The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Thousands Commemorate Shan National Day at SSA Headquarters
• Once-Cancelled Dagon City 1 Project Relocated to New Site
• Thein Sein Tells New Lawmakers: Abide by the Constitution
• Presidential Nominations to be Considered March 17
• Ooredoo Receives Multi-Million Dollar Loan from ADB and IFC
• MPs to Donate Daily Stipend to Fire Victims
• ANP Speakers Selected in Arakan State Parliament
• NLD Lawmakers to Forego 25 Percent of Pay Packet for Party Fund
• With Mining Law Changes, Are Foreign Firms Set to Dig In?
• Flyovers to Surmount Rangoon’s Traffic Troubles?
• Taiwan Quake Toll Climbs to 35, President to Visit Disaster Scene
• Firebrand Monks a Powerful Force in Burma Despite Setback
• UN Condemns N. Korea launch, Pledges Significant New Sanctions
• Sri Lanka’s Tamil Leaders Call for UN Help on 4,000 Missing

Thousands Commemorate Shan National Day at SSA Headquarters Posted: 08 Feb 2016 06:07 AM PST Click to view slideshow. LOI TAI LENG, Shan State — With Sunday's dawn came the quiet chanting of Buddhist monks in Loi Tai Leng, the remote mountain headquarters of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S). But later that day, the camp's central grounds would be overwhelmed with nearly 6,000 visitors and residents commemorating the 69th Shan National Day with traditional musical performances and a military parade. For 17 years, Loi Tai Leng has served as the main outpost of the SSA-S and its political wing, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS). It is also host to a number of ethnic civilians, most of whom are unrecognized refugees who have sought safety on the border after being displaced by civil war throughout Shan State; year after year, residents with the means to do so have set up permanent concrete settlements on the steep mountain range bordering Thailand. The RCSS chairman, Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, addressed the crowd on Sunday and encouraged the diverse ethnic peoples of Shan State to be united. His speech emphasized public collaboration in implementing "genuine peace and prosperity." He also spoke positively of Burma's controversial Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), which was signed in October by eight of 15 ethnic armed groups involved in negotiations, including the SSA-S. The agreement also led to the RCSS's removal from the country's list of unlawful organizations. "Signing the NCA is a way to unity, as it is signed between the government and the armed groups of both sides who think for the public," he told The Irrawaddy. "When the public cooperates, it will be successful." The RCSS distributed NCA-related materials in Shan language to attendees of the national day events. Also present were ethnic Akha, Karenni and Wa observers, as well as delegates from the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), the political affiliate of the Shan State Army-North, a group which opted out of the NCA signing and has endured recent military offensives by the Burma Army. "Keep yourselves informed of the current situation and keep up with your observations," said Sao Pan Pha, a central committee member within the SSPP, in a short address to the public during the ceremony. In his speech, Lt-Gen Yawd Serk also urged people to use social media, such as Facebook, productively. "Today is the media era. Everyone now has access to it and it makes it easier for us to communicate," he said. "So when we post or debate on social media, please keep your mind toward unity and peace." Nang Hnin May, a 25-year-old migrant worker in Bangkok originally from Shan State's Moe Ne Township, expressed happiness at seeing Shan soldiers for the first time. “It is different than previous celebrations which I have participated in [in Burma]," she said. Like many in attendance, Nang Hnin May travelled to Loi Tai Leng specifically to take part in Shan National Day. The post Thousands Commemorate Shan National Day at SSA Headquarters appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Once-Cancelled Dagon City 1 Project Relocated to New Site Posted: 08 Feb 2016 05:03 AM PST Balloons float above the former Dagon City 1 sales office near Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon earlier this year. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The government has relocated a controversial international development project to a new site after it was suspended seven months ago following a public outcry over its proximity to the Shwedagon Pagoda. The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) on Friday approved a new 17 acre site for Marga Landmark's Dagon City 1 mixed use project, one of five that was suspended last year, according to a commission official. "We have approved a new site proposed by Marga. The land is owned by the Ministry of Science and Technology at the corner of Kaba Aye Pagoda and Kan Be road," said Min Zaw Oo, a deputy director from the MIC. Marga Landmark's Dagon City 1 was one of five planned developments that the government cancelled on July 7 last year after critics of the projects claimed that such a major undertaking so close to the pagoda could cause structural damage. The cancellation announcement also stated that the government would continue negotiations with investors to ensure that they were fairly compensated for their losses. The approval on Friday of Dagon City 1 marked the first such compensatory move by the government, with the MIC still working on approving new sites for the other companies involved in the original project. "We still haven't finished yet," Min Zaw Oo said. Aside from Dagon City 1, four other projects run by Thukha Yadanar, Shwe Taung Development, Adventure Myanmar and Shwe Taung Hyday were suspended in February 2015 amid a reassessment of their design and proximity to the revered Shwedagon. The post Once-Cancelled Dagon City 1 Project Relocated to New Site appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thein Sein Tells New Lawmakers: Abide by the Constitution Posted: 08 Feb 2016 03:50 AM PST Lawmakers, including Aung San Suu Kyi, attend the first session of the Union Parliament on Feb. 8, 2016. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — In a letter to the Union Parliament, outgoing president Thein Sein has called on Burma's newly minted lawmakers, overwhelmingly members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), to abide by the Constitution in dealing with the country's laws. The new Parliament convened on Feb. 1 with the start of a Lower House session, and it was followed two days later by an Upper House session. In the letter sent on Monday, Thein Sein said that he hopes lawmakers will be able to serve the interests of the country and citizens, as well as promote peace, stability and the rule of law, by staying in line with the Constitution. "Because the Union Parliament, [Burma's] highest legislative body, has pledged to protect the Constitution and abide by the laws of the country, I hope that it will do so in enacting new laws and amending and annulling old ones," Thein Sein said in the letter. Political commentator Yan Myo Thein told The Irrawaddy the president's letter was probably issued in light of recent speculation the NLD may seek to suspend Article 59(f) of the charter which effectively bars Suu Kyi from the presidency. The article disqualifies anyone with a foreign spouse or children from becoming president, and both of Suu Kyi's sons are British nationals, as was her late husband. "I assume it [the letter] is advising lawmakers to abide by the constitutional amendment chapter in talks to amend, suspend or add an exception to Article 59(f)," Yan Myo Thein said. Chapter 12 of the Constitution, which lays out the process of proposing and adopting constitutional amendments, stipulates that more than 75 percent of lawmakers must approve major amendments, effectively guaranteeing the army, which commands 25 percent of parliamentary seats, a veto over charter change. Major amendments also require a nationwide referendum, with the amendment carried if it receives a "yes" vote from more than half of the eligible voter population. The post Thein Sein Tells New Lawmakers: Abide by the Constitution appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Presidential Nominations to be Considered March 17 Posted: 08 Feb 2016 03:45 AM PST Lawmakers arrive to attend the first session of the Union Parliament on Feb. 8, 2016. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Convening for the first time on Monday, the speaker of Burma's Union Parliament announced that presidential nominations would be considered on March 17, more than four months since a general election that saw the National League for Democracy (NLD) win a commanding majority. Union Parliament Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than of the NLD said the Lower House, Upper House and bloc of military-appointed lawmakers, which together constitute the country's electoral college, would discuss their respective nominations on March 17. The Union Parliament will then meet to elect a president from among the three candidates, the remaining two of whom will become the country's vice presidents. With the NLD holding a majority in both houses, the party will be able to select two candidates. NLD chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi remains constitutionally barred from the position. With the March 17 date still more than one month away, observers have speculated that the NLD may be buying time for possible negotiations with the military on amending or suspending Article 59(f), the clause of the charter which effectively rules out a Suu Kyi presidency. In the previous Parliament dominated by the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), a pool of three candidates were selected on Feb. 3, 2011, with Thein Sein appointed president the following day. The term of Thein Sein's administration will expire on March 31. The post Presidential Nominations to be Considered March 17 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ooredoo Receives Multi-Million Dollar Loan from ADB and IFC Posted: 08 Feb 2016 01:16 AM PST People sit at a bus station in front of an Ooredoo advertisement as they wait for a bus in Rangoon, August 1, 2014. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have approved a US$300 million loan for foreign telecom operator Ooredoo. ADB and IFC are contributing $150 million each to the Qatari telecom operator to help with the rollout of a "greenfield" mobile network across the country using 3G technology. Christopher Thieme, director of ADB's private sector operations department, said in a statement released on Monday that Burma "has one of the lowest rates of telecom connectivity in Southeast Asia, with poor communities and women the least likely to have access to these increasingly vital services." "This assistance, ADB's largest private sector investment to date in Burma, will help the government meet its target of connecting over 90 percent of the population, including millions of people for the first time." The network rollout will be carried out through 2019. In addition to boosting economic growth and spurring the creation of more jobs, Ooredoo intends to use the loan to develop mobile applications for banking, agriculture and maternal health. Burma currently has one other foreign telecom operator, Norway's Telenor, with both firms in competition with state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT). MPT monopolized the country's telecom industry until 2014, when foreign companies were first allowed to gain a foothold in the telecommunications market. As competition in Burma's market has swelled over the past few years, telecom operators have sought to take international loans to ramp up their presence in the industry. "This investment shows our continued support to help extend essential and affordable infrastructure services to [Burmese] people," said Vikram Kumar, IFC Resident Representative for Burma, in the statement. "In addition to providing thousands of direct and indirect jobs to local workers, Ooredoo's nationwide telecom network will help connect people and ease economic activities by applying advanced telecommunication technologies." Ooredoo was granted an operations license in 2014, and since then, more than 80 percent of Burma's population has been covered by its growing network, with a majority of the company's customers using the network through smart devices. "Our wide range of telecom services support the socio-economic development of the country through enhanced communication between businesses, organizations and individuals," said Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, Ooredoo Group CEO. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said at the beginning of February that Burma's fourth and final telecom operator will be revealed later this month, following a hotly contested bid for the last permit. The post Ooredoo Receives Multi-Million Dollar Loan from ADB and IFC appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

MPs to Donate Daily Stipend to Fire Victims Posted: 07 Feb 2016 11:25 PM PST The aftermath of a fire in Namhsan, Shan State, that destroyed over 200 homes on Thursday. (Photo: Nang Seng Nom / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Union Parliament Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than forwarded an urgent proposal to lawmakers on Monday requesting that all MPs make a monetary donation to those affected by recent fires in Shan State's Namhsan and Labutta in Irrawaddy Division. Lawmakers unanimously agreed to the proposal, which will see each MP donate their daily stipend of 20,000 kyat, half of which will go toward food supplies, 5,000 kyat toward accommodation and 5,000 kyat for other general expenses. The total donation will amount to over 13 million kyat (US$10,290). A huge blaze razed over 200 homes in Namhsan of northern Shan State on Thursday, leaving an estimated 1,270 people homeless, according to authorities. A fire on the same day in Irrawaddy Division's Labutta destroyed 179 homes, leave over 700 people without shelter, officials said. The post MPs to Donate Daily Stipend to Fire Victims appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

ANP Speakers Selected in Arakan State Parliament Posted: 07 Feb 2016 11:20 PM PST Lawmakers from the Arakan National Party are seen in front of the party's headquarters in Sittwe, Arakan State. (Photo: Arakan National Party) RANGOON — The Arakan State Parliament approved Arakan National Party (ANP) nominations for speaker and deputy speaker as the new regional legislature convened on Monday. San Kyaw Hla, an ANP lawmaker from Ponnagyun Township was selected as house speaker and Phoe Min from Rathedaung Township will serve as the deputy speaker. The ANP won 23 state seats in November's general election while the National League for Democracy (NLD) won nine seats and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won three seats. Military MPs will take 12 seats in the parliament. ANP released a statement on Sunday reaffirming the sentiments expressed by the party on January 19—that the ANP will stand in firm opposition to the new NLD government if they are denied the right to form their own state-level administration. In Sunday's statement, the ANP said it has welcomed all suggestions put forward by monks, civil society organizations and voters and that the party held a central executive committee meeting to discuss these submissions on February 6. The party also announced that it will formally end its affiliation with United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), a coalition of ethnic political parties formed after Burma's 1990 election. Instead, the ANP will partner with National Brotherhood Federation (NBF), another ethnic coalition formed after the 2010 election, stating that the NBF will be better able to understand Arakanese issues and concerns. After the NLD indicated in December that all chief ministers would be NLD lawmakers, the ANP declared that it "won't join any government organization, but stand as an opposition party for the interests of Arakan people," unless the party is granted an exemption and allowed to form its own government. The post ANP Speakers Selected in Arakan State Parliament appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD Lawmakers to Forego 25 Percent of Pay Packet for Party Fund Posted: 07 Feb 2016 11:10 PM PST Lower House lawmakers attend Parliament during the new chamber's first week on Feb. 4, 2016. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The National League for Democracy (NLD) will deduct a portion of its lawmakers' salaries for party funds, according to a statement released last week. Signed by one of the party's central committee members, Win Htein, the letter outlines that 25 percent of each MPs' monthly salaries will be collected as party funds. Both houses of Burma's new Union Parliament convened last week, with 390 lawmakers representing the NLD. The party has implemented a sweeping donation policy to raise funds. Outgoing NLD lawmakers have also agreed to donate the entirety of their "party pension," a state-funded gratuity paid for their time served in Parliament, to a party fund. More than 40 NLD members that entered Parliament following an April 2012 by-election took a 10 percent pay cut when their monthly salary was at 300,000 kyat. The new 25 percent pay cut comes after lawmakers' salaries increased in April 2015 to 1 million kyat per month. Following the NLD's convincing electoral victory in November, Suu Kyi told MP-elects that they could expect a drastic reduction in salary—somewhere between 25 and 50 percent. "Anyone in the top positions will see a 50 percent pay cut," she said, according to a party member present at the meeting. The post NLD Lawmakers to Forego 25 Percent of Pay Packet for Party Fund appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

With Mining Law Changes, Are Foreign Firms Set to Dig In? Posted: 07 Feb 2016 11:00 PM PST Aung San Suu Kyi watches a test explosion during a visit to the Letpadaung copper mine project in Sarlingyi Township on March 14, 2013. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) Long-anticipated revisions to Burma's Mining Law, which were passed by the outgoing Parliament at the end of last year, could spur foreign investment in a sector that is still vulnerable to frontier market perils. The new law, which was finalized after being stalled in Parliament for more than two years, is significantly more favorable to foreign firms than the legislation previously in effect, which dated back to the days of the former junta in the 1990s. The updated rules officially aim to "promote the development of investment in respect of mineral resources" and are expected by many in the industry to usher in a new wave of foreign investment in Burma's mining sector. The amended legislation was signed into law by President Thein Sein on Dec. 24, just weeks before he is set to hand over power to a new administration led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). According to a summary of the regulatory changes released by Valentis Resources, a Rangoon-based exploration and mining services company, the new rules pave the way for foreign firms to buy their way into already existing small- and medium-scale mining projects in joint ventures with local Burmese firms and then expand those projects. The expanded role this will potentially afford foreign companies stands in contrast to the 1994 Mining Law, which in effect only made partnerships between foreign firms and large local companies feasible. Another key change included in the new regulatory framework concerns production-sharing, which under the previous rules stipulated that some share of what was produced at a mine be given to the government, in addition to paying royalties. Under the new rules, firms can instead enter into a form of profit-sharing with the government or an equity participation that would allow for the government to buy a stake and invest in a given project. The new regulations were drafted with the input of the chairman of the Upper House Mining and Resources Committee, Nay Win Tun, an ethnic Pa-O businessman affiliated with the Pa-O National Organization (PNO) militia who has a number of investments in Burma's mining sector, including in Kachin State's lucrative jade mines by way of his firm Ruby Dragon. Nay Win Tun's involvement in the drafting of amendments to the law was flagged as problematic by the London-based NGO Global Witness, which last year produced a lengthy exposé on Burma's jade trade. "Effectively, this means that a prominent industry player is involved in setting the rules which will regulate his own business," said the watchdog group's report The revised rules were also drafted with the advice of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and other international experts. In a 2013 interview with Australia's ABC Radio, Burma's Minister for Mines Myint Aung explained that the changes were being drawn up with the aim of meeting international expectations. "With regards to the Mining Law, we are still in the revising and reviewing stage and working very much closely with the AusAID to become that law [sic] an internationally recognized and accepted standard," said Myint Aung at the time. Like Thein Sein, Myint Aung is set to leave office next month. Although party chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures in the incoming NLD government have given few details about how they will deal with the mining industry, it is expected that whomever becomes the next mining minister will follow the course set by the Thein Sein administration's handling of the Ministry of Mines and continue with changes deemed necessary by foreign investors. That view is shaped in part by the Nobel laureate's handling of the chairwomanship of a parliamentary inquiry into a violent crackdown against land-rights activists at the Letpadaung copper mine site near Monywa in November 2012. The inquiry ultimately concluded that the despite the heavy-handed way government authorities dealt with farmers and monks protesting the seizure of land, the mega mine project involving a partnership between a Chinese state-owned company and Burmese military-controlled firm should continue. The Ministry of Mines has declared its intention to sell state-owned mining assets. "Privatization of the tin and tungsten mines and mines and industrial mines is also being planned and will be put into effect in the very near future," reads the ministry's website, something that will likely please potential foreign investors, should the incoming NLD government carry out this pledge. The amended rules are set to be implemented within 90 days of their being signed into law and the Ministry of Mines is tasked with drawing up attendant regulations that comply with the new legislation, including those covering the size of exploration permits and the creation of regionally and state-based permit granting boards. No Mining Paradise Despite the rules changes, Burma will remain a challenging place for mining firms to operate and it is likely that ongoing disputes between small-scale landholders and mining firms, which have taken place across much of the country in recent years, will only intensify as mining firms look to expand their activities across rural Burma. An Investment Climate Assessment released by the World Bank last year painted a bleak picture of industry risks. "When it comes to mining, Myanmar [Burma] currently lacks the necessary laws and enforcement mechanisms to protect its environment and vulnerable populations against the impacts of mining. Over the past two decades, this has led to conflict and severe environmental degradation in the wake of a rapid increase in large-scale mining," the report's author concludes. Whether Burma's new mining rules, which were clearly drafted to encourage more foreign investment in the sector, will actually lessen these problems remains to be seen. While Norinco, the giant Chinese state-owned weapons firm and its subsidiary, Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper, have invested heavily in the controversial multibillion-dollar expansion of the Letpadaung mine, most Western mining firms currently operating in the country are only at the preliminary stages of exploration. For the most part, Western firms are relatively small outfits commonly referred to in the mining industry as "juniors." Although international interest in Burma's mining sector remains strong, large Western mining firms largely are staying on the sidelines despite the lifting of sanctions in 2012. The Mining Law's protracted revision has been blamed in part, as has firms' decision to wait for the adoption of other business-friendly developments like the forthcoming adoption of an Investment Protection Agreement between Burma and the European Union, before fully committing themselves to a country still in flux. That has left the juniors, some of whom are clearly fly-by-night operations, to scour Burma looking for deals in a country whose geology has yet to be fully explored. Recent regulatory filings from various junior mining firms listed on their respective stock markets suggest that Burma's mining sector has proved to be less promising than they had originally anticipated when they entered the country after political reforms began more than four years ago. This has been compounded by a global glut in mineral prices caused by slowing demand in China. A case in point is the firm that inked a deal with the chairman of the parliamentary mining committee. In June 2013, Australia's Intercept Minerals Ltd. signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ruby Dragon and its chairman and principle shareholder Nay Win Tun, whom the firm referred to as a "prominent Myanmar businessman," while failing to mention his prominent position on the mining committee or his previous inclusion on the EU sanctions list. The MOU, which in Intercept's words was geared toward the "evaluation of existing mining and exploration opportunities in Myanmar, initially covering tin, tungsten and gold," ultimately failed to pan out.  Some 13 months after signing the deal with Nay Win Tun, Intercept metamorphosed into an internet TV broadcaster following a reverse takeover of a Silicon Valley startup. The firm now called XTV Networks Ltd. no longer has any involvement in mining. Another Australian junior mining firm, Avenue Resources, similarly entered Burma in 2013 after merging with Lotus Mining Limited, an unlisted company focused on tin. The tie up was supposed to lead Avenue to a number of "exciting acquisition opportunities" in Burma. But one year later the firm, which by this time had changed its name to Triumph Tin, chose to give up on Burma entirely. "Whilst Triumph Tin maintains that the geological aspects of the exploration potential of Myanmar are exciting, the Company has concluded that the business case of moving forward in Myanmar, at this time, is not as compelling as the business case available in other jurisdictions," the firm said in a report to its shareholders. Last year the London-listed firm Aurasian Minerals, which is partially owned by US mining giant Newmont Mining Corporation, chose to withdraw the permits it had submitted to the government some 10 months earlier to explore for gold, silver and copper in a jade-rich corner of Kachin State beset by conflict. But other juniors like the Australian firm Eumeralla Resources Ltd. have opted to stay on in Burma. According to Eumeralla's latest regulatory filings, it continues to wait for government authorities to process the exploration permits its Burmese subsidiary submitted in 2014 to search for tin and tungsten in Karenni State. The application has raised concerns that the firm's activities could re-ignite a long-running conflict in the state. Another firm, Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Mining Ltd. (APML), which describes itself as the "first Western-led mining company" to be granted a large-scale exploration license in Burma, is focused on exploring a 649-square-kilometer concession in Burma's far north. The firm, headed by an Australian mining veteran, had its permits to explore for lead, zinc and silver in northern Shan State approved in October 2014. Just three days later, heavy fighting broke out near the area. Clashes between government troops and ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State have continued, which will complicate any effort to fully study the region's potentially lucrative geology. The post With Mining Law Changes, Are Foreign Firms Set to Dig In? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Flyovers to Surmount Rangoon’s Traffic Troubles? Posted: 07 Feb 2016 10:50 PM PST Click to view slideshow. RANGOON — Over the past five years, the Rangoon Division government has approved seven overpasses in the city to tackle growing traffic problems. Yet despite completion of five flyovers in the last three years, and at busy city intersections where rush-hour traffic is often at a standstill, it seems dubious that the government will be able to quell traffic woes. This has not stopped construction of the overpasses at 8-Mile and Tamwe junctions, however. Started last year, the Y-shaped flyover at Tamwe, where five roads meet, is probably the biggest of Rangoon's seven overpasses, stretching across Banya Dala, U Ching Maung and East Equestrian roads. With 60 percent to be completed by month's end, the flyover is likely to be open for public use in April, according to Sein Win, an executive engineer of Shwe Taung Development Co, Ltd., which has invested an estimated 25.5 billion kyats in construction of the overpass. Featured here are pictures of the building site. The post Flyovers to Surmount Rangoon's Traffic Troubles? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Taiwan Quake Toll Climbs to 35, President to Visit Disaster Scene Posted: 07 Feb 2016 10:18 PM PST Rescue personnel work at the site where a 17-story apartment building collapsed in an earthquake in Tainan, southern Taiwan, February 7, 2016.  (Photo: Pichi Chuang / Reuters) TAINAN, Taiwan — The death toll from an earthquake in southern Taiwan at the weekend climbed to 35 on Monday, with more than 100 people still listed as missing under a 17-story building that collapsed and where all rescue efforts are being focused. The quake struck at about 4 am on Saturday, at the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday, with almost all the dead found in the toppled Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building in Tainan city. Rescuers continued to scramble over the twisted wreck of the building as numbed family members stood around, waiting for news of missing relatives. Taiwan's government said in a statement 33 of the 35 dead were from that Wei-guan building, with 117 still listed as missing. President Ma Ying-jeou is scheduled to visit the disaster zone later on Monday, as is Tsai Ing-wen, who won a presidential election last month. Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed condolences to the victims, state news agency Xinhua reported late on Sunday, and repeated Beijing's offer to provide help. China views self-ruled Taiwan as a wayward province, to be bought under its control by force if necessary. The post Taiwan Quake Toll Climbs to 35, President to Visit Disaster Scene appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Firebrand Monks a Powerful Force in Burma Despite Setback Posted: 07 Feb 2016 10:14 PM PST Buddhist monks sit during a news conference by the radical Buddhist group Ma Ba Tha at their head office in Rangoon, October 2, 2015.  (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) WASHINGTON — Dark-skinned and bearded men jump a young woman after she prays at a Buddhist shrine. They push her to the ground and rape her. Then they cut off her ear and slit her throat. A lurid video recently posted online by a firebrand monk in Burma purports to re-enact the woman's death at the hands of Muslim assailants. Her killing in 2012 set off widespread violence between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims in the Southeast Asian nation. Tens of thousands of people viewed the video until Facebook blocked it on Feb. 1, a sign of the continuing reach of Burma's Buddhist extremists even as the country moves toward civilian rule after five decades of military dominance. A new report by US researchers finds that a divisive religious group known as Ma Ba Tha, which counts the hardline monk Wirathu among its senior members, is likely to remain a force for some time to come in Burma. Ma Ba Tha's anti-Muslim prejudices resonate in broader Burmese society, according to the report. The conflict and security research group C4ADS spent several months studying hate speech in Burma. It focused on Ma Ba Tha, or the Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion, scrutinizing the social media accounts of the group's leading monks and followers. "We find a decentralized, but still highly organized, group that operates with unrivaled freedom," the report says. It cites the group's activist rallies, legislative campaigns, powerful media network and pressure directed at judges and police to influence legal cases. The report concludes that the incoming government led by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, or NLD, is unlikely to confront Ma Ba Tha, despite the religious group's support for a rival pro-military party that was trounced in November elections. The new NLD-led parliament convened this week. "While the [election] defeat is embarrassing to an organization whose key leaders had openly advocated against the NLD, it may prove to have little material impact over the long run," the report says. Experts say the NLD's victory was driven by support for Suu Kyi and a desire for civilian rule. But the party did not field a single Muslim among its 1,151 election candidates—a sign of the political sensitivities surrounding religion. Also, there is popular support for Ma Ba Tha's campaign to deny rights to stateless Rohingya Muslims, who have been targeted in the religious violence and live in apartheid-like conditions in western Burma, according to the report. Ma Ba Tha denies spreading hate speech. "We are not telling anyone to hate Muslims or kill them or anything like that. We are just trying to protect our own race and religion and showing love to our country," central committee member Ashin Parmoukkha told The Associated Press in Rangoon, Burma's main city. Yet even the group's more moderate leaders have espoused an ultra-nationalist outlook in which Muslims, who account for about 5 to 10 percent of Burma's 52 million people, pose an existential threat to the Buddhist majority. Ma Ba Tha's vice chairman, the renowned monk Sitagu Sayadaw, organized a peace conference last month with participants from more than 50 countries. He told a visiting US delegation in 2014 that Buddhist countries "are living in constant daily fear of falling under the sword of the Islamic extremists." The ability of Ma Ba Tha leaders to simplify Buddhist teachings has added to the group's popular appeal. It has a nationwide network of offices, oversees newspapers, broadcasts TV sermons and does charitable work. Wirathu, the monk who posted the video, is Ma Ba Tha's most provocative voice. He served several years in jail for inciting deadly anti-Muslim riots in 2003. In January 2015, he called a UN special envoy on human rights a "whore" and a "bitch" after she criticized a bill restricting interfaith marriage and religious conversions in Burma. It was among four race and religion bills championed by Ma Ba Tha and signed into law last year despite opposition from the NLD party. The video posted in late January on his Facebook page, which has 131,000 followers, was intended as a teaser for a longer video portraying the May 2012 killing of 27-year-old Ma Thida Htwe in western Rakhine State. A court sentenced to death two Muslim men for robbing, raping and killing the woman. A third man was charged; state media reported that he hanged himself in custody. The woman's killing triggered the first in several bouts of Buddhist-Muslim violence that has left more than 200 dead and 140,000 homeless. Wirathu, 47, defended the video in an interview with the Myanmar Times newspaper, saying he wanted to show the incoming NLD government that it "needs to prioritize protecting the race and religion of the country." Facebook took down the video after complaints from activists, including Burma scholar Maung Zarni, who said its portrayal of Muslim men as blood-thirsty and its use of Buddhist symbolism were clearly intended to resonate with Burmese racists. The NLD and government officials have also criticized the video, but Maung Zarni contended that authorities have "incubated" Ma Ba Tha and allow it to act with impunity. Tina Mufford, East Asia analyst for the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, said the group has grown rapidly in the past two years and she expected its "warped" anti-Muslim messaging would continue. "The elections may be over, but Ma Ba Tha's inner workings are still in place," she said. The post Firebrand Monks a Powerful Force in Burma Despite Setback appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UN Condemns N. Korea launch, Pledges Significant New Sanctions Posted: 07 Feb 2016 09:20 PM PST A man looks through a barbed wire fence near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, February 8, 2015. (Photo: Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters) SEOUL — The UN Security Council condemned North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket that world leaders called a banned test of ballistic missile technology and another "intolerable provocation." The UN's most powerful body pledged to quickly adopt a new resolution with "significant" new sanctions. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un went ahead with the launch just two hours after an eight-day window opened early Sunday, and a month after the country's fourth nuclear test. He ignored an appeal from China, its neighbor and important ally, not to proceed, and, in another slap to Beijing, he chose the eve of the Chinese New Year, the country's most important holiday. In a reflection of heightened hostilities between the rival Koreas, South Korea's Defense Ministry said a South Korean naval vessel fired five shots into the water as a warning Monday when a North Korean patrol boat briefly moved south of the countries' disputed boundary line in the Yellow Sea. Since its Jan. 6 nuclear test, which the North claimed was a powerful hydrogen bomb, despite outside skepticism, China and the United States have been negotiating the text of a new Security Council sanctions resolution. North Korean rocket launches and nuclear tests are seen as crucial steps toward Pyongyang's ultimate goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could hit the US mainland. At the UN, the US, backed by its allies, Japan and South Korea, wants tough sanctions reflecting Kim's defiance of the Security Council. But diplomats say China, the North's key protector in the council, is reluctant to impose economic measures that could cause North Korea's economy to collapse—and a flight of North Koreans into China across their shared border. The 15-member Security Council strongly condemned the launch and pledged to "expeditiously" adopt a new resolution with "further significant measures"—UN code for sanctions. The word "robust" referring to the measures was in an initial draft, but was dropped in the final statement. US Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters that "it cannot be business as usual" after two successive North Korean acts that are "hostile and illegal." "What's important is that the Security Council unites," Power said. "China is a critical player. … We are hopeful that China, like all council members, will see the grave threat to regional and international peace and security, see the importance of adopting tough, unprecedented measures, breaking new ground here, exceeding the expectations of Kim Jong Un." However, China's UN ambassador, Liu Jieyi, made clear that unprecedented sanctions aren't Beijing's priority. He said a new resolution should "do the work of reducing tension, of working toward denuclearization [of the Korean peninsula], of maintaining peace and stability, and of encouraging a negotiated solution." "I believe the council needs to work together for a new resolution," Liu added, indicating that China may want negotiations with the United States to be widened. Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, whose country is also a North Korean ally, said: "It has to be a weighty resolution, but it also has to be a reasonable resolution" that doesn't lead to North Korea's economic or humanitarian collapse, or further heighten tensions. Russia's goal is to see six-party talks aimed at denuclearization resume, he said, but in the current atmosphere that's unlikely because the North Koreans "have been very unreasonable" and are challenging the entire international community. "We think this is wrong for their national interests … for the Korean Peninsula … for the region," Churkin said. North Korea, which calls its launches part of a peaceful space program, said it had successfully put a new Earth observation satellite, the Kwangmyongsong 4, or Shining Star 4, into orbit less than 10 minutes after liftoff, and vowed more such launches. A US official said it might take days to assess whether the launch was a success. Japan's UN ambassador, Motohide Yoshikawa, told reporters the missile, which went over Japan and landed near the Philippines, was "a clear threat to the lives of many people." The Security Council underscored that launches using ballistic missile technology, "even if characterized as a satellite launch or space launch vehicle" contribute to North Korea's development of systems to deliver nuclear weapons and violate four Security Council resolutions dating back to the North's first nuclear test in 2006. North Korea under Kim Jong Un has pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal unless Washington scraps what Pyongyang calls a hostile policy meant to collapse Kim's government. In a development that will worry both Pyongyang and Beijing, a senior South Korean Defense Ministry official, Yoo Jeh Seung, told reporters that Seoul and Washington have agreed to begin talks on a possible deployment of the THAAD missile-defense system in South Korea. North Korea has long decried the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea, and Beijing would see a South Korean deployment of THAAD, which is one of the world's most advanced missile-defense systems, as a threat to its interests in the region. In a statement, North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration, in typical propaganda-laden language, praised "the fascinating vapor of Juche satellite trailing in the clear and blue sky in spring of February on the threshold of the Day of the Shining Star." Juche is a North Korean philosophy focusing on self-reliance; the Day of the Shining Star refers to the Feb. 16 birthday of Kim Jong Un's father, former dictator Kim Jong Il. North Korea has previously staged rocket launches to mark important anniversaries. The global condemnation began almost immediately. South Korean President Park Geun-hye called the launch an "intolerable provocation," saying the North's efforts to advance its missile capabilities were "all about maintaining the regime" in Pyongyang and ignored the hardships of ordinary North Koreans. US Secretary of State John Kerry called the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan and reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad commitment to the security and defense" of its allies, the State Department said. The Foreign Ministry in China expressed "regret that, disregarding the opposition from the international community, the [North] side obstinately insisted in carrying out a launch by using ballistic missile technologies." Noting China's pivotal role in negotiating a new Security Council resolution, Britain's deputy UN ambassador, Peter Wilson, said: "Today is Chinese New Year's eve and if I was a senior Chinese official, I would be pretty annoyed at what's been happening here. I know what I feel like when I'm dragged out of bed on a major national holiday." Kim Jong Un has overseen two of the North's four nuclear tests and three long-range rocket launches since taking over after the death of his father in late 2011. The UN Security Council prohibits North Korea from nuclear and ballistic missile activity. Experts say that ballistic missiles and rockets in satellite launches share similar bodies, engines and other technology. "If North Korea has only nuclear weapons, that's not that intimidating. If they have only rockets, that's not that intimidating, either. But if they have both of them, that means they can attack any target on Earth. So it becomes a global issue," said Kwon Sejin, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. The post UN Condemns N. Korea launch, Pledges Significant New Sanctions appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Sri Lanka’s Tamil Leaders Call for UN Help on 4,000 Missing Posted: 07 Feb 2016 09:11 PM PST Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of Sri Lanka's United National Party (UNP), waves at the Prime Minister's official residence in Colombo, August 19, 2015.  (Photo: Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters) JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil leaders on Sunday asked the top UN human rights official to help determine the fate of more than 4,000 civilians reported missing in the country's long civil war amid the government's assertion that most of them are probably dead. The UN official, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, met with the chief minister of Sri Lanka's Northern Province, the center of the civil war, which ended in 2009. Zeid is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka to review measures taken by the government to investigate alleged war abuses during the war. Both the Sri Lankan government and the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels are accused of serious human rights violations. According to UN estimates, up to 100,000 people were killed in the 26-year war, but many more are feared to have died, including up to 40,000 civilians in the final months of the fighting. The UN Human Rights Council last year adopted a consensus resolution in which Sri Lanka agreed to an investigation with foreign participation. Zeid said he discussed several issues with Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran and other provincial officials, including the missing people, detentions without trial and military-occupied private land. He said he would take the issues up with the central government. "The discussions very much focused on the challenges faced by the province, but also the plans and achievements in that regard, and the people who aspire to see more information in terms of those detained and those missing and the issue of release of lands," Zeid said. He said the discussions would continue during his visit. Wigneswaran said he gave Zeid a list of the more than 4,000 people reported missing, with dates and places where they were seen last. Many civilians have not been heard from since they were picked up by police or military personnel at their homes or abducted by pro-government militia during the war. Relatives say there are many whom they personally handed over to the military at the end of the fighting, after the military requested the surrender of anyone who had even the smallest link to the now-defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, promising their early release. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected last year, has said most of those reported missing are probably dead. He said that the new government found no secret detention centers being run by the state, as suspected by families of the missing, and that there are only 292 people in government detention. Wigneswaran said Zeid opposed the suggestion of negotiating an amnesty for Tamil rebel suspects detained for years without trial. Zeid said releasing innocents through a quick and proper legal process would be the best course of action. Since defeating his nationalist predecessor last year, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has released some land and promised speedy trials for detainees. But Tamils have complained that the authorities are slow in fulfilling their promises. The post Sri Lanka's Tamil Leaders Call for UN Help on 4,000 Missing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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