The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Vendors, Officials Debate Future of Mandalay’s Mingalar Market
- In Shan State, New Water Sources Combat an Old Scourge
- Blasts Shake Kachin State as Burma Army Takes High Ground
- Rehabilitation Planned for Taungthaman Lake and U Bein Bridge
- Arakan State’s Internally Displaced Left Out in the Cold
- Burma’s Kanbawza Bank to Open Rep Office in Thailand
- ‘Negligence’ Cited as Deadly Explosion Rocks Mongla
- New Bodies Formed on Land Disputes, Other Pressing Matters
- North Korea Willing to Reconcile Unless Seoul ‘Opts for War’
- 10 Bodies Found, 31 Builders Missing After China Landslide
| Vendors, Officials Debate Future of Mandalay’s Mingalar Market Posted: 09 May 2016 06:14 AM PDT  Scenes of the aftermath of a powerful fire that ripped through Mandalay Division's Mingalar Market on March 22. (Photo: Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Mandalay officials on Monday met with vendors affected by a fire that tore through the city's Mingalar Market in March, discussing plans for restoring the four-story building. The engineers and technicians who inspected the safety and strength of the burned-out market building concluded that, going forward, it will need major restoration and reinforcement, which would likely take one to two years to complete. "While we can't tell how much restoration will cost, it will be time consuming. We also don't know if the original building foundation can hold new reinforcement," said Khin Maung Tint, one of the inspecting engineers for the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC). According to the committee's suggestions, there are two options: either demolish the old building and build a new one, or do major restoration work that would include reinforcing what remains of the building's structure with additional beams and other measures. However, the committee cautioned that the original building's foundation is not strong enough to ensure safety in the event of a disaster, such as an earthquake or another fire. The MCDC team also said that constructing a new building would require giving tender to a construction company and adding an additional three to four stories to the structure. "The original owners want [to keep only] four stories, but we [the MCDC] do not alone have the budget for restoration. If we hire a company for rebuilding, it will surely add more levels to the building, which the vendors and apartment owners don't want," Khin Maung Tint said. "We'll let [the owners] decide, but they should keep safety in mind." The majority of vendors and apartment owners want to keep the building's restoration work out of the hands of a construction company. "If a company handles reconstruction, it will try to sell our shops and apartments back to us at high prices that we can't afford," said Soe Naing Tun, a Mingalar shop owner. "We hope that the new government won't neglect us as we go through this difficulty." Nandar Myint Thein, a lawyer who lost her office in the fire, echoed that sentiment. "Whether the market is rebuilt or reinforced, we just want our shops and apartments back—without losing any land or having to spend more money. … We've suffered enough." At a City Hall meeting, Mandalay's Chief Minister Zaw Myint Maung and Mayor Ye Lwin said they would respect the vendors' and apartment owners' decision. Ye Lwin also assured them that they would get their property back once the building is ready to reopen. In the meantime, there are plans to open a temporary market at Maha New Sin playground, located a few kilometers from Mingalar Market, in the near future. Some 65 percent of stalls at Mingalar Market were destroyed in the blaze on March 22. The post Vendors, Officials Debate Future of Mandalay's Mingalar Market appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| In Shan State, New Water Sources Combat an Old Scourge Posted: 09 May 2016 06:10 AM PDT               AUNG BAN, Shan State — Never in her life had Grandma Oke seen running water. Like many other people living in the remote village of Pyu Laung in southern Shan State's Naung Taya sub-township, the 75-year-old Pa-O woman had only ever known water from lakes, natural springs in the nearby forest and, of course, falling from the clouds. But these villagers also knew from experience that these sources of water were not particularly reliable, especially in the summer, when each year the specter of a water shortage looms. So last week, when water was pumped from hundreds of meters below ground through the village's first drilled well, Oke grabbed her walking stick and went to witness this spectacle: water coming through pipes. "It was the first time in my life I had seen so much water bursting from pipes. I was overjoyed!" the elderly woman said. Around her at the drilling site, young and old alike were also filled with excitement. A local Pa-O music band was playing a traditional tune to celebrate the "auspicious moment"—villagers knew that from then on they would never have to go another summer without water. "More than 1,600 people from six villages can use this water," said Kyaw Soe, a water project manager at the Brighter Future Myanmar Foundation (BFM), which built the well. The foundation has been drilling wells for villages suffering from water shortages since 2014, collaborating with the government for equipment and expertise. As of April, the foundation had drilled 110 wells, most of which are in southern Shan State and Upper Burma. "There are a few other organizations also drilling. But if you look at the number of wells and the scale of success, BFM simply outperforms them," said Maung Maung Soe, a former assistant director at the government-run Water Resources Utilization Department in Shan State. A Drought on the Highlands Perched at an elevation of about 1,000 meters in Burma's mountainous east, Pyu Laung village is another example of village life in Shan State, the country's largest state, boasting a population just north of 5.8 million people, some 75 percent of whom live in rural areas. At least in part because the Shan State government's development plan has yet to reach every corner of the state, it is customary for people in rural villages to go to nearby lakes to retrieve water for domestic use. When it rains, they collect water in large cement tanks, using the water both for drinking as well as for storage for the usually dryer summer months. Shan State, much like the rest of Burma, has been suffering from an unusually powerful El Niño weather pattern this year. In the southern parts of the state, many springs and wells have already dried up, and the lakes on which local communities rely for domestic and farming purposes have dramatically shrunk since February, leaving many villagers with water access problems that are more dire than they have been in previous years. As a result, Nan Zi, from Kalaw Township's Lel Gaung village, has had to walk 2.5 miles twice a day to reach a creek that still has water, all while carrying two yellow jerry cans. "This summer is worse than the previous one. There are more people than there is water available [at the creek]," said the 46-year-old Pa-O woman. Yet she explained that this water is unclean, meaning that villagers have to purify the water with Alum before they can use it. A mother of eight children, Nan Zi said the 10 gallons of water she collects are not enough for cooking, drinking and for the cattle at home. "Even the cows don't have enough drinking water," she said. In Shan State's Pindaya Township, known for its cooler weather, the gnawing water shortage was also on display, perhaps even more visibly. Its landmark Pote Ta Lote Lake, a source of fresh water for local residents, has radically shrunk this year, leaving water only in the middle of the lake. Than Min Htut, head of the township's general hospital, told The Irrawaddy that nearly 60 percent of residents, with Pindaya Township's population totaling some 80,000 people, have been affected by the water shortage and that it has started to take a toll on people's health, as they have come to rely on any water that is available. In some villages, this means that people have turned to still water from muddy lakes where cattle also quench their thirst. In 2014, a water community water tank in Pindaya Township's Sha Bya village was contaminated, lending anecdotal support to a government census finding from that year saying that 45.3 percent of people in Shan State are without access to clean water. "The most common illnesses here are diarrhea, typhoid and skin infections due to a lack of clean water and personal hygiene. Children are particularly vulnerable," Than Min Htut said. Lending a Helping Hand Charity groups in Shan State have been flooded with requests for help from villages hit by water shortages. Many activists have driven water bowsers to villages to distribute water. Maung Maung Soe, formerly of the Water Resources Utilization Department, said the department could not drill enough wells in the affected areas due to a limited budget. "[The department] only managed to drill one or two wells per year because we've had to share the budget with other departments," Maung Maung Soe said. In the past, donors have also tried to dig wells in the affected areas as a long-term solution to the water shortage problem, but most of these attempts have failed. (Legend has it that during his travels in Shan State, a thirsty Burmese king asked the local people for water. But his request was ignored. Furious at being rebuffed, he cursed the people to a life in which they would never have enough water.) Kyaw Tun, a Rangoon-based geologist, said that it is difficult to extract underground water in Shan State because of the overwhelming presence of limestone and the fact that water can really only be detected through cracks in rocks below ground. "If you don't have the technology made available through geophysics, it's quite painstaking to extract water [in Shan State] because you don't know where the water is. You have to dig well after well until you finally find it," Kyaw Tun said. The Brighter Future Myanmar Foundation took on this financial risk, spending between 7 and 15 million kyats (between US$6,360 and $13,630) for each well. "Out of 110 wells, only 71 have been successful," said BFM project manager Kyaw Soe. Founded by KBZ Bank in 2008, BFM is active nationwide in disaster relief, women's empowerment and community development, though it is mostly known for its attempts to distribute water, drill wells and build community water tanks primarily in southern Shan State. The foundation recently spent $1.5 million to buy its own drilling machine. Nang Lang Kham, director of the foundation, said the project is the brainchild of her father Aung Ko Win, chairman of KBZ Bank, who experienced water shortages as a school teacher in Bawsai, a lead-mining area in southern Shan State. The chairman drilled the community's first well in the summer of 2014, and it still distributes water to the local community there. "Emboldened by a successful first attempt as well as by requests from people from hard-hit villages, we continue doing this work," Nang Lang Kham said. The 27-year-old added that parents in the villages are encouraged to stress to their children not to take water for granted. "I don't want children to have the impression that water just comes from the tap. I want them to value and use this water effectively," she explained. Yet Nang Lang Kham admitted that merely reacting to water shortage by distributing water and drilling wells was not a durable, long-term solution to a perennial problem. "I want to go beyond this and create sustainability," she said, explaining that, for instance, she would like for the foundation to "re-charge" underground water by growing trees and engaging in other forms of environmental conservation with similarly like-minded groups. While the foundation primarily focuses on rural areas, its projects have sought to create ripple effects in cities such as the Shan State capital Taunggyi, where, according to the city administration office, water can only be supplied to 50 percent of the city's population. On a recent evening, people were queuing at the foundation's community water taps that snake around the slopes of the capital's Sein Pan and Shwe Taung quarters, where most of the city's 8,000 residents live. Community leader-turned-Buddhist monk U Khemar Nanda remembers that, back in 2004, similar throngs of people would assemble at his monastery during the summer to retrieve water from the tap connected to a well. Some 12 years later, that tap is now deserted. Since last year, the foundation has been pumping water up from the ground and into community water tanks, then distributing water from the reservoirs to people twice a day. "This is a merit that these donors can be proud of for the rest of their lives. They did something really good for many people," U Khemar Nanda said. For Nang Lang Kham, this merit is tied to a sense of service to the community, which she said is in "the bloodline of KBZ." "A lack of interest in the community where you run your business doesn't do any good. If you want to exist in that community, you yourself have to be in that community," she said. The post In Shan State, New Water Sources Combat an Old Scourge appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Blasts Shake Kachin State as Burma Army Takes High Ground Posted: 09 May 2016 05:58 AM PDT  Members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) ride in the back of a pickup truck near the group's headquarters at Laiza in August 2014. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Burma Army seized two mountain posts from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) over the weekend following two days of fighting, according to local sources in Hpakant, a jade mining boomtown in central Kachin State. Meanwhile, at least six bomb blasts were reported in Hpakant on Sunday, according to Thet Zaw Oo, a town police officer, who said no one was injured. The perpetrators of the bombings remain unknown. Other sources reported one injury but no deaths. "In April, we detained seven ethnic Shan whom we suspected of trading drugs," said Lt-Col Naw Buu, a KIA commander in Hpakant. "We released them on May 3, but the Burma Army was still upset with us for that. That's why they attacked us." The mountain outposts are at the vanguard of a line of defenses protecting the KIA's regional headquarters. According to KIA sources, the Burma Army's battalion was still two miles of rough, mountainous terrain away from the group's stronghold, and the fighting was ongoing. The sources, however, were unable to confirm the casualty figures for either the Burma Army or the KIA. The weekend hostilities mark the first time fighting has broken out between the Burma Army and the KIA since the new National League for Democracy (NLD) government took power at the end of March. But Hpakant is no stranger to war; in 2011 and 2012, large-scale fighting displaced 90,000 ethnic Kachin as a 17-year ceasefire between the government and KIA broke down. The Burma Army has continued to fight the KIA and other ethnic armed groups in Shan, Kachin and Arakan states despite pledges from the new civilian government to bring peace to war-weary Burma. The NLD has announced that it intends to host an inclusive peace conference, though exactly which ethnic armed groups will be eligible to attend remains unclear. The KIA is one of many groups that did not sign last year's Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, which was criticized for excluding many of the country's most active armed groups. The NLD has not set a timetable for the peace talks, but State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has been quoted as saying she hopes to convene the dialogue within the next two months. The post Blasts Shake Kachin State as Burma Army Takes High Ground appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rehabilitation Planned for Taungthaman Lake and U Bein Bridge Posted: 09 May 2016 04:33 AM PDT  U Bein Bridge, which stretches across Mandalay's Taungthaman Lake. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Rehabilitation efforts and restoration work are planned for Mandalay's famed Taungthaman Lake and U Bein Bridge, according to the local committee tasked with maintaining the area, which is a major tourist draw. The committee said it is considering reopening a dike that holds water in Taungthaman Lake year-round, affecting the local environment and the world's longest teak bridge. "As experts have suggested, we are considering letting the water flow freely," said Than Myint, chairman of the committee. "However, the process is still under negotiation with the irrigation department." In the past, Taungthaman Lake was a natural reservoir that would fill during monsoon season along with the Irrawaddy River's rising water levels, and see waters recede in the summer months. However, under military rule, authorities in the 1990s ordered that a dike be built to control the water flow, creating a year-round lake. The lake has been used for commercial fishing since 1989, but over the years, untreated wastewater from a nearby industrial zone has increased water pollution, to the detriment of its fish stocks and the broader ecosystem. Over the years, adapting to a kind of land-grab via watery encroachment, farmers became fishermen, boatmen and construction workers. Local farmers, who haven't worked their lands in years, now hope to be able to return. "In the past, we farmed in winter and summer, while fishing and working as boatmen in monsoon season. Since our lands went underwater, and we were unable to fish because the lake became a fish farm, we could only work as boatmen," said Pho Mya, one such farmer. "If this project happens, we will be the happiest people when we are able to work our land again," he said, adding that although he earned money as a boatman, he has never been able to match what he made planting his own crops. Experts suggest that not only will free flowing water revive the seasonal flora and fauna of the area and allow the farmers to work their land again; it will also slow the decay of U Bein Bridge. Decay of the wooden bridge has accelerated in recent years due to its prolonged exposure to the lake's waters. The 160-year-old bridge is undergoing repairs, and some of its rotten columns and floorboards have been replaced, but much compromised teakwood remains. Myo Thit, divisional minister of the Ministry of Environmental Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources, visited the region on Saturday and said he would rehabilitate the lake and its bridge without affecting the environment or culture of the area. "It is a time-consuming project because the region was affected for decades," he said, adding that he would work alongside the local government departments involved in the region. "For example, we will work with the Mandalay Municipal Department on the waste water flowing from the industrial zones, in order to clean up the lake," he added. There have also been suggestions to set visiting hours on the bridge, limit crossings on holidays and collect fees, but no decisions regarding these proposed regulations have been made. "Because thousands of visitors cross the bridge, especially on holidays, concerns about the strength of the bridge have been highlighted," said the minister. "We can't just do what we want; we have to think about the visitors who want to cross this legendary bridge," he added. During the most recent Burmese New Year holiday, about 300 people visited the region, according to the conservation committee. The post Rehabilitation Planned for Taungthaman Lake and U Bein Bridge appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Arakan State’s Internally Displaced Left Out in the Cold Posted: 09 May 2016 04:00 AM PDT  Internally displaced Arakanese civilians in Yoe Chaung village, part of Kyauktaw Township in Arakan State. (Photo: Hla Htay) RANGOON — On April 16, celebrations for the Buddhist New Year's Water Festival were being held around Arakan State. Music blared throughout towns and villages, and the people ate, drank and merrily splashed water on each other. But for thousands of Arakanese, the festivities were cut short by the sound of gunfire and explosions. Fighting between the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed organization, and the Burma Army last month engulfed villages in four townships, around 100 miles north of the state capital Sittwe. Thousands were forced from their homes, and at least 1,500 remain displaced, living in monasteries or other temporary shelters. With more violence breaking out Monday, the displaced people remain reluctant to return home, and a humanitarian crisis is brewing, which activists say is being ignored by international and domestic relief organizations. Local volunteer groups and civil society organizations (CSO) have been providing food and blankets, but due to poor funding, they are worried that the additional challenges posed by the coming rainy season may stretch their resources to the breaking point. Wai Hun Aung, a relief worker for the Wunlark Development Foundation, has been visiting the four townships—Rathedaung, Buthidaung, Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun. There he found that some of the displaced people have developed fevers and colds, but his foundation was not allowed to provide any medicine because it had not received approval from the Ministry of Health. "There are many UN and other international organizations based in Sittwe," Win Hun Aung said. "But I haven't seen any support from them going to the internally displaced Arakanese." "I am really shocked by their hesitation in providing aid for the victims," he said. "The UN distributed non-food items such as sleeping mats, cooking utensils, and hygiene kits" on a visit to Kyauktaw on April 26 and 27, Pierre Peron, communications officer from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told The Irrawaddy in an email. According to an assessment by Wunlark, there are more than 1,700 internally displaced people due to the recent conflict. Shelling in the Jungle According to Arakan Army spokesperson Khine Thu Kha, frequent skirmishes have broken out in the area around Lawrama Peak, a mountain that straddles all four of the affected townships. The Arakan Army claimed that on April 23 and 24 its snipers killed two soldiers and two officers in an ambush on the Burma Army before pulling back into the jungle. On May 1 and 2, a Burma Army battalion began shelling forested areas around Lawrama Peak, and military helicopters conducted reconnaissance operations in the area. The Burma Army may reinforce its troops on the frontline with three more battalions, meaning the Arakan Army could be facing more than 3,000 government soldiers, according to Khine Thu Kha. Kyauktaw residents told The Irrawaddy they heard loud explosions coming from the jungle where the Arakan Army is suspected to have camps. The Burma Army fired artillery randomly into the deep forest in early May, confirmed Khine Myo Tun, spokesman for the Arakan Liberation Army (ALP), an ethnic armed group that signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the previous government, ostensibly ending two decades of fighting with the Burma Army. The Burma Army last week sought to put blame for the recent conflict on the Arakan Army. Union Minister for Defense Lt-Gen Sein Win told lawmakers on Wednesday that the Burma Army, known as the Tatmadaw in Burmese, was "safeguarding the country against all internal and external dangers in accordance with Article 339 of the Constitution," state media reported. The minister painted the Arakan Army as a threat to democracy and instigator of the recent hostilities. "His claims are the same as the ones the military regime used. It shows they haven't changed yet," Khine Thu Kha said. "In contrast, the civilian government consistently emphasizes democracy and a federal union as their top priorities, things the Tatmadaw still neglects." Last week, the Union Parliament discussed a proposal to respond to the conflict, but lawmakers opted largely to defer the matter, saying the Arakan Army would be invited to the broader, nationwide peace negotiations expected to be convened by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi in the next few months. "The Parliament, which reflects the voices and wishes of people, has neglected the proposal on internal peace and national reconciliation; it has ignored the stance of the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army and the demands on behalf of Arakanese people," an Arakan Army statement responding to lawmakers' deliberations read. "The Tatmadaw has threatened us openly in the Parliament and appears to be forcing the entire Arakanese people onto the path of armed revolution while pushing them away from the Union." Captives, Casualties and Alliances Last week in Naypyidaw, military lawmakers told The Irrawaddy the Arakan Army supported the Kachin and Kokang ethnic armed organizations in their fight with the Burma Army, and had launched unprovoked attacks against the Burma Army in Arakan State. The Arakan Army's communications officer denied the assertion that they had been attacking Burma Army troops without provocation, and declined to comment on the size and location of the Arakanese group's forces. In a recent interview with the Democratic Voice of Burma, Arakan Army leader Tun Myat Naing said Burma Army troops had entered Arakan Army territory, resulting in several minor clashes and villagers fleeing the region. According to the Arakan leader, one of the group's soldiers was killed in the April 16 skirmish, nine were wounded and one was seriously injured. He claimed that Arakan Army forces—fighting on their home turf and accustomed to jungle warfare—were able to inflict 60 casualties on the Burma Army. The Arakan Army head also confirmed the military parliamentarians' statements about their ethnic alliances. "The AA has had joint operations with the Kachin Independence Army, Ta'ang National Liberation Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army," he said. "We have many allies." Khine Myo Tun, Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) spokesperson, speculated that Arakan Army forces were deep in the jungle around Lawrama Peak and that the group counted around 200 soldiers within its ranks. Law of the Jungle Despite the ALP having signed the ceasefire pact with the previous government, its relationship with the military has grown tense. On April 24, the ALP issued a statement alleging the Burma Army committed war crimes and violated the Geneva Convention by forcing locals to serve as porters and landmine sweepers. Arakan States' minister of Security and Border Affairs, Col. Htein Lin, summoned ALP representative to his office, demanding evidence for the accusations. ALP spokesperson Khine Myo Tun provided 15 audio and video files as evidence, but the ministry's response was instead to file charges of defamation against him. "Those files are proof that war crimes were committed," Khine Myo Tun said. The ALP has since deployed people to areas where they claim war crimes have been committed to conduct further investigations and gather more evidence. A villager from one of the areas, U Nga Lone Taung, said he was cut by a broken bottle wielded by a Burma Army soldier, and now he is organizing victims who were forced into labor or physically assaulted by government troops. Help Wanted The Wunlark Development Foundation has submitted a request for funding to the Arakan State government. But they are not holding out much hope because they have been told that the previous state administration had already spent half of the 2016-17 fiscal year budget. "I haven't heard a specified budget earmarked for the internally displaced people,'' said Wunlark's Wai Hun Aung. Min Aung, a National League for Democracy-appointed minister in the Arakan State government, has visited villages and monasteries where the internally displaced are living temporarily. "The villagers are afraid of the fighting," he said. "They will return to their villages when the gunfire and bombing has stopped." There is no plan for relocation yet, but it is expected that the displaced people will be able to eventually return home. "Their villages were not burned down," Min Aung said, confirming that a significant portion of the government's budget had indeed already been spent, although he said it was less than 50 percent. The Arakan State parliament was expected to take up the issue on Monday. Htet Naing Zaw contributed reporting from Naypyidaw. The post Arakan State's Internally Displaced Left Out in the Cold appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Burma’s Kanbawza Bank to Open Rep Office in Thailand Posted: 09 May 2016 02:13 AM PDT  Kanbawza Bank's headquarters on Pyay Road in Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank is to become the first Burmese lender to open a representative office in a foreign country, after the Bank of Thailand issued the firm a license late last month. One of the largest private commercial banks in Burma, KBZ Bank was founded in 1994 in the Shan State capital, Taunggyi. Its parent company, KBZ Group, also has considerable interests in aviation, with its own domestic airline, Air KBZ, and a large majority stake in Myanmar Airways International. "As the largest bank in Myanmar, we can use our extensive knowledge of the country's financial markets to encourage and promote trade, as well as provide advisory services to Thai businesses looking to enter Myanmar," said Than Cho, senior managing director of KBZ Bank. In the 2015-16 financial year, Thai investment in Burma totaling US$236 million was approved, an increase from approximately $165 million in 2014-15. Bilateral trade between Burma and Thailand over the past five years has been worth $6.8 billion, according to Than Cho of KBZ. However, KBZ Bank still awaits Thai government approval before it can open a branch office to provide banking services—the next step envisaged. "I don't know how long it will take," said Than Lwin, an advisor to KBZ Bank. "[Procedures] are different from one country to another. In the case of Thailand, I think it will be swift. It is a bit slow in Singapore." KBZ Bank has applied to also open representative offices in Singapore and Malaysia. "Since we are doing border trade with [Thailand], I hope [Thai authorities] will grant a license quickly," Than Lwin said. "It is likely the branch will be opened within the year if things go well." Than Lwin also said he hoped that KBZ Bank's opening of a branch in Thailand would aid the sending home of remittances for some 3 million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand. In the past, private Burmese banks have made arrangements with banks in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore with an eye on remittances from Burmese migrant workers. However, most migrant workers still prefer informal systems of money transfer—such as the hundi system—involving shadowy networks of brokers stretched across the respective countries, partially due to a legacy of distrust in Burma's formal banking sector. KBZ Bank and its chairman Aung Ko Win formerly faced Western sanctions for links to senior members of Burma's former military junta. However, the lender is currently ranked highly on the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business (MCRB) transparency index, and has been on Burma's official list of top taxpayers for four consecutive years. The post Burma's Kanbawza Bank to Open Rep Office in Thailand appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘Negligence’ Cited as Deadly Explosion Rocks Mongla Posted: 09 May 2016 12:58 AM PDT  A plume of smoke rises following an explosion at a munitions warehouse on Saturday in Shan State's Mongla Township. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) An explosion at a National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) munitions warehouse in Shan State's Mongla, along the Sino-Burmese border, killed two people and injured six others on Saturday morning, according to the non-state armed group, but locals speculate that the casualties could be significantly higher. The explosion happened at Border Post 218, more than 50 miles away from the closest Chinese border town, Daluo, said Kyi Maung, a spokesman for the NDAA. He said the six injured people had been sent to a Mongla hospital for treatment. The explosion, which should not have happened, was due to his men's carelessness, Kyi Maung added. "[The warehouse] is where we store munitions used for mining and road construction," he said. "In addition to our negligence, the weather was hot and the blast was strong. It greatly affected us and our neighbors." Some Mongla residents told The Irrawaddy they estimated about 10 people had died and nearly 40 were wounded. On top of the injuries, nearby houses, hotels and restaurants were damaged. One Mongla resident described the explosion as massive, an assertion seemingly corroborated by photos of a large plume of smoke rising from the blast site. "Glass windows in houses one mile away shattered because of the shaking," he said, adding that many people died because of the explosion, but outsiders had not been able to go to the area since it is controlled by NDAA troops. The NDAA said it would investigate the explosion and action would be taken, because on top of the damages and injuries suffered, rations for the troops were also lost. Kyi Maung said China had offered some relief because a few Chinese tourists were among the injured. Chinese tourists frequent the town, long known as a haven for gambling, animal trafficking and prostitution, and he estimated that about 3,000 Chinese visitors were there on Saturday at the time of the explosion. The NDAA is a non-state armed group that split from Burma's Communist Party in 1989. It was granted a self-administered zone in eastern Shan State under the 2008 Constitution. The group signed a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the previous government in 2011, but is not a signatory to the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement. The post 'Negligence' Cited as Deadly Explosion Rocks Mongla appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| New Bodies Formed on Land Disputes, Other Pressing Matters Posted: 08 May 2016 11:39 PM PDT  President Htin Kyaw arrives for a dinner reception following a swearing in ceremony in Naypyidaw on March 30, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's President Htin Kyaw has formed nine new committees and commissions, including a National Planning Commission, over which he will preside, and a committee to oversee the country's protracted land disputes, chaired by the ethnic Chin Vice President Henry Van Thio. According to a statement from the President's Office, the National Planning Commission was formed on Thursday to scrutinize state projects and joint ventures with the private sector, assessing project feasibility, implementation and the prevention of budgetary waste. It can also make suggestions and issue approvals or rejections on projects proposed by ministries and local governments. Chaired by the president, the commission includes Burma's two vice presidents, all 20 Union-level ministers, the attorney-general, accountant-general, and the chief ministers of all 14 states and divisions. Among the new bodies, the new National League for Democracy (NLD) government also formed a Central Review Committee on Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands on Thursday to address Burma's complex legacy of land confiscation and the dispossession of impoverished farmers. It will be chaired by Van Thio, one of Burma's two vice presidents. He is an NLD member who was elected to the national Parliament last November prior to taking the cabinet post earlier this year. The committee is tasked with monitoring state and divisional governments' handling of land disputes, and enabling the return of land to dispossessed farmers from government ministries, state-owned enterprises and private companies. The President's Office announcement urged that further land acquisition be postponed until disputes are settled in accordance with the law, noting that the issue of land rights was a priority for the new government. The committee's two vice chairmen are the ministers of Home Affairs and of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. Its members are drawn also from the ministries of Defense, Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Industry, and Construction, and include the chief ministers of all states and divisions and the chair of the Naypyidaw Council. The other newly formed bodies include a National Search and Rescue Committee, a Statistics Committee, a Construction Scrutiny Committee, a Privatization Commission, and a State and Divisional Planning Commission. All are couched within the executive branch, distinct from existing parliamentary committees with similar portfolios. The post New Bodies Formed on Land Disputes, Other Pressing Matters appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| North Korea Willing to Reconcile Unless Seoul ‘Opts for War’ Posted: 08 May 2016 10:10 PM PDT  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the first congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party in 36 years, in Pyongyang on May 8, 2016. (Photo: KCNA / Reuters) PYONGYANG — North Korea's ruling party adopted a resolution on the third day of its first full congress in 36 years to strive toward a more prosperous and modern economy and stressed that it will push for the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula, but warned that if Seoul "opts for a war," its military will mercilessly wipe out all opposition. The resolution was adopted by the congress on Sunday, but foreign journalists brought into the country to cover the biggest political event in North Korea in decades have not been allowed inside the meeting hall to see the proceedings and must rely on the North's state-run media, which has been reporting the events hours later, or even on the following day. A Korean Central News Agency report Monday said the congress was to enter its fourth day after hearing a three-hour speech by leader Kim Jong-un the previous day reviewing the country's situation and progress since the last congress was held in 1980, before Kim was born. In his speech, Kim announced a five-year economic plan, the first one made public since the 1980s, when his grandfather, "eternal president" and national founder Kim Il-sung, was in power. The speech, in which he said North Korea was a responsible nuclear state that will not use its nuclear weapons first unless its sovereignty was threatened, underscores Kim's dual focus on building up the military while trying to kick-start the North's economy, which has seen some growth in recent years but remains hamstrung by international sanctions over its nuclear program. Walking a fine balance between the two, he said the North is willing to develop friendly relations even with countries that had in the past been hostile toward it—a possible overture to the United States. But he made clear that the North has no intention of unilaterally giving up its nuclear program or bending to international pressure aimed at forcing its regime into decline or collapse. Kim said North Korea "will sincerely fulfill its duties for the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and work to realize the denuclearization of the world," but that statement is predicated on other countries—again, mainly the United States—also giving up their weapons, a highly unlikely scenario. The congress is something of a formal inauguration for Kim Jong-un, who became leader after his father's death in 2011. But it also suggests he is more oriented toward working through the party and formal government organs to achieve his goals, unlike Kim Jong-il, who never called a party congress and preferred to work through his own personal network of trusted individuals to get things done. On South Korea, Kim Jong-un stressed the need for talks to ease cross-border animosities and emphasized reunification under a federal system, a decades-old proposal that would largely keep the North's brand of socialism intact that has received no traction with Seoul. "But if the South Korean authorities opt for a war, persisting in the unreasonable 'unification of social systems,' we will turn out in the just war to mercilessly wipe out the anti-reunification forces and achieve the historic cause of national reunification, long-cherished desire of all Koreans," he said. South Korea's Unification Ministry on Monday dismissed Kim's offer for talks as "propaganda" that lacked sincerity. Spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told reporters that talks can resume only when North Korea demonstrates how sincere it is about nuclear disarmament. Though North Korea appears to be making significant progress in developing what it calls a nuclear deterrent, its economy is still recovering from the collapse of the Soviet Union and its East bloc allies and a massive famine in the 1990s. It depends heavily on trade with China and has fallen light years behind its southern rival. Kim identified a number of key areas, including the country's power supply, agriculture and light-manufacturing production, as critical parts of the program. Kim stressed that the country needs to increase its international trade and engagement in the global economy, but didn't announce any significant reforms or plans to adopt capitalist-style marketization. Detailing the economic policy in such a public way demonstrated that Kim is taking ownership of the country's economic problems, something his father avoided as leader. Kim has promised to improve living standards and the focus of the congress on the economy reflects that. But it was also decidedly conservative in its wording—giving no hint that fundamental changes are in the offing on how the state-run economy functions. Market-style business has become more common in North Korea, in large part because of its economic crisis and famine of the 1990s, which made it impossible for the government to provide its citizens with the necessities and forced many to learn how to fend for themselves. But while the realities on the ground have shifted, officials have been reluctant to formally embrace significant reforms as state policy. Even so, the North has given individual enterprises more autonomy in managing themselves so that they can become more efficient. That has led to increased salaries for better-performing workers and, to some extent, increased production on at least some farms, where farmers have more incentive to produce more so that their own take—what's left after meeting government quotas—is bolstered and can be sold in markets for a profit. Still remaining on the agenda of the congress, which gathers more than 3,400 delegates at the ornate April 25 House of Culture, are elections to give Kim the party's top post—he is already its first secretary, and his father posthumously holds the title of "eternal general-secretary"—and for other party leadership positions. Though no date has been announced, and surprises can never be ruled out, the congress was expected to go on for a couple more days. Mass rallies will likely be held to mark its conclusion in a celebratory fashion. The post North Korea Willing to Reconcile Unless Seoul 'Opts for War' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| 10 Bodies Found, 31 Builders Missing After China Landslide Posted: 08 May 2016 09:50 PM PDT  Paramilitary policemen work at the site of a landslide in Sanming, Fujian province, China, on May 8, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — Ten bodies have been found but 31 people were still missing Monday following a landslide at the site of a hydropower project after days of heavy rain in southern China, authorities said. Fourteen people have been injured. Rocks and mud with a volume of 100,000 cubic meters (3.5 million cubic feet) buried an office building and the construction workers' living area at the site in mountainous Taining county in Fujian province early Sunday, according to the county's Communist Party's publicity department. "We were asleep when the mountains began to jolt very strongly and before we knew it, sand and mud were flowing into our room," survivor Deng Chunwu told the official Xinhua News Agency. It said he and three other workers survived by huddling underneath a supporting pole. Their room was pushed a distance of 10 meters (30 feet) by the flowing mud, Deng said. The injured were receiving hospital treatment and in stable condition, Xinhua reported. State broadcaster China Central Television said the injuries included bone fractures. More than 600 rescuers, including firefighters and police, were searching for the missing and attempting to clear sections of roads leading to the site that had been made unpassable by mudslides and flooding, hindering efforts to get heavy machinery through. The site under construction is an extension of the Chitan hydropower station, an affiliate of state-owned Huadian Fuxin Energy Ltd., and was expected to begin operations in August 2017, Xinhua reported. An official at the county department, who gave only his surname, Wei, said by phone that the cause of the landslide was still unclear, but that the area had seen rainfall in the past few days. Heavy rain has affected much of southern China since Wednesday, triggering floods and landslides. Xinhua reported that a 75-year-old woman and her 3-year-old great-grandson were washed away in an overflowing river from Friday to Saturday in Hubei province. Rainstorms had earlier led to the evacuation of more than 1,000 people in Guangxi region, and collapsed a road in Guizhou province that left one person dead and one missing. The post 10 Bodies Found, 31 Builders Missing After China Landslide appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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