The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Looking Inside Arakan Advisory Commission’s Closed-Door Meeting
• Forestry Police Hit the Ground in Crackdown on Illegal Logging
• YCDC Reclaims Sule Shangri-La Parking Lot
• NGO Calls US Govt to Support Jade Trade Reform After Lifting Sanctions
• US Dollar Price Increases Due to Demand from Importers
• DKBA Splinter Group Lose Several Bases to Burma Army and Border Guard Force
• Can Rangoon Become a Disabled-Friendly City?
• Who wins?
• Burma Army Soldiers Sentenced to Five Years for Killing Civilians
• Suu Kyi Urges US Investment to Spur Democratic Transition 

Looking Inside Arakan Advisory Commission’s Closed-Door Meeting Posted: 16 Sep 2016 07:56 AM PDT A visit by the Kofi Annan-led Arakan State Advisory Commission to Sittwe's Aung Mingalar quarter in Arakan State last week. (Photo: Marayu / Facebook) RANGOON — Former UN general secretary and chair of the Arakan State Advisory Commission Kofi Annan conducted a closed-door meeting in Rangoon earlier this month with members of the Arakanese Buddhist and Muslim communities, The Irrawaddy has learned. Commission member Al-Haj U Aye Lwin confirmed that the one-hour meeting took place on September 8 at the Sule Shangri-La Hotel, and was attended by lawyers, civil society representatives, political party leaders, and the Rangoon chapter of the Rakhine (Arakanese) Thahaya Association. U Aye Lwin said that representatives from both sides appeared open-minded, and presented findings to contribute to the advisory commission's "impartial report," which will be submitted to the State Counselor's Office upon completion. Mr. Annan re-stated to the meeting attendees the objective of the commission: to pursue conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance, reconciliation and development in Arakan State. Hla Maung Thein, chair of Rakhine Thahaya Association, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that he had attended the meeting and talked with Mr. Annan, cautioning him against coming to what could be perceived as a "one-sided conclusion" and encouraging investigation of "the root causes" of ethno-religious violence in Arakan State. Some of the meeting's Buddhist Arakanese attendees reportedly said that they "welcome the commission" and demanded naturalized citizenship be provided to stateless self-identifying Muslim Rohingya in line with existing laws, which could require them to first identify as "Bengali" migrants of Bangladesh. This, meeting attendees said, could avoid dissatisfaction from Arakanese nationalists, many of whom do not want those who identify as Rohingya to have citizenship at all. The Rohingya maintain that they are not Bengali migrants, and that they have roots in Arakan State. The Muslim delegation to the meeting included lawyers U Chit Lwin and U Kyaw Hla Aung, and U Kyaw Min from the Democracy and Human Rights Party (DHRP), which represents Rangoon-based Muslims but did not win any seats in the 2015 general election. U Aye Lwin said that some of the more flexible Buddhist Arakanese had recognized that the affairs of Arakan State had long been featured on the international stage, despite recent Arakanese protests against Kofi Annan, calling his and other international actors' involvement in the commission a threat to national sovereignty. Citizenship Discussions Arakanese delegates at the meeting reportedly emphasized that the issuing of citizenship cards in line with Burma's 1982 Citizenship Law—which defines citizenship along ethnic lines—would be the best option for stateless Muslims in the region. U Aye Lwin recalled that Muslim delegates agreed that citizenship scrutiny could be performed alongside existing laws, but expressed concern that the government implementation of the law and the letter of it were not in agreement. U Aye Lwin said that even he was "surprised" when Muslims at the meeting accepted a verification process in line with the controversial law, adding that those within some displacement camps in Sittwe—the Arakan State capital—had also agreed to the suggestion. However, U Aye Lwin told The Irrawaddy that he hopes the Burmese government can be encouraged to amend the existing citizenship law. "What we suggest is to analyze and review the 1982 law with the support of legal experts, with the aim of recommending amendments which will easy for everyone to understand, concerning application and interpretation," said U Aye Lwin. Any attempt to amend the 1982 Citizenship Law in the Union Parliament could be faced with the objections of the military appointees and the ethnic bloc, especially the nationalist Arakan National Party (ANP) who have consistently stood against changing it. According to U Aye Lwin, Muslim community leaders from Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in Arakan State are on board with efforts to explore and tackle concerns relating to what is perceived as an insecure border with neighboring Bangladesh. The advisory commission also asked the Muslim leaders to perform a headcount of the population in villages and quarters home to the minority group. In May, an unsubstantiated rumor spread throughout Buddhist communities in Sittwe that Aung Mingalar—the Arakan State capital's Muslim quarter—was housing a growing number of undocumented migrants. Buddhist nationalists demanded the government inspect the entire quarter; officials found no evidence to back the allegation. Recently, some villages in northern Arakan State refused to collaborate with a headcount, which they say was a continuation of the policies of Burma's previous, military-backed government and would not provide benefit to the Muslim community; an estimated 1.3 million self-identifying Rohingya Muslims were not enumerated in Burma's 2014 census, carried out under the former government administration. "To diminish distrust between the two communities, a headcount process is crucial," said U Aye Lwin. Equal Rights In the past, Muslims from Arakan State held identification documents known as "tri-fold cards." These documents were issued starting in 1958 and originally entitled holders to equal rights as other Burmese citizens, until the 1982 Citizenship Law re-defined citizenship eligibility. A citizenship verification drive initiated under the former Thein Sein government and continued under the current National League for Democracy-led government led to the registration with national verification certificates (NVCs) as a precursor to citizenship scrutiny. While many registered in the scheme, the NVCs were also rejected by some Rohingya Muslims who questioned why their ethnicity and religion were omitted from the documents. U Kyaw Min, from the DHRP, told The Irrawaddy that if the government could resolve citizenship within a legal framework it would also simultaneously resolve any perceived issues surrounding migration. "Declining [citizenship for] the Rohingya is not going to solve the problem. The real problem in Arakan State is equal rights, not [the presence of] the Rohingya," said U Kyaw Min. U Zaw Zaw, a resident of Sittwe's Aung Mingalar quarter who self-identifies as Rohingya, told The Irrawaddy that the problem in Arakan State is a lack of equality; the riots and violence which swept the region in 2012 were derived from oppression, he said. "We want citizenship which is granted by the law and the protection of the government," he added, yet U Zaw Zaw worries that if his community is granted citizenship, the surrounding Arakanese society will strongly object to the action. Both U Kyaw Min and U Zaw Zaw said that they have more faith in the advisory commission than in the government; while the commission will make recommendations, it will be up to the country's leadership to practically implement any solutions laid out by the commission. "The government needs to amend the law. But I don't hold much hope," said U Kyaw Min, pointing out that many of the State Counselor's closest aides and advisors also had ties to the previous Thein Sein-led administration. The advisory commission members, including chairman Kofi Annan, will begin their second trip to Arakan State at the end of October, and are scheduled to visit Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. The post Looking Inside Arakan Advisory Commission's Closed-Door Meeting appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Forestry Police Hit the Ground in Crackdown on Illegal Logging Posted: 16 Sep 2016 07:03 AM PDT Forestry police after a raid on an illegal logging camp. (Photo: Forestry Department) Forestry police numbering 215 have been deployed since Sept. 1 across multiple states and divisions, to protect forestry department personnel in a continued crackdown on illegal logging, which has previously drawn violent reprisals from criminal gangs. The forestry police was established in 2013 as a division of Burma's Police Force, under the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs. Their new deployment areas are: Dekkhinathiri District in Naypyidaw; Rangoon's Northern District; Pyay, Taungoo, Tharrawaddy and Pegu districts in Pegu Division; Shwebo, Monywa and Katha districts in Sagaing Division; Pakokku and Gangaw districts in Magwe Division; Taunggyi and Lashio districts in Shan State; and Pathein District in Irrawaddy Division, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. U Myo Min, a director at the ministry, said they would cooperate with the Burma Army, as well as with other government departments, in the illegal logging crackdown. U Sithu Lwin, a retired forestry department official, called the fresh deployment of forestry police "a good move," but thought that, if conventional forestry officers were allowed to carry guns—as they were before 1988—the extra expense would be saved. The ministry has called on the President to impose a halt on the logging of teak and other hardwoods starting from this fiscal year, ending March 2017, until further notice. Also starting this fiscal year, logging in the Pegu mountain range of central Burma will undergo a ten-year ban. In Parliament on Wednesday, the minister U Ohn Win said they were taking a tough line on illegal logging. U Ohn Win admitted to Parliament that a truck carrying 15 tons of smuggled logs crosses the border into China every seven minutes on average. "I am dismayed to hear that. Our country has lost a lot of its resources since the military took administrative power. These things need to be changed now," said Sithu Lwin. Lawmaker U Aung Kyaw Kyaw Oo of Rangoon's Hlaing Township quoted in Parliament a 2015 report by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, which ranks Burma third among countries for its rate of deforestation. He alleged that sections of the Burma Army and of ethnic armed groups, as well as forestry department personnel, are involved in illegal logging. Since the new government took office in April, 19,108 tons of smuggled teak and other hardwoods, and 992 units of machinery used in illegal logging, had been seized by the end of August, with 3,316 smugglers arrested. According to ministry figures, 631,000 tons of smuggled teak and hardwoods, and 13,956 units of machinery, have been seized over the past 16 years, with 100,943 smugglers arrested. Burma lost an average of 1.7 percent of its forests annually from 2010-15, leaving total forest cover at 45 percent (around 29 million hectares), according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Fifteen years before, this stood at 65 percent, the agency said. Since 2014, the legal logging sector—whose methods, under the state-owned Myanmar Timber Enterprise, have received a large part of the blame for Burma's deforestation—has been restricted according to an annual quota. Log exports were then suspended from April the same year. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Forestry Police Hit the Ground in Crackdown on Illegal Logging appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

YCDC Reclaims Sule Shangri-La Parking Lot Posted: 16 Sep 2016 07:00 AM PDT Workers dismantling the hotel’s signage area on Friday. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) began reclaiming an area of public roadway on Sule Pagoda Road on Monday currently occupied by the Sule Shangri-La hotel's car park and signage. U Aye Ko, deputy head of the committee's engineering department for roads and bridges, said that the municipal body is proceeding to dismantle the hotel's car park and construct a two-lane road and sidewalk. "The area was originally a public space and we now reclaimed it for public use," he said. The project is scheduled to be completed within a month. U Than, the assistant secretary of the YCDC, told The Irrawaddy that the move was part of the committee's effort to resolve the traffic congestion along the Sule Pagoda Road in front of the hotel and the hotel's adjacent commercial complex, Sule Square. "The private car park in front of the hotel's portico intrudes into public road area," he said. According to The Myanmar Times, Helene Acuna, the communications manager for Sule Shangri-La, said that the hotel is "working with YCDC to improve traffic flow in the area". Sule Shangri-La Hotel, formerly known as Traders Hotel, is a 22-story structure in the heart of downtown Rangoon. The hotel was built in the 1990s in a partnership between blacklisted tycoon Steven Law (also known as Tun Myint Naing)—the head of the Asia World conglomerate, and the founder of the Kuok Group—and Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok, who owns a major stake in its current operator Shangri-La Asia Ltd. The post YCDC Reclaims Sule Shangri-La Parking Lot appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NGO Calls US Govt to Support Jade Trade Reform After Lifting Sanctions Posted: 16 Sep 2016 06:54 AM PDT Small-scale miners search for jade stones in Hpakant, Kachin State, April 2016. (Photo: Nang Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy) London-based NGO Global Witness urged the United States government to support reform of Burma's vast, dirty jade trade following an announcement on Wednesday that the US would lift many of the remaining sanctions on Burma. Plans to lift economic sanctions on Burma came after State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi met with US President Obama in Washington DC on Wednesday. The US President intends to terminate the national emergency act in respect to Burma—the order that has authorized sanctions since 1997. In a statement released on Thursday, Global Witness—which documented human rights abuses and environmental impacts due to extraction of natural resources over time in Burma and campaigned for change—said US efforts "must focus on clearing army companies and families out of a sector worth up to US$31 billion in 2014, and support local calls for reform and peace." By dropping the sanctions, Juman Kubba of Global Witness said the United States drops its "leverage over the former generals, drug lords and military-owned companies that still secretly control critical industries like jade." The US president will lift sanctions which were imposed under five laws and six presidential orders, including the national emergency act—which banned cronies and drug lords from trading with or traveling to the US—, the Burma Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 and a 2013 presidential order prohibiting certain imports of Burmese jadeite and rubies. Juman Kubba was quoted in the statement as saying despite efforts by the National League for Democracy (NLD) government led by the State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to reform the jade sector, "the job is nowhere near complete." She said, "The US has invested a great deal, across several administrations, in helping Myanmar turn the page on its past and build a peaceful and prosperous future for its people. This simply won't happen unless the new government can clear the most notorious figures from that past out of the jade trade – so what is the plan?" Burma is not a member country of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)—a global standard for governance in regards to a country's natural resources—and lacks a clear plan to tackle the number of cronies and military-backed companies benefiting from jade extraction. Regarding holding cronies accountable, Sai Leik, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy spokesperson, said Parliament is key and that it needs to draft the necessary laws and bylaws. Activists in Burma have also pushed for transparency in the jade industry, which is majority controlled by the military's Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited, because ongoing fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and the Burma Army over the control of natural resources continues in the northern part of the country. Figures on jade production and procurement were not publicly released under the previous quasi-civilian government. U Win Myo Thu, environmentalist and director of local environmental NGO EcoDev, said, "transparency is key to gaining accountability and responsibility of businesspeople in this sector so that big companies will pay [their taxes] and rid themselves of illegal connections. It will help our country's income, so whether sanctions are removed or not, the country should act on it." U Win Myo Thu stated that the current NLD government showed little to no interest in implementing the recommendations made in a Myanmar-EITI report, which was submitted in January. Myanmar-EITI consists of representatives from the government, business and civil society organizations. The group is not currently active as it has not yet been reformed under the new government. “It is not only about jade extraction. It is also related to the peace building process,” he said. U Win Myo Thu said he hopes the removal of sanctions will benefit smaller companies with no record of human rights violations trade with the United States and Europe. But he warned that the industry would suffer if crony companies could expand their markets to the US while continuing to commit human rights violations inside the country. He added that he believes US technology can closely examine these trades to ensure they are in line with their standards and policies. The post NGO Calls US Govt to Support Jade Trade Reform After Lifting Sanctions appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US Dollar Price Increases Due to Demand from Importers Posted: 16 Sep 2016 05:35 AM PDT A man counts US dollars and Burmese kyats at a money changer in Rangoon on March 21, 2012. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — The Burmese kyat has weakened relative to the US dollar due to high demand from importers. As of Friday, the price of a dollar was 1,235 kyats on the black market and the Central Bank's official rate was 1,222 kyats. The price for one dollar the week before was 1,215 kyats. "It has increased by 20 to 25 kyats per dollar during the week," a Rangoon black marketer said. The dollar exchange rate is higher than earlier this month when it reached 1215 Kyats to the dollar on Sept. 8, when the local gold price dipped to 867,500 kyats per tical. Dr Soe Tun, the vice chairman of the Myanmar Rice Federation and owner of Farmer Currency Exchange, said local demand for the dollar was rising, pushing up the exchange rate. "Importers need more dollars in the market, so the demand is high and the rate is slightly increased," he said. Burma has been importing items for infrastructure development projects, requiring more dollars. Importers have been exchanging dollars not only at official private banks but also on the black market. U Myo Min Aung, vice chairman of the Myanmar Retailers Association, suspects some private banks may be playing with the market, contributing to the increase. "Some banks might play the market to push up the rate. They will hold back dollars while demand is high to increase the rate," he said, adding that an increased rate is not good for consumers. "If the dollar rate keeps increasing, the price of importing pharmaceutical products, food, and home appliances will rise. This higher price will be passed on to consumers," he said. The dollar exchange rate stood at only 1,190 kyats per dollar last month. The import volume in Burma reached a value of US$6.6 billion while exports reached only US$ 5.0 billion from April to Sept. 9, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Burma's Central Bank published an inflation rate of 12.14 percent in late August, surpassing the predictions of the World Bank and worrying business leaders that inflation in the country could be on an upward spiral, dampening local demand for goods. On Friday, the Central Bank said that the inflation rate was 12.12 percent while GDP growth was 7.3 percent. The post US Dollar Price Increases Due to Demand from Importers appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

DKBA Splinter Group Lose Several Bases to Burma Army and Border Guard Force Posted: 16 Sep 2016 04:10 AM PDT A group of displaced villagers take refuge at a hall in Myaing Gyi Ngu village, Karen State. (Photo: Hsa Moo) The Burma Army and the allied Border Guard Force (BGF) took at least three bases from a splinter group of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), as fighting escalated in Karen State's Mae Tha Waw area on Thursday, amid claims that the Burma Army and the BGF have been forcibly conscripting locals as porters. Capt. Saw Ye Htet, an information officer of the DKBA splinter group—named after their late commander Maj. Na Ma Kyar—said their troops withdrew from several bases following heavy artillery fire from the Burma Army and BGF advance. "We couldn't use defensive tactics to repel them because they dared not advance on the ground, instead firing heavy artillery shells from far away. So, we changed tactics. We withdrew from our bases and used guerilla tactics," said Capt. Saw Ye Htet. The joint force overran the Wa Klu Lu, Kulu Htaw and Yeika Gone bases, all located in the Mae Tha Waw area of Hlaingbwe Township in Karen State's Hpa-an District. In Facebook video posts, believed to have been uploaded by BGF affiliates on Thursday evening, two BGF officers declared that they had captured all of the bases belonging to the Na Ma Kyar group on Thursday. There are reports that Maj. San Aung, a leader of the DKBA splinter group who is on a Burma Army wanted list, was injured in battle. Other reports say that he died. Capt. Ye Htet said that he had also heard that Maj. San Aung was injured but could not confirm until contact was made. The Irrawaddy also could not reach Maj. Saw San Aung. Locals and DKBA splinter group sources claim that the Burma Army and the BGF have suffered scores of deaths since fighting broke out in early September. DKBA splinter group sources stated that two of its soldiers have been injured in the same time frame, but some expect that the casualty rate to be higher on their side. Meanwhile, sources in Karen State's Myaing Gyi Ngu village said that the Burma Army and the BGF were forcibly conscripting young men as porters to carry food, supplies and ammunition to the frontline. A housewife in Htee Tha Dawt Hta, a village near Myaing Gyi Ngu, said that locals do not let their sons or husbands travel to Myaing Gyi Ngu village for fear of them being conscripted in this manner. "I heard from my friend in Myaing Gyi Ngu that they [the BGF and the Burma Army] conscript many young men as porters. So, we are afraid that they will conscript more porters in other villages including ours," said the housewife, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons. DKBA splinter group sources also claimed that the Burma Army and the BGF has seized villagers for use as human shields in battle. They said fighting had reached its peak since breaking out in early September. Due to the fighting in the areas of Mae Tha Waw and Myaing Gyi Ngu, about 3,800 villagers have fled their homes and are staying in Maying Gyi Ngu village at a local hall, monasteries, and in locals' houses, while others have fled across the border to Thailand. The post DKBA Splinter Group Lose Several Bases to Burma Army and Border Guard Force appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Can Rangoon Become a Disabled-Friendly City? Posted: 16 Sep 2016 03:19 AM PDT Visually impaired people walk the streets of Rangoon as they commemorate International White Cane Day, on October 15, 2012. About 760 blind and visually impaired people from around the country took part in the event. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — She stands still at the side of the road until somebody nearby tells her she can cross. Being afraid of cars, crossing roads is a big challenge for her. "I have never gone far from my hostel alone," the 21-year old Ah Me Sar said. "My teachers don't even allow me to do so." Ah Me Sar, an ethnic Lisu women from the ruby-mining town of Mogok in Mandalay Division, partially lost her eyesight when she was eight years old, after experiencing a severe fever. A surgical error then left her permanently blind. In 2007, she came to Rangoon's Kawechan School for the Blind—a school, with an attached hostel, that provides vocational skills and formal education to visually impaired young people, in partnership with government schools. "Rangoon's pavements are really narrow," she said. "Cars normally park alongside the pavements and blind pedestrians like us always walk into them, as well as lamp posts sometimes," she explained, describing the challenges she faces everyday in attending classes at the government school nearby. In late August, The Irrawaddy visited the school and saw Ah Me Sar confidently walking in the school compound, holding a stick and accompanied by another young woman who also appeared partially blind. "Even going to classes is a challenge," she said. "Taking buses or taxis without the company of someone who can see, even partially, is just impossible for me," she explained. Ah Me Sar is one of around 250,000 disabled residents of Rangoon, accounting for 10 percent of Burma's disabled population according to the 2014 census. The most common type of disability in Burma is blindness or partial sight, afflicting 2.5 percent of the total population. Ah Me Sar said she envies some of the older students at her hostel, who are able to travel alone to their universities, which are often far from the city center. Ah Me Sar said she hopes to be able to do so too when she finishes high school. Among those currently making the commute is 25-year old Than Tun Win, who studies philosophy at Yangon Western University, and was born blind. But commuting alone to his university is harder than Ah Me Sar supposes. 1.7 percent of Rangoon's population has some form of visual impairment. Most have to rely on buses for transport, which presents considerable hardship. "We have to listen to bus conductors carefully, concentrating on the names of the bus stops they shout out so we know where we are," Than Tun Win said. "When buses race with each other and skip bus stops, or when the conductors don't shout, we are helpless," he explained with a smile. He has frequently faced such scenarios and had to ask other passengers on board for help. "We can never commute independently in Rangoon," he said. "Without help from somebody nearby, we can't even see which taxis are available when we need one." Other students at the hostel told similar stories. Associations for the disabled are now raising their voices louder. Nay Lin Soe, a former polio sufferer, founded the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative five years ago, with a mission to enable people with disabilities across Burma to live independently. He told The Irrawaddy that the absence of disabled-friendly public infrastructure in Rangoon presents a fundamental physical barrier. Rangoon's public transport does not include any facilities for those with hearing and sight impairments, while buses and trains are also not accessible for people with wheelchairs, Nay Lin Soe explained. "Many pavements do not even have slopes or ramps for wheelchair-dependent persons," he said. "Foot-bridges have also not been built with disabilities in mind." Maung Aung, the secretary of Rangoon Division's Transport Authority, confessed that most buses in the city are old models without disabled-friendly features. The Yangon Bus Public Co.—the city's first bus rapid transit (BRT) system, chaired by Maung Aung—has pledged to improve the commercial capital's main public transport system, but its buses are not yet accessible for the city's disabled population. "Currently, we are struggling with bus reform," he said. "We will consider disabled passengers later." He mentioned that the new imported buses in the BRT system actually came equipped with features for disabled passengers, including ramps and wheelchair restraints, but he claimed they could not be used because the rest of the city's physical infrastructure, including pavements, do not allow for it. Lin Khaing, the deputy head of the Yangon City Development Committee's engineering department for roads and bridges, told The Irrawaddy that they had in fact built pavements with slopes and ramps in "most" areas of the city, stopping short of other infrastructure due to budgetary restraints. Besides these physical barriers, prevailing attitudes and discrimination also discourage the disabled community from stepping out of their houses, Nay Lin Soe explained. When people in wheelchairs hail a taxi on the street, drivers immediately ask which hospital he or she wants to go to, assuming that disabled people have no reason to go out besides for medical purposes, he said. "We are not [medical] patients," he said. "We have abilities and qualifications to participate in the areas of health, education and human rights." Aung Ko Myint, who chairs the Myanmar National Federation of People with Disabilities, echoed Nay Lin Soe's opinions. As a visually impaired person, Aung Ko Myint shared his experience of taking buses in Rangoon. "Bus conductors call disabled people 'sick'," he said. "They consider us burdens, delaying their buses." "Don't even talk to me about trains!" he said. "There is so much to be done with Rangoon's trains, even for people without disabilities." However, he expressed some optimism, saying that bus conductors don't refuse to take disabled people like they used to. Aung Ko Myint believes that the disabled community is wasted as a potential workforce because structural barriers force them to stay inside instead of contributing to society. The Myanmar National Association of the Blind, also led by Aung Ko Myint, has held several training workshops for bus conductors and drivers under Rangoon Division's Motor Vehicles Supervisory Committee—known locally by the Burmese language acronym Ma Hta Tha—on accommodating and aiding visually impaired passengers. Hla Aung, who chairs Ma Hta Tha, said the committee is keen to encourage further trainings of this kind, after the committee had observed an improvement in bus conductors and drivers helping visually impaired passengers. According to Aung Ko Myint, rapid development in Rangoon is making it even harder for disabled people to cope, with frequent changes in the physical environment brought about by a construction spree over recent years. Rural areas may be safer for disabled people with fewer vehicles and less change, he said. Aung Ko Myint believes that proper legal protection would be most effective in lowering physical barriers and combating discrimination. A new law on the rights of persons with disabilities was enacted in June 2015; the government is preparing by-laws while consulting different stakeholders. Aung Ko Myint is not fully satisfied with the law, however, saying it is too "generic" and wasn't drafted inclusively, considering different varieties of impairment. The law requires that new public infrastructure including pavements, foot bridges, schools and hospitals be made accessible to disabled people, but it does not outline punishments or fines for those who fail in this regard. "When leaders pledge to work for all people in the country, they have to know that the country houses disabled people too," Nay Lin Soe said. When policymakers talk about inclusive education and disabled-friendly working environments, it is important to understand the role of accessible public transport in allowing disabled people to reach their schools and workplaces, he explained. "Everybody has their own weaknesses but our weaknesses are visible," he said. "Our abilities should not be neglected because of this." Emphasizing the great deal that needs to be done for the country's disabled population, which has been "neglected" by past governments, Aung Ko Myint said it was important that it be understood that disabled people are not asking for "privileges" but "equality and inclusivity." "We don't want sympathy, but we ask for empathy," he said. The post Can Rangoon Become a Disabled-Friendly City? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Who wins? Posted: 16 Sep 2016 03:09 AM PDT Who wins? The post Who wins? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Army Soldiers Sentenced to Five Years for Killing Civilians Posted: 16 Sep 2016 01:30 AM PDT A funeral was held in early July for five civilians killed by Burma Army soldiers near Mong Yaw Village, Lashio Township, northern Shan State. (Photo: Sai Kaung Loi Pha / Facebook) RANGOON — A court martial on Thursday at the North Eastern Command headquarters in Lashio, northern Shan State found seven soldiers guilty of murdering five civilians in Mong Yaw village in June this year. They have been stripped of their positions and sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor. Four commissioned officers were included in the sentencing, which took place at 12 p.m. according to Wann Lern Kham, a Shan Nationalities League for Democracy lawmaker from Lashio who has been assisting the victims' families. "The victims' families were invited to attend court, where each of the soldiers were sentenced to five years," he said. The length of the sentence and lack of compensation was met with criticism in Lashio. The five victims were all breadwinners and some of the victims' families had expected compensation. "At the court on Thursday, we did not dare say anything even though we were unhappy with the length of the sentence," Aye Lwart, a wife of one of the victims told The Irrawaddy. "On top of that, we did not even receive any compensation from the army." However, Wann Lern Kham said, "The best punishment is that they have had their identities exposed and that high ranking officers have been removed from their positions." This was the second session in this high-profile court martial. At the first court session, the four commissioned officers admitted giving the orders to kill the villagers, while the lower-ranking soldiers admitted to carrying them out, according to a translator employed at the hearing. Uncharacteristically for military tribunals in Burma—where even verdicts are generally not shared with the public—both sessions were open to the victims' families to observe. The five civilian residents of Mong Yaw village were arrested at their farm in late June and taken to an unknown location by soldiers from the Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion 362, according to the victims' families, who found their bodies the next day buried by a corn field at the bottom of a nearby mountain. One of the soldiers sentenced to murder admitted forcing the victims to wear rebel uniforms before killing them. At the initial court hearing in August, Sgt Sein Win Maung alone protested that he was not guilty of murder as he stated that he acted under orders from superior officers. Another sergeant, Maung Ohn, and a corporal, Maung Maung Htwe, pleaded guilty. The four commissioned officers—one colonel, Myo Aung, two majors, Tin Myo Zaw and Aung Nay Myo, and one captain from Military Intelligence, Lin Naing Soe—plead guilty. The Burma Army also stands accused by locals of shooting dead two young men riding motorbikes not far from the village on the same day. The Burma Army have countered that they were killed in the crossfire between the Burma Army and an unspecified ethnic armed group. Northern Shan State has Burma's highest concentration of ethnic armed groups in conflict with the Burma Army. Fighting involves the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, the Shan State Army-North, the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army. In its counter insurgency campaigns, the Burma Army has been accused of detaining, torturing and murdering civilians accused of supporting rebel groups, and forcing others to work as porters. The post Burma Army Soldiers Sentenced to Five Years for Killing Civilians appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi Urges US Investment to Spur Democratic Transition  Posted: 15 Sep 2016 11:10 PM PDT State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a round-table discussion with students at the Roosevelt High School in Washington DC on Sept. 15  (Photo: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters ) WASHINGTON, United States — Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Thursday for US companies to bring responsible investment to Burma, saying economic success would help convince people and the powerful military that democracy is the best way forward. The State Counselor was addressing the US business community, a day after President Barack Obama announced that the US would lift sanctions and restore long-lost trade benefits as the nation emerges from military rule. She said that lifting sanctions entailed some political and economic risk, but added, "It is time now for our people to depend on themselves." Many of the companies and individuals still subject to US sanctions are linked to the military, which retains major political and economic interests, despite the shift to civilian government. Human rights groups say the US should continue applying pressure on Burma to change. Massive illegal trade in goods including jade and timber continues, as does civil war with many ethnic minorities. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that economic development could help foster national reconciliation. She said the transport and energy sectors were suffering from decades of neglect, and support was needed to build the education and health systems and the skills of its people. "Economic success is one of the ways in which we can persuade everybody in our country, including the military, that democracy is the best way forward for our union. This is the best way forward for us to achieve unity and prosperity," she told a dinner hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce and the US-Asean Business Council—a group that supports American business ties with Southeast Asia. Tables at the function at an upscale Washington hotel went for up to US$25,000. Obama aide Ben Rhodes said that the "national emergency" with respect to Burma that authorizes the sanctions would be terminated in the "coming days." Both Burma and US businesses have welcomed Obama’s decision, the culmination of a five-year engagement and gradual easing of restrictions against a former adversary. Broad sanctions on trade and investment ended in 2012, but US-Burma goods trade totaled just $227 million in 2015, and US companies account for less than 1 percent of total foreign investment. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she wanted US companies to bring investment "best practices" and urged them to report any signs of corruption. "When you are trying to invest in Burma, please don’t think you have to go with a suitcase bursting with dollar bills," she said. The post Suu Kyi Urges US Investment to Spur Democratic Transition  appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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