The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Govt to Ban Timber Harvest in Pegu Yoma Mountain Range
- Burma Army Deputy Commander Gives ‘Donations’ to Victims’ Families
- Chin Party Condemns Abuses by Burma Army, Arakan Army
- Suu Kyi Pushes for Inclusion of NCA Non-Signatories in Peace Conference
- Police Detain Five in Relation to Muslim Prayer Hall Arson
- Formal and Informal Justice Systems Fail Women: Report
- CSOs Call For Investigation of Attacks on Muslim Places of Worship
- Ten Things to Do in Rangoon This Week (July 5)
| Govt to Ban Timber Harvest in Pegu Yoma Mountain Range Posted: 05 Jul 2016 07:50 AM PDT  Boys stand on a jetty as a ship loaded with teak logs arrives at National Village timber yard by the Pegu River in Rangoon on February 2, 2014. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — In the Pegu Range, home to some of Burma's major forests, the harvest of timber will undergo a 10-year hiatus starting in the 2017-2018 fiscal year, according to Aye Cho Thaung, deputy general manager of the country's Forestry Department. The Pegu Range, also known as Pegu Yoma, is a series of low mountains crossing Rangoon and Pegu divisions; the hills have experienced marked deforestation particularly due to the harvest of valuable teak wood which grows in the range. "It's like Pegu Yoma is now bald-headed," said Aye Cho Thaung on Tuesday, describing the bare mountain peaks. "That's why we will stop companies' timber production starting from next year until 2027." The forestry department, which falls under the Ministry of National Resources and Environmental Conservation, will take control of all restricted forest reserves in the Pegu Range and will also ban logging by villagers in the surrounding areas. The protected area stretches from Rangoon's Hlegu Township to Yedashe Township in Pegu Division. "Recently, the government [ordered a] stop to timber production in all ranges starting from this year, but we will be allowing other areas to resume production next year," Aye Cho Thaung said, adding that the regulations around Pegu Yoma's timber production were slightly different, since they involve a halt beginning in the next fiscal year. He explained that many loggers have long been harvesting teak illegally, contributing to the destruction of forests and the natural habitats of wildlife; this, Aye Cho Thaung said, was the primary reason for taking further measures to protect the Pegu Range. Under Burma's long history of military rule, many timber producers exceeded the legal limit of timber exports—particularly in the 1990s—with some military officials implicated in the trade alongside businessmen. Well-known tycoon Tay Za's own Htoo Group of Companies was among the major players in timber production until 2011, when the country shifted to a quasi-civilian government. Though the Pegu Range is capable of producing 50,000 to 100,000 tons of timber per year, Aye Cho Thaung said companies have, since 2011, been limited to harvesting just 5,000 tons annually. He added that the Htoo Group of Companies has since left the logging industry. "Myanmar Teak Wood Company, Asia Green and National Timber Corporation are major producers there now," he said of the companies active in the Pegu Range. Over the next 10 years, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation will be replanting trees, protect existing forests, and preventing illegal logging by villagers who burn the wood as fuel. Many villages surrounding the Pegu Range are also required to undergo educational initiatives to prevent deforestation caused by logging. "If government can solve the problem of fuel for villagers, they won't [cut trees] anymore," Aye Cho Thaung speculated. Throughout Burma, from the beginning of April until late June, 12,844 tons of illegal timber were seized, according to the environmental ministry's figures. The most commonly confiscated logs included teak, followed by other hardwoods, with the biggest hauls taking place in Sagaing Division, at nearly 3,450 tons, followed by over 2,178 tons in Karenni State and 1,406 tons in Pegu Division. Devi Thant Cin, an environmentalist with the Myanmar Green Network, said she welcomed the government's steps to halt timber production in the Pegu Range, as trees in the region urgently require re-planting. "Timber producers will not be happy about it, but for the country it is good. The Pegu Range is suffering a lot of deforestation. It is good to start the re-planting plan now," she said. "But the government needs to do serious law enforcement with this plan as well," Devi Thant Cin added. With the formation of Burma's new civilian-led government in April, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Ohn Win promised that a nationwide ban on logging would be put into place by March 2017, the end of the current fiscal year. The post Govt to Ban Timber Harvest in Pegu Yoma Mountain Range appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Burma Army Deputy Commander Gives ‘Donations’ to Victims’ Families Posted: 05 Jul 2016 07:46 AM PDT  Final burial site of five of those killed in Mong Yaw village, Lashio Township, northern Shan State. (Photo: SNLD) RANGOON — The Burma Army's deputy regional commander visited Mong Yaw village in Lashio Township on Sunday, giving "donations" to victims' families after seven people in and around the village were killed on June 28, with locals blaming the Burma Army. The visit came after police told victims' families they were "powerless" to investigate allegations against the Burma Army because the area was a "conflict zone," and so the Burma Army must take charge of any investigation. The police would merely notify the army via a senior officer. Local sources told The Irrawaddy that soldiers opened fired on two young men riding motorcycles near the village, after they refused an order to stop. On the same day, soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 362 took five residents of the village from their fields, according to the victims' families, who found their bodies the next day buried in a nearby cornfield. However, media controlled by the Burmese military have tied the killings instead to the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic armed group engaged in ongoing conflict with the Burma Army. On Friday, the military-owned Myawady newspaper reported that Burma Army troops had traveled to secure the area around Mong Yaw village on June 25 because the TNLA and the Shan State Army-North had been recruiting locals. This prompted a clash on the same day with the TNLA, Myawady reported. After the TNLA had been repelled, the bodies of the seven killed were "discovered" by Burma Army soldiers the following day. The TNLA issued a statement on Sunday denying that any fighting had taken place. Gen Kyaw Kyaw Soe, who is based in the Northeastern Regional Command Center in Lashio, met with the families of five of the victims in Mong Yaw village, and gave each family 300,000 kyats (US$255)—"not as compensation, but as a 'donation,'" said Sai Wann Lern Kham, an Upper House lawmaker from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD). The two young men killed while traveling by motorcycle—Naw Tin, 33, and Sai Hla, 30—were from Nan Yaw village, 40 miles from Mong Yaw in the west of Lashio Township. They were traveling to Mong Yaw to meet their wives who had been staying in the village. The uncle of one of the victims searched for their burial site, but found only a hat and a shoe belonging to his nephew. The families of both victims then attempted to open a case at the Lashio Township police station, with the help of Sai Wann Lern Kham of the SNLD. "The police let us open a missing persons case and we supplied photos of the victims," the SNLD lawmaker said. The police would not pursue allegations against the military in a "conflict zone"; even if they were to investigate, they would have to "pass it on later to the army," the police explained. They said they would inform the Burma Army and "let them take action." Ethnic Shan, Ta'ang (Palaung) and Kachin youth associations based in Lashio issued a joint statement on Monday condemning the killings and laying the blame squarely with the Burma Army, who by "deliberately attacking innocent civilians" and "threatening their security" will "hurt the peace process in the country." The statement said killings would "hurt the dignity of the Burma Army and damage trust between the Burma Army and ethnic minority people," thereby undermining the Union Peace Conference to be held in late August. The youth associations called on the Burma Army to "stop brutally killing civilians" and implored them to investigate the Mong Yaw killings and take action against those responsible. The Irrawaddy phoned Maj Gen Aung Ye Win, a spokesperson from Burma Army, but he would not comment on the issue and said he was in a meeting. Repeat calls went unanswered. The post Burma Army Deputy Commander Gives 'Donations' to Victims' Families appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Chin Party Condemns Abuses by Burma Army, Arakan Army Posted: 05 Jul 2016 07:40 AM PDT  Houses torched in Kin Ta Lin village, Paletwa Township, Chin State. (Photo: Khumi Media Group / Facebook) RANGOON — A Chin political party released a statement on Tuesday demanding that both the Burma Army and the Arakan Army stop conscripting forced labor, burning houses and torturing locals in rural areas of Paletwa Township in southern Chin State. Salai Ceu Bik Thawng, secretary of the Chin National Democratic Party, said that three houses in Kin Ta Lin village were burned down during fighting on June 6 between the Arakan Army and the Burma Army. Khumi, a local Chin media outlet, accused Arakan Army soldiers of committing the arson as a punishment against villagers suspected of supplying information to Burma Army columns. However, the CNDP secretary declined to blame any particular group for this incident. Paletwa is among the most impoverished townships in Chin State, already Burma's poorest state or division according to many indicators. It lacks reliable transportation infrastructure and is strung over steep mountain ranges. The conflict zone is in the north of the township, with no sealed road access: it takes several hours to reach by boat from the main town. According to the CNDP secretary, about 10,000 people living in 43 villages are situated in this conflict zone. At the end of last year, dozens of skirmishes broke out between the Arakan Army and the Burma Army. Three hundred fifty residents fled after both sides began to conscript villagers as porters. They are currently being sheltered in Pyaing Zo village, with Chin civil society organizations providing humanitarian assistance. "Villagers are frightened to forage for forest products because landmines have significantly increased along the mountainsides," said the CNDP secretary. He held both sides responsible for this, and said that landmines had killed three villagers over the past three months. On April 30, 2015, under the previous government of President Thein Sein, 10 village administrators in Paletwa Township sent a letter to the then Chin State Chief Minister Pu Hung Ngai complaining of deteriorating conditions, with villagers being detained for several months by the Arakan Army, a proliferation of landmines and food shortages. Arakan Army spokesman Khine Thukha refuted allegations made by the CNDP and others of abuses against civilians: "If we really did such things, show us the evidence, because we have strong evidence of our own. We are protecting the civilians as much as we can." He said that the various abuses had been carried out by the Burma Army battalion stationed in Kin Ta Lin village, adding that using villagers as a "human shield" was particularly common alongside torturing villagers to obtain information about the Arakan Army. Although he also denied allegations of forced labor conscription, he acknowledged that the Arakan Army had planted landmines, claiming it was a necessary "security" measure, used sparingly according to "limits." Burma Army communication officer Col Khin Maung Cho could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. The government is preparing for formal peace talks with ethnic armed groups at a conference scheduled for late August, and has sought the participation of even those groups that refused to sign—or were excluded from—the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement last year. However, Burma's military has insisted that the Arakan Army—along with the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army—disarm before taking part in peace talks. The three ethnic armed groups have so far refused. "Peace depends on the military's magnanimity," concluded Khine Thukha, the Arakan Army spokesman. The post Chin Party Condemns Abuses by Burma Army, Arakan Army appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Suu Kyi Pushes for Inclusion of NCA Non-Signatories in Peace Conference Posted: 05 Jul 2016 06:29 AM PDT  State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi held a meeting with peace negotiation teams on Tuesday in Naypyidaw. (Photo: Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy) NAYPYIDAW & RANGOON — State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has instructed government bodies to include ethnic armed groups that did not sign last year's nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in the upcoming Union Peace Conference. Suu Kyi and peace negotiation teams met in Naypyidaw on Tuesday and agreed to hold the "21st Century Panglong Conference"—which is being compared to the 1947 conference by the same name that promised several of Burma's major ethnicities autonomy and equal rights after independence from Britain—in late August. Hla Maung Shwe, a member of the government's peace conference preparatory sub-committee 2, told The Irrawaddy that the conference would be held in the capital of Naypyidaw because it is a national level conference. "The first issue was to settle arrangements to hold the conference in August. The second is the include both NCA signatories and non-signatories. The government bodies are still discussing these arrangements," said Hla Maung Shwe. The exact date for the peace conference will be negotiated in early August by various stakeholders, including ethnic armed organizations and the Burma Army—which have both participated in the peace dialogue process leading up to the conference. Suu Kyi and government officials will meet with NCA non-signatories in mid-July to hear their recommendations for the conference, said Hla Maung Shwe. He added that Suu Kyi was not opposed to the holding of a separate summit of ethnic armed organizations in Kachin State's conflict-torn Mai Ja Yang region in July; however, ethnic leaders will need to submit details and an agenda to the government. A government delegation will also meet three ethnic armed groups—the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, the Arakan Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army—that were excluded from signing the NCA by the previous government. The post Suu Kyi Pushes for Inclusion of NCA Non-Signatories in Peace Conference appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Police Detain Five in Relation to Muslim Prayer Hall Arson Posted: 05 Jul 2016 06:07 AM PDT  The smoldering Muslim prayer hall in Lone Khin village, Hpakant Township, Kachin State (Photo: Citizen journalist) RANGOON — Police have detained five people in relation to the burning of a Muslim prayer hall in Kachin State last week. "Four men and one woman have been arrested," a police officer from the Hpakant police station told the Irrawaddy on Tuesday. The arrest was made just days after a Muslim prayer hall in Lone Khin village of Hpakant Township, Kachin State was burned down by a Buddhist nationalist mob on Friday afternoon. The arson comes on the heels of anti-Muslim rioting in Pegu Division's Thuye Thamain village on June 23, which resulted in the destruction of a mosque, a Muslim cemetery, and a house and storeroom belonging to a Muslim family. Authorities chose not to take action against any of the perpetrators in the Pegu Division attacks. At the end of her 12-day trip to Burma last Friday, Yanghee Lee, a United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, urged the country's government—led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi—to investigate and crack down on religious violence. She said she was concerned by reports that the government would not investigate the attack on the mosque in Pegu Division. “This is precisely the wrong signal to send. The government must demonstrate that instigating and committing violence against ethnic or religious minorities has no place in Myanmar,” Lee said. Religious tensions between Buddhists and Muslims erupted in Burma in 2012, and ongoing violence has continued to date. The post Police Detain Five in Relation to Muslim Prayer Hall Arson appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Formal and Informal Justice Systems Fail Women: Report Posted: 05 Jul 2016 05:23 AM PDT  Panelists at the United Nation's "Women's Access to Justice in Plural Legal Systems in Myanmar" report launch in Naypyidaw last week. (Photo: Cheery Zahau / Facebook) Women in Burma still lack access to justice due to an absence of awareness and the widespread use of customary practices in ethnic areas, according to researchers. After a panel discussion at the United Nations' "Women's Access to Justice in Plural Legal Systems in Myanmar" report launch in Naypyidaw last week, a lead researcher told The Irrawaddy that formal and informal justice systems in Burma do not work adequately for women. The research for the report was conducted mainly from 2013-14 in four regions: Kachin, Chin and Mon states, and Rangoon Division. Researchers queried over 400 women and later highlighted the need for a formal institution through which women could seek justice in the case of rights abuses. Cheery Zahau, co-researcher for the report and renowned ethnic Chin human rights activist, said the understanding of women's justice differs widely throughout Burma's various states. For communities in ethnic regions, some people "feel [there is] justice when their lives are safe and free from harassment by the military," she said, adding that in other communities, social support for education and health is perceived as representing justice. The report showed that women in Rangoon faced particularly high incidents of domestic and sexual violence, including rape, especially in communities with large numbers of internal migrants. It can take up to three months to file a case in the courts, so victims of sexual abuse need better social and psychological support, said Cheery Zahau. She added that in remote ethnic areas, many women do not speak Burmese and cannot travel the long distances required to reach the nearest police station to report crimes; therefore, communities continue to enforce controversial customary practices. Often, customary laws do not allow women to participate in decision making when settling disputes. Because these systems lack space for women's voices to be heard, social harmony is often prioritized over women's rights. Getting women involved in dispute resolution would likely have positive results, but in many cases, men still take on such roles in the name of tradition, said Cheery Zahau, adding that discrimination against women is entrenched in Burmese society. Yet because there is a widely held perception that women already experience equal rights, she pointed out that society often remains ignorant of their ongoing vulnerabilities. Burmese women's rights groups submitted a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) this week, which aims to establish an international framework that will promote women's equality and ensure compliance with its standards. CEDAW is conducting Burma's review from July 4-7 in Geneva. It is the first time since 2008 that the committee has examined the country's record for respecting and upholding women's rights. The post Formal and Informal Justice Systems Fail Women: Report appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| CSOs Call For Investigation of Attacks on Muslim Places of Worship Posted: 05 Jul 2016 02:57 AM PDT  A mosque destroyed in sectarian rioting on Thursday in Thuye Thamain village, Waw Township, Pegu Division. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Civil society organizations (CSOs) urged the government to investigate recent attacks on Muslim places of worship in Pegu Division and Kachin State, calling to protect the rights of religious minorities, according to a joint statement on Tuesday. Almost 20 CSOs and non-governmental organizations including the Center for Youth and Social Harmony, Kachin Women's Association, Myanmar Muslim Youth and Students, Burma Partnership, Equality Myanmar and Fortify Rights signed a statement that said authorities should conduct an investigation and hold perpetrators legally accountable for the two most recent violent incidents. Less than 10 days after the case in Pegu Division's Thuye Thamain village in Waw Township on June 23—which resulted in the destruction of a mosque, a Muslim cemetery and a Muslim family's house and warehouse—a Muslim prayer hall in Kachin State's Lone Khin village in Hpakant Township was also destroyed by a mob. Nearly 30 Muslim families in Lone Khin village have fled since the riot began. Apart from heightening security in the areas, the authorities have not conducted any further investigation. "We call on the government to immediately conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the destruction of the Muslim places of worship in Lone Khin and Thuye Thamain villages and to ensure legal accountability for perpetrators," the statement read. "By failing to properly investigate or prosecute perpetrators of these crimes, authorities in [Burma] are fostering a culture of impunity that is inconsistent with [Burma's] human rights obligations." The statement also said that it was time for the current National League for Democracy (NLD) government to deliver on its electoral campaign promise of upholding rule of law and human rights for all. "The government needs to roll out a concerted effort to protect religious freedom and prevent future outbreaks of violence," said Matthew Smith, chief executive officer of human rights advocacy group Fortify Rights. "It's the duty of everyone in [Burma] to ensure that communities of all faiths can practice their religion with freedom from fear." The post CSOs Call For Investigation of Attacks on Muslim Places of Worship appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Ten Things to Do in Rangoon This Week (July 5) Posted: 04 Jul 2016 09:24 PM PDT  The Irrawaddy picks 10 interesting events happening in Rangoon this week. The Irrawaddy picks 10 interesting events happening in Rangoon this week.
Civil society and media representatives will review the role of women in Burma's peace process and discuss how to strengthen women's participation with the help of the media. Admission is free. Where: Park Royal Hotel, Alan Pya Phaya Road, Dagon Tsp. When: Wednesday, July 6, 1pm to 3pm
No Lights No Lycra (NLNL) is a dance community founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2009 by dance students. Since then, NLNL has grown predominantly through word of mouth into what it claims is now a "global community." With no lights, teachers, technique—or indeed lycra—NLNL hosts sessions where "you can completely let go, shake out the stresses of the week, and lose yourself in the music and the physicality of your body." Admission is 5,000 kyat. Where: Goethe Villa, No.8, Koh Min Koh Chin Road, Bahan Tsp. (next to Golden Butterfly Hotel) When: Wednesday, July 6, 7pm to 8pm
Seventy-one years ago, on January 27, 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Every year on that day, the world remembers the unique crimes committed by Nazi Germany during World War II and commemorates the victims, including more than 6 million Jewish people from all over Europe. On this occasion, the German cultural institute in Rangoon—Goethe-Institut Myanmar—together with the Embassies of Israel, Poland and Germany present a classical concert. Admission is free. Where: The Yangon Gallery, Pyay Road, People's Park & Square, Sanchaung Tsp. When: Thursday, July 7, 7pm to 11pm
Rosalie Metro will describe her research on the current history curriculum in Burma, and opportunities for revising it, as well as introducing the design of her new textbook, "Histories of Burma." Rosalie Metro holds a Ph.D. in Education from Cornell University, and she currently works as an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri in the US. Admission is free. Where: Pansodan Scene Gallery, No. 144, 2nd Floor, Pansodan Street (at the corner of Mahabandoola Street), Kyauktada Tsp. When: Saturday, July 9, starts at 1:30 pm
The RainDance Festival will feature Burmese and international DJs including DJ Mr. Y, DJ Maily and DJ Fingaz. DJ Fingaz has performed internationally with artists including XZIBIT, Beyonce, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Black Eyed Peas, Drake and Nickj Minaj. DJ Maily from Cambodia, a luminary of the Phnom Penh club scene, will also play the main stage with local DJ Mr.Y. Tickets are 10,000 kyats. Where: Botahtaung Jetty, Strand Road, Botahtaung Tsp., Tel: 09 792 860091 When: Saturday July 9 4pm to 11pm
The Yan-Go scavenger hunt lets you learn about historical downtown Rangoon through clue-collecting, puzzle-solving and, finally, a celebration. Winners will receive gifts from sponsors Yangon Yoga House and Union Bar. All proceeds will be donated to the Yangon Heritage Trust. Further details and registration at http://www.yan-go.com/. Register by July 6. Tickets are 5,000 kyats per person. Where: Union Bar and Grill, 42 Strand Road, Botahtaung Tsp. When: Sunday, July 10, starts at 3pm
Artist Yei Myint will showcase his 11th solo exhibition, dedicated to his mentor Win Pe. 31 paintings will be on show, with prices ranging between 500,000 kyats (US$425) and 3 million kyats ($2,550). Where: Cloud 31 Art Gallery, No.49/51 (first floor), 31st Street (lower block) between Merchant Street and Mahabandoola Street, Pabedan Tsp. When: Sunday, July 10 to Friday, July 15
The fourth solo exhibition from artist Wa Lone, with around 40 paintings, priced between US$150 and $650. Where: Lokanat Gallery, 62 Pansodan St, 1st Floor, Kyauktada Tsp., Tel. 095-1382-269 When: Saturday, July 9 to Wednesday, July 13
An exhibition of around 90 works by Burmese women artists, with prices between US$100 and $500. Where: Myanmar Artists & Artisans Organization (Central), Bogyoke Market, Pabedan Tsp. When: Wednesday, July 6 to Thursday, July 10
Artist Zaw Maung will showcase more than 60 of his acrylic works at this solo show. Where: Yangon Gallery, People's Park, Ahlone Road, Sanchaung Tsp., Tel: 09-738 27777 When: Saturday, July 9 to Monday, July 11 The post Ten Things to Do in Rangoon This Week (July 5) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
Forum on Women, Media & Peace
Entertainment: No Lights No Lycra, Round 3
Concert in Commemoration of the Holocaust
Talk: Teaching history for national reconciliation and democratization 
Music Festival: Signature BlueZone — RainDance Festival
Yan-Go! Yangon Scavenger Hunt
Exhibition: Homage to My Mentor U Win Pe
Exhibition: The Legend of Happiness
Exhibition: Burmese Women Artists
Exhibition: Zaw Maung Solo Exhibition| You are subscribed to email updates from The Irrawaddy. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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