The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- New Govt, Old Censorship Laws: Film About Shan Prince Banned as Threat to ‘Ethnic Unity’
- Rangoon Takes On Illegal Developers
- Displaced Shan Return to Villages in Northern Shan State
- Rumors of Foreign Investors Soon Accessing YSX Quashed
- ‘Twilight Over Burma’ Eclipsed by Censorship Board
- Drug Precursors Worth $1.7 Million Seized in Northern Burma
- Orlando Shooting Gives LGBT Singaporeans an Unlikely Opening
- Beheading in Philippines Draws Outrage But No End in Sight for Abu Sayyaf
| New Govt, Old Censorship Laws: Film About Shan Prince Banned as Threat to ‘Ethnic Unity’ Posted: 15 Jun 2016 07:57 AM PDT  Film poster for Twilight Over Burma. (Photo: Human Rights Human Dignity Film Festival) RANGOON — A foreign-produced film about an ethnic Shan leader and his Austrian wife, "Twilight Over Burma," was banned from public screenings in Burma by the film censorship board, claiming that the movie could harm the ethnic unity in the country. Although the film was scheduled to open the annual Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival (HRHDIFF), on Tuesday at Rangoon's Naypyitaw Cinema, it has since been pulled. It marks the first time that an international film scheduled for a festival has been banned by the Ministry of Information's Film and Video Censor Board under the new democratic government led by President Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. The move faced big criticism by the public and many local filmmakers who said the ban is a threat to the artistic freedom and liberty of the country. Festival organizers initially planned two other public screenings of the film in Rangoon during the festival. The film tells the real-life tale of an Austrian woman, Inge Sargent, who became royalty when she married Sao Kya Seng, an ethnic Shan prince—or saopha—from Hsipaw, Shan State. It covers the early days of Burma's independence up to the years immediately following the 1962 military coup, and is based on Sargent's autobiography, "Twilight Over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess." According to the original book, Sao Kya Seng instituted land reforms and promoted democracy, but was arrested by the Burma Army during Gen Ne Win's coup and later disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, the organizer of the HRHDIFF said at the opening ceremony of the film festival that the film did not get the green light. It was unexpectedly banned at the last minute after receiving comments from the censorship board which described the content of the film as potentially harming "the image of the military." Thida Tin, deputy director general of the Information and Public Relations Department and deputy chair of the film and video censorship board, said that the film could create instability at a time when the 21st century Panglong conference—which intends to initiate a national reconcilitation process in the country—is in the planning stages under the leadership of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. "We found some possibilities in the film of some content that could harm the ethnic unity [of the state] and create hate speech," she said. "We are concerned that ethnic unity will be confronted by unnecessary problems because of the bitter experiences [of Sargent] presented in the screening, which could touch sore points of the country and create hatred," she added. Igor Blaževič, a human rights campaigner, founder of One World—Europe's biggest human rights documentary film festival—and jury member at HRHDIFF, told The Irrawaddy that the act of not recognizing citizens' suffering under the military regime could, in fact, undermine the chances for reconciliation. "Banning the film does not help reconciliation," he said. "Censoring the truth is harming reconciliation. Honest recognition about the [wrongdoings] which have happened before—and which are still happening—will do much more for reconciliation." Blaževič also said that the pain that many families and communities carry must be taken into consideration and should not be ignored. If Burma genuinely wants to address human rights abuses, Blaževič explained that "culture, art [and] media should be encouraged to bring [into the open] the truth and painful stories about past and current wrongdoings." The film censorship board is made up of 15 representatives, mainly from the Ministry of Information’s Myanmar Motion Picture Development Department, and other different associations including the Myanmar Motion Picture Oganization (MMPO), the Myanmar Music Association and the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture. The military-controlled Home Affairs ministry is also represented on the board. The post New Govt, Old Censorship Laws: Film About Shan Prince Banned as Threat to 'Ethnic Unity' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rangoon Takes On Illegal Developers Posted: 15 Jun 2016 07:50 AM PDT  Construction in downtown Rangoon. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) has brought charges against the developers and landlords of more than 2,000 low-rise buildings who violated the city's rules and regulations, said Mayor Maung Maung Soe on Tuesday at Rangoon divisional parliament. National League for Democracy (NLD) regional lawmaker Kyaw Kyaw Htun of Hlaing Township said in his constituency many low-rise buildings—structures typically seven- to eight-stories high—are being built without official approval from YCDC. Some customers had reportedly already bought apartments in buildings which were unlawfully constructed. The YCDC has barred anyone from moving in to the apartments and have fined the developers 300,000 kyats (US$250) per month to YCDC until their case is resolved in the courts. "This has become a big problem for the apartment buyers," said Kyaw Kyaw Htun. The mayor said the government has been regularly issuing construction permits, but some landowners have joined up with unlicensed contractors to exploit the consumers without following YCDC's regulations. "Some contractors and landowners submitted proposals for three-story buildings but later they built five or six stories," said Maung Maung Soe. Shorter buildings require less approval time, lower fees and are not subject to the regulation requiring installation of elevators for buildings over 62 feet high. Maung Maung Soe said YCDC charged the contractors or landowners under Articles 68 and 69 of the building code. Violating Article 68, which applies to developers who do not abide by their own proposals, carries a maximum punishment of one year in prison or 500,000 kyats (nearly $420), or both. Article 69 is for unlicensed landowners or contractors who illegally build houses or apartment buildings. If someone who was already punished in accordance with Article 68 commits a repeat offense, they will be charged under Article 69 and fined up to 50,000 kyats (about $42) per day. Most judges fine offenders 3 million kyats (more than $2,500) per month. The mayor said that in the past, YCDC had been lax about enforcing these provisions—instead of fining offenders, they simply required owners to seek YCDC approval instead. But those days are over, Maung Maung Soe added. He has tasked the engineering department of YCDC with reviewing and taking responsibility for illegal buildings. A fine of 15,000 kyats (about $12) per square foot has been imposed on buildings which have more stories than permitted or were constructed without permission. "We have rigorous regulations for the developers, but they are not paying the fines on time," said the mayor Maung Maung Soe. "That is why their [re-application for] permits have been delayed." Thukha Yadana Construction Company Director Thaung Htike Min said while his company has not violated any laws, there are many unlicensed contractors operating in the country. Some landowners who do not have the capital to construct buildings on their own often invite contractors to build the apartments for them, said Thaung Htike Min, adding that some of these contractors do not have the proper YCDC licenses. "The fine payment system is reasonable for big construction firms," he said. "But for the small private businesses it is a bit harsh." The post Rangoon Takes On Illegal Developers appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Displaced Shan Return to Villages in Northern Shan State Posted: 15 Jun 2016 07:42 AM PDT  Provisions are unloaded for the returning Shan villagers. (Photo: Nang San San Aye) The last of over 1,000 ethnic Shan displaced by conflict in northern Shan State's Hsipaw Township the previous month have now returned to their villages. On Tuesday, a last group of 300 voluntarily left Hsipaw town, where they had obtained shelter with the aid of community leaders, including a state parliamentarian of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and members of the Shan Literature and Culture Committee. The displaced have returned to the villages of Thein Hain, Nar Thaw and Pan Nar bordering Lashio Township, where fighting between the Burma Army and the Shan State Army-North prompted them to flee starting May 19. The area is now considered conflict free. Nang San San Aye, an SNLD state parliamentarian for Hsipaw Township, told The Irrawaddy that they had given the returning villagers "18,000 kyats (US$15) per person, along with rice, cooking oil, salt and other commodities for them to eat when they got back to their villages." Nang San San Aye said she had overseen the first group sent back on June 1, with subsequent groups sent back on June 6, 13 and 14. She said that now is the time is for the local Shan to plant paddy in their villages, with the onset of the rainy season across Burma. According to local community leaders, the SSA-N is no longer in the area where the Shan villagers have returned; only the Burma Army has retained bases in the vicinity, and the fighting has stopped. Local authorities in Hsipaw Township have also facilitated the handout of citizenship documentation to those displaced, including Citizenship Scrutiny Cards ("pink cards"), before their return. Many had not possessed such documents previously, despite being eligible for citizenship. Nyo Nyo Myat, another female community leader in Hsipaw assisting the return, said the citizenship documents along with "recommendation letters" from the government would provide "safety" for those returning by "proving they were from those villages." "Only the Burma Army remains in their villages now. If [the returning villagers] show their citizenship cards, they will be allowed to stay there," said Nyo Nyo Myat. Nang San San Aye of the SNLD explained that, "Many of our ethnic Shan cannot speak Burmese, and Burma Army soldiers beat them because of it. Those [citizenship] cards will prove they belong to the villages." The post Displaced Shan Return to Villages in Northern Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rumors of Foreign Investors Soon Accessing YSX Quashed Posted: 15 Jun 2016 05:19 AM PDT  A man reads a newspaper in front of the Yangon Stock Exchange in Rangoon on Dec. 8, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — Foreign investors will be unable to buy shares on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) as long as the Myanmar Companies Act is not amended, a senior YSX official said, dispelling rumors that shares trading would open up to foreigners this week. Earlier this week, misleading news apparently spread after Maung Maung Win, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar, was reported on Monday in the weekly Chinese paper Golden Phoenix as preparing to allow foreign investors access to the YSX. "According to the Myanmar Companies Act, foreign investors aren't allowed to buy shares from local companies. That's why, until it's amended, shares trading will be inaccessible to foreign investors," Thet Tun Oo, a senior YSX officer, told The Irrawaddy. "Some media outlets probably misunderstood what U Maung Maung Win said. He was saying that it's possible but that it all depends on [amending] the act." The Myanmar Companies Act was enacted in 1914, but while some of its clauses are seen as ill-suited for present-day Burma, it has yet to be updated by Parliament. Six firms—Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation (MAPCO), First Myanmar Investment (FMI), Myanmar Citizens Bank, Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings Public Limited (MTSH), First Private Bank and Great Hor Kham—were supposed to be listed on the YSX in March, but FMI and MTSH are the only two that have since been ready for shares trading. Myat Thin Aung, vice chairman of Yoma Bank, FMI's sister company, said that allowing foreign investors access to the YSX would be a boon to Burma's market. "Regarding FMI shares, I've heard that many foreign investors are interested in buying. If the government would allow this, the stock market would develop," Myat Thin Aung said. According to several industry sources, some foreign investors have been forced to try to buy shares under a local Burmese citizen's name instead of their real name. "Making it legal [for foreigners to buy shares] would boost the stock market," Myat Thin Aung said. The YSX, Burma's first modern stock exchange, officially "opened" in December, but it initially only traded through internal dry-run testing. The post Rumors of Foreign Investors Soon Accessing YSX Quashed appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘Twilight Over Burma’ Eclipsed by Censorship Board Posted: 15 Jun 2016 03:03 AM PDT  Hsipaw Palace in Shan State, seen in 2012, in dire need of restoration. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) "Twilight Over Burma," a film about the real-life story of an Austrian woman, Inge Sargent, who became royalty when she married Sao Kya Seng, an ethnic Shan prince, was banned from premiering in Burma at the annual Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival that started on Tuesday. A film censorship board member told The Irrawaddy that the film was under review because it could allegedly damage ethnic unity in the country. Given this news, The Irrawaddy is revisiting a story originally published in September 2012 about a trip to the late prince's neglected residence in Shan State's Hsipaw Township. During my last trip to Burma in June, I went up to Lashio, northern Shan State, and decided to stop in en route at Hsipaw to visit the residence of famed Shan Prince Sao Kya Seng. After bellowing for a short time, a young man wearing the region's traditional loose trousers emerged and met us at the gate. He was flanked by a dozen canine bodyguards and carried a Shan sword. At first, he was reluctant to allow us in and I appreciated the sensitivity of the situation. As ethnic Bamar, or Burman, we were guests in Shan State. The young boy was polite and smart yet I could feel his innate mistrust of these "foreign" visitors. He explained that his great uncle was arrested for "tourism charges" and only recently released. I showed him our business cards and was glad to learn that he was familiar with The Irrawaddy and the famous Shan cartoonist Harn Lay who has contributed fantastic work. But even with our credentials confirmed, he steadfastly refused to open the gate. My driver went back to the car and started the engine so gave one final plea of, "Can we come back tomorrow on our way back from Lashio?" Then he smiled and I felt the mood change. I dropped the names of a few prominent Shan people I know living in northern Thailand. "Do you want to come in now?" he relented. The gate finally opened. Sao Kya Seng's palace is in a sad state, but with a little careful restoration, could be a great place to learn about the history of Hsipaw and tragic tale of its royal family. I had read Twilight Over Burma by Sao Kya Hseng's wife, Inge Eberhard, and so had wanted to visit Hsipaw Palace for a long time. Sao Kya Hseng was last seen in March 1962 being arrested in the state capital Taunggyi while visiting his ailing sister. He was blissfully unaware of what had taken place in Rangoon at the time. Gen Ne Win had staged a coup that placed the military at the head of state power. The prince was arrested on his way to Heho Airport to catch a flight to Hsipaw. He was last seen being taken to an unknown place of detention by armed soldiers. Born in 1924, Sao Kya Hseng was educated at schools at Darjeeling, India, and went to study engineering at the Colorado School of Mines in Denver, the United States, where he married his Austrian bride. Eberhard decided to follow her husband to live in Burma—a country she had never visited. It was a fairytale trip as she had no idea that Sao Kya Hseng was a Shan saopha or prince (some Shan spell it chofa while it is sawbwa in Burmese) and the ruler of Hsipaw. Only when their ship arrived in Rangoon did Eberhard see the hundreds of people playing music and carrying flowers to welcome their illustrious guests. She wondered who the important passengers on board were until her husband then explained about his royal blood. It quickly became apparent that she had married a Shan prince. Eberhard subsequently took the name Sao Nang Thusandi and became Mahadevi (celestial princess) of Hsipaw. These days, however, the luster has dimmed a little on the royal household. Our young guide took us inside East Haw where Sao Kya Hseng and Sao Thusandi lived with their children and servants. We saw the family tree and living room as well as photos of the prince and his family. East Haw is in a sorry state of disrepair. Burma is blessed with many historic buildings but too many are neglected and forgotten—indeed, Hsipaw Palace has been left overgrown by bushes seemingly for political reasons. While it would be valuable to restore the palace to reveal the real story of Sao Kya Hseng, and it would certainly receive some tourists, the authorities would no doubt constantly harass the occupants. Our young guide, a relative of the late prince, was proud to show how his ancestor built the palace and brought in the old tractor still parked by the portico. He also explained how Sao Kya Hseng introduced new ideas regarding the state's age-old feudal system. Journalist Bertil Linter wrote in his foreword to Twilight Over Burma, "Perhaps the most radical idea was to give all the princely family's paddy fields to the farmers who cultivated them. In addition, [Sao Kya Hseng] bought tractors and agricultural implements that the farmers used free of charge, cleared land to experiment with new crops, and began mineral exploration in the resource-rich valley." Sao Kya Hseng was undoubtedly more than just a privileged landowner. He was an MP for Burma's House of Nationalities, a member of the Shan State Council and secretary of the Association of Shan Princes. He remained in politics while many Shan saophas gave up their positions. But then in the 1950s, a cloud descended onto Shan State. In 1958, Burmese government troops arrived to drive out a Chinese Kuomintang incursion and quell a rising resistance movement which wanted Shan State to secede from the Union. Shan rebels and sympathetic villagers were arrested, tortured and disappeared. However, the Shan were not even united amongst themselves. Amid this turmoil, it is uncertain how Gen Ne Win and his loyal military officers viewed Sao Kya Hseng as they prepared to seize power in a coup. In her book, Sao Thusandi said that the Shan who desired an independent Shan State wanted Sao Kya Hseng to lead the revolt but he was reluctant. On the other hand, pro-Union advocates suspected him of being a secessionist due to his open criticism of Burmese politics and army misconduct. Indeed, Ne Win and Sao Kya Hseng certainly did not get along well. When Ne Win, then army chief, was passing through Hsipaw, the prince wanted to invite him for lunch at East Haw where Burmese ministers and politicians often visited. One of Ne Win's officers declined on his behalf and instead asked the prince to wait by the roadside for the general's motorcade. Shocked to hear such a disrespectful suggestion, the ruler of Hsipaw declined. Sao Kya Hseng's supporters insisted that Ne Win and his military intelligence chief Col Lwin—also known as "Moustache Lwin"—must have had knowledge of what became of the prince after his detention. However, Ne Win's regime denied taking part and made several contradictory statements regarding the prince's disappearance. In fact, Sao Thusandi received a short letter from her husband that said he had been detained in Ba Htoo—a garrison town in Shan State—and was still OK. Nevertheless, the Burmese authorities never officially admitted apprehending the prince. Sao Thusandi went to meet Ne Win's wife Khin May Than in Austria in 1966 where the general was having medical treatment. The dictator often went to Europe where he would meet Professor Hans Hoff, chairman of the Psychiatric and Neurological University Hospital of Vienna. Some sources close to the general suggested that he suffered from bipolar disorder. Hans Hoff had earlier written a letter to Sao Thusandi in Rangoon that stated her husband was in detention. Ne Win assured his doctor that the Shan prince was well and two orderlies have been assigned to take care of his every need. Hans Hoff then wrote, "The physician who looks after Sao [Kya Hseng] was introduced to me, and he testified that Sao is in good shape, both physically and emotionally." Yet that same day Sao Thusandi received a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that the government had never detained the Shan prince. Was Ne Win trying to deceive his psychiatrist for some reason? Meanwhile, several associates of Sao Thusandi told her that the prince was no longer alive. One of them was Bo Setkya—a member of the legendary Thirty Comrades. Bo Setkya, who must have had supporters in the army, came to meet the princess and told her that her husband had died. Sao Kya Hseng was killed near Ba Htoo several weeks after his arrest, he said. Sao Thusandi and her family finally left Burma in 1964. It is not known what actually happened to the prince, although Ne Win and his top officers must have been well aware of his fate. One theory was that Sao Kya Hseng died during interrogation, while another said that he was killed trying to escape—army officers were given "shoot to kill" orders at the time. The last theory was that he was caught alive and when young officers asked a superior what to do, they were simply ordered to execute him. Those involved then cowardly remained silent after they realized the magnitude of what had taken place. We walked towards a wooden building far from East Haw surrounded by spirit houses and were told that this is where the late prince prayed and read books. The building, if restored, would be an elegant addition to Burmese ethnic culture, but unfortunately it has already almost collapsed. Since the day Ne Win staged a coup, Sao Kya Hseng was prevented from ever seeing East Haw again. However, perhaps his soul somehow managed to return to this royal abode. The post 'Twilight Over Burma' Eclipsed by Censorship Board appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Drug Precursors Worth $1.7 Million Seized in Northern Burma Posted: 15 Jun 2016 02:33 AM PDT  The 61.5 kilograms of pseudoephedrine powder seized by police in Sagaing, along with the two men found carrying it. (Photo: Min Min / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Anti narcotics police in Mandalay and Sagaing divisions on Tuesday seized over 2 billion kyats (US$1.7 million) worth of pseudoephedrine tablets and powder. According to police sources, the interception in Sagaing town of a passenger car, carrying 61.5 kilograms of pseudoephedrine powder, traveling from the India-Burma border town of Tamu to Mandalay City has led police to other drug traders in Mandalay. "After questioning the two men arrested in Sagaing, we learned that the powder was being taken to people in Aungmyaythazan Township of Mandalay [City]," deputy police Col Myint Aung from Drug Elimination Police Force Division 1 told The Irrawaddy. "We've arrested two women and a man [in Mandalay], and seized pseudoephedrine tablets and powder weighing about 500 kilograms. They have been charged with illegal drug trading and they are currently in police detention," Col Myint Aung added. Col Myint Aung later informed The Irrawaddy that, close to midnight, police made five more arrests, three women and two men, in Pyigyitagon Township in Mandalay City. More chemical substances were seized at this time. Pseudoephedrine—a stimulant also prescribed for medical purposes—is combined with other chemicals to produce amphetamine-type drugs, the domestic market for which has been growing in Burma in recent years, with a particularly severe affect on urban youth. "We are pursuing the other drug traders, cooperating with police from Sagaing Division, because these traders came from Tamu in Sagaing Division," said Col Myint Aung. According to police, the India-Burma border at Tamu is a significant transit point for drugs entering Burma; drug traders have been caught repeatedly using this route. The incident on Tuesday is the second largest drugs haul recorded in Mandalay, after the seizure of 36 billion kyats ($30 million) worth of drugs and precursor chemicals in Pyigyitagon Township in March. The post Drug Precursors Worth $1.7 Million Seized in Northern Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Orlando Shooting Gives LGBT Singaporeans an Unlikely Opening Posted: 14 Jun 2016 11:02 PM PDT  Participants form a giant pink dot at the Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park in Singapore to promote acceptance of the LGBT community, June 28, 2014. (Photo: Edgar Su / Reuters) SINGAPORE — A tragedy half a world away has created an unlikely opening for a repressed community in Singapore. The mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, Florida, has galvanized LGBT people in Singapore, where a candlelight vigil was held Tuesday to express solidarity with the victims. In the process, they highlighted the predicament of their own largely underground community. Although there is little fear of gun violence in Singapore, "we must remember that violence takes many forms, not only physical," said Lynette Chua, an assistant professor of law at the National University of Singapore. The gay, lesbian and transgender community is "still unprotected by the law from discrimination on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity," she said. In Singapore, sex between men is banned by a law, a holdover from British colonial days. Over the years, however, the small Southeast Asian city-state has loosened up and homosexuality is now quietly tolerated. Singapore's leaders have even said the anti-gay law, known as Section 377A, will not be enforced. But discrimination remains rife, although it is subtle and often masked under the need to protect a pro-family Asian culture. "I felt that a show of solidarity, no matter how small a group would go a long way as a silent statement that the shooting is inherently wrong," said Nicholas Lim, 36, the administrator of GLBT Voices Singapore, a Facebook page that organized the vigil. The page has more than 48,000 followers. At the evening gathering of about 400 people, attendees held hands and sang songs in remembrance of the Orlando shooting victims. The victims' names were read, and some people hugged, overwhelmed with emotion. The crowd raised multicolored glow sticks above their heads and displayed them in the shape of a heart on the ground. The glowing sticks were used instead of candles since open flames are banned in Singapore parks. A 36-year-old teacher, who only wanted to be identified as Jonathan, said: "It is important to show solidarity with the LGBT community around the world. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. There is little fear of gun violence in Singapore, but discrimination is discrimination around the world." Not all attendees were members of the LGBT community. "I felt that it was important as the tragedy took place during pride month and there have been negative comments on the Internet," said social media executive Donna Louisse, 24. "As allies, we are not going to stop fighting for our LGBT friends. Just showing up is a sign of support." Public meetings in highly regulated Singapore can be held only with police permits. Politically and socially sensitive meetings can only be held in a designated area, Hong Lim Park, for which no police permit is needed but have to be approved by park authorities. Lim had planned to hold the vigil on Monday, to coincide with similar events in the US, but couldn't get the necessary approval. The fact that approval was given, even if a day later, shows how far Singapore—a contradictory crucible of modernity and industry under the thumb of a virtual one-party rule—has come in shedding its image as an all-work-no-play country. While open display of same-sex affection such as holding hands or kissing is not common, it is also an open secret that there are several gay bars in the Tanjong Pagar district that come alive on Friday and Saturday nights. One such is DYMK, which stands for Does Your Mother Know. Official space for LGBT people, however, is far more restrictive. Before enlistment to the compulsory military service, all men must declare if they have gay inclinations. Gay marriages, including those solemnized overseas, are not recognized here. Accounts of being thrown out of homes or being discriminated against in the workplace are rampant on the GLBT Voices Singapore page, where many members remain anonymous for fear of further discrimination. In 2014, the National Library Board removed three children's books including "And Tango Makes Three," based on a true story of two male penguins in a New York zoo who hatched an egg. Earlier this month, following complaints from the public, a kiss between two male actors was removed from a production of the musical "Les Misérables." "I am afraid that Singaporeans have forgotten what it took to make Singapore special, which is to live side by side, accepting and respecting our cultural differences," Lim told The Associated Press, referring to the huge economic strides the country's ethnically diverse 5.5 million people have made since independence in 1965. Singapore's leaders have long emphasized that its prosperity—it is the third richest nation in the world on per capita income basis—depends on social, racial and religious cohesion. Of late, they have also had to maintain an increasingly uncomfortable balance between conservatives and gay rights supporters. In June, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it will "take steps to make it clear that foreign entities should not fund, support or influence" the annual Pink Dot event, that advocates the freedom to love. Yet the ministry said it will not pursue action against 18 sponsors, including Google, Facebook and Goldman Sachs, of Pink Dot's latest run on June 4. Organizers said attendance increased from 2,500 in 2009 to 28,000 last year. Numbers this year were not tracked. While it is apparent that Singapore's government is not fundamentally opposed to homosexuality, it is reluctant to remove Section 377A from the books for fear of angering conservatives. But making it clear that the law won't be enforced appeals to the gay community. Last June, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said "there is space for the gay community but they should not push the agenda too hard because … there will be a very strong pushback. Where we are I think is not a bad place to be." In 2014, a survey of 4,000 Singapore residents by the Institute of Policy Studies found that 78.2 percent of respondents felt that a same-sex relationship is wrong, and a similar percentage was against gay marriage. The government's dilemma was clear from Lee's condolences to President Barack Obama on Monday following the Orlando shooting. He condemned the attack as "brutal and senseless," and said it resulted "in the loss of many innocent lives." "They condemn the attack without even mentioning the fact that gay men were the target. Even when we are being persecuted they deny us our identity," said writer Ng Yi-Sheng, 35, who plans to attend the vigil. He said he knows of people in Singapore who have refused to condemn the Orlando attack, and even praised it. "So yes, it has been traumatic and people need a space to come together." The post Orlando Shooting Gives LGBT Singaporeans an Unlikely Opening appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Beheading in Philippines Draws Outrage But No End in Sight for Abu Sayyaf Posted: 14 Jun 2016 10:53 PM PDT  Soldiers ride in a military truck as they are deployed to remote villages in Jolo, Sulu, southern Philippines, October 17, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) MANILA — Enraged by the beheading of a second Canadian hostage by ransom-seeking Abu Sayyaf extremists, Philippine troops pressed a major offensive in the south Tuesday but there was no sign of an end to the small but brutal insurgency that a new president will inherit in about two weeks. With a black Islamic State group-style flag as a backdrop, Abu Sayyaf fighters beheaded Canadian hostage Robert Hall on southern Jolo island on Monday after a ransom deadline passed. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Philippine counterpart, Benigno Aquino III, expressed outrage and vowed to exact justice. Another Canadian, former mining executive John Ridsdel, was beheaded by the militants in April. The fate of two other hostages from Norway and the Philippines who were abducted with Hall and Ridsdel from a small marina on southern Samal Island in September remains unknown, according to the military. "This latest heinous crime serves to strengthen our government's resolve to put an end to this reign of terror and banditry," Aquino said through his spokesman. In Ottawa, Trudeau said his government is "more committed than ever to working with the government of the Philippines and international partners to pursue those responsible for these heinous acts and bring them to justice, however long it takes." Monday's beheading is the latest tragedy in the volatile mix of poverty, firearms, neglect and lawlessness that has cursed the southern Philippines. The resource-rich region, where foreign and domestic mining, pineapple and banana companies have made fortunes, has been engulfed by Muslim and Marxist insurgencies. The Abu Sayyaf emerged in the early 1990s as an extremist offshoot of a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion waged by a large group named the Moro National Liberation Front. But the nascent Abu Sayyaf lost its commanders early in combat, sending its mostly rural fighters on a violent path of criminality, banditry and terrorism. The group currently has about 400 fighters split into at least four factions. Aside from support from an informal network of armed groups, the Abu Sayyaf also finds a lifeline among relatives and friends in rural communities who shelter them and provide food, logistics and information when they are pressed by army offensives. Some local officials have also been suspected of providing support, regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan said, explaining why the militants have endured in the mountainous hinterlands despite on-and-off military offensives against them. "There are an extraordinarily large number of troops now trying to find the Abu Sayyaf on Jolo island," Tan said. "The problem really is how to locate them." Early last year, a US military force ended more than a decade of non-combat counterterrorism support, including satellite and drone surveillance, for Filipino troops battling the Abu Sayyaf, as the militants' zeal waned. The underfunded military, one of Asia's most ill-equipped, began focusing instead on external defense as territorial rifts with China in the South China Sea escalated. Under the new circumstances, the Abu Sayyaf sprang back into action with ransom kidnappings of tourists from neighboring Malaysia as well as the southern Philippines, including the Samal island marina where Hall, Ridsdel, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipino woman Marites Flor were taken at gunpoint last Sept. 21. Following Ridsdel's beheading on April 25 and Canadian expressions of outrage, Aquino ordered an intensified offensive against the militants. He plans to fly to Jolo, about 960 kilometers (600 miles) south of Manila, this week to impart a sense of urgency in containing the Abu Sayyaf, according to two military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about details of the trip with the media. One of the officials, a general, said Aquino has made tremendous efforts to end the Abu Sayyaf's brutal presence before he steps down at the end of the month. As things stand, however, the incoming president, crime-busting Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, will have to take over the campaign to end the group's insurrection. The post Beheading in Philippines Draws Outrage But No End in Sight for Abu Sayyaf appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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