Monday, August 8, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine


NLD Expels Township-Level Executive Committee Members in Election Controversy Aftermath

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 08:21 AM PDT

A crowd gathers in Mandalay Division's Yamethin Township on September 19, 2015 to see NLD party leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (Photo: NLD Meiktila / Facebook)

A crowd gathers in Mandalay Division's Yamethin Township on September 19, 2015 to see NLD party leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (Photo: NLD Meiktila / Facebook)

RANGOON – Burma's ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has expelled a dozen township-level central executive committee members in Mandalay Division for reportedly failing to follow rules and regulations during campaigns for the 2015 general election.

The news was relayed by Htun Htun Win, who once had his eye on a Lower House seat, but like all four of the NLD parliamentary candidates contesting in Mandalay's Yamethin Township, he was defeated in the November race. He added that the township's vice-chairman for the NLD, Kyaw Than, was among those removed; the township's NLD chairman, Myo Thein, was already dismissed in November.

Others, including Hla Thaung and Aung Myo Oo—who contested for regional parliamentary seats—also blamed their upset on the practices of the 12-member central executive committee.

Hla Thaung, who contested for Yamethin Constituency (1), went as far as alleging that some of the now-ousted NLD central executive committee members joined rallies of the NLD's military-backed competitor, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), and spread misleading information about their own candidates.

Regional parliamentary candidate Aung Myo Oo said that seven of the township's central executive committee members reportedly convinced village tract level NLD leaders to oppose their own candidates' rallies, and collaborate with members of Buddhist ultranationalist group Ma Ba Tha, who were known to support the USDP over the NLD in the country's election.

In his constituency, Aung Myo Oo says he was banned from campaigning by a local NLD leader, who represented one of an estimated 50 villages that the central executive committee members instructed to give their ballot to other parties.

"At that time, the situation was totally unpleasant. Some villages did not allow me to hold a rally," he said.

Aung Myo Oo also said that he believed the Yamethin Township central executive committee members' dissatisfaction began as early as the process of candidate selection made at the NLD national headquarters.

Han Win Naing, one of the ejected central executive committee members, confirmed as much to The Irrawaddy, adding that the discontent was a "long story" which began before the 2015 election.

Before the candidate selection process, Han Win Naing explained that the Yamethin central executive committee had already formed a campaign committee with 15 senior members who they felt could accelerate support for the party in the election. They traveled to many villages to open local NLD offices. However, the senior Yamethin members were shocked when the NLD's Union-level central executive body in Rangoon did not list them in their selection of local candidates.

"The problem began there. They renewed the committee and members, and then, without any explanation, they cut communication with us," Han Win Naing said, adding that NLD's losses in the township could be attributed to that internal division. However, he dismissed accusations made by losing candidates, such as Aung Myo Oo and Hla Thaung, as "attacks."

Quoting a Burmese proverb, Han Win Naing said that the central executive committee members are "not the kind of men" who would set out to undermine others' efforts.

In recent months, Aung Myo Oo and Htun Htun Win filed a complaint with the Union Election Commission accusing rival USDP members of exploiting issues of race and religion during the campaign period. The final verdict on the case has not come out yet, but a judge has ordered both sides to present their final arguments to the court on August 11.

The post NLD Expels Township-Level Executive Committee Members in Election Controversy Aftermath appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Veteran Activists Call for August 8 to be Burma’s ‘Democracy Day’

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 06:11 AM PDT

A ceremony marking the 28th anniversary of the birth of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising was held on Monday at the Dhamma Piya Monastery in Rangoon. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) 

A ceremony marking the 28th anniversary of the birth of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising was held on Monday at the Dhamma Piya Monastery in Rangoon. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy) 

RANGOON — 88 Generation Peace and Open Society—an activist group led by former student leaders of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising—have called on the government to formally recognize August 8 as Burma's "Democracy Day."

The call was made at a ceremony commemorating the 28th anniversary of the general strike that launched the uprising, held on Monday morning at the Dhamma Piya Monastery in Rangoon.

The 88 Generation statement said that the movement, known as "8-8-88" to mark the date on which it was launched—when hundreds of thousands of people, led by students, hit the streets to call for an end to the 26-year military dictatorship of Ne Win—was of great historic but also symbolic importance to Burmese society.

"The 'four eights' democracy movement occupies a noble place in Burma's political history," the statement said. "We urge the government to officially recognize August 8 as Burma's 'Democracy Day.'"

The events of that day in 1988 culminated in a bloody military crackdown, centered outside Rangoon's City Hall, as protestors converged on Sule Pagoda in the heart of the city.

Estimates of the death toll from the crackdown, as protests extended across the country, go well beyond 3,000, although the figure remains contested—the government claimed only 350.

Min Ko Naing, a former student activist and leading member of 88 Generation, said the uprising should be commemorated on a far grander scale than it is now.

"We want to bow our heads and honor the sacrifices of our fallen colleagues, who died holding our revolutionary peacock flag," he said.

"We want to grandly commemorate the day so that the public, including the generations born since the uprising, know its value," he said.

Tin Oo, patron of the now-ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), attended the commemoration, saying that the 88 Uprising was "an unimaginable revolution."

He said, "Students with no weapons, and only holding pens, took to the streets in a protest demanding an end to the oppressive military dictatorship. They proved that the country needed a multi-party democratic system."

He also encouraged those attending the ceremony to continue fighting for a genuine democratic government.

Activists from 88 Generation and the NLD were joined at the ceremony by members of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), among others who also took part in the uprising.

The SNLD chairman Khun Htun Oo spoke at the ceremony, saying that the public had proved their hunger for democracy 28 years ago, but political leaders have not fulfilled their responsibility to the country.

"It was an act of the public condemning its ruler," he said. "Our goal of democracy has not been fully accomplished even after 28 years."

"An annual commemoration such as this would make us reflect on how much we have fulfilled our responsibilities towards our country," he said.

The post Veteran Activists Call for August 8 to be Burma's 'Democracy Day' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Union Peace Conference Set to Begin on August 31

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 05:57 AM PDT

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, pictured in a photo shared on social media on August 8, 2016. (Photo: Myanmar State Counsellor Office / Facebook)

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, pictured in a photo shared on social media on August 8, 2016. (Photo: Myanmar State Counsellor Office / Facebook)

Burma's Union Peace Conference will begin on August 31, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi announced during a meeting of the conference's central committee in Naypyidaw on Monday.

According to the Facebook page of the State Counselor's Office, during the meeting, Suu Kyi also instructed government ministries and officials to "collaborate" on the tasks of convening the peace conference.

The central convening committee—formed on August 3 by an order from the President's Office—is chaired by the State Counselor, who is also the head of Burma's peace negotiation center. Kyaw Tint Swe, Minister of the State Counselor's Office, is the vice chair of the newly-formed committee, which also includes Union ministers and deputy ministers. Khin Maung Tin, Deputy Minister of the State Counselor's Office, serves as the committee's secretary, and former Lt-Gen Khin Zaw Oo is the joint secretary.

Under the central committee, working committees are also formed with respective ministers and departmental heads. Since May, the new government has formed multiple committees dedicated to peacebuilding, involving a variety of stakeholders.

A series of meetings on the political dialogue framework review and the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee are also scheduled to be held within three weeks of the conference's August 31st start date.

Also on Monday afternoon, Suu Kyi met with Burma Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing at the President's Office. They reportedly discussed issues ranging from a potential ceasefire in Kachin and northern Shan states, to national reconciliation and the rule of law, to preparatory issues related to the upcoming peace conference.

Other meeting participants were Burma Army Vice-Snr-Gen Soe Win, Union Minister for Border Affairs Lt-Gen Ye Aung, Attorney General Tun Tun Oo, peace commission chair Dr. Tin Myo Win, Lt-Gen Mya Tun Oo from the Burma Army commander-in-chief's office, and Lt-Gen Soe Htut, the military attorney general.

The post Union Peace Conference Set to Begin on August 31 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Govt, Rice Federation Prepare Contingency for Paddy Flooding

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 05:01 AM PDT

Flooding in Hinthada Township in Irrawaddy Division on Monday. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)

Flooding in Hinthada Township in Irrawaddy Division on Monday. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The Myanmar Rice Federation, farmers' associations and the Department of Agriculture is preparing to support farmers with seeds and fertilizers, and to monitor water levels, after flooding nationwide has begun to inundate paddy fields.

Attention has been focused on the Irrawaddy Delta, whose 3 million acres of monsoon paddy accounts for a large portion of Burma's rice production.

"We're now monitoring water levels in paddy fields. Paddy is resistant [to current levels] but if water keeps getting higher, paddy will be damaged. We've made preparations for this [potential] loss," said Myanmar Rice Federation spokesperson Ye Min Aung.

In Burma, monsoon paddy is mostly planted between June and August, and is harvested through the cool season, starting from October. Dry season paddy—cultivated in smaller quantities due to the lack of irrigation in many areas—is planted largely between November and December and is harvested from April.

"Recently, paddy fields in Upper Burma have been flooded but our particular concern is the Irrawaddy Delta. Working with the government, we are preparing to provide paddy seed, fertilizer and other necessary things for farmers," Ye Min Aung said.

In flooding last year—caused by torrential rain that peaked in late July and early August—more than 1.3 million acres of paddy were swamped, out of 20 million acres being cultivated across Burma.

At that time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and farmers' associations disbursed paddy seed so that farmers could re-sow their crop before the end of the planting season.

Soe Tun, chairman of the Myanmar Farmers' Association, said that the concern was less with rice production—which was not notably affected last year despite the inundations—but the welfare of individual farmers, many of whom were left with crippling debts.

"Farmers lost many things in their lives," he said. "That's why we're preparing to provide paddy seed to support farmers."

Soe Tun added that increases in rice prices were not a concern, because of adequate rice stores.

Ye Min Aung added that less than 30,000 acres of paddy in Upper Burma had been flooded so far, concentrated in Sagaing and Magwe divisions.

"If we compare this to nation-wide paddy acreage, it's not that much, but if the Irrawaddy Delta is flooded, it would have serious implications for rice production this year," he said.

Htin Lin, a resident in Nyaungdon Township of Irrawaddy Division, said the Irrawaddy River had swollen this week near the town; paddy fields in villages by the river have started to flood.

"Farmers can do nothing but wait and see what will happen," he said.

Ye Min Aung said that the Myanmar Rice Federation and the government need to actively prevent rice traders from playing the market during times of floods.

"So far, rice stores for local consumption are sufficient," he said.

Last year, despite the floods, 1.3 million tons of rice were exported during the 2015-16 fiscal year, ending in March. The Myanmar Rice Federation says it expects 1.5 million tons to be exported over the current fiscal year.

The consequences of last year's flooding were believed to have been more indirect. The World Bank put economic growth at 7 per cent for 2015-16, against a projected mid-term growth average of 8.2 percent. Floods were blamed for much of the shortfall.

The post Govt, Rice Federation Prepare Contingency for Paddy Flooding appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Three More Children Succumb to Measles Outbreak in Naga Region

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 04:43 AM PDT

 A medic administers a vaccination to a child in the Naga Self-Administered Zone as members of the community look on, in a photo shared on social media on August 5, 2016. (Photo: Arr Hay / Facebook)

A medic administers a vaccination to a child in the Naga Self-Administered Zone as members of the community look on, in a photo shared on social media on August 5, 2016. (Photo: Arr Hay / Facebook)

Three more children reportedly died over the weekend in the eastern region of the Naga Self-Administered Zone after contracting measles, raising the number of victims of the recent outbreak to 41.

"The total number of those who have died has reached 41," said Thein Zaw, the assistant director of the Naga Self-Administered Zone, who confirmed that the once-mysterious illness has been identified as measles. "Now, we almost have control over the situation."

Thein Zaw told The Irrawaddy that approximately 100 people have been infected by the disease from two townships, Lahe and Nanyun; the vast majority are from Lahe, with 15 patients reportedly from Nanyun.

On August 5—after media, including The Irrawaddy, reported on the outbreak, relaying what was locally perceived as an ineffective governmental response—authorities from the Naga Self-Administered Zone sent around 20 medics to the Lahe village of Thankholama to treat the victims and identify the illness. After locals tested positive for measles, the medics began administering vaccines to villagers on Saturday, August 6; it was in Thankholama where the disease first appeared in June.

"The medics gave out vaccines in the villages where the disease broke out, and even gave vaccines to [other] villagers who stay in the nearby area," Thein Zaw said.

Lahe Township's Naw Aung Sann, the general secretary of the Council of Naga Affairs, said that of the three children who passed away on August 6 and 7, one was two years old and another was a two-month-old baby. Both victims were from Thankholama village, where The Irrawaddy reported on August 5 that most of the community's 50 households had been affected by the outbreak. At the time of reporting, no information was available about the third young victim.

Naw Aung Sann said that both the medics and the authorities had stopped villagers from traveling outside of their communities, lest they possibly spread the disease to other unvaccinated individuals.

The rural areas of Lahe and Nanyun townships have little to no health care or transportation infrastructure, and are incredibly difficult to access. The Naga Self-Administered Zone, populated by the Naga ethnic group, is considered one of the poorest and most under-developed areas in Burma.

"The government has not been able to provide enough medics, and no one wants to stay in these areas, as it is hard to live and travel there. So the local people have poor knowledge of health care," Naw Aung Sann explained.

"If the government could have provided vaccines on time, measles would not have broken out," he added.

Measles is caused by a virus and spreads when an infected individual coughs or sneezes, making it highly contagious. It is widely prevented by the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is delivered in infancy. According to the World Health Organization, high rates of vaccination worldwide have greatly reduced the number of outbreaks, but deaths from measles still occur throughout Africa and Asia. Treatment includes supportive care, such as rehydration and control of the patient's fever.

The post Three More Children Succumb to Measles Outbreak in Naga Region appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi to Visit China Next Week

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 02:41 AM PDT

Burma's Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi meets with with China's Minister of State Security Geng Huichang in Naypyidaw on July 8. (Photo: Global New Light of Myanmar)

Burma's Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi meets with with China's Minister of State Security Geng Huichang in Naypyidaw on July 8. (Photo: Global New Light of Myanmar)

RANGOON — Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's state counselor and foreign minister, is scheduled to visit China for four days from next week, according to the President's Office.

President's Office spokesman Zaw Htay confirmed that Suu Kyi would travel to China on Aug. 17. He declined to offer further details, saying that more would be announced soon.

China's Minister of State Security Geng Huichang invited her to visit China during a meeting in the Burmese capital of Naypyidaw on July 8.

It will be her first foreign visit since her name appeared on a (unverified) "hit list" sent to police in Malaysia on August 1, which purported to be from the Islamic State terrorist group.

Since the National League for Democracy (NLD) formed a government at the end of March, Suu Kyi has made two foreign trips: to Laos in May and to Thailand in June.

As NLD chairperson and leader of the opposition, Suu Kyi visited Beijing in June 2015 at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party, meeting with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

Suu Kyi has accepted an invitation from President Barack Obama to visit the United States before his presidency ends. There has been speculation that the trip would coincide with the session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.

Suu Kyi's decision to visit China before the United States will be framed within the broader challenge her administration faces of rebalancing relations with China, on one side, and the West, on the other.

China is Burma's foremost trading partner and a key source of foreign direct investment. Large Chinese-backed energy and resource-extraction projects in Burma—most prominently the Myitsone Dam in Kachin State—have been met with sustained popular resistance in recent years. The NLD government has yet to formulate a clear policy towards them.

The post Suu Kyi to Visit China Next Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi Happy With Workload and ‘Full of Vigor’: Win Htein

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 01:04 AM PDT

Aung San Suu Kyi, a woman of many offices. (Photo: Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

Aung San Suu Kyi, a woman of many offices. (Photo: Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

NAYPYIDAW — State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi is not overburdened with steering the cabinet and performing her various high-level executive functions, National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesperson Win Htein told The Irrawaddy.

Win Htein was speaking in response to concerns flagged in a report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group released at the end of last month: that Suu Kyi is shouldering an overwhelming array of responsibilities and must learn to delegate more authority, and consult more widely, in pursuing her reform agenda.

"I don't think she feels pressured by her workload because she is merely applying now what she has learned throughout her life. She always seems to be at ease whenever I see her. Sometimes, she even cracks jokes," said Win Htein.

As state counselor, foreign minister, NLD chairperson, and chair of the high-level committees overseeing the peace process with ethnic armed groups and the frozen religious conflict in Arakan State, leadership on Burma's most pressing crises and reform initiatives falls on Suu Kyi.

Win Htein said Suu Kyi is not only capable of meeting all her responsibilities but she is always found to be happy while doing so; the 71-year-old is "full of vigor despite her age."

"It seems that she made a resolution to stay healthy. She is even healthier than me," said Win Htein, who is known to meet Suu Kyi at least two or three times a week.

Regarding the appearance of Suu Kyi's name on an (unverified) "hit list" sent to police in Malaysia on August 1, which purported to be from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, Win Htein reiterated earlier government claims that Suu Kyi's personal security would be increased.

"IS has made a threat, but the government's security apparatus has taken responsibility for her [safety]. This makes us feel relieved. But we [the NLD governing executive] still have responsibility for her security," he said.

All the security agencies in Burma—including the police—and the government departments related to defense and security are under the control of the military, in accordance with the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, without civilian oversight.

At a socio-economic development forum held in Naypyidaw on Saturday, Win Htein admitted that the NLD government had been unable to make significant progress in improving Burma's economy in the first four months of its administration.

However, he cited key differences between the conduct of the current government and its military-backed predecessor: both the central and the state and division governments are "not corrupt," and the government "does not oppress the people at all."

Those appointed by the NLD government "try not to make mistakes," Win Htein said. "We monitor them. We are not hesitant to correct or replace them if they make mistakes, even if their intentions are good. This is the policy adopted by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he told reporters.

He added that some office-holders have "deviated" from the NLD's goals: "some become arrogant and some seek popularity. Whenever we see such things, we note them down and try to correct them."

The post Suu Kyi Happy With Workload and 'Full of Vigor': Win Htein appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Day a New Burma was Born

Posted: 07 Aug 2016 06:55 PM PDT

Protesters gather near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon during the nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988.

Protesters gather near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon during the nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988.

Exactly 28 years ago, on Aug. 8, 1988, a popular democratic uprising took off in Rangoon that would sweep the country but end with a bloody crackdown by the Burma Army. In this article, which first appeared on Aug. 8, 2012, participants in the uprising recall the heady days of revolt and its tragic ending.

RANGOON — When he woke up early on a drizzling Monday morning in August 24 years ago, Sanny, then 21 years old, probably had no idea that the day would end in tragedy. He was in high spirits when he left home at 7:30 to attend a downtown demonstration. He wasn't worried about a thing—just very excited.

It was August 8, 1988, or "8-8-88" as it's widely known, when hundreds of thousands of Burmese from all walks of life joined a popular protest in the former capital Rangoon to topple the dictator Ne Win's single party rule that had oppressed them for 26 years.

"Even today I have no regrets about joining the demonstration at that time. I was doing something I felt I had to do," said the then third-year physics student at Rangoon University, who later received a long prison sentence for his participation.

Twenty-four years later, the day still stands as an important milestone in modern Burmese history—a day that marked the emergence of a full-fledged democracy movement that managed to topple Ne Win's regime, only to see a new junta seize power and spend the ensuing decades relentlessly suppressing its leaders, including Burma's newfound democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi.

It was a day of hope, bullets, blood and tears.

Whenever he thinks about that day, the first thing that comes to Sanny's mind is the huge column of demonstrators shouting anti-Ne Win slogans and the people on both sides of the road who expressed their full support for the protesters.

"The road was packed with people as far as the eye could see. There were countless people lining the sides of the roads, giving us food, drinking water and cigarettes. They said 'May your cause succeed,'" he recalled.

"It made me cry, and what I learned on that day was that people are always ready to be with you when you stand on their side. With that much popular support, I was convinced that we would easily win," he added.

But the military crackdown on thousands of protesters at Rangoon City Hall that night proved he was wrong.

Pyone Cho, a leading member of the 88 Generation Students group, was among the demonstrators near the City Hall a few minutes before the army opened fire.  He was 22 years old at that time, doing his masters degree in geology at Rangoon University.

"Around 11 pm, someone informed us that we were surrounded. The army gave us three warnings to disperse. Then came a sudden blackout and the bullets started to fly in. I was lucky to narrowly escape," he recounted.

Pandavunsa, 55, has a vivid memory of how bloody the crackdown was.

"When they began shooting, I was in total shock. Then two guys near me fell down. So I grabbed them and started to run for my life," remembered the Buddhist monk, who took part in the protest as a member of the Rangoon Young Monk's Organization and was later a leading figure in the monk-led Saffron Revolution in 2007.

"A few minutes later I stopped to find out that the head of the man I carried away was open. His brains were like smashed tofu. The other one, a monk, had been shot in the stomach. I could see his intestines. He was already dead, too," he said.

The next morning, an eerie silence descended on the whole of Rangoon and there was no trace of the previous night's mass killing in front of the City Hall. The number of casualties still remains unknown.

Dr. Tin Myo Win, now the Aung San Suu Kyi-led government's chief peace negotiator, was a surgeon at that time at Rangoon General Hospital, where he treated many wounded protesters.

Although he also has vivid memories of that day and its aftermath, he said he is reluctant to recount them, lest he reignite public resentment over the crackdown and cause any obstacle to the national reconciliation process that Suu Kyi is now working on. He acknowledges, however, that the 8-8-88 uprising has had an indelible impact on the country.

"Nobody can deny that it brought out leaders and players for today's Burmese politics. The uprising opened our eyes to the need for national reconciliation and unity, which are the essential forces to complete our mission that originated 24 years ago," he said.

Pyone Cho said the 88 movement was the mother of all subsequent uprisings, all of which have had only one strong message that still echoes today: People want democratic changes.

"After our repeated demands for change, the government is now doing some reforms. But I have to say, there's a long road to the change we want. Take the Constitution, for example. If we all take part in the reform process, as we did in 1988, we will win," said the 46-year-old ex-political prisoner who has spent nearly 20 years behind bars.

For Pandavunsa, Burmese democracy begins with the 88 movement.

"It was the very first time we Burmese collectively fought against the dictatorship. It was the first time we talked about democracy. Anyone in their right mind knows today's changes are the long awaited results of the 88 uprising," the monk commented.

Tin Myo Win said it was the "88 spirit"—working for the people's interests and having comradeship among protesters—that toppled single party rule 24 years ago.

"If we were able to work together even at that time when the doors to change were closed, why can't we reapply that spirit now, when changes are visible and our goal is in sight?" he said, adding that "the goal is a long way to go."

Meanwhile, the 24th anniversary of the 8-8-88 uprising has revived Pandavunsa's memories of that fateful day.

"I still remember the faces of people on that night. Even in their death, I felt hope for change was written on their faces," said the monk.

"We have sacrificed a lot. I saw comrades die young. I pray for no repetition of that day."

The post The Day a New Burma was Born appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

National News

National News


Military, health officials deployed as disease outbreak spreads through Naga territory

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 12:48 AM PDT

As reports of more deaths filter out of a remote outpost of Sagaing Region, the army has been deployed and civilian volunteers are preparing to go to the scene to render assistance. Yesterday a local MP said the death toll had risen to 40 as a mysterious disease continues to spread.

Defeated ruling party struggles to reassert itself, prepares to revamp leadership

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 12:45 AM PDT

Life on the sidelines is not suiting the former ruling party. After months of struggling with its much-diminished political role and watching former opposition lawmakers steer the government, the Union Solidarity and Development Party is looking to buff its reputation and reboot its image at a party conference later this month.

Activists, employment agencies spar over ‘legal human-trafficking’ claims

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 12:43 AM PDT

Thailand and Myanmar must agree on a migrant worker system that does not functionally result in "legal human-trafficking", activists said at a press conference last week.

Paletwa territorial dispute reignited after Panglong summit

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 12:38 AM PDT

Chin politicians are furious after the head of a nationalist party in neighbouring Rakhine State reopened an old territorial feud amid strides for ethnic unity.

Lists of ‘dos and don’ts’ for tourists coming soon

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 12:13 AM PDT

Tourists behaving badly are going to be put on notice, travel professionals have warned. A series of signboards are to be put up at popular tourist sites urging them to modify their conduct in accordance with local mores.

Govt, civil society to collaborate in providing flood aid

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 12:06 AM PDT

Relief workers from the government are teaming up with local civil society organisations to ensure the most effective spending of emergency funding. Nearly one-quarter of 1 million people are now receiving government assistance after being driven from their homes by flooding.

Dismissals at agricultural machinery factory spark protest

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 12:00 AM PDT

Workers from an agriculture machinery factory at 9 Mile in Yangon Region staged a protest against the Young Investment Group Industry Co Ltd (YIG) yesterday morning, claiming the company had fired nearly all of its employees without cause.

Govt to meet Kokang allies in Mongla today

Posted: 07 Aug 2016 11:50 PM PDT

As a further step toward an inclusive peace process, government negotiators are today headed to Mongla to meet with three allied ethnic armed groups that have not signed a ceasefire.

State counsellor: Education must include critical thinking, less rote memorisation

Posted: 07 Aug 2016 11:43 PM PDT

State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi voiced her support for education reform with a focus on critical thinking over rote memorisation at an Education Promotion Implementation Committee seminar in Nay Pyi Taw last week.

State counsellor to visit China

Posted: 07 Aug 2016 11:39 PM PDT

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will make her first trip to China as foreign minister later this month, a spokesperson confirmed yesterday.

Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News


Learning to share: About low hanging fruits

Posted: 08 Aug 2016 12:14 AM PDT

From 3-6 August, I went to attend a marathon series of workshops and a brainstorming session. Firstly, on the merging of hither to hostile armed forces and then on the current peace process.

The following is what I think will be useful for readers who are concerned with Burma's peace and prosperity. As usual, few personal names will be used so the blame, if there is any, falls only on the writer.

Steve Hege
(Photo: usip.org)
Day One. Wednesday, 3 August 2016.

When the owl says the crow's black
The crow finds fault with the owl's protruding eyes
(Shan proverb)

The workshop's title is "Building Decentralized Security Systems in Myanmar," a continuation of last month's "Merging of Former Adversarial Armed Forces." The resource person is Steve Hege, United States Institute of Peace (USIP).

According to USIP website, he has over 15 years of experience working with the UN, international NGOs, think tanks and governments on issues related to security sector reform (SSR) and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), among others.

There are both positive and negative aspects to merging of adversarial forces (as it is with everything elsein this world), he tells us.

The positive side
1.       Difficulty for the two sides to revert to war
2.       No need to surrender to each other. Both sides continue to be able to defend themselves
3.       Employment for all combatants
4.       Symbolizes National Reconciliation and (mutual) forgiveness
5.       Facilitates political negotiations
6.       Fills certain gaps in capacity (In Nepal's case, the armed forces gain terrain skill, which had come naturally to the Maoist guerrillas)
7.       Leads to greater representation and credibility
8.       Better relations with community

At the same time, there are negative aspects that have to be dealt with such as:
1.       Discord and rivalries within security services
2.       Parallel chains of command
3.       Perception of marginalization for former non-state actors who have become subordinate to the army
4.       Undermined professionalism
5.       Other challenges include the government army's typical reluctance to recognize the military ranks of its former opponents, their difference in political ideologies/mindsets, and the former guerrillas attachment to their localities. (I remember reading in Barbara Tuchman's March of Folly the British unwillingness to address the George Washington, the American rebels' commander-in-chief as 'General Washington', calling him instead as 'Mr Washington.')
Luckily, there are ways to deal with them, such as joint training, joint study tour, establishing quota for officers training and short time deployment.

Here are some of the input from the participants:
§  Positive discrimination for former guerrillas during the mutually agreed transitional period (For example, high school graduates for Burmans, but middle school graduates for non Burman cadets)
§  Pre-training training for former guerrilla officers
§  New indoctrination (what is derogatorily known as brainwashing) curriculum

Before the day ends, Steve asks us to do some thinking exercise:
§  What are Tatmadaw's core interests?
§  What are its fears?
§  What are its 'low hanging fruits', which it considers no big deal to offer the EAOs?  


So how do the participants respond to them? But that is for tomorrow. 

BREWING DEBATE: Implications of Aung San Suu Kyi's Clarification on Panglong Agreement and Spirit

Posted: 07 Aug 2016 06:49 PM PDT

Aung San Suu Kyi's position has been that Panglong Agreement is not important enough but it's spirit is the propelling factor that has facilitated the making of the Union of Burma and the achievement of independence from the British in 1948.

She had on two occasions, when meeting with the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) signatory Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) in June and as well the non-signatory EAOs of United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) in July, reiterated her position to this line of thinking, which is worrying for the whole spectrum of politically aware ethnic nationalities and straight-thinking Bamar politicians.

What has she actually said on this issue? Let us have a close look at it.

According to the transcript published in SHAN on 4 August, on the occasion of the meeting between the UNFC and Aung San Suu Kyi, on 17 July in Rangoon, Suu Kyi elaborated on Panglong as follows:

"(The question of) whether Panglong convention is to be based on the Panglong Agreement or the Panglong Spirit is too general and not exact. (If we) reread it, the main point is only concerned with the Kachin. In comparison to other ethnic nationalities, paragraph 5, 6 and 9 mentioned exactly only the Kachin. Paragraph 8 mentioned the Shan. In mentioning the Shan it was very general. For example, in paragraph 8: The arrangements accepted in this Agreement are without prejudice to the financial autonomy now vested in the Federated Shan States. Therefore, the word without prejudice could be interpreted in a lot of ways. So, even if we were to go according to the Panglong Agreement, we would be in a condition that we could do a lot of more or less adjustment. This couldn't be a problem for us, if we would like to achieve agreement. My mentioning of Panglong Spirit is meant to (emphasize) unity. But I said we must take (endorse) the spirit, for (in the agreement) only Shan, Kachin, Chin and Bamar were included. Mon, Kayah (Karenni) and a lot were not included. That's why I said to base (the solution) on Panglong Spirit. It is impossible to base on Panglong Agreement, where only Kachin, Chin, Bamar and Shan (are involved). In addition, it is not meant to limit the rights of the ethnic nationalities by not saying (agreeing) accordingly to the Panglong Agreement, but expressively for it is too narrow. To build genuine federal union, we need a more wider scope." 

Her argument is that because of the unity to strive together - Burma Proper, Federated Shan States, Kachin and Chin Hills – for independence, it was achieved and thus the spirit born at the Panglong town is more important than the agreement itself.

Another justification is that since the Karenni, Mon, Karen and Arakan among others were not represented, the agreement is narrow in scope and must be widened, implying that the treaty be cast aside and replace it with a new and more comprehensive one.

Earlier, while she was meeting with the 8 signatory EAOs in Naypyitaw, on 28 June, she literally said: "Questions have been asked, if Panglong convention is meant to address the agreement or the spirit. First of all, it is not only the Panglong Agreement. I want to say it is not the main point. Because at that time, Panglong Agreement was signed due to the necessity to achieve independence. As all ethnic signatories know, only a few (ethnic nationalities) were included and  the excluded ones could ask whether they are left abandoned, if we base (the federal union deliberations) only on the Panglong Agreement."

This argument has irked quite a lot of people and some even interpreted as a contradiction to her late father Aung San – Suu Kyi's late father assassinated on the eve of independence in 1947 -, who was the main protagonist and representative of the Bamar interim government in the historical signing of Panglong Agreement in 1947.

Let us scrutinize these two said arguments of Suu Kyi on whether they are relevant and logical enough.

For the first one, the importance of the unity to achieve independence from the British is a valid argument. But it has to be taken into account with a pinch of salt, that a strong degree of doubtfulness were at all time present during the negotiations, and also the angst that the Bamar would just take over the mantle of the British and overwhelmed them as a new ruler, which has actually proven to be the case, judging from what had happened and has been happening, starting from the time of independence from the British until now.

The secession clause included in the 1947 Union of Burma constitution is a living evidence on how far had the Bamar representative Aung San had gone to woo the ethnic nationalities and alleviate their worries.

Thus the unity achieved in Panglong in 1947 is not a  wholesale doubtfulness free unity that Suu Kyi likes to portray but realpolik at play and a calculated risk involved, from the part of the ethnic nationalities, which turned out to be a wrong decision.

As for the second argument that the other ethnic groups were not included and thus is not comprehensive enough is also not totally true. For Burma Proper or Ministerial Burma as it was then known and represented by Aung San as it's interim government covered all the territories inhabited by Mon, Karen, Arakan and all the others, safe for the Karenni State that was then recognized as an independent political entity by the British. Thus in an official and legal sense, the portion of Burma Proper and all the ethnic groups inhabiting it were all represented by Aung San at the Panglong conference and the agreement signed thereafter.

Vice-President Naw Zipporah Sein, who represented the Karen National Union (KNU) at Mai Ja Yang EAOs' Plenary Meeting from 26 to 30 July, in reply to the query from Karen Information Center (KIC) recently said that the party has agreed, together with all the other ethnic nationalities, regarding Panglong Handbook guidelines. She stressed: "Panglong is directly concerned with large ethnic nationalities like Shan, Kachin and Chin. For the other ethnic nationalities, the Panglong Spirit of rights to self-determination, democracy and equality in building a federal union are included."

Further, she concluded that the points from the Panglong Agreement is identical with the formation of a federal union and thus, the KNU is in agreement with it.
 
Seen from this light, the possible argument that this agreement made in 1947 should be nullified and replace it with a new one is uncalled for and in no way a sound approach.

It is a treaty between ethnic groups and states and has to be treated as such. Downgrading and belittling the treaty won't do any good in trying to achieve national reconciliation.

The argument that out of the nine points in the treaty some of it consisted only the Kachin and Shan issues and were vaguely written is not a sound one, especially in view of disregarding the agreement altogether.

True, part of the agreement also mentioned the immediate remedy of the day, where the Kachin State formation and arrangement concerning Shan State's financial matters were concerned. And fair enough to argue that it is not comprehensive enough, with a far-reaching solution effect that could remedy the woes of present political reality.

But the important point is the part of agreement on autonomy in internal administration, the financial autonomy, democracy and equality, which would lead to the creation of a federal union.

And what is essential is that the Panglong Agreement be treated as a treaty between ethnic groups and continue to build on the sound agreement made and not disregarding or belittling it.

Aung Htoo a renowned lawyer and a keen Burma watcher recently said: "Firstly, there should be only one agreement in the structuring (building) of the union. For example, the 1945 United Nation Charter, 1291 Switzerland's Federal Charter and 1963 Malaysia Agreement, all until today have only one agreement."

He stressed that in building a society there should be only one solid treaty or agreement and won't be logical to draw up another new one. He also pointed out: "If we were to draw up a new agreement in the second Panglong convention – meaning the 21st Century Panglong Agreement - , question will arise if we are going to disregard the first one – 1947 Panglong Agreement."

His argument is that if the first Panglong Agreement is still valid, there is no need to hold second Panglong. For from the second Panglong convention - which normally must declare the invalidity  of the Panglong Agreement first -  another agreement would come into existence. And with the two available agreements, the question of which one is legally valid would also arise. In his opinion, second Panglong or 21stCentury Panglong convention should not be convened. At least, his opinion is that the name Panglong should not be used, to avoid complication.

Whatever the case, regardless of differing opinion, the first agreement of 1947 in Panglong that has paved way for the 1947 Constitution, which in turn had created a new political entity, the  Union of Burma in 1948, should be regarded as a non-alterable basic treaty between ethnic nationalities made on the eve of the British withdrawal from its colonies around the world. And any innovative renovation, based on the said Panglong Agreement, that would widen the scope of nation-building and participation that caters to the wish of all the people inhabiting the country, without losing its original goal should be encouraged, whether it uses the term of Panglong for the gathering or not.