The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Dutch Tourist Faces Jail Time for Insulting Religion
• Two-Thirds of Disabled Children Not Enrolled in Formal Education
• Rangoon Parliament Resumes After Long Recess
• Kachin Locals Oppose Dam in Militia-Controlled Area
• Pow Do You Do
• Thai PM Mulls Ban on Mekong River Massacre Movie
• Burma’s Biggest Challenges: Civil War and Religious Intolerance
• Lawmakers Push for Legal Protection for Burmese Migrant Workers

Dutch Tourist Faces Jail Time for Insulting Religion Posted: 28 Sep 2016 07:55 AM PDT Klaas Haijtema arrives at Mandalay's Maha Aung Myay Township court on Wednesday. (Photo: Zarni Mann / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — A court in Mandalay's Maha Aung Myay Township accepted a case against a Dutch tourist for violating visa regulations and insulting religion after he disrupted a Buddhist ritual last week. The township's immigration department and the leader of the Buddhist group that performed the ritual filed the case against 30-year-old Klaas Haijtema on Wednesday, after the tourist unplugged an amplifier used to enhance a Dhamma recitation by Buddhist devotees at the township's Dhamma Yone community hall on Friday night. Haijtema was staying at the hotel opposite the hall. The plaintiffs said the Dutch man did not take off his shoes when he entered the holy site and that he removed the wires from the PA system, disrupting the recitation that was held to mark the eve of a Buddhist Sabbath day. During the trial on Wednesday, Klaas Haijtema said he was sorry for what he did and that he had not intended to disrupt a religious ceremony. "I was not aware that the building was related to Buddhism. I was really tired that night and woke up to the noise. I was very angry, and assumed that children were playing music," he told the court through a translator. "So I went down to the building and unplugged the wires," he added. When asked for additional comments by The Irrawaddy, Klaas Haijtema said he had nothing further to add. If he is found guilty under Section 13.1 of the Immigration Act, he could be given a minimum six-month to a maximum five-year sentence.  For insulting religion, he could also face a two-year sentence under Section 295 of Burma's Penal Code. He is currently detained at Obo Prison in Mandalay. Nearly 90 percent of the country's population is Buddhist, and wearing shoes at holy sites and disrupting religious rituals can be regarded as an insult to the religion. Klaas Haijtema is not the first foreigner to be charged for defaming Buddhism recently. Last year, Philip Blackwood, a New Zealander and bar manager in Burma, posted an offending photo of the Buddha wearing DJ headphones on Facebook to promote cheap drinks. He was given a two and a half year prison sentence but released with amnesty early this year. The Dutch tourist's case comes at a time when communities across Burma have criticized the overuse of PA systems for religious and business purposes. People have complained about the blaring loudspeakers being used by Buddhist devotees and monks when asking for donations and performing religious rituals in the early morning and in the evening, as well as by Muslim calls to prayer coming from the mosques. Despite Burma's Ward and Village Tract Administration Law, which requires loudspeaker users to obtain a permit from the local authorities under the condition that they are "not to cause a public nuisance," the regulations are rarely followed or enforced, especially when it comes to religion. When the news about Klaas Haijtema broke, the case went viral on social media and attracted mixed criticism. "It's time to review the regulations for the use of loudspeakers. Whoever you are, we can't escape from that terrible nuisance to our ears!" posted one critic on Facebook. The post Dutch Tourist Faces Jail Time for Insulting Religion appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Two-Thirds of Disabled Children Not Enrolled in Formal Education Posted: 28 Sep 2016 07:48 AM PDT Two students work on a math exercise at the Kawechan School for the Blind in Rangoon. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A joint report published by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) has stated that Burma's national education law needs to be amended, as two-thirds of the country's 232,000 disabled children do not obtain a formal education. A 122-page report by Unicef and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement was launched in Naypyidaw on Tuesday, shedding a spotlight on the lives of disabled persons under age 18 in five major areas—education, health, living environment, social life, and rights and aspirations. "Sixty-seven percent of children with disabilities are out of the formal education system and do not attend school," the report said. "This represents an exponentially higher percentage of children out of school than among children without disabilities, 11 per cent of whom do not attend school," it added. The report recommended that Burma's National Education Law be amended to ensure that children with disabilities are welcomed in mainstream schools and their individual needs are met. Teachers and education professionals need to be properly trained in this regard. Daw Yu Yu Swe, an official in the ministry’s Social Welfare Department, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the report is "official evidence" which speaks for the country's disabled children and how much needs to be done for them by parliament and government institutions. "Most people in society are aware of the situation of the disabled community," she said, "we just didn’t have any documents and data to prove this with evidence." She added that the ministry started distributing hard copies of the report to relevant ministries, including health and education, and parliament on Wednesday.  Daw Yu Yu Swe said she hopes that the report can help policymakers and lawmakers realize the importance of "inclusive" and "accessible" systems. The report detailed how most mainstream schools in the country do not have facilities for students with disabilities, and that in 2015, there were 46 incidents of schools refusing to admit disabled children. It also said that 93 percent of two- to four-year-olds with disabilities have no exposure to school readiness programs. Three-quarters of education professionals believe that children with disabilities should attend "special schools," the report claimed. Ko Aung Ko Myint, the chairperson of the Myanmar National Association of the Blind (MNAB), told The Irrawaddy that there are undeniable structural barriers and a negative attitude in the country's education system toward those with disabilities. "The actual number of disabled children who don't receive formal education could be more than the findings by UNICEF," he said, highlighting that there could be many disabled children who were not counted in its survey. One of the report's key findings was that although Burma introduced the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Law last year, "the definition of disability used in it is not explicit or widely understood." U Win Myat Aye, Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, said that quantitative and qualitative data related to children with disabilities is still "scarce, incomplete and its quality questionable," even though numerous government institutions regularly produce statistics on children and women. "All children with disabilities have the right to achieve their full potential and enjoy the opportunities open to other children," he added. The report's research took place in 2015 after the nationwide population census. Its key objective was to increase knowledge and awareness among policymakers and key stakeholders about the situation and the rights of children with disabilities in a country where members of the disabled population "rarely have their voices heard in society and face daily discrimination as objects of pity," the report stated. The report said it hoped to inform "disability-inclusive legislative and policy reviews" that would ensure the fulfillment of the rights of children with disabilities in the country. According to Burma's 2014 census, 4.6 percent of the country's population suffers at least one type of disability. People with visual impairments account for 2.5 percent, people with walking difficulties for 1.9 percent, intellectual impairments for 1.7 percent and hearing impairments for 1.3 percent. The post Two-Thirds of Disabled Children Not Enrolled in Formal Education appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rangoon Parliament Resumes After Long Recess Posted: 28 Sep 2016 05:28 AM PDT Rangoon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein discussed the start of the second session of Parliament with government officials. (Photo: Phyo Min Thein / Facebook) RANGOON — The Rangoon divisional parliament will begin its second session on Thursday after a three-and-a-half month break, lawmakers told The Irrawaddy. After the National League for Democracy's landslide victory in the November general election, the regional legislature's first session began in February and finished in mid-June. Daw Moe Moe Su Kyi, a lawmaker from Mayangone Township, said although Parliament had been closed for more than three months, some parliamentary committees continued working during that time to address urgent issues. "We've been listening to the people during the recess. Some issues may have been delayed in reaching discussion in parliament but others have already been solved on the ground level," she said. Critics have said that the commercial capital faces a number of pressing issues and that the break has been excessive. "Yangon is unlike other cities. There are many problems to solve—unfinished development projects, traffic congestion, high-rise construction issues and waste management. These issues are waiting," said Daw Nyo Nyo Thin, a former lawmaker in Rangoon divisional parliament's Bahan constituency. "This is an early stage of a new administration. Parliament should not close for this long in Yangon," she said. U San Kyaw, a Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) lawmaker from Seikkan constituency, agreed that the closure was too long. "The Constitution doesn't say that parliament must open every month, but not being able to submit people's issues for so long is not good. It delays work on the issues," he said. He expects that lawmakers will discuss traffic problems, road conditions, city expansion projects and increasing commodity prices in Rangoon during this legislative session. Rangoon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein posted on Facebook on Wednesday that his office was holding meetings to discuss the questions and answers for Thursday's start of the parliamentary session. The post Rangoon Parliament Resumes After Long Recess appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Kachin Locals Oppose Dam in Militia-Controlled Area Posted: 28 Sep 2016 05:24 AM PDT Ngaw Chan Kha Creek in Chipwi Township. (Photo: Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy) Locals have sent an open letter to Burma's President opposing the planned hydropower project to be built over the May Kha River and Ngaw Chan Kha Creek in Kachin State's Chipwi and Tsawlaw townships. Community elders held a workshop with locals on Sept. 22 and 23 to discuss the issue. Participants released a statement voicing their objections to the dam and sent an open letter to President U Htin Kyaw calling for a halt to the project. Mone Ra, a spokesperson from a Kachin community development group, told The Irrawaddy: "We heard that the project will be led by [Kachin private militia leader] Zahkung Ting Ying and [his son] Zahkung Ying Seng, of the border guard force." The deal, Mone Ra added, was signed by the former military regime and Chinese companies. "We are concerned that all our houses and farms will be submerged if dams are built. But they are planning to start the project. That's why we expressed our opposition," he explained. The open letter to the President states that there are at least 68 villages with a total population of over 30,000 along Ngaw Chan Kha Creek that stand to be affected, and that locals in the area are mainly sustained by the generations-old practice of terraced farming on the nearby mountainsides. "It is not possible to move to upstream areas since the terrain is rocky," added Mone Ra. "And we were not informed of the project either." Locals live between the two waterways, in houses that face the May Kha River, with the Ngaw Chan Kha Creek at their backs. Community elders are concerned that at least four dams will be built for the hydropower project, displacing their communities. Law Waw, La Cheik, Ngaw Chan and Lisu communities—classified as sub-groups of the Kachin ethnic group—mainly reside in the project site area. The Ngaw Chan tribe insists that their history dates back some 1,200 years in the region. The Irrawaddy found out that local authorities had issued an order to ban terraced farming in Chipwi and Tsawlaw townships last year. There is thought to be a link between the ban and the mineral deposits found in the area's mountains; Chinese companies have expressed interest in gaining more mining access to these areas. Locals reported that these same companies dumped waste to Ngaw Chan Kha Creek in 2014, killing fish and contaminating the water, which communities drink. Engineers from China also came to the site at the end of 2015 looking to construct dams, but they reportedly left after being met with strong opposition from locals. "We have engaged in farming in this place since long ago, and now we are being asked to leave. They gave us new places to stay, but the mountains there are rocky and are not suitable for living and farming," said local Dawng Khawn. Yet locals remain more afraid of clashing with the Burma Army-backed Border Guard Force than the possibility of their ancestral land diminished. Zahkung Ting Ying has a private militia—New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), which is firmly allied with the Burma Army and became a Border Guard Force in 2009. He was a lawmaker under the previous government. Chipwi and Tsawlaw lie in Kachin State Special Region 1, which is controlled by this armed group. The project site itself lies in remote area without telecommunications services or even a road. It is difficult for outsiders to get into the area without the help of locals. The Irrawaddy called Zahkung Ting Ying for comment, and he replied that he knew nothing about the response of locals to the hydropower project, pointing out that such a project could not be implemented without the approval of the central government. "I have no idea about the location of the site. It is none of my business. I have no idea. [Locals] did not ask me nor consult with me. It does not concern me. I have no comment," he said. Locals said they would continue to direct their demands to the central government to stop the hydropower project. Also attached to the open letter to President U Htin Kyaw is a petition with 45 signatures of representatives of religious organizations, literature and culture committees and community elders, Mone Ra told The Irrawaddy. As an independent candidate in the general election in November of last year, Zakhung won the Upper House seat of Kachin State-5, covering Chipwi, Tsawlaw and Injingyang townships, a sparsely populated area home to fewer than 20,000 people, according to the 2014 census. But then he was found guilty of intimidation, defamation and alleged violence in the election and has since had to forfeit his seat. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.         The post Kachin Locals Oppose Dam in Militia-Controlled Area appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Pow Do You Do Posted: 28 Sep 2016 01:46 AM PDT Pow Do You Do The post Pow Do You Do appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thai PM Mulls Ban on Mekong River Massacre Movie Posted: 27 Sep 2016 10:26 PM PDT Operation Mekong will open in Hong Kong movie theaters on Sept. 30 (Photo: BONA Film Group/ Facebook) RANGOON – Thailand's Prime Minister said he will ban a Chinese-Hong Kong action film based on the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River in 2011 by a Burmese drug lord from being screened in Thailand if it is found to "damage" the country. "I have ordered authorities to check the content of Operation Mekong. If it is damaging, it will be banned," Prime Minister Prayut Chan–ocha said on Tuesday, according to Bangkok Post. "Operation Mekong", directed by Dante Lam and due to open in movie theaters on Friday in Hong Kong, concerns the massacre in the Golden Triangle area of the river on Oct 5, 2011 when 13 Chinese crew members of two cargo ships were brutally killed by a Burmese drug-trafficking ring led by Naw Kham. Naw Kham was brought to justice by Chinese police with the help of Thai and Lao authorities but blamed Thai soldiers for the murders. He was executed in March 2013 in China along with three accomplices, including a Thai national, for murder. The executions were carried out by lethal injection following a ruling from a court in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province. The post Thai PM Mulls Ban on Mekong River Massacre Movie appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma’s Biggest Challenges: Civil War and Religious Intolerance Posted: 27 Sep 2016 06:57 PM PDT Ethnic Karen civilians take shelter in Myaing Gyi Ngu monastery after being displaced by fighting between a splinter group of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and the Burma Army, supported by the Border Guard Force (Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy) If all you see of Burma is Aung San Suu Kyi with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the steps of 10 Downing Street, or sitting with President Obama in the White House, or at the United Nations, you might be inclined to think that Burma's struggle is over and all is well. But talk to any of the country's civil society activists or ethnic or religious minorities and you will quickly realize there is still a very, very long way to go. It is true that the peaceful transition to a government led by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, after they overwhelming won the country's first credible elections in 25 years, is remarkable. But although this civilian, democrat-led government ends decades of direct rule by the military, it in no way ends the military's power. Under the 2008 Constitution, designed by the military, they control a quarter of the seats in Parliament and three key ministries in government: home affairs, border affairs and defense. This makes solving Burma's two biggest challenges—ending decades of civil war and addressing deep-rooted religious intolerance—extremely difficult. Last month the State Counselor convened a major peace conference with representatives of most of the ethnic nationalities, known as a "21st Century Panglong." Named after the conference held by her father, independence leader Aung San, in Panglong, Shan State, in 1947, it is another attempt to address the political grievances of the country's diverse ethnic nationalities and begin a process of political dialogue. The original Panglong conference established a federal system for the country, but the promises made were abandoned after Aung San was assassinated the following year. That principle, of a federal system giving the ethnic nationalities autonomy and equal rights, remains at the heart of the solution to the country's conflicts. Yet while the politicians talked peace, in Kachin and Shan states the Burma Army continued to attack civilians, and in recent weeks new reports of violence in Karen State have emerged, despite there being a ceasefire in place since 2012. On the issue of religious intolerance, which is at its most extreme in Arakan State, where the Muslim Rohingya suffer a campaign of severe persecution from militant Buddhist nationalists and the military, Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticized for her silence. Yet last month she surprised many by establishing a nine-member advisory commission led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to investigate the causes of the conflict and seek solutions—something several international activists had been calling for. The response from the Arakanese nationalists and those close to the military was one of fury. One of the consequences of both the ethnic conflict and religious intolerance has been a humanitarian crisis in parts of the country. Over 120,000 Kachin civilians have been displaced by fighting, and over 130,000 Rohingya are living in dire conditions in more than 40 camps in Arakan State. Over recent years, thousands more have fled the country. The internally displaced people in Burma are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, but are suffering from two problems: firstly, the government restricts humanitarian agencies' access to parts of the country, and secondly, even in the areas they are able to reach, international agencies are now cutting provisions. Last week, reports emerged that Burma Army soldiers prevented trucks containing a month's supply of rice from the World Food Programme (WFP) from reaching a camp in Kachin state, and in the previous month, the military blocked a vehicle carrying medical supplies for four camps, provided by the United Nations. At the same time, reports have emerged that the WFP is cutting food aid to displaced Rohingya in Arakan State. This is apparently part of a plan to phase-out relief assistance in parts of the state. Cuts in aid in some areas and blocks on aid access in others combine into a recipe for an already serious humanitarian situation to spiral into a crisis. In July, Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma said, after meeting internally displaced peoples, that she had heard of their "daily struggles to survive." She expressed concern about the "extensive difficulties in accessing and delivering aid," even though such assistance "provides a lifeline to communities." In Arakan State, she noted, access can only be approved "through a cumbersome procedure," and in Kachin State "humanitarian access is shrinking." The conditions of the internally displaced peoples' camps she witnessed "remain poor." There is a desperate need to begin to address the root causes, which involves ending the conflict, confronting hate speech and working for reconciliation—and, in the case of the Rohingya, restoring their citizenship rights which were stripped from them in 1982. But no one can pretend that it will be easy, particularly given the military's continuing power. Yet there is an even more urgent task, which requires the immediate attention of both Aung San Suu Kyi and the international community: stop the block on aid, end the cuts, and ensure that no one starves to death simply on account of their race or religion. It is doubtless that Aung San Suu Kyi has a complex political tightrope to walk, but she is the only person in Burma with the moral and political authority to make this happen; in her government, she is the only decision-maker. She must now lift the aid restrictions and ensure that those displaced receive the aid they need to survive. Benedict Rogers is a human rights activist specializing in Asia, working for Christian Solidarity Worldwide. He is also the author of Burma: A Nation At The Crossroads, Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant, and A Land Without Evil: Ending the Genocide of the Karen People. The post Burma's Biggest Challenges: Civil War and Religious Intolerance appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lawmakers Push for Legal Protection for Burmese Migrant Workers Posted: 27 Sep 2016 06:52 PM PDT Migrant workers labor in the Talaat Kung shrimp market in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon, Thailand. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday discussed a proposal urging the government to enact legal protection against labor exploitation and abuse of Burmese migrant workers in foreign countries. The proposal was submitted by the ruling National League for Democracy party lawmaker U Kyaw Aung Lwin of Magwe Division's Sidoktaya Township. He said past governments had failed to address the situation of Burmese migrant workers abroad and that now the civilian-elected government was responsible for imposing regulations regarding their rights. Unable to find adequate employment at home and tempted by promises of higher wages in more developed countries, Burmese migrants typically obtain jobs as laborers in factories, on construction sites, and as domestic workers in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai, he said. He added that the main drivers of the migration are a significant rise in unemployment, low wages and poverty. Many still use illegal migration channels to avoid the higher costs associated with bilateral labor agreements, rendering them prone to the extortionate practices of employment brokers and employers. While workers under legal conditions also face mistreatment and abuse, illegal migrants are vulnerable to exploitation, human rights abuses and even death, due in part to a lack of legal protection. "Although Burmese migrants include educated workers, many are employed in poorly regulated and hazardous sectors—'3 Ds' workplaces: dirty, dangerous and difficult environments—in which host citizens are unwilling to work," he told The Irrawaddy. Lawmaker Daw Khin Sandy from Tenasserim Division's Launglon Township said during the legislative session that many young people from her constituency left for Thailand hoping for better wages but instead faced exploitation, rights abuses, limitation of movement, human trafficking and slavery—the worst cases in the offshore fishing industry and lucrative tourism sector. "Full pay for labor, safe and sound working environments, and legal protection are essential for our migrant workers," she said, citing the importance of representation, the responsibility of Burmese embassies in countries where migrants live and the need for an allocated national budget to aid migrant workers. According to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), about 10 percent of Burmese nationals migrate internationally. The Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population cites the official figure of migrant workers abroad at 470,000. But a source at the ministry said the official number only counts those who go through legal means, and that the actual number of migrant workers living abroad is much higher—closer to the IOM figure, including more than 3 million in Thailand and Malaysia. In late June, State Counselor and foreign affairs minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited Thailand and pledged to collaborate with the Thai government to offer protection under new agreements signed between the two countries. She said during a bilateral meeting, "I recognize that we in [Burma] are responsible for our people here. We will never neglect them." Lawmakers will continue to discuss U Kyaw Aung Lwin's proposal on Wednesday, Speaker Win Myint said in Parliament. The post Lawmakers Push for Legal Protection for Burmese Migrant Workers appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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