The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Presidential Nominees To Be Announced On March 10
- Yangon Stock Exchange on Track for March Trading Debut
- Parliament Awaits Government Support on Urgent Proposals
- Burmese ‘Gypsy Writer’ Maung Tha Ya Dies At 86
- Grim Future Awaits Migrant Workers
- Suu Kyi Highlights Ethnic ‘Unity and Responsibility’
- A Bookworm’s Paradise on Pansodan
| Presidential Nominees To Be Announced On March 10 Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:47 AM PST  National League for Democracy (NLD) party leader Aung San Suu Kyi attends Union Parliament in Naypyidaw on January 28, 2016. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's Union Parliament announced on Tuesday that presidential nominees will be declared on March 10—a week earlier than the date originally set for the occasion. Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than of the Union Parliament read the announcement, but no reason for the revised date was given at the legislative session. After nominees are announced, an electoral college will select Burma's next President from among them; the deadline for the transition of power to Burma's new government is the end of March. "The date to hold meetings for the three presidential nominees has been put forward to March 10, a week earlier than the previously decided date," the Speaker told the MPs. NLD senior members were engaged in a meeting and not available for comment when The Irrawaddy reached out for interviews on Tuesday. Political commentator Yan Myo Thein told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that he assumed the revision of the date stemmed from an internal decision within the party, and was optimistic about the extra week it would allow the NLD during the process of transitioning power. "The revision of the date is an appropriate and better approach [for the NLD] to form a new government and union level organizations," he said. The revised date was announced following a meeting between chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and military commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing on February 17. The talks were reportedly held to discuss matters related to the rule of law and sustainable peace. Yet Yan Myo Thein speculated that the possibility of a "direct connection" was slim between Suu Kyi's meeting with the military chief and the decision to advance the nomination date. He instead attributed the change to a "tight schedule"—the original date of March 17 to announce the nominees was too close to the deadline of the power transfer, he said. The state-owned newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar quoted Arakan National Party (ANP) lawmaker Khin Saw Wai in Tuesday's edition, who said that it was possible to hold nominations earlier because both the people and the military were ready for the announcement. Both the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament will nominate candidates for vice president, while military representatives, who were appointed by the commander-in-chief to fill 25 percent of the legislative seats, will nominate another candidate. Despite the NLD's landslide victory in November's general election, where the party acquired nearly 80 percent of the seats in each house, Suu Kyi remains barred from the presidency. This is articulated in Article 59 (f) of Burma's controversial 2008 Constitution, which prohibits anyone with a foreign spouse or foreign children from holding the position; the NLD chairwoman's late husband was British, and her two sons also hold British citizenship. Suu Kyi has held three meetings with military leaders since the election, reportedly to discuss changes to Article 59 (f), but the military has expressed an unwillingness to consider an amendment to or a suspension of the law. Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly stated that that she will find other ways to head the government, by, as she said, being "above the President." The post Presidential Nominees To Be Announced On March 10 appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Yangon Stock Exchange on Track for March Trading Debut Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:42 AM PST  A man reads a newspaper in front of the Yangon Stock Exchange in Rangoon on Dec. 8, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — The Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) is expected to begin shares trading by the second week of March, with dry-run testing already underway, an official from the Securities Exchange Commission of Myanmar (SECM) told The Irrawaddy on Monday. Though the YSX officially "launched" late last year with six companies listed, no shares have yet been traded on the first-of-its-kind bourse. Burma's deputy finance minister told media at a Dec. 9 ceremony marking the occasion that trading was expected to begin this month, with the delay chalked up to officials' desire to ensure smooth operation of the new capital market. First Myanmar Investment (FMI); Myanmar Citizens Bank; Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings Public Limited; Myanmar Agribusiness Public Company Limited [Mapco]; First Private Bank; and Great Hor Kham were the six firms to initially list on the YSX. "We're now testing this trading internally, working with securities exchange companies. [Trading is] expected to start in the second week of March," said Tin May Oo, a member of the SECM. Six securities companies have been awarded licenses to serve as underwriters for shares traded on the YSX, including Kanbawza (KBZ) Group of Companies, CB Securities and AYA Securities, as well as the Myanmar Securities Exchange Center, which has experience in shares transactions thanks to its role as the over-the-counter trading predecessor to the YSX. "Not all six listed companies will be ready for shares trading this March; some of them will be ready. I can't provide details right now," Tin May Oo said. The six firms selected as underwriters will serve as liaisons between the listed companies and buyers and sellers of shares. These securities companies have been tasked with preparing the technical infrastructure required for trading to take place. Nyo Myint, senior managing director of KBZ Group of Companies, said the conglomerate's securities arm was ready for shares trading, adding that its banking unit was chosen from among five other lenders to handle stock shares transactions when trading begins. "One bank is needed to provide service for stock shares' transactions, that's why KBZ Bank will provide this service," he said. Thet Tun Oo, senior executive manager of the YSX, said that the bourse was ready for trading to commence, pending approval from the Ministry of Finance. "They [Burma's outgoing government] want to start stock shares trading before the new government takes power, but we're still awaiting approval from the Finance Ministry," he said. The post Yangon Stock Exchange on Track for March Trading Debut appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Parliament Awaits Government Support on Urgent Proposals Posted: 01 Mar 2016 01:01 AM PST  A view of the Union Parliament in Naypyidaw during its opening session on February 8, 2016. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Since opening in early February, the Upper and Lower Houses of Burma's new Parliament—dominated by lawmakers from the National League for Democracy (NLD)—have initiated multiple democratic proceedings to which ruling government officials have yet to offer support. Lawmakers of different party backgrounds have submitted five urgent proposals in recent weeks that have been backed by a majority of parliamentarians, but to which central government officials have not responded. Union Parliament Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than forwarded the first such urgent motion to lawmakers on February 8, requesting that all MPs make a monetary donation from their daily stipends to victims affected by fires in Shan State's Namhsan Township and Labutta Township in Irrawaddy Division. Parliamentarian Sai Tun Aung, representing the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and hailing from Kyaukme Township in Shan State, submitted a proposal to the Lower House on February 16 calling for an end to fighting between the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and later, the Burma Army. He asked that the Parliament discuss an immediate ceasefire and the provision of assistance to people displaced by the conflict. Maung Thin of Mandalay Division's Meiktila constituency, is an MP representing the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)—a group aligned with the military which formerly made up the parliamentary majority. He submitted an urgent request to the Parliament on February 22 asking government to take preventative measures to address social and economic problems which could potentially be caused by El Niño. He said he feared that, due to unusual weather patterns, Burma's public could face more natural disasters in the coming months, including forest fires, drought and flooding, resulting in agricultural and health problems. On February 24, a proposal by Lagan Zal Jone, who represents Kachin State's Waingmaw Township, called on the government to provide protection assistance to the anti-opium vigilante group known as Pat Jasan— established by ethnic Kachin Baptist elders. At the time, Pat Jasan members were on their way to destroy poppy fields in northeastern Kachin State but were stopped outside of the capital, Myitkyina. Another proposal was tabled by Khin San Hlaing of the National League for Democracy (NLD) on February 25, urging authorities to review permission to sell or lease state-owned factories, facilities and projects to private companies before the transfer of power to a new government next month. Government officials failed to appear at the Parliament last week to discuss the latter two issues—those of privatization and of protection for anti-poppy campaigners. Instead, a letter was sent to the legislature from the central government stating that officials were busy with transition process. One notable action by military lawmakers last Friday was their united opposition to a support statement read by another NLD MP in response to Khin San Hlaing's proposal. The soldiers all stood up collectively in the Parliament to express their disapproval of the statement, which addressed issues relating to the controversial Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Division. A military MP, named Moe Kyaw Oo, refuted the statement by detailing various facts and figures related to the mining project. Such active participation by military MPs is incredibly rare in Parliament. The new Parliament has also formed several committees that will guide the legislature's work over the next five years, including 18 in the Lower House and 16 in the Upper House, and a Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission lead by the USDP's Shwe Mann, Burma's former Union Parliament Speaker often viewed as an ally of Aung San Suu Kyi. In the past month, the lawmaking body has appointed chairpersons and committee members. Unlike in the previous Parliament, where military MPs were assigned as committee observers, in the current arrangement, a military lawmaker has been appointed as a functional member to each of the committees formed. The Union Parliament has thus far formed three standing—or more permanent—committees: a joint public accounts committee; a joint draft bill committee and the Committee on Scrutinizing Hluttaw (Parliament) Representatives. The post Parliament Awaits Government Support on Urgent Proposals appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Burmese ‘Gypsy Writer’ Maung Tha Ya Dies At 86 Posted: 01 Mar 2016 12:32 AM PST  Author Maung Tha Ya, who passed away in the US on Monday. (Photo: Maung Tha Ya/Facebook) Renowned Burmese writer Maung Tha Ya, author of over 60 books, passed away at age 86 in the US on Monday. Born in Mandalay, he was given the name Thein Lwin at birth, but took the pen name of Maung Tha Ya in 1955, when his career as an author began with the publication of a short story in Rangoon's Shu Ma Wa Magazine. The same year, he was released from a two-year stint in prison, after a 1953 arrest while serving as the leader for the Mandalay University Students' Front. He was also expelled from university. Earlier, at age 21 in 1951 Maung Tha Ya was elected a member of the central executive committee of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, a politically active umbrella organization of university student groups. He also served as the Secretary of Information and a member of the union's propaganda bureau. Maung Tha Ya later won Burma's National Literary Award in 1970 for his novel "Standing on the Road, Sobbing." He became known by his nickname, the "Gypsy Writer," for his love of travel within Burma, and his inability to stay in one place for long. In the 1980s and 1990s, he worked as an editor of Tha Ya Magazine, which was later banned by the country's military government. Unable to continue writing in his homeland, he moved to the US in 1999. The year he left Burma, he spoke to The Irrawaddy from the Thai-Burma border. The country's ongoing political struggle, he envisioned, would have to one day "be resolved through some synthesis of opposing views." "His unspoken hope," the article said, was that he would "live to see it." The post Burmese 'Gypsy Writer' Maung Tha Ya Dies At 86 appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Grim Future Awaits Migrant Workers Posted: 29 Feb 2016 11:34 PM PST  British labor activist Andy Hall, of the Migrant Worker Rights Network, outside a court in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 13, 2016, where he faces legal charges after exposing rights abuses in Thai factories. (Photo: Jorge Silva / Reuters) Since 2009, Thai governments have had a general nationwide migration policy to meet strong national economic, demographic and lifestyle demands that enabled—but didn't necessarily ensure or promote—the regularization of irregular-entry lower skilled migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. This policy enabled an origin country nationality verification (NV) process for these workers. This short-term, poorly planned and implemented migration policy has always prioritized national and economic security over human security concerns. Almost all low-skilled migrant laborers prior to 2009 entered Thailand irregularly through lucrative smuggling and trafficking routes and networks. A formal (memorandum of understanding or MoU) worker import system for migrant laborers only became functional from 2010. Since 2009, temporary or permanent passports and certificate of identity (CI) documents have been issued by a migrant worker's origin country within Thailand through the NV process at One Stop Service Centers to millions of these irregular workers who have become a cornerstone of the country's economic development. With these documents, the workers then applied for Thai visas and work permits valid for two years at a time, which eventually—after much policy confusion and lack of advance clarity—enabled a stay in Thailand of up to a maximum of six years. Passports and CIs issued through this non-transparent NV process were of three, five, six or 10 years' validity. Thai visas allowed two, four or six-year stays in the kingdom. Corruption and confusion was rampant in these seemingly well-designed processes which were never fully clear, nor well-organized. This policy and these regularization systems have brought huge profits to brokers, agents and Thai/origin-country officials, as well as employers' HR staff. However, fully regularized NV workers and new MoU workers coming into Thailand benefited from this regularization process as follows: freedom of movement in Thailand and to/from home countries was possible (temporary Thai issued migrant ID cards restricted movement to province of registration only); access to social security systems was open (although not always clear benefits and access) as well as eligibility for bank accounts and driving licenses. Workers were more strongly protected with their regular or fully legal status than before, however difficult access to rights remained in practice. Workers with passports or CIs too often, however, have simply ended up throwing away valid or expired (4/5/6-year) documents when visa, passport or CI renewal processes since 2013/14 became unclear, impractical or exorbitantly expensive. This was because Thai and country-of-origin migration policies were often quietly and confusingly announced only once expiry dates had passed. Many of these workers then applied for semi-regular temporary ID cards instead when the Prayuth government allowed this regularization. In addition, others returned home and entered Thailand anew with fresh names or identity documents at great expense. Under the threat of a EU red flag for illegal fishing, the government trumpeted high regularization statistics in fisheries and across the country when in fact many newly registered workers were formally registered with passports anyway. In addition, as a result of this policy chaos, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers often lost all accrued worker and social security benefits by starting anew with changed names and ID numbers. Bonuses and work incentives started afresh. Social security pensions and health benefits vanished. In another important migration policy development, or U-turn, the cabinet on February 23 allowed all migrants in Thailand to move back to a temporary, semi-legal migrant ID card system as was the case pre-2009, whatever their current regular or irregular documentation status. So are we now, after seven years, seeing a deregularization process for migrant workers? Will migrant workers once again lose their identity status and nationality to a short-term, irregular or semi-legal registration status that will benefit primarily in the short-term Thailand's economic security and business needs for a flexible easily expendable lower skilled migrant workforce? It's not clear yet whether the new policy move back to a semi-regular pink card migrant worker status will be compulsory, or if existing or expired migrant worker passports can still be renewed or extended with workers coming in and out of Thailand on a four-year limited formal or regular MoU entry scheme, as exists already. Also, it's not yet clear what origin countries think of this migration policy U-turn which could make more of their workers irregular, with fewer rights protections and less formality of status. In particular, the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) will be working closely with Burma's new government, which is expected by many to champion stronger migrant worker rights during its first term in office. In particular, the MWRN is deeply concerned at potential negative implications of the vague Thai government announcement for the future of millions of migrant workers in the country and is closely monitoring policy development announcements. The MWRN cannot accept a return to the pre-2009 semi-legal or irregular status for millions of migrant workers in Thailand which will possibly lead to the eroding of basic migrant worker rights as past worker benefits—such as pensions, health care and employee welfare benefits from long-term service for employees—simply disappear. If what we fear becomes a reality, the international community and buyers of exported goods manufactured in migrant labor-intensive industries should not accept these developments that fail once again to prioritize the security of millions. Andy Hall is International Affairs Advisor to the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) and State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation (SERC). This piece was originally published in the Bangkok Post. The post Grim Future Awaits Migrant Workers appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Suu Kyi Highlights Ethnic ‘Unity and Responsibility’ Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:01 PM PST  Aung San Suu Kyi, chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), speaks at a meeting on Monday evening with ethnic parliamentarians in Naypyidaw. (Photos: NLD Chairperson Office / Facebook) RANGOON — Aung San Suu Kyi, chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), promised ethnic lawmakers at a Monday evening meeting in Naypyidaw that Burma's new government will prioritize peace issues as promised. During the first such meeting with ethnic MPs—held after a Union Parliament session—Suu Kyi encouraged ethnic lawmakers to work together regarding peace implementation. "We need to have the attitude that no matter what happens in any part of our country, it concerns to the whole nation," said Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a social media statement published by the NLD chairperson's office on Tuesday morning. A reiteration of the party's commitment to peace comes at the time when clashes have flared in northern Shan State between the Burma Army and ethnic armed groups such as the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), the armed wing of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), a 2015 signatory of Burma's so-called nationwide ceasefire pact. "We frequently remind people that we are not the government yet, as no power transition in the world takes so long as here in Burma," she explained, adding that the NLD has received complaints from people impatient for political change. To that, she said, "our simple answer is, 'we don't have any authority yet.'" The party chairwoman advised ethnic lawmakers to strive for unity when representing Burma's people, and to refrain from discriminating against one another. "I would like to encourage our representatives to focus more on responsibility rather than opportunity. The main responsibility of lawmakers who represent the public is to form peace in the country that is based on unity," the Facebook post said. The NLD won a landslide victory in November general election last year, and the current government is expected to hand over power to the new administration later this month. The post Suu Kyi Highlights Ethnic 'Unity and Responsibility' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| A Bookworm’s Paradise on Pansodan Posted: 29 Feb 2016 04:32 PM PST Click to view slideshow. RANGOON — Pansodan Street is not only famous for its historic colonial architecture but also its sidewalks that are lined with secondhand booksellers. On this stretch of road in downtown Rangoon, many rare books on Burma and a litany of other topics, as well as novels, can be found by the discerning passerby. Books, both in Burmese and English, are set out for display on tables and on mats along the sidewalk. Booksellers are also located on nearby Merchant Road as well as on 37th street. The area is always crowded with bookworms flicking through materials on law, education, language, literature, traditional medicine and much more, including, of course, Burmese politics, history and culture. The post A Bookworm's Paradise on Pansodan appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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