AllSBNews: 02/23/16

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Week-Long Blockade of Anti-Poppy Activists Lifted, Authorities Say
Ministry Exempts 5 Temples from Ban on Bagan Temple Access
Nationalists Plan Rally in Defense of Article 59(f)
On the Frontline of the TNLA, SSA-S Divide
To Court or Clamp Down? The NLD and Burma’s Cronies
Door to NCA Still Open, Aung Min Tells UNFC Members in Chiang Mai
Meteorologist Warns of Irrawaddy River Floods
KNU Criticized After Signing MoU on Hydropower Dam
Over 600,000 Hopefuls Set to Take Burma’s Matriculation Exam
El Niño Drives Up Temperatures Across Swaths of Burma
Conflict and Powerful Companies Stoke Land Disputes in Kachin State
Deal Reached to End Indian Caste Protests
North Korean Officer: Tensions Rising on DMZ
US Wants Leadership Role for India in Asia-Pacific

Week-Long Blockade of Anti-Poppy Activists Lifted, Authorities Say

Posted: 23 Feb 2016 07:19 AM PST

Members of Christian anti-drugs group Pat Ja San on an opium eradication mission in Kachin State in January 2016. (Photo: Jade Land Kachin / Facebook)

MANDALAY — A week-long blockade preventing anti-poppy campaigners in Kachin State's Waingmaw Township from carrying out their activities was lifted late on Tuesday, according to local authorities.

Since Feb. 16, the anti-drug vigilantes had been encamped at an army checkpoint at the junction of Sadaung and Chipwi roads, prevented from reaching poppy fields further on—a measure authorities claimed was for their own safety.

Although the group was briefly blocked at another military base, on Boun Taung hill on Tuesday, campaigners were reportedly assured they would receive protection from the army in the area.

"The army base [at Boun Taung Hill] and the military personnel stationed in the Kambaiti area assured us that they would continue on with us in order to help ensure our safety until our mission is done," said Yin Kyang, a Christian pastor involved in the group which claims to have destroyed thousands of acres of poppy fields in recent months.

The group of vigilantes are known as Pat Jasan, established by the Kachin Baptist Church, which operates according to a no-tolerance approach to eradicating drugs in their communities.

While the group has been destroying poppy plantations in Kachin State, it does not provide the farmers with substitute crops or monetary compensation, a source of friction that proved deadly on Jan. 15, when a farmer fatally shot a teenager who was clearing poppies in Tanai Township, northwest of Waingmaw.

According to campaigners, authorities had initially allowed only 60 people to reach the fields before all members were ultimately allowed to continue.

"Some of us who were on the front lines will camp tonight in La Jaung village and start trekking to the poppy fields from there. Some will camp at Boun Taung," Yin Kyang said.

The post Week-Long Blockade of Anti-Poppy Activists Lifted, Authorities Say appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ministry Exempts 5 Temples from Ban on Bagan Temple Access

Posted: 23 Feb 2016 07:11 AM PST

People wait to see the sunset from the top of Shwesandaw Pagoda in the ancient city of Bagan on February 13, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — Burma's Ministry of Culture has modified an announcement originally issued Monday prohibiting visitors from ascending the ancient temples of Bagan which was met with criticism by tourism professionals who instead urged the government to set limits on the ban.

According to an initial announcement released by the culture ministry on its Facebook page, visitors would no longer be allowed to climb the steps of stupas and temples in the ancient city, effective March 1.

However, in an additional statement released late on Tuesday, the ministry stipulated that the ban would not include five temples—Pyathatgyi, Shwesandaw, South Guni, North Guni and Thitsar Wadi.

The government body had cited the practice as dangerous to tourists and suggested that the crowds of visitors were weakening the durability and strength of the ancient structures.

The ministry's clarification came after several tourism professionals had spoken out, claiming that a total ban would not be an inappropriate answer to the strains placed on preserving the monuments' heritage.

Thadoe Thuzar Aung, general secretary of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA) and the managing director of Authentic Myanmar Travel and Tours, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the association encouraged the ministry to implement systematic methods to filter access and collect more positive suggestions from tourism-related associations.

"Recruiting skilled staff to privilege access to the tops of the temples could be one of the options," she said.

The general secretary is also concerned that the ban could have made it difficult for photographers and media representatives to get digital footage of the ancient city.

The ministry's former announcement on Monday stated that many visitors wear revealing clothing to the temples and dance or sleep in their vicinity, which disrespects the cultural heritage of the ancient kingdom.

An experienced English-speaking tour guide, Haymar Aung, told The Irrawaddy that there are two famous spots in Bagan from which sunsets can be viewed, and that huge crowds of tourists throng to these prime viewpoints—on the tops of temples—daily. She did, however, express concern about tourists who desecrate the ancient heritage site.

"Action should be taken against such manners. But when access [to the top of pagodas] is banned, they won't have any other unique things to do in Bagan," Haymar Aung said.

"The dream of every visitor who goes to Bagan is to enjoy watching the sunset or the sunrise from the top of a pagoda and to take pictures," she added.

Since October of last year, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has advocated for a partnership between the Ministry of Culture and UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to build a a viewing mount around Bagan's Sulamani Temple. No green light has been given for the project to date, JICA confirmed to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Culture's original announcement was released after a video went viral on social media last week featuring a group of people from a local medical company, known as Lucky Time Trading, dancing on top of Bagan's Pyathadar Temple on February 17. The company later apologized in state-run newspapers for organizing the event.

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Nationalists Plan Rally in Defense of Article 59(f)

Posted: 23 Feb 2016 05:17 AM PST

Aung San Suu Kyi gives a speech during campaigning for the upcoming general elections in Toungup, Arakan State, October 16, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — A group of Buddhist nationalists plan to hold a rally in the coming days in support of Article 59(f) of Burma's Constitution, which bars Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency.

Win Ko Ko Latt, of the Myanmar Nationalist Network, told The Irrawaddy that the ambition of the rally, planned for Rangoon's Bo Sein Hman grounds, is in defense of 59(f), which precludes anyone with a foreign spouse or children from assuming the presidency, disqualifying Suu Kyi, whose two children are British nationals, as was her late husband.

Article 59(b) of the military-drafted charter states that the president and vice president should be Burmese citizens whose parents were born in Burma. Rally organizers are aiming to keep both articles intact.

"We believe these two sections should be present. We heard that the amendment or suspension of Article 59(f) would be discussed in the Parliament to allow Suu Kyi to become president. We're worried that would stop Parliament and lead to a military coup," Win Ko Ko Latt said.

As negotiations between the NLD and the military continue behind closed doors, one notion first floated late last year centers on the possible suspension of the clause. Opinions are divided on whether this has currency, with several military representatives expressing their opposition to such a move.

On Tuesday, Burma Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing appeared to hose down suggestions of any moves to sidestep the charter in the near-term.

"[N]ecessary provisions should be amended at an appropriate time in accordance with the chapter XII of the constitution," Min Aung Hlaing said, according to the military-run Myawaddy newspaper, as reported by Reuters.

Win Ko Ko Latt said the group is currently seeking permission from authorities to hold the rally on Feb. 28 and added that they anticipate collecting a petition with some 1,000 signatures. Former Upper House lawmaker Khin Wine Kyi, lawyer Aye Paing and chairman of the Peace and Diversity Party Nay Myo Wai are scheduled to give speeches at the rally.

The Myanmar Nationalist Network, as well as some rally speakers, includes supporters of the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, known by its Burmese acronym Ma Ba Tha, which pushed for contentious race and religion protection laws last year.

Organizers contend however that they are not against Suu Kyi leading the country.

"We aren't objecting to Suu Kyi becoming president. We heard that her two sons and their spouses can seek Burmese citizenship. If Suu Kyi were to become the president in that way, without touching the article, we could accept that," Win Ko Ko Latt said.

Outgoing Minister of Information Ye Htut suggested exactly that in an interview with Voice of America last week, though the minister's comment was largely seen as disingenuous.

The post Nationalists Plan Rally in Defense of Article 59(f) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

On the Frontline of the TNLA, SSA-S Divide

Posted: 23 Feb 2016 05:00 AM PST

Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) soldiers in Kyaukme Township's Kyauk Hpyu in northern Shan State, February, 2016. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy)

KYAUKME TOWNSHIP, Shan State — After a bumpy two-day drive from Rangoon, The Irrawaddy arrived in Kyauk Hpyu, Kyaukme Township, to find a village largely abandoned.

It was Feb. 18. The day prior, fighting had broken out in the area between the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S). Most locals in the village of around 50 homes had fled to the town of Kyaukme, around two hours away by car, to shelter in monasteries.

A detachment of TNLA soldiers had taken up residence in the village and warned us not to proceed any further. Ahead was a conflict zone.

Sergeant Soe Naing, surrounded by guns, ammunition and other military equipment, welcomed us into one home with hot tea and a lunch of vegetables and fried beans.

"Sorry I cannot give you good food, but this is good for us," the Ta'ang soldier said. "We just got back from the frontline last night."

He claimed that six artillery shells had rained down on the village the previous day during a SSA-S attack on the Ta'ang forces.

Members of the TNLA sat around the village with tired faces and dirt-streaked uniforms. Some of them slept under the raised houses, while others stayed indoors.

On Feb. 19, some soldiers took us to Kyaukme Township's Ton San village where ethnic Palaung (Ta'ang) Buddhist monks were preparing for a traditional prayer ceremony for those killed during the clashes.

The TNLA soldiers did not provide details on the number of troops killed during almost two weeks of fighting.

"Both sides have many causalities," said a soldier known as Col. Robert. "Reports on the ground have not yet come in detail."

'They Shot Us, We Shot Back'

Col. Robert described an operation by the TNLA on Feb. 7 to take a SSA-S base, known as Loi Rin, during which civilians quickly found themselves in the firing line.

The base is situated in Kyaukme Township and surrounded by four villages, Nyaung Maung, Nyaung Pang Hla, Ja Dee Houng and Ja Dee Jan.

"They shot us, we shot them back. It was very big fighting," Robert said. "I went to hide in a house… then I heard some women were shouting and asking for help. There were six female school teachers and they were locked in a house and were almost killed amid the fighting."

The women were escorted to a monastery for their safety, he said.

Fierce fighting in the area, which Robert said continued until Feb. 17 and spread to other villages in the township including Tauk San, caused hundreds of civilians to flee their homes.

"We considered the villagers, therefore we ordered our troops to withdraw," he said. "We have sympathy for the villagers who have fled. The [SSA-S] came to control our areas, therefore we had to launch a military offensive against them."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that as of Feb. 16, 3,330 people were displaced in Kyaukme Township and over 1,000 were displaced in Namkham Township.

Fighting between the two armed groups first flared in November last year, one month after the signing of the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement. The SSA-S was one of eight armed groups to sign the pact, while the TNLA was excluded by the government from the negotiations.

A Villager's View of the TNLA

Some Palaung villagers have mixed feelings about the armed group that claims to defend them.

Mai Soe Maung, a 28-year-old ethnic Palaung community leader in the isolated village of Myo Thit in Kyaukme Township, said the TNLA offers villagers protection, but in turn seeks tangible support. This not only includes extracting a tax from villagers but also demanding that one male member of each family serve in the Ta'ang force.

When the TNLA are not present, the villagers feel they need their protection, said Mai Soe Maung. "But when we have it, they don't treat the locals well enough."

Myo Thit is famous for its high quality tea on the back of which many locals have earned their living. But in recent months, in light of conflict and tensions, many have sought work in China. The village is now eerily quiet.

The families of the young men and boys who join the TNLA still have to support them, Mai Soe Maung said. "The people here are poor. If they have to buy a phone for their children, they owe a debt for it," he says.

TNLA troops used to stay inside the village, according to Mai Soe Maung, but problems arose when soldiers were inebriated.

"They have guns, but our villagers have no guns. They have the power when there is a problem. Therefore we make them stay outside the village now," he said. "I do my best when they ask for help. But I feel very sad sometimes when their men on the ground treat [us] badly.

"I feel sometimes that I just want to leave my village. But I need to stay tolerant as I need to do more for the development of my community."

Negotiations

The Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) has offered to mediate between the two ethnic armed groups and the conflict was discussed at a recent meeting of armed groups in Thailand's Chiang Mai under the United Nationalities Federal Council alliance. The TNLA is a member of the grouping but the SSA-S is not.

"We will see what results will come out of the negotiations [facilitated by the] SSPP and UNFC. Then we will decide what we should do next," said Robert.

President's Office Minister Aung Min also met with representatives of the Restoration Council of Shan State, the political wing of the SSA-S, on Monday evening in Chiang Mai, and reportedly urged for tensions to be scaled back.

Members of the TNLA have alleged that the SSA-S was cooperating with the Burma Army during military operations, claims the Shan armed group has stridently denied.

"If the government told them to go back to their place, there would be no more problems here," said Robert, who stressed that the conflict was between armed groups, not between the Palaung and Shan people.

"This is just a military issue, not an ethnic issue," he said.

The post On the Frontline of the TNLA, SSA-S Divide appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

To Court or Clamp Down? The NLD and Burma’s Cronies

Posted: 23 Feb 2016 02:10 AM PST

Asia World port terminal seen in Rangoon, December 8, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — With the National League for Democracy (NLD) set to take power on April 1, political and economic observers will be closely watching for change, including whether the rampant cronyism that dogged the country for decades under successive military-backed administrations, will continue unchecked.

While it is no secret that Burma's top brass has long had a cozy relationship with the country's so-called cronies, neither is the NLD immune from the advances of the financially powerful.

Take Tay Za, a Burmese business tycoon who has for years had close ties with former military generals but who also reportedly sponsored two recent trainings for NLD lawmakers, backed by the Asia Green Development Bank, owned by the tycoon.

Then there is Zaw Zaw, chairman of the Max Myanmar Group of Companies, who has allegedly helped to foot the bill for NLD party activities despite his military-friendly history.

Khine Maung Yi, a former Lower House lawmaker and a central executive committee member of the National Democratic Force, said that cronies have had an outsized influence on politics for the last five years, and that the trend only seems set to persist.

Government officials such as commerce minister Win Myint and sports minister Tint Hsan, as well as lawmakers including Yuzana Htay Myint and Zay Kabar Khin Shwe, "have close links to businessmen, so they can easily approve some national projects for such people—building Wunna Theikdi Stadium [one of the largest stadiums in Naypyidaw], for instance, went to Max Myanmar Group of Companies," Khine Maung Yi told The Irrawaddy.

"Over the last five years, even some opposition party members were in business with cronies, some of whose donations were visible and some not. That's why I'm saying that this practice of cronyism will only continue under the new government," he said.

Sein Win, former managing editor of Mizzima News and the executive director of the Myanmar Journalism Institute, echoed Khine Maung Yi's thoughts, though he also expressed some optimism ahead of what is billed as a new political era.

"The NLD has announced that they will focus on anti-corruption, so it is believed they won't keep up the practice of cronyism," Sein Win said.

In December, the NLD released its economic policy, stressing five pillars: fiscal prudence, lean and efficient government, revitalizing agriculture, monetary and fiscal stability and creating a functioning infrastructure. The NLD at the time also emphasized that its policy will comply with domestic laws and that it is consistent with international human rights standards for the improvement of foreign direct investment (FDI).

Still, Yan Myo Thein, a political analyst, said that the NLD's economic policy fails to mention how it will address cronyism, which he believes is a glaring omission.

"There should be a detailed plan for handling the issue. If there is a good economy policy and anti-corruption [measures], these cronies will [be forced to] change," he said. Cronies will continue to exert influence, he added, "If the government doesn't prepare for these issues."

Yet the issue is not so clear-cut. Maung Mg Soe, an economist, has a different outlook; contending that crony businessmen might be important for Burma's development.

"I don't accept that all cronies are opportunists. There might be good businessmen out there who want to change and support the new government. We shouldn't neglect or rebuke them, because we could use them to spur the country's growth," Maung Mg Soe said. "The NLD should create better policies for these types of people."

According to the World Bank, Burma's GDP has increased dramatically since 2011 and is estimated to reach 8.5 percent growth by the end of the current fiscal year.

The post To Court or Clamp Down? The NLD and Burma's Cronies appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Door to NCA Still Open, Aung Min Tells UNFC Members in Chiang Mai

Posted: 23 Feb 2016 12:09 AM PST

President's Office minister Aung Min following a meeting with the United Nationalities Federal Council in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on Monday evening. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — President's Office minister and Burma's chief peace negotiator Aung Min held a series of meetings with ethnic leaders in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai this week, including representatives of an ethnic alliance whose members remain outside the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA).

On Monday, Aung Min met representatives of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), accompanied by former lieutenant general Khin Zaw Oo and advisors from the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). The President's Office minister also met separately with members of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) whose armed wing, the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), has recently clashed with the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a UNFC member.

Aung Min initially requested to meet with UNFC member groups separately, an approach rejected by the alliance who insisted on meeting as a body.

"We came to see our friends and briefed them on updates regarding the NCA process," Aung Min told reporters after the meeting. He said the door was still open for non-signatory groups to sign the agreement concluded in October last year.

"We have to try step by step," he said.

Current UNFC members, which include the Kachin Independence Organization and the Shan State Army-North, rebuffed the so-called nationwide pact on the grounds that it was not inclusive of all ethnic armed groups.

The alliance suspended two of its members, the Chin National Front and the Pa-O National Liberation Organization, after they signed the agreement. Another signatory, the Karen National Union (KNU), left the alliance prior to the NCA signing.

"We generally talked about how we could proceed in the future to finish up our work [on the peace process]," said UNFC general secretary Khu Oo Reh following the dialogue.

Hla Maung Shwe of the MPC said further meetings may be scheduled this week as the government delegation will remain in Chiang Mai for a few more days.

During a brief meeting with RCSS representatives on Monday, Aung Min urged for the reduction of tensions with the TNLA, according to spokespersons for both parties.

"We would also be able to help if they ask us, for a venue [for dialogue] and other issues. The minister would be able to join," said Hla Maung Shwe, while adding that the government's capacity to intervene was limited, as the opposing forces included a signatory and non-signatory armed group.

The TNLA has previously accused the SSA-S of cooperating with the Burma Army during military operations, a charge the Shan armed group has repeatedly denied.

Khin Zaw Oo met separately with RCSS chairman Yawd Serk on Tuesday morning. No details of the meeting were officially disclosed.

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Meteorologist Warns of Irrawaddy River Floods

Posted: 23 Feb 2016 12:03 AM PST

Flood victims in the Irrawaddy Delta on August 6, 2015, after rivers reached dangerously high levels throughout the country. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

A prominent Burmese meteorologist warned of more flash floods throughout Burma after unseasonal rains caused rising river levels near the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina on Monday.

Following a prediction from Burma's meteorology department that unseasonal downpours could occur in the coming week, meteorologist Tun Lwin wrote on his Facebook page Monday night that Kachin State had already experienced more than one inch of unexpected rainfall.

The precipitation fell upstream from the N'mai River in the northwestern reaches of Burma. According to reports from Kachin news agencies, a sudden surge in water levels inundated some shops at the confluence of the N'Mai and Mali rivers, which then form the Irrawaddy River, Burma's largest waterway.

He also explained how ongoing environmental degradation could increase the volume of water that ends up in the Irrawaddy.

"Deforestation in northern Burma [means that the land] can't retain the rain water. Even though it was a small amount of rainfall, the rain water rushed into the N'mai, causing a rise in water level in the river," he explained.

"It's a flash flood as well as a transboundary flood, too," Tun Lwin said.

"Apart from droughts, we may [also] have that kind of flood this year due to El Niño," he added, in reference to a weather pattern known to cause changes in precipitation and temperature.

Kachin State towns situated on higher ground suffered in 2015 when heavy rains caused violent mountain torrents, which Tun Lwin related to the presence of fewer trees and forested areas that could retain the water.

During last year's monsoon season, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that over one million people had been "critically affected" by flooding throughout Burma.

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KNU Criticized After Signing MoU on Hydropower Dam

Posted: 22 Feb 2016 11:07 PM PST

Karen villagers hold a prayer ceremony in 2013 for the protection of the Salween River, as they oppose plans to build large-scale hydropower dams. (Photo: Karen Rivers Watch)

The Karen National Union (KNU) is under criticism after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Burmese government on a hydropower project known as the Baw Ka Hta dam.

Saw Tar Doh Moo, the head of Thoo Lay Company Limited, a business body owned by the KNU, signed the MoU with Aye Hsan of the Electrical Power Management Department on February 18 in Naypyidaw. When completed, the dam in Pegu Division's Kyaukkyi Township would be capable of producing 160 megawatts of electricity. This electricity would reportedly be distributed throughout Pegu Division and Karen State.

Both local civilians and members of the KNU leadership spoke out on social media against the signing of the MoU, pointing out that proper assessments and consultations had not been conducted for the dam, named for its location on the Ba Ka Hta River.

"We only heard [about the dam] from news on the internet. We don't know everything in detail. We [senior leaders at KNU's central committee] should know about it," Saw Thaw Thee Bwe, the first general secretary of the KNU, told The Irrawaddy.

Saw Thaw Thee Bwe said that the Thoo Lay Company should formally explore the impact of the project before proceeding with an MoU. He explained that protocol required that the results of the research be presented to the KNU central committee before a decision could be made.

"After these assessments, the local community, NGOs and environmentalists should get involved to advise on the consequences of the dam. Then we should inform local villagers," said Saw Thaw Thee Bwe. "Now we don't know [enough] about the MoU."

Hsa Moo, media coordinator of Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) confirmed that no social or environmental impact assessments had been carried out prior to the MoU. She also told The Irrawaddy that ethnic Karen villagers around the Baw Ka Hta project feared that the dam would cause them to lose their land.

Referencing another local dam project also in Pegu Division, Hsa Moo said locals did not want to have to relocate like those in the areas affected by the Shwegyin River hydropower project. The 75-megawatt Shwegyin dam displaced thousands of people from 45 villages when construction began in 2002 and was later completed in 2011. Those who were forced to abandon their homes reportedly did not receive any compensation.

"Local villagers are indigenous people, but they are lacking [a role] in decision making. The Shwegyin dam negatively impacted local people—they lost their land and villages. They became internally displaced," Hsa Moo said.

"The dam project should be transparent and accountable," she added. "Local villagers should be consulted and allowed to participate in the decision making process."

The Thoo Lay company engages in oil and gas extraction, mining, construction, and car imports. Tar Doh Moo, the head of the company, could not be reached by phone for comment at the time of reporting.

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Over 600,000 Hopefuls Set to Take Burma’s Matriculation Exam

Posted: 22 Feb 2016 11:02 PM PST

Girls walk to school on the outskirts of Rangoon, November 4, 2015. (Photo: Jorge Silva / Reuters)

RANGOON — The dates for Burma's national matriculation exam for the 2015-16 academic year have been set for March 9 to 18, and a total of 671,431students both inside and outside the country have registered at 1,470 testing centers, state media reported on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Education's board of examinations department on Monday disseminated admission cards to all registered students except for those in Rangoon Division, who will receive documentation on Wednesday.

According to reports, Rangoon Division tops the list of most registered test-takers, with 109,165 students set to take the matriculation exam next month, while Karenni State, with 4,874 students, has the least amount. Ninety-eight students residing in 17 foreign countries are also registered to sit the exam.

The post Over 600,000 Hopefuls Set to Take Burma's Matriculation Exam appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

El Niño Drives Up Temperatures Across Swaths of Burma

Posted: 22 Feb 2016 10:25 PM PST

Click to view slideshow.

As El Niño hits the most extreme of its 12- to 18-month cycle, large swaths of Burma have been beleaguered by high temperatures and water shortages.

Summer typically does not begin until March, but temperatures are already relatively intense. Meteorologists have predicted that water shortages in many parts of Burma could be ratcheted up by as much as three-fold in the coming months. In Rangoon, temperatures have already soared to 35 degrees Celsius in recent days, forcing people to take shelter under any shade they can find.

In Dala, a town across the river from Rangoon, water scarcity is more palpable. Irrawaddy photographers Hein Htet and Pyay Kyaw recently documented how the residents of Rangoon and Dala have been coping with the country's intense weather conditions.

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Conflict and Powerful Companies Stoke Land Disputes in Kachin State

Posted: 22 Feb 2016 10:15 PM PST

A Kachin farmer in Wai Maw Township in Kachin State kneels on a plot of land confiscated from him by a company. (Photo: Thin Lei Win / Myanmar Now)

WAI MAW TOWNSHIP, Kachin State — La Laung Daung Nan vividly remembers the last day of April 2015.

Alone in front of the two-acre plot of land her family had been allocated in a United Nations-led project, she waited for fellow villagers to turn up. They had been sent by officials and were coming to take down the barbed wire that protected her rubber saplings from the trampling of cows and buffalos.

"When they came, I pleaded with them not to do it, that we are from the same village," she recalled, sitting on the bamboo floor of her stilt home with three other aggrieved farmers. Her words fell on deaf ears. The next day, roaming animals seeking pasture left few traces of the 11-month-old saplings.

Daung Nan, her husband and 16 others in Naung Chain, a dusty village a 40-minute motorbike ride away from the state capital Myitkyina, are in a legal tussle with village authorities over land they consider theirs, but which officials say is part of the 1,600 acres designated as grazing ground.

The villagers say they were not consulted about plans to turn their land into grazing grounds and believe it was a ploy by officials who planned to profit from renting out 300 acres to a Chinese company for a banana plantation.

Sa Yaw Haung Khaung, the village administrator, defended the land seizure in an interview with Myanmar Now, saying officials acted according to the law. He played down the impact on villagers, saying the Chinese concession covered only 70 acres for growing watermelons. It would have generated income for the whole village but it was abandoned following protests, he added.

On the other side of Myitkyina, in Shwe Aite village, more than a dozen people braved the cold to tell their stories of loss of farmland to this correspondent.

Many said the local administrators threatened them with lawsuits for refusing to move to accommodate "village expansion". Others lost their farms to a new college building. Yet some blame the military, including a 65-year-old who was evicted to make way for a telecommunications tower which never materialized.

In December 2015, civil society group Land in Our Hands released a report after speaking to more than 2,500 people within 329 villages across six states and seven regions in Burma. Based on their findings, Kachin State has the second largest number of land confiscations after Shan State.

These local battles are an illustration of not only of land rights disputes engulfing Kachin, Burma's northernmost state bordering China, but also of the whole country, a largely agrarian nation emerging from decades of brutal military rule where land rights are fragile and victims of injustice have little recourse.

Rampant Land Seizures

"Land confiscations in Kachin have been so rampant there is little vacant land left. Villagers are too scared to speak up. There are more landless people now and many are struggling to survive," Bawk Ja Lum Nyoi, a fiery political activist known for taking on powerful interests, told Myanmar Now.

In Kachin, the land disputes have been fueled by the outgoing Thein Sein government's liberalization policies that have driven up land prices and attracted foreign and domestic investment, say analysts.

The renewed Kachin conflict has weakened communities' rights and displaced more than 100,000 civilians, many of whom worry whether they will still be able to access their farmland when peace returns. They accuse the army of seizing swathes of land.

Meanwhile, junta-era issues such as a heavy military presence across the state, oppression of ethnic minorities and the unchecked exploitation of natural resources persist.

If land disputes remain unresolved they will be detrimental to the peace process and overall stability of Kachin State, activists say. Many are hoping the new government and parliament led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) will help the situation.

"We hope the NLD will be fair and come up with good solutions," said Lahpai Zaw Tawng from Kachin State Farmers Network, who has been helping the Naung Chain villagers.

"Many farmers do not dare to demand the return of land confiscated by the military. We will have to see if we can push for that under the new government."

Land Key to Peace and Democracy

Changes in land ownership and use have emerged as one of the key issues during Burma’s political and economic transition, with deep resentment and protests over land acquisitions—often dubbed “land grabs"—for infrastructure, development or large-scale agricultural projects.

Up to 70 percent of Burma’s labor force is estimated to be directly or indirectly engaged in agriculture. The sector accounts for 44 percent of the GDP, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

All land in Burma is owned by the government but farmers are given land use or tillage rights, making land use a particularly sensitive issue for small-scale farmers who make up the majority of Burma's population of 51 million.

Yet these rights are neither respected on the ground in practice, nor provide protection against land grabbing, activists said.

The 2015 Land in Our Hands report found 42.9 percent of respondents said they possessed legal documents issued by the government when their land was confiscated.

The issue is even more sensitive in ethnic areas. Ethnic minorities make up an estimated 30 to 40 percent of Burma's population, and ethnic states occupy some 57 percent of the total land area.

Burma's current land problem is "linked to ethnic conflict," said the Netherlands-based Transnational Institute in its recent report on land issues in the country.

"Important questions around access to and control of land are at the heart of the civil war, and unless they are addressed well, real peace is likely to remain out of reach," it said.

Bawk Ja, chairperson of National Democratic Force (NDF) in Kachin State who took the powerful Yuzana company to court over a land grabbing case and has been jailed for her political activities, agrees. "Without resolving the land issue, there's no way you can achieve real peace," she said.

Ruled By Guns

Activists like Bawk Ja and Zaw Tawng are educating villagers of their rights so they are better able to stand up for themselves. It is a long process, however.

Shwe Aite villagers like Arr Ti, 65, and Yaing Myaw, 45, remember shaking with fear during a meeting a few years ago when a senior military official came to their village.

"He put his pistol down on the table first before telling us we have to move. Then he asked, 'Anyone want to say anything?' I was so scared," Yaing Myaw said.

But they've become emboldened in the past year or two. With help from Bawk Ja, they sent letters to central authorities about their cases, and defiantly returned to their homes and farms.

"I'm not giving in. It's my land," said Arr Ti, who was asked in 2006 to leave her orchard, which she has owned since 1982. The army told her it was confiscated to build a telecommunications tower, but nothing has been built so far.

Land grabs have become so politically contentious that Burma's military-backed parliament set up the Farmland Investigation Commission in 2012, tasked with scrutinizing land grabs.

"In just under two years, the commission has received more than 30,000 cases. Of these, only two-thirds have been heard, and in fewer than 1,000 – a mere 4 percent – has it ruled that compensation is justified," wrote Namati, an international NGO working on land rights in an editorial.

Many are hoping that the new NLD-led government will keep the promises made in its election manifesto, which include fair resolution of disputes, establishing land tenure security and support for the landless.

It also says the party would "strive, in accordance with the law, to ensure the return to farmers of illegally-lost land, and payment of compensation and restitution" and "defend against illegal land confiscation practices".

Dr. Khun Win Thaung is an NLD lawmaker in the Upper House representing Kachin State Constituency (11). The former veterinarian lost his government job in the 1988 protests and spent five years in jail. He said his job gave him a unique understanding of the struggles farmers face.

"Farmers are our benefactors and I'm aware of the suffering they have endured. We will try our best to resolve these land issues," he told Myanmar Now.

Daung Nan and her husband, La Ban Khan Phan, have begun to prepare their land again, while keeping up the fight to save it from becoming a grazing ground. They plan to grow rice this time, in line with the authorities' edict that slow-growing crops were not allowed within the grazing ground.

"If we haven't made such a fuss, we would've lost all this land to the Chinese company," said Khan Phan, his hands on the wooden stakes that once fenced off his land.

This story first appeared on Myanmar Now.

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Deal Reached to End Indian Caste Protests

Posted: 22 Feb 2016 09:30 PM PST

Demonstrators from the Jat community sit on top of a truck as they block the Delhi-Haryana national highway during a protest at Sampla village in Haryana, India, February 22, 2016. (Photo: Reuters / Adnan Abidi)

NEW DELHI — Members of a rural Indian caste reached a deal late on Monday to end their protests that paralyzed the north Indian state of Haryana and cut water supplies to Delhi's 20 million residents, a protest leader and a police source said.

A Jat community leader said protesters had reached an accord with state and federal leaders and would clear road blockades and end their agitation, in which 16 people have been killed and more than 150 injured.

"The government has promised to meet our demands and we have promised our full cooperation," Ramesh Dalal, convener of the Jat Arakshan Andolan (Jat Reservation Movement), told Reuters.

Dalal said he had appealed to the entire Jat community, which makes up around a quarter of the population of Haryana, to return home after staging state-wide protests to demand more government jobs and college places.

A senior police officer said that state leaders had persuaded the Jats to call off their protests. "Our challenge is to keep the law and order situation under control," the officer said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Days of rioting and looting by Jats had challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of better days for Indians who elected him in 2014 with the largest majority in three decades.

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North Korean Officer: Tensions Rising on DMZ

Posted: 22 Feb 2016 09:23 PM PST

A South Korean security guard stands guard on an empty road which leads to the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, South Korea, February 11, 2016. (Photo: Reuters / Kim Hong-Ji)

PANMUNJOM, North Korea — Tensions have increased significantly along the Demilitarized Zone since North Korea's recent nuclear test and rocket launch, a North Korean military official told The Associated Press on Monday, adding that while he could not comment on operational details, "the reality is that it is touch and go."

Though parts of the world's most fortified border can seem like a tourist trap, drawing throngs of camera-happy visitors on both sides every year, to the military-trained eye the Cold War-style standoff along the 257-kilometer (160-mile) DMZ—established when the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty—is an incident waiting to happen.

That's now truer than ever, the North Korean officer said, as tensions are escalating between Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington. Thousands of US troops are deployed in South Korea and units based around the DMZ have the motto "Be Ready to Fight Tonight."

"People come here and they think it's like a resort. But if you know it better, you know how dangerous it is," Lt. Col. Nam Dong Ho of the North Korean People's Army said in Panmunjom, the truce village where the armistice was signed.

Nam said tensions have increased significantly since the nuclear test in January and rocket launch earlier this month. "Something could happen at any time," he said.

To stand on the North Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone is almost otherworldly.

After crossing through military checkpoints and passing roadside concrete structures rigged to detonate and keep any vehicles from passing—defenses that are also common in the South—the air is peaceful and fresh, and birds can be heard chirping as they fly over a carefully manicured landscape dotted with rock monuments and meticulously maintained historical buildings.

But closer to the Demarcation Line that marks the actual border, soldiers stand rigidly on guard, armed and intimidating, often just a few steps away from their South Korean counterparts.

On Monday, the surreal feeling at the Demarcation Line was heightened by the absence of anyone—soldiers or civilians—visible on the South's side.

South Korea halted tours to its side of the DMZ the day after the Jan. 6 nuclear test, when it also announced it would resume cross-border propaganda broadcasts, which have in the past brought strong recriminations from North Korea. The tours have gradually resumed. A popular observatory where people can catch a glimpse into the North via binoculars was set to reopen Tuesday.

Along with restarting the broadcasts, South Korean President Park Geun-hye responded to the North's nuclear test and launch by shutting down a joint industrial park in Kaesong, a city just north of the DMZ, and telling the South Korean National Assembly that if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un doesn't change his ways his regime will surely collapse—predictably outraging the North.

North Korea reacted by putting the industrial park under military control, cutting off emergency hotlines with Seoul and—through its state-run media—accusing Park of being a traitor and a "senile granny."

"I don't even want to utter her name," Nam said. "I'm just a soldier so I don't know how the situation has changed. But as the Kaesong industrial zone has been totally closed by South Korea, our people and army are getting more enraged."

Nam said the broadcasts cannot be heard in Panmunjom during the day, which he suggested was because the South doesn't want them to be heard by South Korean tourists.

"But when it's quiet, late at night, you can hear them here," he said.

North Korea says it is developing nuclear weapons for self-defense and has the sovereign right to launch satellites as part of a peaceful space program. But both are generally seen as violating longstanding United Nations resolutions. The UN Security Council is still discussing its response, but the United States, Japan and South Korea have already announced new sanctions on the already-heavily sanctioned North.

The standoff is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Keeping its own military profile high, the United States flew four stealth F-22 fighter jets over South Korea and reaffirmed it maintains an "ironclad commitment" to the defense of its ally after the rocket launch. Last month, it sent a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber over South Korea following the North's nuclear test.

South Korea and the United States are expected to hold large-scale war games next month.

South Korea's defense minister has said about 15,000 US troops will take part in the annual exercises, double the number Washington normally sends. The two countries have also begun preparatory talks to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system in South Korea.

That is strongly opposed by neighboring powers China and Russia, since the radar would allow Washington to reach well into their territory as well.

Nam, the North Korean officer, said he remains focused on his duties. But he added that, now that North Korea says it has an H-bomb—a claim disputed by some outside experts—the US might be better advised to focus on negotiating a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War.

"On the international stage, the US talks about peace," he said. "But it should not interfere in the affairs of other countries."

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US Wants Leadership Role for India in Asia-Pacific

Posted: 22 Feb 2016 09:16 PM PST

A ship (top) of the Chinese Coast Guard is seen near a ship of Vietnam Marine Guard in the South China Sea, May 14, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Nguyen Minh)

NEW DELHI — India's leadership is sorely needed in the Asia-Pacific region, and the United States is prepared to cooperate with India "as never before" on the high seas, a top US diplomat said Monday.

The US ambassador to India, Richard Verma, said the cooperation was not aimed at China, even though Washington sees the presence of Chinese missiles in the South China Sea as evidence of the militarization of the area.

He also said US Defense Secretary Ash Carter will return to India in April for an unprecedented third visit in less than a year.

"I hope that in the not-too-distant future the United States and Indian navy vessels steaming together will become a common and welcome sight throughout Indo-Pacific water," Verma told a group of Indian journalists.

The ambassador said ties between the militaries of the United States and India were becoming increasingly close.

"Our offers to provide Indian forces with Apache attack helicopters—the most advanced helicopter in the US inventory—Chinook heavy lift helicopters and M777 howitzers are akin to our defense relationships with our closest NATO allies," he said.

China accuses the US of militarizing the Asia-Pacific region, saying patrols by US Navy vessels and military aircraft have escalated tensions.

Other countries in the region have welcomed the US presence as China claims the South China Sea as its domain.

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