The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Young Burmese Game-Changers Make Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30 Asia’
• Aung Min: ‘I Will Continue My Peace Work’
• IFC Pledges US$10 Million to Agri-Business Myanma Awba
• Govt Issues Alert About Hazardous Rising Water Levels
• Several Anti-Poppy Activists Injured in Attack in Waingmaw Township
• Locals to Resume Protests over Dumping of Mining Waste in Hpakant
• Have the Wa Cornered the Global Tin Trade?
• Behind the Lines: Shan Soldiers on Patrol in Kyaukme
• New Wave of Burmese Hackers Behind Thai Website Attacks
• Amid Transition, Burma’s Senior General Emerges From the Shadows
• Amnesty Criticizes India for Intolerance of Dissent
• Uber Launches Motorcycle Ride-Hailing Service in Bangkok
• Ousted Thai PM Thaksin’s Influence Shows Signs of Waning

Young Burmese Game-Changers Make Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30 Asia’ Posted: 25 Feb 2016 04:25 AM PST Inside Rangoon Tea House in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Eight Burmese innovators are among Forbes' first ever "30 Under 30 Asia," which spotlights inspiring young leaders in various industries across the region. Forbes claims to be the world's most widely read business site, each year recognizing the accomplishments of people under 30. Such lists have for years recognized young talent in the United States and Europe. But this is the first year to include Asia. According to Forbes, the company worked together with a panel of 30 judges and chose 300 young game-changers—representing entertainment and sport, consumer technology, enterprise technology, the arts, healthcare and science, media, social entrepreneurship, finance, industry and retail—from among thousands of nominees. The innovators from Burma include Htet Myat Oo of Rangoon Tea House, Wai Phyo Kyaw of online automobile business CarsDB, Thet Mon Aye and her brother Zarni Nway Ooi of online bus ticketing service Star Ticket, Myo Htet Aung and Ye Myat Min of web and mobile applications company NEX, and Ye Wint Ko and Htet Will of Burmese language search engine Bindez. Rangoon Tea House was described as a new-meets-old restaurant, drawing inspiration from traditional Burmese teashops, and its cofounder as a leading innovator in "the arts" category. Thet Mon Aye, one of the co-founders of Star Ticket, which sells long-distance bus tickets online for pickup at convenience stores or through direct delivery, said that while she and her brother are proud of the recognition, a lot of other talent in Burma goes unrecognized. "I hope that it [selection to Forbes' list] motivates other young people and creates more opportunities for Burma's next generation to connect to the world," she told The Irrawaddy. The post Young Burmese Game-Changers Make Forbes' '30 Under 30 Asia' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Aung Min: ‘I Will Continue My Peace Work’ Posted: 25 Feb 2016 03:48 AM PST Burma's chief peace negotiator Aung Min at a meeting with ethnic leaders in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Monday, Feb. 22. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Burma's chief peace negotiator and the head of the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), Aung Min, recently held a series of meetings with leaders of ethnic armed groups in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. The outgoing president's office minister spoke with The Irrawaddy, at the tail end of his visit, about his recent discussions with Aung San Suu Kyi, what he envisions for the future of the MPC, and his plans to establish a new organization focused on building peace. As an experienced peace negotiator heading the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) and the Union Peacemaking Working Committee, will you stay involved in the peace process?  I would like to focus on our MPC, [which is] a necessary organization… Myanmar has not had national reconciliation before, even though it is necessary for our country. We cannot move forward to nation building without peace. Thus, we must engage in peace building, which is the MPC's priority. The journey has reached this far: we were able to sign the [nationwide ceasefire agreement, or NCA] with eight armed groups. The remaining armed groups have also agreed to the NCA text. The only reason they could not sign is because of [demands for] all-inclusiveness. When you recently met with Aung San Suu Kyi, did you discuss an ongoing role for the MPC? I met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi twice. When we met, she said the MPC should continue to exist as it is and [asked me] to help her regarding the peace process, if necessary. This is exactly what she said. She also wants peace and expressed that she wants the MPC to keep going. Although you were asked to help out in the future, when the new government comes in, your position may be changed. Do you feel you would lose the work that you initiated? There is so much more to do in the peace process. The process is taking longer due to the lack of manpower and those who are in the process also lack experience. We can still be involved in the peace process wherever we are, whether the MPC still exists or not… We will help to work for peace, therefore, I told [Suu Kyi] that I would help in any way necessary. How do you respond to criticism of the MPC in terms of funding and its approach to the peace process? Firstly, we could not do anything without money. Before the help from international organizations, we had to spend our own money. We need to spend money for travel and for the countless negotiation meetings. Later, the international organizations started to support us, as they believed in our work. When they do that, we cannot use the funding without [conditions]. They have internal audit teams who review our proposals and implementation work. Not only us but other organizations are also receiving funds from international organizations. It is not proper to say that the MPC misused international support. They support us until the end of March [2016]. We will have to stand on our own feet later. Will you separately establish a peace foundation, as has been speculated? I value peace a lot and I want my country to benefit from it. For Myanmar, it is key, as without peace, we cannot continue… to develop as well as [pursue] national reconciliation. Therefore, I will continue peace building wherever I am. I am thinking to form a peace foundation, like a think-tank. As an independent foundation, we could point out if there is any wrongdoing, either by the government, by the opposition or by the ethnic [armed groups]. Then, we could lend our help whenever they need it. Thus, we are preparing to establish a foundation. Will plans to form a peace foundation continue if you were to keep working as head of the MPC under the new government? I have decided that I would continue it [regardless]. Whether the new government will ask me or not depends on them. There could be limitations if they do. [People] think that many stakeholders have put all their efforts into the peace process. But the process has been mainly driven by the current president Thein Sein, Aung Min and the MPC. I have negotiated with the ethnic groups and the president assumes accountability for the negotiations I have done. Thus, the peace process was able to move forward. I am not sure whether the new government will do the same as Thein Sein has. If they do, the peace process will keep going. If not, I will face difficulties. Therefore, it would be difficult for me to dedicate myself to it as before. Thus I said I would help from the sidelines. What other plans do you have, apart from establishing the peace foundation? I will not be able to dedicate myself fully to the affairs of the country. But I will be supporting from the outside. For the peace building to be sustained, we must think of development. When I form the foundation, I am thinking of naming it the Peace and Development Foundation—I could work for peace as well as focusing on regional development. Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing have met several times since the election, with the peace process said to be on their agenda. Do you think the process would benefit from these high-level dialogues, or should it be channeled through intermediaries such as the MPC? When we negotiate for peace, we have to primarily negotiate with the Tatmadaw [Burma's armed forces] as making peace is between the armed groups of both the Tatmadaw and the ethnics. So the new government would also have to obtain the Tatmadaw's view on the process. Peace would be nowhere unless there is negotiation with the Tatmadaw.  Is your current trip to Chiang Mai the last during the term of the outgoing government? Was there anything specific, either from the president or the commander-in-chief, passed on to the leaders of the NCA non-signatory groups? The leaders of the ethnic armed groups are mainly based in Chiang Mai. So it is not to say that this is the last time. We may have work in the future. Therefore, we may have to come again. I came here to share details of the… Union Peace Conference, held in January. We invited them [non-signatory groups], but they did not join for various reasons. During the Union Peace Conference, participants from various ethnicities were able to talk about anything and it was a successful conference. I told these eight groups that if they want to sign the NCA, I would make it happen. If they don't, it is their desire. This week's trip has been longer than previous ones, why? Yes. We met many groups… We came here to clarify issues of the Palaung [of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army] and the RCSS [Restoration Council of Shan State] conflict. Then we met with other ethnic armed groups individually. Thus, it took a three night trip. As far as we understand, you met with the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), but did you also meet with each group individually? Our meeting was not with the UNFC. I came here to meet with the leaders of the ethnic armed groups. Whatever the ethnic leaders of the UNFC said, I came and met with the leaders of the ethnic armed groups, not the UNFC. What would be your advice to your successor if the MPC continues? I would say to the new leader [of the MPC], you need to have good intentions and be a patient and tolerant person. In addition, they must try to understand the ethnic armed groups. I would say whoever keeps these points in mind would succeed. We have to listen to them. And we have to keep our promises, and be open-minded. Peace should prevail anywhere and anytime and it must be done. I will continue my peace work. The post Aung Min: 'I Will Continue My Peace Work' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

IFC Pledges US$10 Million to Agri-Business Myanma Awba Posted: 25 Feb 2016 03:30 AM PST Stacks of Burmese kyat are seen on the counter before a client collects them, at a bank in Rangoon, Burma, October 19, 2015.  (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — The International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Tuesday pledged US$10 million to local agri-business Myanma Awba, according to the IFC website. The additional funds are intended to jump start Myanma Awba's $25 million project aimed at setting up a new agro-chemicals formulation plant, as well as enhancing packaging and warehouse capacity, seed production, working capital and microfinance operations. Most of the added warehouse capacity will be located in Rangoon's industrial zones, while new fertilizer distribution stations, other warehouses and microfinance branches will be located at various locations across the country. The IFC has been providing loans to different sectors in Burma since 2012. Recently, this has included small and medium enterprises and the banking, retail, hotel and tourism and agriculture sectors. Among these loans were an $80 million package to Shangri-La to expand its hotel and real-estate operations in Rangoon, a $25 million loan to local leading retail outlet City Mart Holding Co. Ltd. to boost expansion of retail markets and a $5 million convertible loan to Yoma Bank. Earlier this month, IFC also contributed $150 million to Qatari telecoms operator Ooredoo to help rollout a "greenfield" mobile network using 3G technology. Myanma Awba was established in 1995 by managing director Thadoe Hein, who, together with his family, owns the company today. The post IFC Pledges US$10 Million to Agri-Business Myanma Awba appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Govt Issues Alert About Hazardous Rising Water Levels Posted: 25 Feb 2016 01:39 AM PST The water levels of the Irrawaddy River dramatically rose this week, including in Bhamo, Kachin State [pictured]. (Photo: Ministry of Information / Facebook) RANGOON — The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology issued a weather alert in state media on Thursday about potentially dangerous water levels in parts of the country. Reports said that within a 16-hour period on Monday, the Irrawaddy River rose 12 feet in Kachin State's Myitkyina Township, though the water level receded 5 feet on Wednesday. Over two days, the river was higher than normal by 6 feet in Kachin State's Bhamo town and by 3 feet in Sagaing Division's Katha. The department warned that the water level could increase by 5-6 feet in the coming days in areas of Sagaing and Mandalay divisions, including Myinmu and Nyaung-U; and by 4-5 feet in the next 5-10 days in parts of Magwe, Irrawaddy, and Pegu divisions, including Aunglan, Chauk, Hinthada, Minbu, Pakokku, Pyay and Sidoktaya. Farmers with land on sand banks, as well as anyone operating boats, ships and fast crafts, should be particularly cautious, as the water could rise suddenly, state media said. The Ministry of Information has also been sending alerts to mobile phones. The post Govt Issues Alert About Hazardous Rising Water Levels appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Several Anti-Poppy Activists Injured in Attack in Waingmaw Township Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:41 AM PST Anti-drug campaigners wait in Waingmaw Township after being prevented by the military from carrying out a poppy eradication mission earlier this month. (Photo: Htoi Awng / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — As discussion continued in Parliament on Thursday over a Christian anti-poppy group's drug eradication drive in Kachin State, several members of the vigilante group were reportedly injured in an attack by unknown assailants in Waingmaw Township. According to the group known as Pat Jasan, its members were attacked by so-called "militants" on Thursday as they were heading to a poppy field located between Sadung and Kambaiti sub-townships in Waingmaw Township. "They first tried to stop us as we were about to enter the poppy fields there. Later they beat us and threw stones at us. Then they burnt tents and took away our food," said a campaigner, who wished to remain anonymous. "Later they opened fire… and some soldiers and police, who were with us for security, also had to run away. The gunmen who attacked us are believed to be militants operating in the area." The anti-poppy activist said one man was beaten and injured badly. "We still don't know about the others. Now we are running for our lives," he said, adding that the group was currently in Shan Kyaing in Waingmaw Township. Pat Jasan, which was established by the Kachin Baptist Church, operates according to a no-tolerance approach to eradicating drugs and drug abuse. Its controversial tactics include the unilateral destruction of poppy and, according to local media reports, public beatings of drug users and other harsh measures. The campaigners divided into six groups on Wednesday to begin destroying poppy plantations in Waingmaw Township. A week-long blockade of the activists at an army checkpoint in the township was lifted by authorities on Tuesday. The group that was attacked on Thursday was reportedly comprised of around 300 members. The precise number of casualties is still unknown, as is the identity of the attackers. Local authorities said they were planning to provide assistance to the group. "We will help them to search for possible missing campaigners who have run for their lives and now plan to send more security persons to help them," said an officer of the Myitkyina District police office. In a Lower House session of Parliament on Thursday, lawmakers voted to approve a motion calling on the government to provide more support and protection for the anti-poppy activists. The decision followed an emergency discussion on the issue tabled on Wednesday. Prior to Thursday's Lower House session, Pat Jasan members had lobbied authorities to offer them more assistance. "We feel that there's no protection for us yet despite the Parliament in Naypyidaw discussing our anti-poppy campaigns. We urgently need full support and protection from the government," said Kham Thu Dan Shaung, a central committee member of Pat Jasan. "Our campaign is to help and support the government's plan to eliminate drugs and poppy plantations. Since we were attacked like this, it is a sign that some people still want to profit out of drug production and that's not good for our country's future." The post Several Anti-Poppy Activists Injured in Attack in Waingmaw Township appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Locals to Resume Protests over Dumping of Mining Waste in Hpakant Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:36 AM PST A waste soil pile next to a road in Kachin State's Hpakant Township, March 2014. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Residents of Lone Khin in Kachin State's Hpakant Township said on Thursday they would resume protests against the dumping of mining waste in the area after mining companies allegedly failed to comply with an agreement reached last week. Protests were staged earlier this month in several villages of Hpakant Township over the continued dumping of waste soil from nearby jade mines in or around communities, which locals said were dangerous and impacted local waterways. On Friday, the protests, which had involved preventing company trucks from reaching areas to dump waste, were reportedly suspended after authorities and villagers negotiated an agreement. Officials said that local authorities, representatives from mining companies and concerned villagers signed an agreement stipulating that the mining companies would halt the dumping of waste soil from jade mines in areas near local villages. However, most locals said they were not aware of the apparent settlement. According to local protesters, the stipulations of the agreement were not being followed by mining companies or officials. "Until now, they keep dumping waste soil and no action has been taken yet, as promised. That's why we decided to resume the roadblock protest," said Nung Lat, a local involving in the protests. "We lifted the roadblock [on Friday] as they promised they would avoid village areas and would clean up the mess as soon as possible. But they signed the agreements without the knowledge of locals and then spread news that the protests were ended." Protesters said officials or company representatives were yet to respond to the news that protests would resume. The post Locals to Resume Protests over Dumping of Mining Waste in Hpakant appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Have the Wa Cornered the Global Tin Trade? Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:34 AM PST A solider from the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Mongma Township of the Wa Special Region, May 2015. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) A recent paper published in the journal Resources Policy concludes that a new tin mining operation located in a corner of northern Shan State controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) appears to be responsible for elevating Burma in just a few years from being a bit player in the global tin industry "to the status of the World's third largest tin producing country." What the authors call a potential "black swan event" represents a 4900.00 percent increase in tin production over a five year period, from 2009 to 2014, according to figures provided by the UK based International Tin Research Institute (ITRI), a not for profit group with close ties to the mining industry. "Tin mining in Myanmar: Production and potential," published in December and authored by Oxford University professor Nicholas J. Gardiner and three others, suggests that the massive increase in tin production from Burma is a development completely unforeseen by commodity analysts and one that has had significant ramifications for the tin industry worldwide. According to the paper, the Wa-controlled tin production is centered at the Man Maw mine which is said to be some 90 km from Panghsang (also known as Pangkham). The authors suggest that the high level of tin production at the Man Maw mine will not last long but due to a lack of hard data from the area it remains far from clear how much tin remains to be mined. According to a person familiar with Man Maw cited by the paper's authors, the mine site is about 100km2 with a "number of small mining companies" in operation at the site. Annual production of tin from Man Maw was estimated to be nearly 30,000 tons in 2014, making it one of the largest tin mining sites in the world. "The giant San Rafael mine in Peru was the World's single biggest tin mine producer, until the apparent recent rise of the Man Maw mining complex," the paper says. The Wa territory has no tin smelting capacity of its own and everything mined in Man Maw appears to be destined for China which, according to the paper's authors, in 2014 imported 177,950 tons of tin ores and concentrates, 97 percent of which came from Burma. Tin is most widely used for solder, a key component in electronics manufacturing. The ITRI, which describes itself as being "supported by the world's most important tin producers and smelters," reports that thanks to tin concentrate imports from Wa controlled territory, China for the first time in 6 years became a net exporter of refined tin in 2014; a development with major implications for the industry worldwide. "If the low cost production from Myanmar is maintained this has the potential to re-shape the industry cost curve, leading to longer-term lower tin prices," the authors contend, predicting lower prices could lead to less production in other mining areas where production costs are increasing. The low cost of tin globally continues to be an issue for mining firms worldwide. A quarterly report released in July of last year by the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed firm Kasbah Resources Limited, singled out the rise in tin exports from Burma and tin from UWSA territory in particular, as one of two major factors behind a fall in global tin prices in 2014. "The availability of low cost ore and concentrates from Myanmar (particularly the Maw Maw mining area in the Wa County) and its proximity to the Yunnan Province in China has been problematic for the tin market," said the firm, which is focused on developing tin mining concessions in Morocco. "This rapid growth of tin concentrate imports from Myanmar provided an opportunity for traders and Chinese tin producers to purchase lower cost and higher grade material to refine to metal in China, then export that metal to the international market." Similarly, the 2014 annual report of the Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC), which bills itself as the world's second largest supplier of refined tin, cited the large amounts of tin mined in UWSA territory as a worrying development. "While tin demand has remained relatively stable, recent reports on the high artisanal production from the Wa State in Myanmar is a major concern to the industry," the report noted. Past its Peak? But it is far from clear how much metal there is left to mine. An update released by the ITRI last June predicted a future decline in tin exports from UWSA territory citing public comments made by a senior official from the Yunnan Tin Company (YTC) whose firm had recently visited the Man Maw mine. "At the ITRI China International Tin Forum in Shanghai, YTC's General Manager, Zhang Fu, outlined the company's belief that Myanmar's 2014 tin production was a peak, and that resource and grade depletion at Man Maw will result in a progressive decline in production in the following years," the update noted. Despite this prediction, tin production from Burma actually went up in 2015 compared to the previous year, according to estimates provided by ITRI in an update released last August. Stefan Ljubisavljevic, a commodities analyst with the Australian bank Macquarie Securities recently told a trade publication that in fact he expects tin exports from Burma to increase. "Due to the unstable political situation in Myanmar's major tin mining locations, what has been produced and exported so far is the low hanging fruit of production and with less uncertainty tin production could continue to rise in the coming years," Ljubisavljevic told Platts Metals Daily in November. His bank estimates that since 2012, Burma's share of global tin production has grown to over 10 percent of global production from less than 2 percent. There are other significant sources of tin in Burma, most notably in Dawei in Tenasserim Division and at Mawchi in Karenni State. The latter was once one of the biggest tin mining areas in the world during colonial times, but neither source appears to be producing at levels anywhere near what is being produced in UWSA territory. The fact that the world's tin prices are being affected in part by the policies set by a reclusive group of ex-communist rebels in a remote corner of northern Shan State has so far received little attention, apparently even among those following the Burmese mining sector. There was no mention of the Man Maw areas significant contribution to the global tin trade in the recently released Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) report for Burma, which included other significant tin mining operations in the rest of the country, in an otherwise detailed overview of the country's mining industry. Wa Control  The UWSA was formed in 1989 following the dramatic implosion of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), which was then headquartered in Panghsang. As the CPB's ageing leadership fled to China, Burma's then biggest armed group split several ways with a faction that eventually became the UWSA emerging as the biggest grouping that quickly reached a ceasefire with the military regime. The senior leadership of the UWSA, many of whom were previously mid-ranking officers in the communist party who took part in a rebellion against the CPB's almost exclusively Burman leadership, maintain good relations with China, ties that were formed when Beijing was strongly backing the CPB in its armed struggle against Burma's leader Ne Win. Chinese is taught in UWSA run schools and is spoken widely throughout the UWSA territory which is officially called Shan State Special Region No 2, but which the UWSA often refers to as Wa State. The significant amounts of tin being mined and exported from UWSA territory to China adds an extra dimension to the UWSA's relationship with the Chinese government, who consider the continued supply of tin and other minerals known as rare earths used in electronics, to be of major importance to the country's economy. The Wa, who are recognized as a distinct ethnic group by both the Burmese and Chinese governments, were known historically for their headhunting prowess. At the time of Burma's independence, few would have predicted that the Wa, most of whom resided in remote areas largely ungoverned by colonial authorities, would go on to form Burma's strongest ethnic armed group. While it remains unclear how much tin remains to be found in the Wa hills, any interruption to the UWSA's 26 year-long ceasefire with the central government would likely affect mining and thus impact global tin prices overall. The UWSA's well-equipped ranks are estimated by some to be between 20,000 to 25,000 strong, bigger than the standing armies of several European nations. Its hefty army helps maintain a status quo in which the central government has little if any authority over a large swath of UWSA territory running along the Chinese border and a smaller area along the Thai border that the UWSA took control of in the late 1990s and early 2000s. A series of indictments filed by US authorities over the years against the UWSA leadership, including Chairman Bao Youxiang, for their alleged involvement in the global drug trade have helped keep the Wa territory largely cut off from western visitors. The group has long denied these claims which it says are part of a smear campaign. "We, the UWSA, are wholeheartedly engaged in the fight against drug-dealing," the group's spokesperson, Aung Myint, told The Irrawaddy in a 2013 interview. "For seven years since 2005, there have been no poppy fields and no poppy plants in our region. This has finished. That's why the world should recognize us." The UWSA has also been identified as a major player in the jade trade in a series of reports issued by Global Witness last year. Global Witness alleges that Wei Hsueh Kang, often described as the UWSA's banker, and his associates "have used a web of opaque company structures to build, and disguise, a jade empire." Wei Hsueh Kang, who has rarely been seen in public since the US government put a $US2 million dollar bounty on his head, is considered to retain influence in the group, particularly within the 171st Brigade, which controls the UWSA's territory along the Thai border. Though they officially remain in a ceasefire, the UWSA's relationship with the central government has been strained for some time. The UWSA has been wary of the army's attempts to drive their allies the Shan State Army-North from their positions near Wa territory which have served as a buffer between them and the government. The UWSA were notably absent from the signing ceremony for the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) last October, hosted by President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw. The group instead hosted a summit in November of its own that included other non NCA signatories, including the Kachin Independence Organization, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army, just before the election. That meeting and a similar summit held in Panghsang in May were seen by many as something of a coming out party for the UWSA, who for the most part had avoided high profile gatherings of ethnic armed groups. The post Have the Wa Cornered the Global Tin Trade? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Behind the Lines: Shan Soldiers on Patrol in Kyaukme Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:20 AM PST Click to view slideshow. KYAUKME TOWNSHIP, Shan State — The Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) is estimated to command between 6,000 to 8,000 troops. In October last year, the SSA-S, also referred to by its political wing, the Restoration Council of Shan State, was one of eight armed groups that signed the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement with Naypyidaw. Earlier this month, fighting between the SSA-S and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which first flared in November, intensified in northern Shan State, displacing thousands of villagers in Kyaukme and Namkham townships. The Irrawaddy's photographer JPaing recently spent time with SSA-S troops in the villages of Ta San, Nyaung Pin Hla and Nyaung Maung in Kyaukme Township that have been affected by recent fighting. The post Behind the Lines: Shan Soldiers on Patrol in Kyaukme appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Wave of Burmese Hackers Behind Thai Website Attacks Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:10 AM PST A woman uses the internet at an internet cafe in Rangoon, February 5, 2016. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) Burmese hackers say they have attacked Thai government websites since early January and stolen data, part of a long-running, broader campaign against those critical of Burma's government. The Blink Hacker Group said in Facebook posts and in an email interview that its attacks were in retaliation for Thailand sentencing two Burmese to death for the murder of two British backpackers late last year. The group said it posted online data it took from websites of the Thai prison agency and justice ministry, saying databases from any government websites it hacked "should be made public." Thai police said they had yet to determine who was behind the attacks, but denied those responsible were from Burma. Dechnarong Suthicharnbancha, a spokesperson for the Royal Thai Police, said there had been little impact from the attacks on police websites. "It was only a nuisance. We got the websites running again with no trouble at all." The attacks do, though, mark an escalation in computer hacking since Burma opened up to foreign investment and ended decades of military rule in 2011, researchers say. Nationalist attacks on other countries' websites are not new, but those by Burma-based groups have increased and have also hit domestic media perceived to be critical of government policies or supportive of Burma's Muslim Rohingya minority. The Blink Hacker Group said it targeted independent media websites The Irrawaddy and Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) "because we believe that media should not (be) use(d) for propaganda." Spokesmen for both media sites confirmed they had been hacked. Business Links Tord Lundstroem, a Swedish researcher who works for a company that hosts independent media websites including The Irrawaddy, said domain hosting records linked the Blink Hacker Group and others to Rangoon-based companies selling web design and security services, and the hacker groups' Facebook activity indicated informal links to people with military backgrounds. Lundstroem said hackers were better organized and more sophisticated, noting that servers and email accounts at Irrawaddy and DVB had been penetrated around the time of last November's landmark democratic election in Burma—though he said these attacks were not the work of the Blink Hacker Group. The Blink Hacker Group said it previously had been ready to work with Burma's military to help "build a better Internet" but had received no response. It said none of its 20 members were in the military. Min Ko Ko of Creatigon, a web development company, said he belonged to a group called Myanmar Hackers Unite4M and was founder of Myanmar Security Forum, but was not a hacker. The founder of IT firm Cyber Wings Asia, Yan Naing Myint, said his company had provided hosting for the Blink Hacker Group's website, but neither he nor his business were involved in the group's activities or in hacking. Burmese government spokesman Ye Htut laughed off claims that the military had cyber war units, saying "I think people sometimes overestimate the capacity of the Burmese military." The post New Wave of Burmese Hackers Behind Thai Website Attacks appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Amid Transition, Burma’s Senior General Emerges From the Shadows Posted: 24 Feb 2016 10:56 PM PST Burma Army commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing arrives to give a speech during peace talks between the government, army and representatives of ethnic armed groups in Naypyidaw, January 12, 2016. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — Like many of his generation, the head of Burma's powerful military is a recent but enthusiastic convert to Facebook. On his profile background picture, the commander-in-chief gives a "thumbs up" from the cockpit of an airplane. Posts show him celebrating new year in a traditional boar tusk headdress and visiting wounded soldiers. It's a far cry from just a few years ago, when the only glimpse into the work of the military top command came in turgid reports from state media, and offers a daily reminder that the changes sweeping the Southeast Asian nation have reached even the secretive generals who ruled for almost 50 years until 2011. As he cements his position as de facto No. 2 on Burma's post-election political scene, Sr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has transformed himself from taciturn soldier into a politician, public figure and statesman, say diplomats in Rangoon. "It was like speaking to a politician," said one senior Western diplomat of a recent meeting. "Not a soldier." People who know him say he is keen to show the army—still loathed by many after decades of iron-fisted junta-rule—is a positive force in the transition to democracy, but also that he is in no hurry for the military to step back from politics. Until Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a resounding victory in the first nationwide democratic election for 25 years in November, Min Aung Hlaing had never had a one-on-one meeting with the Nobel peace laureate. Since then, they have met at least three times as the historic foes of the army and NLD try to reach agreement on how they will work together once a drawn-out power transition is completed at the end of March. Min Aung Hlaing has shown no sign he is prepared to give up the 25 percent of seats in parliament reserved for unelected soldiers, nor of allowing a change to the junta-drafted constitution that bars Suu Kyi from becoming president. "The time is not ripe yet. It is still early," he said when pressed on when the military would return to barracks, according to the transcript of an interview with the Washington Post uploaded to his Facebook page shortly after the election. "The best time may come when there is total peace and stability in the country." 'No Arab Spring Failure' Under the constitution, the commander-in-chief, not the civilian president, appoints the heads of the home, defense and border security ministries, giving the military control of Burma's civil service and security apparatus. With media reports that Min Aung Hlaing's term will be extended by five years, he will be the second most powerful figure in government, after Suu Kyi, for the duration of the NLD's term. The military's reluctance to step back from politics completely, despite the overwhelming popular vote for the NLD, has been criticized by Western nations and human rights groups, who also accuse it of continuing abuses. Burma's generals say they have a duty to hold together a country fractured by ethnic conflicts until they deem its democracy is stable and durable. Min Aung Hlaing has studied other political transitions, and makes much of the need to avoid the chaos seen in Libya and other Middle Eastern countries after regime change in 2011. Brazil's Ambassador to Burma, Alcides Prates, said the commander-in-chief told him at a meeting in the capital, Naypyidaw, in January: "We are not going to let Myanmar become an Arab Spring failure." Min Aung Hlaing did not respond to an interview request from Reuters. Slow But Steady Rise Min Aung Hlaing steered clear of the political activism that was then widespread while studying law at Rangoon University from 1972-1974, according to a retired senior law officer who was a contemporary. "He was a man of few words and normally kept a low profile," the classmate said. While fellow students joined demonstrations, he made annual applications to join the country's premier military university, the Defense Services Academy (DSA), succeeding at his third attempt in 1974. According to a member of his DSA class, who spoke on condition of anonymity, he was an average cadet. "[He was] not an outstanding student. Not a driven person, [but] not a lazy person," said the classmate, who still sees Min Aung Hlaing at the intake's annual reunion dinner. "He was promoted regularly and slowly," added the classmate, who said he had been surprised he had risen beyond the officer corps' middle ranks. A key goal of Min Aung Hlaing has been improving the image of the military, said Maung Aung Myoe, author of "Building the Tatmadaw: Myanmar Armed Forces Since 1948," who says he wants the military to be seen as "the sons and daughters of the people". The Senior General's Facebook page, launched in 2013, has become his main tool for interacting with the media and public, amassing more than 450,000 "likes," with near daily posts detailing his activities and meetings with visiting dignitaries. "He understands the military, for the last few years, has had a negative view and a bad reputation," said Maung Aung Myoe. "And he has tried to improve it a lot." The post Amid Transition, Burma's Senior General Emerges From the Shadows appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Amnesty Criticizes India for Intolerance of Dissent Posted: 24 Feb 2016 09:48 PM PST Activists from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), raise their hands and shout slogans during a protest march in New Delhi, India, February 24, 2016.  (Photo: Adnan Abidi / Reuters) NEW DELHI — Amnesty International has joined a growing chorus accusing India of supporting a climate of intolerance by cracking down on dissent through arbitrary arrests, caste-based discrimination, extrajudicial killings and attacks on freedom of expression. The rights group said in its annual global report, published Wednesday, that India's Hindu nationalist government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had failed to prevent hundreds of incidents of communal violence, usually involving members of the Hindu majority pitted against Muslims or other minorities. Instead, ruling party lawmakers and politicians were fueling religious tensions with provocative speeches and justifications for the violence, it said. Amnesty's report also highlights the government's continued harassment of civil society groups critical of official policies over the past year, as well as government legal action aimed at controlling foreign funds for nongovernmental organizations. "Over 3,200 people were being held in January under administrative detention on executive orders without charge or trial," the report said, adding that state authorities used "anti-terror" laws to illegally hold activists and protesters in custody. The report is the latest criticism to be leveled at Modi's government after a year fraught with communal tension as members of India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party try to impose their brand of hyper-nationalism. Dozens of Indian authors, scientists, historians and film industry workers have returned national awards to protest the trend, which has seen arrests of student protesters, the murder of three atheist scholars and mob killings over rumors of cow slaughter. Among India's majority Hindu population, cows are considered sacred. On Monday, both the New York Times and Le Monde newspapers ran editorials lambasting Modi's government. The Times editorial board said the ongoing confrontation between Hindu nationalists and free-speech advocates "raises serious concerns about Modi's governance and may further stall any progress in Parliament on economic reforms." Last week, a group of 133 university professors from around the world—including linguist Noam Chomsky, Nobel-winning novelist Orphan Pamuk and economist James Galbraith—said the recent arrest of a student leader on sedition charges "is further evidence of the present government's deeply authoritarian nature, intolerant of any dissent, setting aside India's longstanding commitment to toleration and plurality of opinion." Modi and his government have remained largely unmoved by the criticism, saying little in response other than to denounce it as anti-government propaganda designed to distract from the government's agenda. Meanwhile, Modi has insisted he is prime minister for all of India, and not just Hindus, and urged the nation to instead focus on growing the economy. The Amnesty report also said that prisoner safety remained a serious concern, and that "over 282,000 prisoners—68 percent of the total prison population—were pretrial detainees." Most prisons are badly overcrowded, while torture and abuse in police or judicial custody led the country's Supreme Court last year to demand that state governments install closed-circuit television cameras within the next two years. It questioned the Indian Parliament's defeat of legislation to decriminalize same-sex relations, noting that the country was still adhering to a colonial-era law that makes homosexuality a crime punishable by up to a decade in prison. The post Amnesty Criticizes India for Intolerance of Dissent appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Uber Launches Motorcycle Ride-Hailing Service in Bangkok Posted: 24 Feb 2016 09:35 PM PST A phone running the Uber application is held above the traffic in central Bangkok, December 10, 2014.  (Photo: Damir Sagolj / Reuters) BANGKOK — Ride-hailing service Uber is placing a bet on motorcycles in Thailand's capital. Uber announced Wednesday the launch of its UberMOTO service in Bangkok as a pilot project for cities in developing countries. The new service is not original. Motorcycle taxis are a long-standing tradition in many Southeast Asian cities, and became especially popular after the economic boom of the 1980s brought an onslaught of new cars jamming city streets. Uber's Singapore-based competitor GrabTaxi launched its GrabBike motorcycle ride-on-demand service in Bangkok last July, and even earlier in Indonesia and Vietnam. In 2012, Uber had a short-lived motorcycle taxi pilot project in Paris. Uber said in a statement that the UberMOTO service will initially be available in three major business and residential areas of central Bangkok. It said it will have standard Uber features such as "live GPS tracking, 2-way feedback and the ability to share trip details with family and friends." "We aren't surprised when competitors recognize the need to offer services beyond private cars in this region," Adelene Foo, regional head of GrabBike/GrabExpress, said in an email. "Motorbikes are a way of life in Southeast Asia and a critical part of the transportation ecosystem." Foo said a motorcycle-based business "has its own unique set of challenges, and local knowledge is essential to recruiting drivers and understanding passenger preferences." Uber's original automobile service ran into legal problems in Thailand in 2014 when authorities said it was operating illegally until it met certain regulatory requirements. The post Uber Launches Motorcycle Ride-Hailing Service in Bangkok appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ousted Thai PM Thaksin’s Influence Shows Signs of Waning Posted: 24 Feb 2016 08:59 PM PST A woman holds up a New Year calendar showing a picture of former Thai Prime Ministers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra at a local restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, January 18, 2016.  (Photo: Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters) BANGKOK — Sitting in her busy Bangkok noodle shop, Bunruen Klinnak professes "love" for Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 military coup and later fled abroad. But Klinnak, 55, also fears Thaksin's return to politics could spell further unrest in a country rocked by coups and bloody street protests over the past decade. "We need to save money and be frugal because we don't know what politics will be like in the future," she says. This ambivalence among even his admirers suggests Thaksin's political influence in military-run Thailand could be flagging despite a new publicity blitz by the self-exiled billionaire. From his base in Dubai, Thaksin has thrown money and clout behind street protests and election campaigns, helping to install his sister Yingluck as prime minister in 2011. But the military overthrew her three years later—she is now on trial for corruption—and purged the bureaucracy of Shinawatra sympathizers. It also monitored and briefly detained politicians loyal to the family. Thaksin cannot take his old support base for granted, say analysts and allies, and might find himself struggling for relevance in a country which has undergone a profound political awakening in the past decade. Even the "red shirts," a grassroots political movement long considered loyal to Thaksin, show signs of outgrowing him. In a Feb. 23 interview with Reuters in Singapore, Thaksin said Thailand had "gone backward" under a junta that had caused economic hardship and deepened political divisions. Thais would not tolerate the junta for much longer, he added, although it's unclear if he can exploit this dissatisfaction. "The symbolic power that Thaksin and his sister carries is still something the military is very much concerned about," said Ambika Ahuja, a Southeast Asia specialist at Eurasia Group, a New York-based political risk consultancy. "[But] his network of regional politicians, local civil servants, and business people has been weakened and disrupted over the years," she said. "It's Over" Thaksin remains hugely popular, especially in Thailand's north and northeast. But this, he acknowledged, no longer translates into direct political power. "Nobody from the Shinawatra family will be prime minister anymore. It's over," he said. He is still wealthy, despite US$1.4 billion in assets being frozen since the 2006 coup. According to Forbes, he is Thailand's tenth richest man, with a net worth of $1.6 billion, although Thaksin told Reuters that he was "not even in the top 20." Returning home was Thaksin's "most important priority," said Chaturon Chaisaeng, a minister under both Shinwatras who was ousted alongside them in the 2006 and 2014 coups. But Thaksin's homecoming would seem unlikely so long as Thailand's military-backed royalist elite remained implacably opposed to it. Thaksin was also preoccupied with helping his sister, said Chaturon. Last year a junta-appointed assembly impeached Yingluck and banned her from politics for five years. She is currently on trial on criminal charges over corruption in a multi-billion-dollar rice subsidy scheme. "He persuaded his sister to come into politics and become the prime minister without much preparation," Chaturon said. "And now she faces a very serious situation." Thaksin told Reuters he was worried about Yingluck. Banned Calendars Thaksin remained confident about his legacy, which included populist policies such as cheap loans and almost free healthcare. "People never forget me," he said in the interview. But in recent months he and Yingluck have made many media appearances and distributed thousands of free books and calendars. The aim was "to remind people of their achievements," said Phumtham Wechayachai, secretary general of the Shinawatra-backed Puea Thai Party. Some analysts said the campaign was deliberately timed to embarrass a junta that faces growing difficulties, including how to revive Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy, which has struggled since the coup. Underscoring the military government's allergy to Thaksin, the authorities in northeast Thailand banned the calendars. "I don't know why they made it into such a big deal," said Thaksin. Even in the northeast, a traditional Shinawatra vote bank, ambivalence towards Thaksin isn't hard to find. "Thaksin thinks he knows the red shirts better than their leaders. This isn't true," said Thida Thavornseth, ex-chairperson of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, as the movement is formally known. Many red shirts disagreed with Thaksin pushing Yingluck, then the prime minister, to pass an amnesty bill in 2013, said Thida. The bill, which would have absolved Thaksin of his conviction, sparked huge street protests and prompted the military to again seize power. "There are people who love Thaksin very much," said Thida. "But there are also those in his own camp who hate him and are scared of him." Thaksin denied this. "The red shirts love me and I love them," he told Reuters. The post Ousted Thai PM Thaksin's Influence Shows Signs of Waning appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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