. The group opposes the establishment of a private hospital on government land. "The site should [host] something that belongs to the public, [such as] a public hospital or an academic training center for medicine," she said. The site of the new hospital, Parkway Yangon, is on Bogyoke Aung San road in downtown Rangoon, a 4.3 acre plot of land leased for 50 years, with the option of two 10-year extensions, according to the IHH Healthcare statement. The project is a joint venture comprising Parkway Healthcare Indo-China Pte. Ltd. with a 52 percent stake, Singapore's Macondray Holdings Pte Ltd with 10.5 percent, and local partners AMMK Medicare Company Limited and Global Star Company Limited with 21.5 percent and 16 percent respectively. The statement said the project has been approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission and is due for completion in 2020. Dr Alinka said the Black Ribbon movement is continuing to gather signatures from medical professionals in solidarity against the project, which they will submit to the government. "We are not against private hospitals," she explained. "But most of the people here are relying on RGH [the Rangoon General Hospital] for health care. The government should prioritize this. There are many other places in Rangoon they could allow private hospitals." IHH Healthcare Berhad was contacted for comment on Wednesday evening but had not replied at time of publication. San Kyaw Oo, another doctor who is against the development, said the site should be used for public interests given its proximity to government medical facilities like Rangoon General Hospital, the University of Medicine (1), the Nursing Institute and the University of Public Health. "It should be a place either for a medical training center or an extension of the RGH. Many people here can't afford a private hospital," he said. "If you care about your interests only, other people will suffer." The post Petition Campaign Underway Against Private Hospital Project in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘The Private Sector Market is Stronger than the Public Sector’s’: IT Specialist Posted: 17 Feb 2016 11:41 PM PST Tun Tun Lin, territory manager of US-based software provider VMware's Burmese branch. (Photo: Thiha Toe / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — US-based software provider VMware entered Burma last year. Tun Tun Lin, territory manager of VMware's Burmese branch, has worked for the company for more than five years and is now expanding its local market. He graduated from California's San Jose State University with a degree in computer engineering and later earned a master's in Business Administration from the University of Santa Clara. He spoke with The Irrawaddy this week about the up-and-coming IT business in Burma and the future development of the country's mobility sector, which would allow companies to access their work and data from mobile devices. You have said that the software platform known as "VMware Workspace One" has big potential in Burma to serve as a mobility solution. What makes you believe this is so? We got the top customers after we entered the Burmese market. For example, [we work with] Telenor and Ooredoo, from the telecommunications industry, and KBZ, CB and MOB in banking. We had to meet frequently with them to discuss what their business objectives would be in the next year. Telenor and Ooredoo want to transform their businesses through mobility and we are providing solutions for them. So, we can speak confidently about the market's potential. Our app will gain a bigger market this year as the country has opened up and more foreign investments are likely to come in. The more foreign investment the country receives, the more data centers we have to build. The two are directly related. What is the advantage of this software compared to the traditional data storage systems that most of the businesses in Burma are still using? There are three advantages. The app can greatly increase productivity. With this platform, staff no longer need to sit in front of a computer to access data. Instead, they can use any device. Data is stored in the cloud and you can access your data anytime, anywhere, securely. Even if you lose your device, your data will not be lost. It will provide huge convenience for company staff. Every foreign investor making investments in Burma says that infrastructure is poor in the country. What difficulties has VMware faced because of this? We are a company that will improve the infrastructure. We want to take part in building data centers for the improvement of infrastructure. The connectivity has been very good as of last year. Telenor and Ooredoo can now utilize our platform. In addition, for banks, they have set up direct fiber cables between the headquarters and their branches, so we can provide our service easily. Previously, when the connectivity was not so good, companies were not able to utilize good solutions, which need good internet connections. But now the connectivity is good and they can use our platform effectively. Several internet service provider licenses have been issued now and they can use our solutions in building data centers. I have high expectations for this. I hope my country will develop by leaps and bounds within next five years. You said your major customers are banks and telecommunications operators.  Which are your target customers and what will be the new business model? Mainly, we would like to get into the education and health care markets. Universities can use data centers for teaching and learning. Hospitals can also use our services. Moreover, our solutions are also effective for e-government initiatives. Our software will also be used in building data centers for the Parliament. There is plenty of space for digitizing government functions. At present, the government's functions are largely done on paper, but will be computerized later. Then they will be able to work more effectively. For the time being, the private sector market is stronger than that of the public sector. The private sector needs to take actions immediately, whereas the government adopts a long-term plan and transforms step by step. Who will be your rivals, globally and locally? In the international market, Microsoft and Citric are competitors, but we offer different services. It can be said that we have no competitor against our platform as a whole. There is no local competitor. Mainly, they develop applications and we then create a platform to use those apps, so we are different. What is the major objective for VMware in entering the Burmese market? While I was working [for VMware] in the US, I asked the CEO why they still had not entered Burma's market. They have been monitoring Burma since the country opened up in 2011. We entered Burma last year. We entered ten ASEAN countries at the same time. And, among ASEAN countries, the market for our platform is growing the fastest in Burma. We have plans to expand our business. The post 'The Private Sector Market is Stronger than the Public Sector's': IT Specialist appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Keeping it Clean: Renewable Energy a Better Way for Myanmar   Posted: 17 Feb 2016 11:24 PM PST Candles are seen in front of a sign of the Rangoon Division Electricity Distribution office during a protest against the government's decision to increase electricity prices, November 7, 2013. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) Villagers in Ayeyarwady Region, Mon State and elsewhere across Myanmar are refusing to accept plans for power projects in their neighbourhoods, fearful pollution will harm their health, farms and fisheries. Evidence from around the world, including China, India and Thailand, suggests they are right to be worried. In 2014, energy use caused damage worldwide amounting to US$5.3 trillion, according to analysts' estimates at the International Monetary Fund. Of that, $5.124 trillion was due to fossil fuels with two-thirds attributed to coal. Climate change accounted for a quarter of the costs, with the rest due to sickness, premature death and degradation of the environment. Analysts believe the damage adds up to 8-16 per cent of GDP for developing countries in Asia, which for Myanmar equates to $4-8 billion in 2014. If the estimates seem unrealistic, note worsening air pollution in cities like Yangon and Mandalay, which is beginning to exceed World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Matters are not necessarily better in the countryside where plastics and other rubbish are commonly disposed of in rivers or fires and unregulated trucks belch thick plumes of midnight-black exhaust. Medical statisticians are already tallying the effects. The WHO's Global Burden of Disease study estimates air pollution accounts for 2.5 per cent of years people in Myanmar spend living with disease or disability. Some recover while others die. If action is not taken, the situation could take a heavy toll. In China, studies estimate air pollution, mostly due to fossil fuels, kills 1-3 million people per year while even in the UK the death toll runs to 30,000-60,000 annually. Air pollution might be avoided with large hydropower dams. However, scientists and economists have amassed evidence that the energy benefits of large dams are not worth the costs to livelihoods, food security and environmental stability. Moreover, the burden is probably unequally shared across society. The parallels with smoking tobacco are not hard to see. Little wonder villagers are up in arms and policymakers are having to suspend projects, such as the 1,280 MW coal power plant at Inn Din in Mon State and the 6,000MW Myitsone dam in Kachin State, to preserve social harmony while leaving investors in the lurch. Yet in a country without reliable and affordable electricity in the countryside, while demand is soaring in towns and cities, health and environmental concerns may be ignored. To do so means accepting the risks posed by increasing damage to fragile ecosystems upon which we depend for food, livelihoods and security. Policymakers face the Gordian Knot of satisfying citizens' demands for more energy services while ensuring good health, a healthy environment, and economic prosperity. Today, fortunately there are alternatives to the high pollution high impact pathway of the past. It is now possible to increase electricity supply, affordably, without costing the earth using solar and wind energy. In 2015, $329 billion was invested in new clean renewable-energy generating capacity around the world totalling 121,000 MW. It was the first year in which renewable energy additions exceeded new coal, gas and oil power plants combined. Unsubsidized solar prices in Chile, India and the United States are around 6-8 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Wind generated electricity in China, the United States and elsewhere costs 3-8 cents/kWh. Low costs depend on policies creating an environment attractive to investors. Remarkably, wind and especially solar costs have been falling for years due to economies of scale and learning by doing. Statistical modelling of historical trends by researchers Doyne Farmer and François Lafond at Oxford University strongly suggests solar costs will fall 10 percent a year at least until 2030. If historical growth trends hold solar could supply 20 per cent of the world's primary energy demand by 2027. Solar and wind prices already compare favourably with new power projects in Myanmar. Electricity from the Inn Din coal power plant was expected to cost 7.75 cents/kWh and would be higher still if it factored in damage to health and livelihoods, environment and climate. Granted, solar and wind prices, which exclude transmission and distribution costs, appear high compared to below cost residential tariffs in Myanmar. The issue however is not only the cost of a unit or kWh, rather, it is how much service or value each unit delivers to consumers. That depends on how efficiently each unit is used and whether consumers select high-efficiency appliances and change their behaviour to avoid waste. In other words, paying more attention to energy efficiency, including elimination of blanket tariff subsidies, will help keep consumer bills steady while improving the quality of electricity and the environment. Building a power system prizing efficiency around solar and wind means breaking with the legacies of earlier times when the environment and health impacts were not so well understood. If Myanmar chooses to break with the past, the door opens to the possibility of an energy leapfrog. It is a path worth pursuing. It leads to accelerated access to sustainable electricity by exploiting the flexibility of solar coupled with advanced batteries and small hydro integrated into micro-grids, built simultaneously nationwide. Taking this pathway opens up the possibility of electric motorcycles, cars and buses with lower cost, pollution and noise. Life in towns and cities will be all the better. Lots of jobs will be created. Surprisingly, enabling the leapfrog need not unduly burden the public purse. Local and foreign investors, possibly in partnership with communities, could finance energy options around solar, wind, microgrids and electric buses if policy and regulation are clear, simple and stable. Investors need certainty and reasonable terms. That would leave the government free to focus limited funds on tough yet equally important matters such as welfare for the poorest and energy efficiency. If done right the result should spread prosperity across the country and foster greater harmony. David Fullbrook, an ecological economist, is senior consultant for strategy and policy at DNV GL – Energy's Clean Technology Centre in Singapore. He has undertaken wide ranging research for development agencies on matters relating to agribusiness, energy, food security, and natural resources in east Asia. The post Keeping it Clean: Renewable Energy a Better Way for Myanmar   appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Indonesian Muslim Leaders Reject Support for Any LGBT Groups Posted: 17 Feb 2016 10:43 PM PST People drive a motorcycle past a banner put up by the hardline Islamic Defenders Front calling for gay people to leave the Cigondewah Kaler area in Bandung, Indonesia West Java province, January 27, 2016. (Photo: Agus Bebeng / Reuters) JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia's most influential Muslim leaders said Wednesday they reject all promotion and support for lesbian and gay groups and encouraged the government to make gay sex and the promotion of LGBT activities illegal. The statement by the Indonesian Ulema Council and leaders of other Islamic organizations followed the government's move on Monday urging the UN Development Program to deny funding to programs regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the government respected individual rights of sexual expression, "but it is wrong to encourage other people … and to campaign for legalization of same-sex marriage." The council's statement said the clerics and other Muslim leaders supported the government's rejection of foreign funding of LGBT causes and they called for bans on promoting and funding LGBT activities in Indonesia. The UNDP's representatives in Jakarta could not be reached for comment. Most of Indonesian society is tolerant, but homosexuality is a sensitive issue and leaders in Indonesia's secular government have made high-profile attempts to dim LGBT visibility. It recently told instant messaging apps to remove stickers featuring same-sex couples, and a government minister last month said openly gay students should be banned from the University of Indonesia campuses. Some people worry that overseas funding could encourage a campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in the country. Activist Poedjiati of Gaya Nusantara, an LGBT advocacy group, said it is clearly a human rights violation to ban and criminalize their activities. She also did not see any chance for the country to move toward same-sex marriage. "So far no one here ever talked about that," Poedjiati, who uses a single name, told The Associated Press. "The issue of such marriage is still very, very far for Indonesia." The post Indonesian Muslim Leaders Reject Support for Any LGBT Groups appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dissidents Fearful as Thailand, Once a Haven, Favors China Posted: 17 Feb 2016 09:05 PM PST Chinese dissident Liu Xuehong speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bangkok, February 2, 2016. (Photo: Jorge Silva / Reuters) BANGKOK — One night last month, Liu Xuehong stood weeping outside the gates of the United Nations headquarters in Bangkok, begging the guards to let her in. The Chinese dissident had received a threatening call from an anonymous Chinese official, and feared that she, like other asylum seekers in Thailand, would be snatched away by agents of China or deported by a Thai junta increasingly allied to it. The UN guards refused her entry. "I felt so frustrated," she said, tears streaming down her face. "We still live in fear here." Liu is one of hundreds of Chinese who have fled for Thailand, say human rights groups. It was long considered a refuge, but not anymore. Two Chinese dissidents recently disappeared from Thai soil, only to reappear a few weeks later in China in police custody. Thailand deported two others late last year despite a UN plan to resettle them in Canada. "Thailand is no longer a safe haven for Chinese dissidents," said a senior Western diplomatic source based in Beijing. Western governments have expressed concern over China's apparent extra-territorial reach, as President Xi Jinping intensifies a nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers, journalists and labor activists. China considers many dissidents to be criminals, including those who flee abroad. Hong Kong Bookseller Panitan Wattanayagorn, a top Thai government advisor, said police were "still checking" how the two Chinese dissidents had vanished from the country, and said it was possible one of them had "disappeared [by] himself." As for the two deportations of Chinese refugees in November, Panitan said the Thai government would work more closely with the UNHCR "to prevent this kind of problem." He said China had not applied any pressure. "Thailand decides on its own," he said. Among those who disappeared in Thailand was Gui Minhai, one of five Hong Kong booksellers who have gone missing since late last year. China's Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the disappearances, but has said its law enforcement officials would never do anything illegal, especially overseas. It said the November deportations were handled "in accordance with the law." The Thai junta's seizure of power in 2014 strained ties with the West. As the United States and other countries downgraded political and military ties, the generals forged closer ties with Beijing. China and Thailand held their first joint air force exercise in November. The following month, the two countries agreed to build a US$13 billion railway line from the Thai-Lao border to Bangkok. A record 7.9 million Chinese visited Thailand last year, or more than a quarter of the total number of tourists. Last July, Thailand deported 109 Uighur Muslims to an uncertain fate in China in what the UN called "a flagrant violation of international law." Flushing Out Dissidents Dissidents like Liu say the disappearances and deportations are part of a diplomatic and security squeeze by China to flush them out. Aiding them in Thailand, she believes, are Chinese agents posing as asylum-seekers. Liu, 55, was jailed for a month in Beijing in 2014 for "disturbing social order," a catch-all charge often used to suppress human rights activists. But she continued her work until last June, just weeks before the Chinese authorities began arresting hundreds of lawyers, legal assistants and activists in a nationwide crackdown. "Almost all the people around me in China have been arrested," she said. Liu flew to Thailand, where she is now a UN-registered refugee awaiting resettlement. She can still be arrested and deported for illegally entering Thailand, which officially doesn't recognize refugee status. Men in cars often follow her through Bangkok, she says. "We have no protection here," said Liu. Liu arrived in Thailand by plane. But other Chinese, too fearful to use their passports, travel overland through ill-policed borders from neighboring countries with the help of human smugglers. Falun Gong Song Zhiyu, 43, from Hebei Province, is a member of Falun Gong, a religious group banned as a cult in China. He left China on a smuggler's motorbike until reaching the Myanmar town of Mongla. In Mongla, Song telephoned a Thai man known only as "the tour leader" who, in return for 20,000 yuan ($3,000), drove him towards the Thai border. Then Song was spirited across a river into Thailand and hidden in the luggage hold of a Bangkok-bound bus. He spent the next 10 hours bent double. "I thought I would die," he said. About 160 Falun Gong refugees and asylum-seekers are in Thailand, Song said, and in the past, authorities had rarely bothered them. But more than 29 practitioners have been arrested on immigration charges under the military junta, he said. "The Thai and Chinese governments now have a very close relationship," he said. "We are all afraid. Every day is dangerous for us." The post Dissidents Fearful as Thailand, Once a Haven, Favors China appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Insurgents Fight On Despite Advent of Democracy Posted: 17 Feb 2016 08:34 PM PST Shan State Army-North soldiers at the hilltop outpost of Loi Sang on Nov. 26, 2016. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) MONG ARK, Shan State — On a freshly scarred battlefield, a diehard rebel army is facing off at gunfire range against a military that for decades has imposed iron-fisted rule over this Southeast Asian nation. Overhead, vultures circle the mountainous terrain while insurgent soldiers crouch near deep foxholes, prepared, they say, to throw back another possible assault. Burma's civil war—the longest in modern world history—hasn't ended, even with democracy triumphant in recent elections and the winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, pledging to end hostilities between the central government and a host of autonomy-seeking ethnic minorities. Prospects for stopping the bloodshed are balanced on a knife's edge. Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy swept November's elections, has promised that bringing peace will be the top priority when her government assumes power April 1. "We will try for the all-inclusive ceasefire agreement," the Noble Prize laureate said recently. "We can do nothing without peace in our country." But suspicions of the country's military were again aroused as it battled the Shan State Army-North in these remote hills of northeastern Burma just as voters were casting their ballots across the country. As the countdown to democracy proceeds, so do clashes with the Kachin Independence Army, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and others. The rebel armies represent various ethnic groups that for decades have been fighting for autonomy while resisting "Burmanization," a push by the Burman ethnic majority to propagate its language, religion and culture in ethnic minority regions. "No, no, no we don't trust them," Shan army Maj. Gen. Hso Hten said of Burma's military, vowing they would only lay down their arms if their goals were fully implemented, the foremost of which is a federal system in which ethnic minorities are granted genuine autonomy. That would include use of ethnic languages in schools and greater control over forests, hydro-power and other natural resources. During the battles in Shan state, which ended with a fragile ceasefire at the end of November, government jet fighters and helicopter gunships strafed and bombed military and civilian targets. They swept into villages, driving more than 10,000 from homes they looted and sometimes destroyed, according to refugee and Shan army accounts. Both sides accuse one another of sparking yet another round of warfare in an insurgency that erupted in the early 1960s among the Shan, the largest of 135 officially recognized ethnic minorities that make up 40 percent of the population. The first uprising, that of the Karen, was launched 67 years ago, shortly after the country's 1948 independence from Great Britain, followed by numerous others. The generals ceded power to a military-backed government in 2011, paving the way for the recent elections. But the armed forces remain the country's most powerful institution, stoking fears they will take orders not from the elected government but their commander-in-chief. Hso Hten, who joined rebel ranks in 1958, expressed some hope in Suu Kyi's future government, given her overwhelming popular support. "We are compelled to trust her because we don't have any choice," said the 80-year-old general in an interview in the town of Wan Hai from which his rebel army says it commands more than 10,000 troops and 18,000 square miles (46,600 square kilometers) of territory. Like the other major insurgencies—notably the Kachin and Karen—this Shan group is not a classic guerrilla outfit swooping down from jungle hideouts but more akin to a state within a state. It runs 28 departments, including health and agriculture, schools, a hospital and orphanage, and even issues its own vehicle license plates. The Shan treasury, which gathers revenue from taxes on residents, can purchase weaponry on the black markets of China, Thailand and Cambodia. Some groups in the Shan State and elsewhere in Burma have traditionally financed their insurgencies through drug trafficking. On the frontline, some 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Wan Hai, soldiers wield everything from Czech pistols to US-made grenade launchers from the Vietnam War. A 24-hour alert is in force, and at night the soldiers observe the campfires of the Burmese military dug into a range of undulating hills. The fighters sleep burrowed into tiny molehill-like shelters camouflaged against aerial attacks by withered brown leaves. Use of airpower is a recent development in the fighting, and some powerful ordnance appears to have been dropped: one bomb crater measured some 1.5 meters (5 feet) in depth. The soldiers talk of combat in October and November that killed 70 of their comrades. They file past a shattered house where they killed a Burmese commander with a rocket-propelled grenade. A few meters (yards) away, stretching across a beautiful valley carpeted by terraced rice fields, begins a no-man's land sown with mines. "We have this small piece of territory and want to live in peace but they still come and attack us," said Lt. Sao Mong. "They are all over these mountains. If they don't intend to attack again why are they still here, why don't they withdraw?" The Shan State Army-North, one of two main Shan rebel armies, refused to sign a ceasefire agreement last October between the government and eight insurgent groups. But none of the more than 20 armed insurgencies have given up their weapons. The Shan general said the armed groups in total field some 100,000 soldiers, although analysts believe the figure may be less. "The government has always said, 'Put down your guns and we will talk politics,' while the insurgents said, 'Let's talk politics and then we will put down our guns, maybe.' That issue is still there," says David Steinberg, an American author of several books on Burma. Suu Kyi's party promise to expunge the legacy of nearly seven decades of hatred, suspicion and blood may prove difficult. While some rebel groups have committed unlawful acts, including the recruitment of boy soldiers, international agencies, the United Nations and others have over several decades detailed widespread rape, torture and extra-judicial killings of civilians, even crucifixions, by the military. Villagers have been used as human minesweepers. More than half a million people have been driven from their homes just in eastern Burma. The former government acknowledged that some atrocities did occur while its forces were fighting what it called "terrorist organizations." But nobody has been brought to justice, Suu Kyi has announced no plans to do so and the military continues to operate in its former fashion, although the scale of atrocities appears to have lessened. "We ran away with only the clothes we were wearing. We are afraid to go back," said Pa Phit, a 45-year-old woman who fled with all other 60 residents when government troops entered Ho Nam village while firing their guns. "We have nothing left, not even a small spoon." Among more than 1,400 refugees encamped on a bare hilltop was 102-year-old Nai Nang, carried over the hills by grandchildren after the troops occupied her village. With such acts, the insurgents do not lack for fresh recruits to their cause, even if a private in the Shan army earns just $8 a month. "We have been facing injustice, bullying and oppression since I was young," said Sao Siha as he walked around a Wan Hai monastery where damage from mortars and air-launched rockets had been freshly repaired. After years of witnessing killings of innocent people, he finally had enough when in October the military attacked his town of Maing Naung. The abbot of a Buddhist monastery and a monk for 36 of his 45 years, Sao Siha made what he said was a wrenching decision—to exchange his robes for a Shan army uniform. "I wanted to take action against injustice," he said. "I had no choice." The post Insurgents Fight On Despite Advent of Democracy appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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