The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Police and Social Welfare Ministry to Collaborate in Anti-Trafficking Initiative
- Thousands of Kachin Locals Call on Burma Army to Stop Assaults
- Wave Money Receives Mobile Financial Service License From Central Bank
- Southeast Asia’s First ‘Book Plaza’ to Open in Rangoon Early Next Year
- Tatmadaw Takes No Responsibility in Shelling Death of Young Girl, Locals Say
- Hundreds Protest in Bangkok Urging Junta to Respect Land Rights
| Police and Social Welfare Ministry to Collaborate in Anti-Trafficking Initiative Posted: 03 Oct 2016 07:48 AM PDT  Rangoon's Security and Border Affairs Minister Col Tin Aung Tun (in uniform, second from right) attends a parliamentary session in September in Rangoon. (Photo: Phyo Min Thein / Facebook) RANGOON – In Monday's Rangoon Division parliamentary session, it was announced that the police and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Rehabilitation would collaborate to accelerate child rights awareness in all regional townships to prevent human trafficking. Rangoon's Security and Border Affairs Minister Col Tin Aung Tun said pamphlets will be distributed and short films on the issue will be broadcast on state-run television channels. Additionally, he added, a specialized police unit has been formed to cope with trafficking. He urged parliamentarians not to hesitate in summoning the unit if they are interested in holding awareness projects in their constituencies. National League for Democracy lawmakers Daw Kyi Pyar and U Zaw Min Aung raised questions about whether the Rangoon government had ideas for other projects to decrease human rights violations throughout the commercial capital. Col Tin Aung Tun remarked that the practice of child labor was a familiar matter in Rangoon, and that investigating such incidents is difficult, because such problems happen within households, out of public view. "The problem appears when it reaches a violent situation," said Col Tin Aung Tun. Regional lawmakers also pointed out how some abuse cases have been held up in court, even though charges may have been filed several years ago. Col. Tin Aung Tun explained that some cases are delayed as witnesses are sought out. He also admitted that delays can be attributed to the financial difficulties faced by victims and their families, who often cannot afford to attend court hearings. The renewed focus on fighting human trafficking comes after local media exposed the case of two underage domestic workers who were forced to work in downtown Rangoon for five years with little or no pay; their hometown was a village only hours away, also in Rangoon Division. Further controversy arose when it was revealed that the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) encouraged relatives of the girls to accept cash compensation of US$4,000—divided between two families—over the pursuit of legal action. Last week the Union's Lower House approved an urgent proposal put forward by legislator U Htay Win Aung to dismiss members of the MNHRC for their failure to push for justice through adherence to legal statutes. The Irrawaddy reached out to the MNHRC on Monday for comment on the anti-human trafficking initiative, but was told that no members were available for comment. Col. Tin Aung Tun said that the Rangoon government is now charging the head of the family inculcated in the abuse of the domestic workers under eight legal statutes. Five other family members are being charged under seven statutes. He also said that police have launched another investigation into those police officials who failed to take timely action against the accused once the allegations of trafficking and enslavement came forward. In 2015, the Rangoon government uncovered 17 cases of human trafficking. As of October 2016, 16 documented cases have occurred. Ages of the 33 victims are unknown, but they include 28 females and five males. The post Police and Social Welfare Ministry to Collaborate in Anti-Trafficking Initiative appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Thousands of Kachin Locals Call on Burma Army to Stop Assaults Posted: 03 Oct 2016 06:57 AM PDT  Kachin demonstrators gather to call for an end to ongoing conflict. (Photo: Nang Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy) Following intensified clashes between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an estimated 10,000 members of the Kachin public staged a demonstration on Monday on the manaw festival grounds in the state capital of Myitkyina, calling for an end to ongoing armed conflict. The demonstration was held from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Sitapu Ward. Participants included locals, religious leaders, historians, environmentalists and members of civil society groups. Demonstrators shouted slogans demanding federalism and self-determination and held signs calling on the Burma Army to immediately end military offensives, while stressing the need to solve political problems with political means. They also called for a halt to mega development projects until internally displaced persons (IDPs) are able to "return home with dignity." Demonstrators also condemned the rape of ethnic women during conflicts. "Kachin people publicly denounce those assaults. We demand the Burma military to stop all their assaults in Kachin State," said community elder Lone Jone Turaw in his address to the demonstrators. Since renewed fighting broke out between the Burmese military and the KIA in June 2011, more than 10,000 houses, 300 villages, 100 schools, and 60 churches are reported to have been destroyed in Kachin communities. Over 100,000 people remain displaced, he said. Sporadic clashes have happened near KIA military outposts since the end of August and have intensified around Laiza, where the KIA headquarters are located. "There are no clashes for the time being. The last clash took place on October 1 near Inkaren Hill," said Lt-Col Naw Bu, an information officer with the KIA. But clashes have not ceased completely and military columns are still deployed near KIA outposts; members of the KIA have seen the Burma military airlifting supplies to their troops, reinforcing their positions. "So, we are still on the alert," said the spokesperson. The KIA suspects the Burmese military of using chemical weapons during clashes in September, Lt-Col Naw Bu said. He explained that KIA troops at the front line felt dizzy for around 15 minutes after Burma Army soldiers released a "burst of fire" during a clash. "If the Burma Army does not stop their assaults, the defensive war will continue. So, I would like to urge the people to be alert and to call for a stop to the assaults," he said. On October 1, one Kachin infant was killed and two more children were seriously injured after artillery fire reportedly by the Burma Army hit Puwang village in northern Shan State's Muse Township. The Irrawaddy tried in vain several times to contact the Burmese military spokesperson about the allegations of their attacks on KIA and the artillery fire on civilians. The Burma Army has yet to make an official statement. Kaw Mai, an IDP staying in a camp in Waingmaw Township, said: "We have no discrimination against the Bamar. We just want to live in unity," referring to the ethnic Burman majority in the country. "I feel sympathy for all those who have to go to the front line. They have families and children. I don't want them to suffer losses." Organizers of Monday's demonstration had planned to stage a protest march in Myitkyina and sought the approval of the concerned police force under Burma's peaceful assembly and procession law. However, the law dictates that such a request for an event has to be made five days in advance, so protesters gathered at the manaw grounds instead. Authorities have given permission for a protest march on Thursday, October 6, and organizers have said that they will march through Myitkyina on that day. The post Thousands of Kachin Locals Call on Burma Army to Stop Assaults appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Wave Money Receives Mobile Financial Service License From Central Bank Posted: 03 Oct 2016 05:09 AM PDT  Central Bank Deputy Governor Daw Khin Saw Oo presents a certificate for mobile financial services to Wave Money CEO Brad Jones. (Photo: Wave Money) RANGOON — Burma's Central Bank has granted the country's first mobile financial services license to Wave Money, a mobile money-transfer joint venture between Norway's Telenor, Burma's Yoma Bank and First Myanmar Investment. The Central Bank issued the Regulation on Mobile Financial Services on March 30. Wave Money is now directly regulated by the Central Bank as a non-banking financial institution. In an announcement on Monday, Wave Money said the new regulations would help millions of people in Burma access financial services via mobile phone operators. Telenor owns 51 percent of Wave Money, with First Myanmar Investment holding 44 percent and Yoma Bank 5 percent. The total investment is around US$17 million. After its first year in Burma, 4,000 "Wave shops" have been set up across the country, where users can transfer money via mobile accounts or agents. Brad Jones, chief executive officer of Wave Money, said in the statement that Telenor's already-extensive telecoms network could be leveraged to provide mobile money accounts to people excluded from Burma's formal financial sector. "We are delighted to have the trust of the Central Bank of Myanmar in being the first company in Myanmar to be regulated under the Mobile Financial Services Regulation," he said. Brad Jones added, "We aim to be a market leader in the Asian mobile money market by providing access to financial services to the unbanked population of Myanmar." In April, the Central Bank announced that mobile financial service providers could allow customers to open mobile accounts and deposit and transfer money between them. People-to-people, people-to-government, people-to-business and business-to-business money transfers are now permitted under the Central Bank's regulations. The post Wave Money Receives Mobile Financial Service License From Central Bank appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Southeast Asia’s First ‘Book Plaza’ to Open in Rangoon Early Next Year Posted: 03 Oct 2016 05:02 AM PDT  Than Market in downtown Rangoon's Lanmadaw Township, soon to host the Yangon Book Plaza. (Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A complex of businesses and event spaces aimed at book lovers, which developer U San Mon Aung has called Southeast Asia's first "book plaza," is set to open in downtown Rangoon's Chinatown in early 2017. The Yangon Book Plaza will occupy a 100×200-foot space on the fifth floor of Than Market in Lanmadaw Township, with an initial investment of around US$100,000. "I've tried for three years to open this book plaza. As far as I know, there are no other book plazas in Southeast Asia," said publisher and author U San Mon Aung. U San Mon Aung started the WE publishing house in Burma in 2003—producing translations of internationally renowned works, as well as previously banned works of dissident Burmese literature—and has written under the pen name Myay Hmon Lwin. Memorials for famous Burmese authors are planned for the plaza, alongside local bookshops and outlets of international book chains, spaces for book launches, used bookstalls, offices and coffee shops. He said that suitably large spaces in downtown Rangoon are hard to find: "Lanmadaw Township is very crowded, with many vendors and a lack of car parking spaces, but this space and location is important for my plan." He said investors would be invited to secure units in the plaza in November, with spaces for 30 retail outlets, local and international. "I'm renting this space over a long term contract […] the decoration will start this month. Everything will be eco-friendly," he said. He said he was in dialogue with "famous" international book chains, which may wish to open outlets, although he wouldn't disclose their names. U San Mon Aung claimed that rental fees for businesses would be below market prices, despite its location in downtown Rangoon, which has seen soaring real estate prices since the launch of economic reforms in 2011. Rangoon's old bookshops have been dwindling in recent years, and depend on a small cadre of enthusiasts for rare or previously censored books. Roadside book vendors have also been evicted from their old spaces on the back of development projects in downtown Rangoon. Industry insiders claim that the overall book market is shrinking, thanks in part to the rise of Internet access via smartphones. "My idea is to refresh the book market, for sellers who are now facing challenges," U San Mon Aung said. He hoped that the people of Rangoon could rediscover a love for books. The post Southeast Asia's First 'Book Plaza' to Open in Rangoon Early Next Year appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Tatmadaw Takes No Responsibility in Shelling Death of Young Girl, Locals Say Posted: 03 Oct 2016 04:11 AM PDT  One of the shells which hit the village of Puwang in Muse Township on Saturday. (Photo: W.P. Moses) Representatives from the Burma Army said they do not take responsibility for the death of one child and the injuring of two others hit by artillery shell splinters on Saturday in Puwang village in Muse Township, northern Shan State, according to relatives of the victims. Six shells hit the village at around 6:10 a.m., killing a nearly two-year-old girl named Mang Shang Zung Myaw and injuring two boys, aged five and six, in the thigh and stomach; they are now being treated in a hospital across the border in China. Locals blame the Burma Army for the attack. A village resident, and relative of the victims, said that they lived close to military troops. "We were preparing food at six in the morning when we heard the sound of explosions," she said. "We went out and saw the children hit by artillery fire—they are all my relatives." The girl, who was hit by shrapnel in the shoulder and in the head, was buried in the village on Sunday. She is the only daughter of the family who are in "deep mourning," according to Ying Sau, a pastor of the village. The family home was destroyed in the explosion. Ying Sau told The Irrawaddy on Monday that Burma Army troops came to the village and inspected the girl's body and the pieces of artillery on Saturday afternoon. According to Ying Sau "they said it is not their weapons." The Burma Army was unavailable to comment at the time of press. Lagwi Bawm Lang, one of the two injured Kachin boys, is in intensive care at China's Mangsi Hospital in Yunnan province after his stomach was ripped open by shrapnel. Mary Tawm of local relief agency Wunpawng Ninghtoi spoke with the boy's doctor at the hospital and told The Irrawaddy that "the operation on the boy has been completed but we will have to see if he recovers, as he has nine holes in his intestines and doctors are worried about infection." Mary Tawm said that the estimated medical cost is between 20,000 and 50,000 Chinese yuan (US$3,000-7,500). According to the relief group helping the victims, the boy's family will need support to help pay the medical costs. The Burma Army's use of heavy artillery shelling is common in the conflict zones of Kachin and northern Shan State. UNICEF Myanmar released a statement Monday expressing concern over the incident. "Conflicts take a high toll on children in Myanmar," said Bertrand Bainvel, UNICEF representative to Myanmar. "All parties to the conflict must keep children out of harm's way." One Puwang resident said that three days prior to Saturday's shelling, Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops had been near the village, and speculated that this had attracted the attention of the Burma Army. Now, Burma Army troops are deployed in the area, which limits movement for locals, he said. Lt-Col Naw Bu, spokesperson of the KIA, said that fighting had not occurred in the area prior to Saturday's shelling. KIA Brigade 4's Battalion 36 is based in the area. Fighting has been ongoing since September in KIA controlled Waingmaw Township in Kachin state and other areas in Shan State North. In late September, the Burma Army carried out airstrikes in these areas. Also on Saturday, the Burma Army and KIA continued to clash in Nhkram, which is about three kilometers away from the Myitkyina-Bhamo highway. The Kachin public has increased calls for the immediate end to Burma Army operations in Kachin areas. The Kachin Women's Peace Forum on Saturday said that the peace process can only proceed if the Burma Army halts their offensives. Thousands of Kachin residents filled the Manaw festival grounds in the state capital of Myitkyina on Monday morning to campaign for peace and to call for ongoing aid to displaced persons. They were restricted from marching in the town without prior permission, so another official march is planned for Thursday. The KIA-affiliated Kachin Peace Creation Group (KPCG), which acted as mediators between the KIA and Burma Army under the previous government, sent a letter to State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is chair of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center, and Dr. Tin Myo Win, the chair of Burma's Peace Commission, appealing for an end to the conflict. Lamai Gum Ja of the KPCG told The Irrawaddy, "I cannot understand these offensives while we are being told to move toward national political dialogue." He said in the letter that ongoing fighting would undermine the Union Peace Conference, taking place once every six months since the first talks in late August this year. Nang Lwin Hnin Pwint contributed to this report. The post Tatmadaw Takes No Responsibility in Shelling Death of Young Girl, Locals Say appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Hundreds Protest in Bangkok Urging Junta to Respect Land Rights Posted: 03 Oct 2016 01:37 AM PDT  Members of Khon Kaen Slum Network community group hold a banner during a rally outside the United Nations building in Bangkok, Thailand, October 3, 2016. (Photos: Reuters) BANGKOK, Thailand — Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the Thai capital on Monday calling on the junta to address land rights and housing needs in what police and organizers said was one of the biggest demonstrations since the May 2014 coup. Development in Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy, has come at a cost to local communities who often face threats, violence and judicial harassment, say rights groups. Protesters marking World Habitat Day outside the regional UN headquarters in Asia said they would hand a petition to the United Nations and then march on to Government House, a stone's throw away, to demand land reform. "We came today so that the government can fix the land problems and land rights of poor people throughout the country," said Somneuk Phootnuan, 60, a rubber farmer from the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. "If we keep kicking the poor off government land, we won’t have anywhere to live or make a living," he said, as protesters waved flags and signs near the UN building. Sompong Chingduang, a police officer at the protest site, said around 1,000 people had gathered by mid-morning. Political protests have been outlawed since Thailand's generals seized power, ending months of sometimes violent street protests, but leaders of the demonstration said their gathering was not political. World Habitat Day is observed annually on the first Monday of October as a way of reminding the world of people's right to adequate shelter. The post Hundreds Protest in Bangkok Urging Junta to Respect Land Rights appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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