The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- USDP to Reorganize
- Govt Invites Proposals for New Hotels in Myeik Archipelago
- Militia-Backed Rangoon High-Rise Defies Govt Suspension Orders
- Floods Affect Thousands in Irrawaddy Division
- Death Toll Rises As Unidentified Illness Sweeps Naga Region
- Four Civilians Injured in Karen State Clash
- Leaked Transcript of Suu Kyi-UNFC Meeting Reveals Firm Line on NCA
| Posted: 05 Aug 2016 05:30 AM PDT  A Union Solidarity and Development Party conference on Friday at the former ruling party’s Rangoon Division headquarters. (Photos: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) Burma's military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will hold its central conference and elect new party leadership in August at its headquarters in Naypyidaw, said Htay Oo, USDP vice chairman, at the plenary meeting of the Rangoon Division USDP on Friday. "The central conference is exclusively for new party leadership elected at divisional and state levels. Those who were recently suspended from party membership have to stand for [leadership] election at township level," said Htay Oo. On April 22, the USDP expelled 17 senior party members including former Lower House speaker Shwe Mann just days after former President Thein Sein resumed party chairmanship. At that point, Shwe Mann had been appointed by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to lead Parliament's influential Legal Affairs and Special Cases Committee under the new National League for Democracy (NLD) led government. Those expelled and more than half of the central executive committee (CEC) members requested at the end of May that party chairman Thein Sein summon an emergency party conference to solve internal party problems including the expulsions. The request was rejected. The Rangoon Division USDP in a report blamed party disunity, a failure to mobilize public support and the media's overwhelming support for the National League for Democracy (NLD) for the USDP's humiliating defeat in the 2015 election. At the meeting on Friday, the Rangoon Division USDP elected a new chairman, secretary and executive committee. Other states and divisions are scheduled to complete their new leadership elections by the second week of August, prior to the August 20 central conference. The post USDP to Reorganize appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Govt Invites Proposals for New Hotels in Myeik Archipelago Posted: 05 Aug 2016 05:25 AM PDT  A rare sighting of tourists in the Myeik Archipelago, near Shark Island. (Photo: Timothy Webster) RANGOON — The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) is inviting proposals for new hotel projects in the Myeik Archipelago, which will be assessed for environmental friendliness in cooperation with the Tenasserim Division government. The development of the archipelago in Burma's far south for "eco-tourism" is prioritized in the Tourism Master Plan 2013-20, which was devised under the previous government and is being continued by the present one. It is hoped that the largely unspoiled, coral-rich collection of islands will draw tourists away from the beaches of southern Thailand. Foreign investor interest in the area has grown slowly. Eleven hotel projects were approved for development under the previous government. "We'll have to heed the lessons from other countries while approving new hotels and tourism projects in the Myeik Archipelago, if we're not to harm the environment there," MIC secretary Aung Naing Oo said. He said that no new proposals for hotel projects in the Myeik Archipelago had been received during the first three months of the new government's term since April. Tint Thwin, director general of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said they would promote only eco-friendly tourism in the archipelago—regardless of the nature and level of investor interest—and would work with the MIC to guarantee this. The Mergui Archipelago consists of 800 islands spread over 10,000 square miles in the Andaman Sea, off the coast of Burma's far-southern Tenasserim Division. The archipelago is currently challenging—and expensive—for most tourists to visit, given the overall lack of existing tourist infrastructure and its remote location, but its potential is reckoned to be huge given the much-cited "over-development" of Thailand's coastal areas. Hlwan Moe, the Myeik District assistant director for the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said that, as of July, eight hotel projects in Kawthaung District and three projects in Myeik District were under construction. "Nearly 80 percent of hotel projects are within Kawthaung District. Hotel construction is getting started on projects approved by the previous government. There have been no new projects under the current government so far," he said. Hotel projects now underway are located on the islands of Khuntee (or Gabuza), Eastern Sula, Langan, Tanintharyi, Kadan, Ngakhin Nyogyi, Kyun Phila and Saw Mon Hla. The post Govt Invites Proposals for New Hotels in Myeik Archipelago appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Militia-Backed Rangoon High-Rise Defies Govt Suspension Orders Posted: 05 Aug 2016 04:52 AM PDT  The 74 University Avenue construction site seen on Friday. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The construction of a high-rise development in Rangoon owned by a former state parliamentarian and current leader of a government-aligned militia in Shan State was found to be proceeding in defiance of municipal government suspension orders. Situated less than a hundred meters away from the residence of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, the 12.5-story building project at 74 University Avenue was first ordered to halt construction in January by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). The reasons behind the halt order were: absence of the required approvals from the YCDC, failure to follow construction guidelines, and opposition from local residents who objected to any building flouting the neighborhood's proposed 42-ft height cap. "We have ordered them several times to halt but they simply paid out fines [and continued]. I saw that the project was still in progress as of Monday," said YCDC secretary Hlaing Maw Oo on Thursday. The project is owned by Kyaw Myint, chairman of the Pansay People's Militia, an armed group allied with the Burma Army. The militia was founded some 20 years ago and is based in Muse, on the Sino-Burmese border in northern Shan State.  The 74 University Avenue construction site seen on Friday. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy) Kyaw Myint was previously a lawmaker in the Shan State parliament representing Namkham Township for the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. Ethnic Palaung anti-drug activists have accused him of being a major player in the drug trade in northern Shan State, his Pansay militia controlling some 20,000 acres where poppy is grown. The project was one of two in Rangoon whose suspension was proposed during a session of the previous Parliament in January. The proposal won a majority vote but was put on record in the Lower House, to be considered under the new Parliament that began in February. Hlaing Maw Oo said initial approval for the high-rise project was revoked last month because the developers failed to follow YCDC orders, meaning it is now totally without official approval. "They promised they would halt it by July 15 but the project was found to still be going on as of Monday," the YCDC secretary said. "If they keep on, we will revoke the licenses of their engineer and contractor," she added. On Thursday, The Irrawaddy found the project site deserted. A looming yellow tower crane sat idle inside a construction area sealed off with blue galvanized iron sheets. Deep excavation for a foundation was visible and construction had not surpassed the base level. In early 2015, when the controversy over the building began, it had been charged with breaking YCDC regulations for conducting the ground excavation without permission. "We have fined them more than 2.8 million kyats (US$2,360) because they breached articles 68 and 69 of the YCDC Act. They are still in breach now," said Bahan Township Municipal Board Chairman Pe Than Aung during a press conference in January, on the subject of high rises in Rangoon, hosted by ex-YCDC member Khin Hlaing.  The 74 University Avenue construction site seen in January. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy) According to Article 68, anyone who violates the city's construction regulations will be charged with up to one year in prison, a penalty of 10,000-500,000 kyats ($8-422), or both, while Article 69 holds that anyone that repeatedly violates Article 68 will be charged with up to one year in prison or a penalty of 10,000-50,000 ($8-42) per day till the offence is rectified. "Two-point-eight million kyats is just like labor fees for them," Khin Hliang commented at the press conference. He said the attitude of the developers was, "We can do as we like because we can afford the fines." In August last year, ten people living close to the project—including the abbots for four Buddhist monasteries—sent a petition to Khin Hlaing complaining about the prospect of a 12.5-story building in their neighborhood. The local residents said that when the developer asked them for their approvals in order to gain permission from the YCDC, the person representing the owner Kyaw Myint did not tell them it would be a high rise. "He just said it is would be a building for Kyaw Myint's family. So, we said yes. If we had known that it was to be a high rise, we wouldn't have signed 'agreed,'" said Zawana, the abbot of Lakefront Inya Monastery. The abbot said that he would not accept any building above four stories in the neighborhood—a zoning guideline for the area proposed by the YCDC. "Also, it could pose a threat to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's security because the building would be overlooking her residence," he said. Construction continued as normal after the first suspension order in January. Ponnya Sara, the abbot of Weiluwun Monastery, which sits next to the construction site, said on Monday that the groundwork had been carried out over several months during the nighttime hours. The noise had disturbed the evening prayers and nighttime meditation of the 25 resident monks. "They should be aware that there are monasteries nearby. It is very disrespectful," the abbot said. May Win Myint, the NLD lawmaker who proposed suspending the project in the Lower House, said she had been following the case from Naypyidaw and would investigate further after returning to Rangoon in a few days. "If needed, I will submit the case to the Rangoon Divisional parliament for debate," she said. Zawana, of the Lakefront Inya Monastery, wondered why the government appeared to be slow and lenient in its response to the illegal project. "Is it because it is backed by a militia allied with the army?" he asked. "It has to be in accordance with the law," he said, adding that the attitude of the developers is, "'we have money, we can do as we like." The Irrawaddy tried to contact project owner Kyaw Myint on Thursday but he was not available for comment. The post Militia-Backed Rangoon High-Rise Defies Govt Suspension Orders appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Floods Affect Thousands in Irrawaddy Division Posted: 05 Aug 2016 04:30 AM PDT  Flooding in Kyangin Township in August 2016. (Photo: Salai Thant Zin / The Irrawaddy) Thousands of people have been affected by flooding in Irrawaddy Division, with relief organizations struggling to keep up. Rising water in the Irrawaddy and Ngawun rivers has caused flooding in Hinthada, Zalun, Kyangin, Myanaung, Ingapu, Maubin, Pantanaw and Danubyu townships since early August, and forced more than 2,000 households into relief camps, according to the Irrawaddy Division relief and resettlement department. "About 20 villages from eight different village tracts are now inundated. We have opened eight relief camps in Kyangin Township where we are assisting more than 400 households. Mainly, we need food and drinking water," said Thaw Zin Win, a Kyangin Township lawmaker. Relief camps have opened across the division: 23 in Myanaung, eight in Kyangin, six in Zalun, five in Hinthada, two in Ingapu and one in Maubin. The relief and resettlement department and donors are providing rice and drinking water to flood victims. "We have supplied rice and drinking water costing more than 3 million kyats (US$2,500). The floods have not caused any casualties and there are no missing people," said Than Soe, the director of the relief and resettlement department. Floods led to the closure of 42 schools beginning August 2 and the Irrawaddy Division's education department is planning to compensate for the missed classes during school holidays, said Win Maung, head of the local education department. "We had to close schools because they were submerged from the flooding and they will stay closed until the water recedes. We are afraid we will have to close even more schools if water levels continue to rise," he added. The Irrawaddy and Ngawun rivers have recently fluctuated between one and four feet above a designated "danger level" in flooded townships, and relief department personnel and locals are monitoring water levels in additional townships to prevent water from breaching embankments. The Irrawaddy Division suffered severe flooding in July and August last year, which submerged more than 88,000 houses in 17 townships in Pathein, Hinthada and Maubin districts and caused a financial loss of more than 18 billion kyats ($15 million). Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Floods Affect Thousands in Irrawaddy Division appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Death Toll Rises As Unidentified Illness Sweeps Naga Region Posted: 05 Aug 2016 04:21 AM PDT  Naga children are pictured in 2014, in a village along the road connecting Lahe and Nanyun townships in the Naga Self-Administered Zone. (Photo: Nang Seng Nom / The Irrawaddy) An estimated 38 people—mostly children—have died from an as-yet unidentified and contagious illness in two townships within the Naga Self-Administered Zone in Burma's far north. Local authorities sent two doctors on Friday to the village of Thankholama in Lahe Township, the first location where the disease struck. Victims have presented with a cough, and then develop dark spots and lumps on their bodies. In the final stages of the illness, they vomit blood, explained Thein Zaw, the assistant director of the Naga Self-Administered Zone. "We can say that for the meantime, we are able to somewhat control the situation regarding this disease. The death toll has reached 38," he said; of the 38 casualties, 34 were reportedly children under 15 years old, and four were elderly people. It remains unknown what illness is afflicting the people of both Lahe and Nanyun townships. Loyon, a lawmaker from Lahe Township, told The Irrawaddy that locals first suspected that the children were suffering from a more common condition, but as the death toll rose, people were alarmed by how little resistance or immunity patients appeared to exhibit toward the disease. Blood and urine samples from the patients are currently being transported to Rangoon for testing. "We may come to know the type of disease after 10 or 15 days," Thein Zaw said, referring to the timeframe for testing. The authorities from the Naga Self-Administered Zone have no plan to declare a state of emergency, he said, but will send more medics to administer treatment. Meanwhile, in Lahe Township, Thein Zaw said that between 20 and 30 patients remain sick, with reportedly even more individuals affected in Nanyun Township, though official numbers for that region were not yet known. Naung Hang, a resident of Lahe town and a member of the Council of Naga Affairs, estimated that most of the Thankholama's 50 households had now been affected by the outbreak. "It was hard to get access this village. This was why the medics could not get there on time to stop the outbreak," said Naung Hang; Thankholama is nearly 40 miles from Lahe town. Athong Makury, President of the Council of Naga Affairs, wrote short note on his Facebook page on Thursday about how the disease was first spotted, and then spread. He said that the first case appeared in Thankholama on June 14. Within one month, five children had reportedly succumbed to the illness. Only then did the village authorities inform the medical department in Lahe Town, which also serves as the headquarters for the Naga Self-Administered Zone. Yet although medics tried to spread awareness about general disease prevention, locals say that no serious action was taken to contain the outbreak. Thankholama is particularly remote and isolated—accessible only by motorbike—in a region already severely lacking infrastructure; the Naga Self-Administered Zone, populated by the Naga ethnic group, is considered one of the poorest and most under-developed areas in Burma. The post Death Toll Rises As Unidentified Illness Sweeps Naga Region appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Four Civilians Injured in Karen State Clash Posted: 05 Aug 2016 02:20 AM PDT  Border Guard Force troops provided security on the Asian highway in July 2015. (Photo: Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy) Four civilians were injured in a clash between Karen State Border Guard Force (BGF) troops and a Karen ethnic armed group in southeastern Karen State's Kawkareik Township on Thursday, according to the BGF. According to Mu Char, the commanding officer of BGF No. 4, their assailants were a splinter group of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), led by Maj. Nar Ma Kyar. "They came and attacked us. The clash only lasted half an hour," the commanding officer told The Irrawaddy. A child, a man, and two women from Ta Tan Kuu village were wounded and received treatment at Myawaddy Hospital. The extent of their injuries is not yet known. In May, combined forces from the Burma Army and the BGF attacked the house of Maj. Nar Ma Kyar in Kawkareik Township, but he escaped the attack. In February, the splinter group and BGF troops clashed in the same township, forcing hundreds of locals from their homes. The DKBA signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in October with former President Thein Sein's government. The post Four Civilians Injured in Karen State Clash appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Leaked Transcript of Suu Kyi-UNFC Meeting Reveals Firm Line on NCA Posted: 05 Aug 2016 01:40 AM PDT  State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi meets with UNFC ethnic armed alliance leaders for the first time in Rangoon on July 17. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi's words to leaders of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) ethnic armed alliance during their first closed-door meeting were leaked to the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News on Thursday. According to the leaked transcript, during the meeting at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) in Rangoon on July 17, Suu Kyi told UNFC leaders of her commitment to "non-separatist" federalism under the "Panglong spirit," and explained why she wanted the Union Peace Conference to be expedited for later this month. Suu Kyi also stated that those armed groups who have not signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) could not be given "equal status" to signatory armed groups, so as not to undermine the NCA, which she hoped all groups would sign. The nine ethnic armed groups that comprise the UNFC either refused to sign the NCA—reached between the government and only eight ethnic armed groups in October last year—or were excluded from doing so at the insistence of the military. UNFC members have expressed concerns that the government is rushing to hold the peace conference in premature circumstances, and have demanded that the government declare a unilateral ceasefire beforehand—a move that would require negotiation with Burma's armed forces, who have not appeared receptive to the idea so far. In the meeting, according to the leaked transcript, Suu Kyi said she wished to hold the peace conference as soon as possible out of an urgent need to "set a timeframe" for peace negotiations—a lesson drawn from peace processes elsewhere, such as Northern Ireland. She said that, if they were to only meet for political dialogue after every group had signed the NCA, it would provide an opportunity for "any group that does not want peace" to spoil the process. Political dialogue, envisaged as a central part of the Union Peace Conference, refers to anticipated negotiations over a federal restructuring of the state to accommodate longstanding demands from ethnic minority groups for greater autonomy. Right after the July 17 meeting, the government publicly described the meeting as "a family gathering" aimed at building mutual trust. Spokespersons from both sides said the meeting had yielded good results, with participants discussing federalism and issues related to the NCA. The transcript did not contain comments from the armed group leaders present: UNFC chairman Gen N'Ban La from the Kachin Independence Party, UNFC secretary Khu Oo Reh and Abel Tweet from the Karenni National Progressive Party, Naing Htaw Mon from the New Mon State Party, and Gen Say Htin from the Shan State Progress Party. The absence of their voices from the transcript could suggest that Suu Kyi dominated the dialogue. So thought political commentator Aung Thu Nyein, who said, "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should be listening more to the ethnic leaders rather than just talking." The transcript also has Suu Kyi advising the ethnic armed group leaders to take a "calculated risk" by taking part in the peace process, citing her own decision to participate in the 2012 by-elections and the 2015 general election. But Aung Thu Nyein and other commentators have criticized this as a false equivalence, because a key stakeholder—the Burma Army—is demanding that some ethnic armed groups disarm before taking part in peace negotiations, which would fundamentally impair their leverage. Suu Kyi invited them to "ask for whatever you want, but I cannot guarantee that you will get 100 percent of what you ask. We will negotiate. If you take part with the intention of gaining 100 percent, nothing can work." In response to Suu Kyi's much-publicized request to ethnic armed groups to "think more of giving rather than taking," UNFC secretary Khu Oo Reh told the press in Rangoon the following day, "What more do they want from us? We have nothing more to give because our natural resources have been destroyed and our people have faced hardship." During the meeting, Suu Kyi reassured them that the National League for Democracy (NLD) government accepted a federal state as the "sole solution," but was at pains to distance the notion from "separation from the Union." She said, "Federalism [would mean] the separation of power between the central government and the state and divisional governments, which must be defined in the constitution." "Federalism is not about encouraging separation. It is about building institutions that can guarantee non-separation," she said. In accordance with the "Panglong spirit," she said she had no intention of restricting the rights of minority ethnic groups. She referred to the preamble of the 1947 Panglong Agreement—a deal guaranteeing regional autonomy for "frontier areas" signed between her father Aung San and Shan, Kachin and Chin leaders—which she said contained the "spirit of 'working together' for all ethnic groups in Burma." In her final words, she cited her desire for the peace process to be "all-inclusive," and expressed a hope that all groups would sign the NCA prior to entering peace negotiations. She said, "I want to create a space for [current] non-signatories to the NCA to be able to participate in the 21st Century Panglong Conference"—the name she has given to the upcoming Union Peace Conference—"but I cannot give equal status to signatories and non-signatories. If I did, nobody would pay attention to the NCA." According to the current political dialogue framework—agreed in January this year—the armed groups that are not signatories to the NCA are invited to take part in the peace conference, but only as "observers." A political dialogue framework review meeting is scheduled for the middle of this month. The government has invited UNFC members to participate. The post Leaked Transcript of Suu Kyi-UNFC Meeting Reveals Firm Line on NCA appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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