AllSBNews: 01/19/16

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Burmese-American Eyeing US Senate: ‘I Was Given This Opportunity, So I Am Taking It’
Memorial Service Held in Rangoon to Mark One Year Since Teachers’ Murders
Historic Rangoon School to Become Polytechnic Institute
US Urges Outgoing Govt to Free All Political Prisoners
Watchdog Claims Compensation Scheme for Dual Pipelines Plagued by Graft
Ex-Dictator’s Son-in-Law Hand-Picked as Military MP for New Parliament
Local Opposition to Dawei SEZ Reservoir Persists
One Year On, Rights Groups Demand Justice for Rape, Murder of Kachin Teachers
China Economic Growth Edged Down to 6.8 Percent Last Quarter
Foreign Jurists Call for Release of Detained Chinese Lawyers
North Korea Has Sent 1 Million Propaganda Leaflets

Burmese-American Eyeing US Senate: ‘I Was Given This Opportunity, So I Am Taking It’

Posted: 19 Jan 2016 03:41 PM PST

Burmese-American Joshua Chit Tun is running for US Senate. (Photo: Joshua Chit Tun / Facebook)

Joshua Chit Tun is a 29-year-old Burmese-born American, educated in the United States. His grandfather, Walter Chit Tun, was one of Burma's pioneer body builders, a professional weightlifter and one of Burma's earliest movie stars.

The young Chit Tun is the founder of the Student Direct Charitable Foundation and is now running as an independent candidate for the US Senate representing California, for which primary elections will be held in June 2016 and a general election in November. If elected, he will be one of the youngest senators in the United States. The Irrawaddy recently interviewed Joshua Chit Tun via email about his political beliefs, his goals and his connection with Burma.

Could you please provide us with some basic information about you and your family origins?

I was born in Burma, now known as Myanmar. My father and grandfather, if I’m not mistaken, were both born in Burma. We are an old family, which means I am generations apart from my elders. I moved to the United States when I was five, around 1991. My mother’s mother is Burmese from Shan State.

As for my father's family, they are from Mon State. When it comes to my upbringing, I was raised by my Aunt Ni Ni Chit Tun and her husband Robert Hays. They are my legal guardians. The reason I am what I am is my aunt instilled in me the will to never give up, as a small child she told me, "you represent our family by name but if you truly are a Chit Tun, no matter where I put you, you will become the best. You can never lose and if you do, you are Chit Tun, and you must remind them at what cost their victory came at." To say the least, I am not one to lose, and this is important to me, because I want to show the nobility of the Burmese people and at large the Asian community.

Please tell us about Student Direct Charitable Foundation and your role there?

I am the Founder of the Student Direct Charitable Foundation, and it began because I wanted to address education and introduce applied learning through multimedia, as well as get students to engage in a variety of programs that will help them become the change they want to see, and instill a culture and belief in them to help others and initiate community action. My current role there now is chairman; I oversee the managers of each division that Student Direct operates, as well as the programs we offer to the schools we work with.

Why did you decide to run for the US Senate this year?

I was given this opportunity, so I am taking it. I am not saying that it is over; I still have to win the primaries in June. I am doing this because people keep talking about change, but no one has stepped forward. I believe in that change, so that's why I am doing it: for those who cannot, for those who do not have a voice. I am doing it because it is necessary, and I will not stop until it is done.

What are your political goals?

My goal as a politician is true power, the power to make systematic change, the power to help those who cannot help themselves, the power to preserve the environment for future generations, the power to lead others and do what is right, and the power to stand up to those who do injustice.

My plan is not just the US Senate. The goal for me is to sit on as many US Senate committees as I can.

What are your thoughts on Burma's current political situation?

This is a sign of goodwill, the change that we are all witnessing. However I question its true intent, I believe there is a lot more to take place before the people of Burma truly have a future. I also have been made aware of some of the basic problems and needs of our people. The problem with career politicians is they forget the people.

Another thing I want to note is that as Burma opens up it represents tremendous opportunities for Western nations. The people of Burma should be conscious of that and what their intentions could be. In many ways capitalism is another form of subjugation. Don't misunderstand me, growth and innovation are needed—but be careful who you trust because there is a reason why this is all taking place.

My final thought is that I do not put too much faith in the Lady, and I say this not to upset anyone, but to open their eyes, and ask hasn't she done enough? I mean she seems quite old to me now, and I mean no disrespect by that, but at some point she needs to live a life. Also, I want to see more political parties in Burma, then to me it is on the path of Democracy. I just want to see the people be liberated and to have opportunities, but at the same time value traditions and the rich heritage of their country and to protect it from Westerners. I want to see people with new ideas, open minds, that will work hard. I truly believe the answers are with next generation leaders and until I see that, I will remain a skeptic.

What do you think about US policy toward Burma?

I can say this, when it comes to China, it is absolutely necessary that we have good relations with Burma. Being that I am aware of this, and that I am afraid of western culture when it comes to foreign policies, it is very important that I become a US Senator. I have this need to protect Burma, the country of my birth. I trust myself, but I can't say the same for career politicians when it comes to foreign policy.

Do you feel any connection to Burma? If so, how so?

I do feel a strong connection. No matter where I go in my life, I will always be Burmese, and being that my grandfather left with so much undone—he died unexpectedly—I feel that as a Chit Tun and one with my knowledge, aptitude, and everything that I have at my disposal, I cannot forget the Burmese people who are a noble race. I have an obligation and a sense of duty to the Burmese people, and to the growing Asian community.

I also want to have children who are Burmese. I'm not sure how to make sense of that, but I think I am starting to understand where I belong.

The post Burmese-American Eyeing US Senate: 'I Was Given This Opportunity, So I Am Taking It’ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Memorial Service Held in Rangoon to Mark One Year Since Teachers’ Murders

Posted: 19 Jan 2016 04:11 AM PST

A memorial service was held in Rangoon on Tuesday to mark one year since the brutal murder of two ethnic Kachin schoolteachers in northern Shan State. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — A memorial service was held in Rangoon on Tuesday to mark one year since the brutal rape and murder of two ethnic Kachin schoolteachers in a remote village in Shan State.

Zinghtung La, the head of Kaung Kha village in Muse Township where the two young women were found dead on the morning of Jan. 20 last year, spoke at Tuesday's service, held at a Christian church in Rangoon and attended by some 500 people, including members of the victims' families.

The village head spoke of the elusive fight for justice in the case that shocked his small community.

Many believe the crime was perpetrated by active-duty Burma Army soldiers and Zinghtung La recalled an army commander asking him information about the two women on the night they were killed.

"The commander from the Burmese Army asked me whether the two teachers were single or married and whether they were Kachin women. I told him that the two girls were Kachin, [that] one was single and the other was not. I noticed his soldier wrote down information when I talked," Zinghtung La told The Irrawaddy.

When the two teachers, both 20 years old, were found dead in their shared dormitory the following day, Zinghtung La said the commander wanted to leave the village immediately.

In a report released on Tuesday, the Kachin Women's Association of Thailand (KWAT) and the Lawyer's Action Network (LAN) detailed key evidence they contend implicates senior military officials in obstructing justice.

The groups' claim the commander of troops stationed in Kaung Kha and his superiors "blocked and subverted the police investigation into the crime."

Zinghtung La said the incident occurred on the very night Burmese troops arrived in the village.

"Usually our Kachin people are afraid of the Burmese Army. No one would dare to go out at night when the army was in the village. Not only humans but even dogs dare not go out," he said.

Hundreds of ethnic Kachin attended Tuesday's service to pray for the victims and the media was invited to join a press conference where members of a local investigation team discussed the case. Representatives said the government had prevented their team from interviewing key persons, including military personnel and three drivers.

Lawyer Brang Dee, who is part of the investigation team set up by the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), said the team did not have the authority to speak with persons of interest.

"[If] they let our team talk to their [military] men and car drivers, then our work would be done," he said.

Rev. Samson of the KBC suggested international involvement should be sought to examine key DNA evidence.

"For us, we do not know a lot about DNA. But we have kept some evidence for [testing]. The government took hair samples and other evidence but we noticed they did not take sperm [samples] from the bodies," he said.

"We will ask help from the United States for DNA testing," he said.

No results of the victims' cause of death have been released by the authorities, one year on.

Shortly after the crime, a military-owned newspaper announced that the investigation did not implicate Burma Army soldiers and threatened legal action against those who claimed otherwise.

Kachin community leaders said they would lobby the incoming National League for Democracy-led government to take up the case.

"We expect our family will see justice soon," said a young family member of one of the victims.

The post Memorial Service Held in Rangoon to Mark One Year Since Teachers' Murders appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Historic Rangoon School to Become Polytechnic Institute

Posted: 19 Jan 2016 03:48 AM PST

The Yangon Technological University in Rangoon's Insein Township. (Photo: Ven Issariya / Facebook)

RANGOON — The Yangon Technological University, formerly known as the Rangoon Institute of Technology, will be turned into a polytechnic institute, Deputy Minister of Education Zaw Min Aung told Parliament on Monday.

Zaw Min Aung was responding to a question from Lower House lawmaker Win Htein, a member of the National League for democracy (NLD), about whether there were plans to re-open Insein Township's Government Technical Institute (GTI) as a multidisciplinary industrial institute when he made the announcement.

"Before, the institute could only teach technology-related subjects such as civil engineering, mechanical engineering and electronic engineering. We're going to open a polytechnic institute that offers engineering and vocational subjects according to Asean standards," he said.

The deputy minister added that there are also plans to launch a technical high school and institutes to teach vocational skills to those unable to finish high school. Short- and long-term classes on hotel and tourism management, among other vocational subjects, will be offered.

The roots of the institute stretch back to Burma's former status as a British colony in the 20th century. Many of the most prominent democracy protesters in the country's 1988 student uprising also hail from the institute.

"It's heartbreaking to know that the GTI was used as a prison cell by the former government," Win Htein said, referring to when the school was run by the military junta.

The institute celebrated its 120th anniversary in December 2015 and received recognition from the Yangon Heritage Trust to mark the historic milestone.

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US Urges Outgoing Govt to Free All Political Prisoners

Posted: 19 Jan 2016 01:48 AM PST

Student protesters look out from a prison vehicle as they are transported to a court in Letpadan, Pegu Division, on March 11, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — During his second diplomatic visit to Burma, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the outgoing government to free all remaining political prisoners before the National League for Democracy (NLD) takes the mantle at the end of March.

The deputy secretary on Monday met with President Thein Sein, Burma Army second-in-command Soe Win and NLD chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won nearly 80 percent of contested seats in Burma's historic Nov. 8 election.

Blinken told reporters in Naypyidaw that the United States would carry on its role as a "full and committed partner" to the former hermit state in its political transition, saying more exactly that Washington would help to resolve lingering issues, including freeing remaining prisoners of conscience.

"Remaining political prisoners must be released and human rights protected for all, no matter their ethnicity or religion," Blinken told the press. "Reforms need to continue until an elected civilian government is truly sovereign and all the country's institutions answer to the people."

According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, some 128 political prisoners sit behind bars in Burma, and another 472—overwhelmingly journalists, student and land rights activists and people accused of defamation on social media—await trial. Twenty-three of these activists have been arrested just since the November general election, many charged with flouting Article 18 of the controversial Peaceful Assembly Law.

The deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, echoed Blinken's sentiment in the report released Monday.

"Thein Sein shouldn't wait for the new government to take office in late March to free those who should never have been imprisoned in the first place," he said.

"Burma's growing number of political prisoners is the most glaring indictment of President Thein Sein's human rights record. In the waning days of his administration, the president could leave a positive legacy by immediately and unconditionally freeing all of those unjustly held."

Thein Sein has released more than 1,000 political prisoners over the course of his five-year political tenure.

The post US Urges Outgoing Govt to Free All Political Prisoners appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Watchdog Claims Compensation Scheme for Dual Pipelines Plagued by Graft

Posted: 19 Jan 2016 01:32 AM PST

The construction site for a pipeline to transport gas to China, seen near the town of Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay Division, January 23, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Corruption has plagued compensation initiatives for those affected by the dual oil and gas pipelines running across Burma from the coast of Arakan State to China's Yunnan province, a local watchdog said on Monday.

The Myanmar-China Pipeline Watch Committee (MCPWC) said it had detailed more than 100 cases of graft or other misconduct committed by local authorities in the process of compensating landowners for lost farmlands.

The group, which held a conference in Rangoon on Monday, said it had met with almost 1,000 villagers from six townships along the pipelines' route, including farmers that had lost their land.

MCPWC said their research aimed to highlight the extent to which foreign companies investing in Burma's lucrative extractive industries had been exploiting lax controls in the sector.

The original deal to build the pipelines was signed under the previous military junta, with the Chinese state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) the main operator. The Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) commands a stake in both pipelines, while a consortium led by South Korea's Daewoo International has a stake in the gas pipeline.

The gas pipeline, which starts on Ramree Island in Arakan State's Kyaukphyu Township, was opened in 2013 while the adjacent oil pipeline, which begins on Maday Island, became operational in early 2015.

The pipelines traverse through Arakan State, Magwe Division, Mandalay Division and Shan State before reaching China.

MCPWC claimed officials involved in determining land compensation claims had embezzled funds, with the group conservatively putting the amount at over 90 million kyat (US$70,000).

Zaw Aung, a central committee member of the MCPWC, said authorities had in part pilfered funds by recording compensation claims against people and farmlands that didn't exist. Some villagers also reported that the figure of compensation stated was less than the sum they actually received.

On the project's operations, Ye Thein Oo of the MCPWC urged Burma's government and the CNPC to make revenue statements and running costs available to the public. Despite the gas pipeline being operational since 2013, he said there was no transparency over revenue and that government officials had declined to provide accurate data when approached.

Representatives of the project's operators also attended Monday's symposium. Henry Zhang, deputy public relations manager of the Southeast Asia Crude Oil Pipeline (SEAOP) and the Southeast Asia Gas Pipeline (SEAGP), formed by the project's consortium, declined to answer the watchdog's allegations directly, saying more time was needed to examine the claims.

Zhang contended that the consortium had made donations in rural areas near the project and said Burma's government "should take action" over any corrupt practices.

Other conference attendees raised additional concerns on Monday. Sein Myint, a retired deputy director in the Department of Mines, questioned whether the CNPC was authorized to build oil storage tanks on Maday Island and, additionally, whether the company was paying tax per gallon of oil stored, as he claimed was required by law.

Zhang offered no comment on the former bureaucrat's charge.

MCPWC alleged that the majority of officials involved in graft worked with the Settlement and Land Records Department, the arm of government responsible for assessing land ownership and related claims. The group called on the alleged malpractice to be investigated and the perpetrators held to account.

The post Watchdog Claims Compensation Scheme for Dual Pipelines Plagued by Graft appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ex-Dictator’s Son-in-Law Hand-Picked as Military MP for New Parliament

Posted: 18 Jan 2016 10:21 PM PST

Military appointees stand during a regular session of Parliament in the capital Naypyidaw in 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — New military representatives to Burma's next Parliament, which will convene in less than two weeks, were named in Tuesday's state-run newspapers, including among appointees the son-in-law of former military strongman Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

High-ranking members of the armed forces are included in the new slate of unelected lawmakers, including three major-generals appointed to the national legislature, according to the Union Election Commission (UEC) announcements. Maj-Gens Tauk Tun and Than Htut Thein will take up seats in the Lower House of the Union Parliament, while Maj-Gen Than Soe will sit in the Upper House.

Among the appointees also of note is Brig-Gen Thein Naing, the son-in-law of former junta leader Than Shwe. Thein Naing, the husband of Than Shwe's daughter Khin Pyone Shwe, will take a seat in the Rangoon Division legislature.

Political analyst Yan Myo Thein pointed out that Thein Naing was the highest-ranking military appointee to the Rangoon regional legislature, speculating that he might be a candidate for chief minister of the division, Burma's most populace.

In a Facebook post, Yan Myo Thein said observers should keep an eye on Thein Naing's political trajectory, and that his potential chief minister candidacy might be part of an agreement reached between National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi, Than Shwe and Burma Army commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing.

The Constitution requires that state and divisional chief ministers be selected by the president from among respective regional legislatures' parliamentarians.

The NLD will hold commanding majorities in all but the legislatures of Shan and Arakan states, following its landslide victory in Burma's Nov. 8 general election. While Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency, she has stated publically that she will be "above the president" in an executive that her party has the required majorities to form.

The new Parliament convenes on Feb. 1.

Under Burma's military-drafted 2008 Constitution, 25 percent of seats in both houses of the Union Parliament and state and regional legislatures are reserved for active members of the military.

Though the UEC cancelled elections for about 20 seats nationwide due to security concerns in some townships, the commission's announcements revealed that the military took its full allotment of reserved seats: 110 in the Lower House, 56 in the Upper House and 220 in regional legislatures, giving the institution representation that exceeds 25 percent of sitting lawmakers in the Shan and Kachin states' legislatures, as well as the Union Parliament's Lower House.

The post Ex-Dictator's Son-in-Law Hand-Picked as Military MP for New Parliament appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Local Opposition to Dawei SEZ Reservoir Persists

Posted: 18 Jan 2016 10:14 PM PST

Click to view slideshow.

KALONEHTAR VILLAGE, Dawei District — "I would not exchange my betel nut plantation for a dam," Kalonehtar villager Han Htay said one sunny day earlier this month, speaking at his home in southeastern Burma's Tenasserim Division.

In testament to the crop's importance to the man, a layer of fresh betel nuts were spread under the tropical sun in front of his house to dry.

"Our livelihood depends on the forests and mountains. We will be dead if we can't earn a living," the 70-year-old explained as he smoked a cigarette, saying his family earns 15-20 million kyats, (US$11,540-$15,380) annually from a total of 30 acres of areca palms, from which betel nuts are derived. In addition, the family sells cardamom, a spice that draws its ingredients from seeds of plants native to the area.

With news that long-stalled plans for the Dawei special economic zone (SEZ) may finally be moving forward in earnest, villagers here are again on alert and ready to mobilize in opposition to a dam project that they first mounted a campaign against five years ago.

Last month, Japan bought into the SEZ, assuming a one-third stake, along with the governments of Thailand and Burma, in a development that its boosters hope will see the plans materialize after years of uncertainty.

'Doubly Marked'

The lives of Kalonehtar villagers were described in a report as "doubly marked" for disruption by the plans of Italian-Thai Development, which is seeking to dam the area's natural mountain stream and has already charted the course of a new road to run near the village. The report, "Voices from the Ground," was published in 2014 by the Dawei Development Association, which said that initially, the whole village would have been submerged by a reservoir created by the dam, with the residents of Kalonehtar told to relocate.

Once media reports about the proposal began circulating, the abbot of the village monastery, Panya Wunsa, began looking into impacts of the dam on Kalonehtar and came to the conclusion that the plan would need to be altered.

The abbot went to SEZ implementer Italian-Thai Development, proposing that the company move its planned reservoir three miles upstream, but the company did not budge, saying the alternative location would not allow for a reservoir of the holding capacity that it envisioned.

Italian-Thai acknowledged that the village would need to be relocated but promised, by way of consolation, better living standards for the affected villagers.

When SEZ implementers came to negotiate with villagers in November 2012, however, they were greeted by placards reading "No Dam, No Relocation."

With 182 households, Kalonehtar is the largest of four villages of the Talaingyar village-tract in Yephyu Township, Dawei District.

For livelihoods, most of its approximately 1,000 villagers depend on small-scale mining in the Talaingyar stream and grow seasonal produce such as betel nut, cardamom, and a tuber known as elephant foot yam.

Resilient Opposition

Su Paing Htwe is a member of the Dhamma Thabin Youth Association, which has existed in the village for decades and was an early opponent of the dam.

"We have been campaigning a lot against the dam, since 2010. Even if the dam is constructed in another place, at any scale, we have no plan to accept it," he told The Irrawaddy.

Asked why, Su Paing Htwe expressed doubt that anything other than the complete scrapping of the plan would still have adverse effects on the village.

"If they must proceed anyway, we are prepared. They need our consent and must conduct environmental and social impact assessments. We must question how they will account for the loss of orchards, and livelihoods that depend on the forest and mountain," Su Paing Htwe said.

Unwilling to accept the dam, villagers are preparing an alternative plan for development in the form of community eco-tourism, taking advantage of the area's natural and cultural endowments.

"We will present our region's traditions and cultures. We have natural hot springs and waterfalls. We will showcase our tradition livelihood," Su Paing Htwe said.

Villagers plan to charge 30,000 kyats for a visit per day, including meals, a tour guide and transportation. They are also aiming to provide homestays for foreigners, though the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism currently prohibits this.

Kalonehtar residents' long-standing and vocal opposition won a small concession in Italian-Thai's July 2013 decision to move the dam site about 440 yards upstream.

Su Paing Htwe is not appeased.

"Although it will not be in Kalonehtar's area, whichever place they dam, since this is flowing along the Talaingyar stream, people will be impacted anyway. That is hard for us to accept," he said.

For now, villagers are following the lead of the 51-year-old abbot Panya Wunsa, who helped spearhead a successful campaign that coaxed a company to improve its environmental practices at a lead mining project along the Talaingyar stream.

Kalonehtar is also close to the road linking the Dawei SEZ to Kanchanaburi province in Thailand. There are plans to expand the current two-lane road into a four-lane highway—subject to the consent of villagers.

"Italian-Thai came to me the other day [to discuss extending the road]. I told them only Thai investors like you come but no [government] authorities come with you. If the project is invested 50/50 by both Myanmar and Thailand, how can we accept what you alone have said to locals, without the presence of [government] authorities?"

A meeting to present the results of an environmental and social impact assessment of the road's widening, when the consent of villagers will be sought, is scheduled for Jan. 28. The abbot is not promising an easy sell.

"Even with the two-lane road, our river and stream are silted up. I will ask them what they can do about it. If they can [offer assurances], they can continue. If they can't, we might stop them."

Asked what he thinks of the prospect of the Dawei SEZ's moving forward, Panya Wunsa said that for him, the dam and reservoir were a red line.

"Regardless of whether it is large-scale or small-scale, we can't accept it if it could destroy our community," he said, adding that the SEZ's implementers needed to do a better job with community consultations.

There is recognition, however, that local opposition may not be enough to prevent the dam project from going forward: If the dam cannot be prevented and negotiations are to be made, the abbot said villagers would need to seek guarantees on who would be held responsible for any adverse impacts, including the potential for disasters such as landslides, resulting from the damming of the stream.

The post Local Opposition to Dawei SEZ Reservoir Persists appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

One Year On, Rights Groups Demand Justice for Rape, Murder of Kachin Teachers

Posted: 18 Jan 2016 10:09 PM PST

The bodies of two Kachin schoolteachers lie in wake in Muse, northern Shan State, last week. (Photo: Maran Naw Di Awng / Facebook)

One year after the brutal rape and murder of two ethnic Kachin schoolteachers in eastern Burma, rights groups call for justice and accuse authorities of a "systematic cover-up" of the crime that many believe was perpetrated by active-duty soldiers.

The two young women's mutilated bodies were found in Kaung Kha village, Shan State, on Jan. 20 last year. Villagers said the area was occupied by the Burma Army, and that they saw boot prints on the scene.

In a report titled, "Justice Delayed, Justice Denied," the Kachin Women's Association of Thailand (KWAT) and the Lawyer's Action Network (LAN) examined witness testimony and key evidence that they said implicates senior military officials in obstructing justice.

"The government's priorities were clear in the Kawng Kha case [also spelled Kaung Kha]—protect the military at all cost," KWAT General Secretary Moon Nay Li said in a statement. "We urge the new NLD government to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice, and end military impunity."

An investigation that followed the crime was criticized for its hasty and opaque procedures. Just 10 days after the crime, a military-owned newspaper announced that the investigation did not implicate Burma Army soldiers in the incident, and threatened legal action against those who claimed otherwise once the inquiry was concluded.

President Thein Sein declined to respond to appeals made by the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), a well-established community network that was among the main advocates for justice in the case. The group was denied authorization to conduct an independent investigation.

The new report claims that the commander of troops stationed in Kaung Kha and his superiors "blocked and subverted the police investigation into the crime." According to the report, the Muse Strategic Military Commander and 200 soldiers were summoned to the village for questioning shortly after the crime, but police investigators were limited under military scrutiny.

KWAT and LAN called on Tuesday for constitutional reform to address the military's continued power and influence over the police and the judiciary, which they called a "key structural barrier to justice in Burma."

Pointing to a new proposal in Parliament that would offer immunity to former presidents, Hkawng Lum, a human rights lawyer working with LAN, said that "[w]hatever amnesty he grants himself in Burma, President Thein Sein is still liable to prosecution for war crimes in accordance with the Geneva Convention, to which Burma is a party, if evidence on 'command responsibility' is found."

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China Economic Growth Edged Down to 6.8 Percent Last Quarter

Posted: 18 Jan 2016 09:15 PM PST

Buildings are pictured amid the smog in Beijing’s central business district, China, Dec. 21, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

BEIJING — China's economic growth edged down to 6.8 percent in the final quarter of 2015 as trade and consumer spending weakened, dragging full-year growth to its lowest in 25 years.

Growth has fallen steadily over the past five years as the ruling Communist Party tries to steer away from a worn-out model based on investment and trade toward self-sustaining growth driven by domestic consumption and services. But the unexpectedly sharp decline over the past two years prompted fears of a politically dangerous spike in job losses.

Full-year growth declined to 6.9 percent, government data showed Tuesday. That was the lowest since sanctions imposed on Beijing following its crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement caused growth to plummet to 3.8 percent in 1990.

The October-December growth figure was the lowest quarterly expansion since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, when growth slumped to 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Growth in the July-September quarter of 2009 was 6.9 percent.

Growth in investment in factories, housing and other fixed assets, a key economic driver, weakened to 12 percent in 2015, down 2.9 percentage points from the previous year. Retail sales growth cooled to 10.6 percent from 2014's 12 percent.

"The international situation remains complex," said Wang Bao'an, commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics, at a news conference. "Restructuring and upgrading is in an uphill stage. Comprehensively deepening reform is a daunting task."

Growth was in line with private sector forecasts and the ruling Communist Party's official target of about 7 percent for the year.

Beijing responded to ebbing growth by cutting interest rates six times since November, 2014, and launched measures to help exporters and other industries. But economists note China still relies on state-led construction spending and other investment.

December exports shrank 1.4 percent from a year earlier, well below the ruling party's target of 6 percent growth in total trade. For the full year, exports were down 7.6 percent, a blow to industries that employ millions of Chinese workers.

Forecasters see indications retail sales and other activity accelerated toward the end of 2015, suggesting Beijing's efforts to put a floor under the downturn are gaining traction.

"The growth picture remains two-sided. The real estate construction slump and weak exports continued to weigh on activity," said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics in a report.

"Meanwhile, though, consumption continued to expand robustly, supported by solid wage growth," said Kuijs. "The robust growth in the consumption and services nexus is key for policymakers. They need it to avoid labor market stress."

Spending on online commerce grew by 33.3 percent over 2014. Wang said the share of total economic activity accounted for by consumption rose to 56.4 percent, up 15 percentage points from 2014.

Forecasters expect economic growth to decline further this year, with the International Monetary Fund targeting a 6.3 percent expansion.

The post China Economic Growth Edged Down to 6.8 Percent Last Quarter appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Foreign Jurists Call for Release of Detained Chinese Lawyers

Posted: 18 Jan 2016 09:02 PM PST

Portraits of Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang are left by protesters after a demonstration calling for the release of Pu, outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong on Dec. 15, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

BEIJING — Twenty prominent lawyers and jurists from Europe, North America, Australia and Pakistan on Monday urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to release a dozen Chinese lawyers and legal assistants held in detention in an open letter published in the British newspaper The Guardian.

In the letter, the legal professionals, predominantly from Western countries, expressed worries that the Chinese lawyers have been denied legal counsel since their July detention.

They also said they feared that without legal representation, the Chinese lawyers and legal assistants could be "at high risk of torture or other cruel and inhumane treatments."

China has arrested six rights lawyers and legal assistants on suspicion of state subversion, and three more on suspicion of inciting state subversion. One legal assistant was arrested on suspicion of helping destroy evidence. Hong Kong-based China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group said several more lawyers remain missing.

The lawyers have sought to use China's own laws to hold officials accountable or to protect citizens' rights, but Beijing says they are trying to sabotage the judicial system with improper activism.

Since July, more than 300 lawyers, legal assistants, staff members of law firms, and social activists have been detained and interrogated.

Most have been released, but some of the most prominent rights lawyers have been arrested, including Wang Yu, who defended one of the five women who became known as the "Feminist Five." They were detained last March after they planned to hand out flyers against sexual harassment in several Chinese cities in a case that drew international scrutiny.

The lawyers are known to have taken up some of the most contentious cases in China, often involving petitioners who have grievances with local governments, practitioners of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong, or political dissidents.

State media say the lawyers have colluded with social activists and used social media to put undue pressures on local courts. The Ministry of Public Security called them a "major criminal gang."

Their arrests have drawn international attention, as shown by the latest open letter signed by heads of bar associations, legal scholars and lawyers.

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North Korea Has Sent 1 Million Propaganda Leaflets

Posted: 18 Jan 2016 08:56 PM PST

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a ceremony to award party and state commendations to nuclear scientists, technicians, soldier-builders, workers and officials in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 13, 2016. (Photo: KCNA / Reuters)

SEOUL — North Korea has launched an estimated 1 million propaganda leaflets by balloon into South Korea amid increased tension between the rivals following the North's recent nuclear test, Seoul officials said Monday.

A Cold War-style standoff has flared since North Korea's claim on Jan. 6 that it tested a hydrogen bomb. South Korea resumed blasting anti-North propaganda broadcasts and K-pop songs from border loudspeakers. North Korea quickly responded by restarting its own border broadcasts and floating the balloons over the border carrying anti-South leaflets, according to Seoul officials.

Seoul's Defense Ministry said Monday the North's military has been sending the balloons on a near-daily basis. Spokesman Kim Min-seok said the leaflets have reached Seoul in addition to areas close to the border.

Such leafleting by the North is rare, as the two Koreas officially stopped psychological warfare as part of tension-reduction measures in 2004. South Korean activists have still occasionally sent propaganda balloons toward North Korea, triggering angry responses from the North.

South Korean officials believe their broadcasts will sting in the rigidly controlled, authoritarian country by demoralizing frontline troops and residents. There are doubts in Seoul that the North Korean leaflets will have any impact on the public in more affluent South Korea.

Leaflets discovered at a South Korean border town contained cartoon images showing South Korean President Park Geun-hye wearing a bikini and falling headfirst into a slop bucket. The leaflets referred to her as "human filth." It is not the first time North Korea has lashed out at Park, the South's first female president, in a sexist or derogatory manner. It has previously referred to her as a prostitute.

Many foreign governments and analysts remain highly skeptical about the H-bomb claim, but whatever the North detonated underground will likely push the country closer toward a fully functional nuclear arsenal, which it is still not thought to have. The North previously conducted atomic bomb tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

South Korea, the US and other countries are pushing hard to get North Korea punished over the bomb test. Soon after the test, diplomats at a UN Security Council pledged to swiftly pursue new sanctions on the North. But it's unclear whether China, the North's last major ally and a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, would cooperate on any tough sanctions that could force a change in the North.

The two Koreas share the world's most heavily fortified border since their war in the early 1950s ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 American troops are deployed in South Korea as deterrence against North Korea.

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