The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Defense To Present Witnesses in Ranong Murder Case
- Ma Thida Receives ‘Disturbing the Peace’ Award
- Daw Aung San Suu Kyi: ‘Lawmakers Can’t be Lawbreakers’
- Teacher Charged with Raping Students in Irrawaddy Division
- Thailand Confirms Two Cases of Zika-linked Microcephaly, First in region
- HRW: US Military Aid Fails Child Soldiers
- Thailand Cracks Down on Migrant Workers
| Defense To Present Witnesses in Ranong Murder Case Posted: 30 Sep 2016 08:02 AM PDT  Three out of four of the migrant workers from Burma accused by Thai police of killing a Thai high school student are pictured after their arrest in 2015. (Photo: Htoo Chit / Facebook) Wednesday, Sept. 28, marked the twelfth Thai court hearing in the case of four Burmese migrant workers accused of murdering a Thai female high school student in Ranong Province on the same day in 2015. According to a report by a foundation supporting migrant worker rights in southern Thailand, it was also the final hearing for the prosecution in the case of the brutal stabbing of Orawee Sampaotong, 17. The next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5, in which the defense will present its own witnesses. After police allegedly found no viable leads in the case, Moe Zin Aung, Zaw Lay, Mang Sane, and Kyaw Soe Win—working nearly 60 miles away in the Kuraburi seaport at the time of the murder—were arrested for the crime nearly one month after it had occurred. They say they were tortured by police for days—through suffocation, beatings, and threats—into confessing. Although the suspects' ages are listed on documents as ranging between 18 and 25, their parents insist that at least two of them are minors at 15 and 16 years old, but had lied about their ages in order to obtain permission to work in Thailand. Htoo Chit is the executive director and founder of the Foundation for Education Development (FED), which has prepared documents, evidence and witnesses for the defense in the ongoing investigation. "We can say that the court hearing looks fair enough, so far, and our defense lawyers are well prepared," he told The Irrawaddy on Friday, highlighting the strength of the defense team's witness list, which includes the suspects' relatives and Thai employers, migrant community leaders, special Thai police, and members of Thailand's National Human Rights Commission. Htoo Chit also emphasized what he feels is some of the strongest evidence—that DNA taken from the crime scene and believed to belong to Orawee Sampaotong's killer, did not match that of any of the four suspects. Kittin Mewutsom, the head of the Ranong hospital where Orawee Sampaotong's death was investigated, testified on Aug. 31 that he did not believe the Burmese workers were involved in the murder. Court hearings are scheduled to continue through November of this year, with a verdict to be expected early in 2017. In the meantime, Htoo Chit and FED are looking to the Burmese government for further support in ensuring that the four Burmese nationals get a fair trial in Thailand, where, he points out, migrant workers are often "scapegoated" for crimes. "We need the Myanmar government's involvement. Related government agencies must collaborate with NGOs, CBOs, and migrant communities which are working on the case," he said, adding that the Burmese government has an obligation "to protect and provide legal assistance to Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand." The case in Ranong has been compared to the high-profile murder of two British backpackers on the Thai island of Koh Tao in September of 2014, in which two Burmese migrant workers were arrested and charged with the crime three months after it had occurred. They were sentenced to death, despite rights groups' objections to police conduct, concerns about the handling of evidence, and abuse of the suspects during the investigation. They remain in prison, and have filed an appeal. Correction: This story originally reported that this was the sixth court hearing in the case; due to the fact two of the accused are legal minors, there are separate court appointments at the youth rehabilitation center where they are held. This increases the total number of hearings to 12 at the time of reporting. The post Defense To Present Witnesses in Ranong Murder Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Ma Thida Receives ‘Disturbing the Peace’ Award Posted: 30 Sep 2016 07:34 AM PDT  Prominent Burmese writer Ma Thida receives the first annual "Disturbing the Peace Award" by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation in New York on September 28. Prominent Burmese writer Ma Thida was awarded the first annual "Disturbing the Peace" award by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation in New York on September 28. The award is given to an outstanding and courageous writer who shares the humanitarian values of the first president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, and who has suffered unjust persecution because of his or her beliefs. A medical doctor, human rights activist and former political prisoner, Ma Thida, is known for her 2012 memoir Sanchaung, Insein, Harvard which was recently translated into English. In 1993, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her activism surrounding freedom of expression and was charged with "distributing unlawful literature." She served more than five years in jail, most of which was spent in solitary confinement, before being released in 1999, reportedly due to poor health and political pressure. While she was detained, she received multiple honors in absentia, including the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award in 1996. "It is said that by nature of vocation, writers are solitary. However, in my opinion, writers cannot be solitary in their thought of creation. Our work is not just about ourselves but about our response to others and to the universe. In creating literature, we might write about one place or time or population, but we usually reflect the nature of humankind to relate to the readers who might not be from that particular place or time or population," she said in a thank you note she posted on Facebook following the award ceremony. "Writers work alone with words, but those words are reflecting one's opinion and thought in response to others or to the universe. That's why I believe as long as a writer's work includes humanity and the nature of humankind, not just one's isolated thoughts, that work can reflect the whole universe, not just one's place and people." Ma Thida, who is the president and director of the literary organization PEN Myanmar, has also been elected to the board of PEN International at the 82nd Pen International Congress held in Spain. The post Ma Thida Receives 'Disturbing the Peace' Award appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Daw Aung San Suu Kyi: ‘Lawmakers Can’t be Lawbreakers’ Posted: 30 Sep 2016 07:22 AM PDT  Burma’s State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gives an address at the opening of the 37th Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in Naypyidaw on Friday. (Photo: Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged members of the region's legislatures to abide by laws during her opening address to the 37th Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) held in Naypyidaw on Friday. "Lawmakers can't be lawbreakers," she said. "They must know the rules and procedures of the parliaments that they serve and also the laws of the land that they may truly be the representatives of the legislative branch of democratic government." She also said cooperation in the Asean region must be across all the pillars of government: executive, judicial and legislative. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said Friday marked exactly six months since the new government was formed and that it is determined to persevere and bring about positive change in Arakan State, standing firm against prejudice, intolerance and extremism to bring an end to decades-long conflict and secure "lasting peace." She asked for "constructive support" from regional neighbors in bringing harmony and understanding between the different communities in Arakan State. She described the situation in the state as "complex" and "the subject of close attention and concern" outside the country's borders in the Asean region and beyond. In a message to the assembly, Burma's President U Htin Kyaw highlighted the importance of strong cooperation between Asean countries and AIPA as "instrumental" in facilitating cooperation in the region. "Our region is faced with many challenges including non-traditional security issues and bridging development gaps among some Asean member states," he said. Burma is hosting the 37th General Assembly of AIPA from Sept 30 to Oct 3 in the capital Naypyidaw, succeeding Malaysia as a host. Burma joined AIPA in 2011 after establishing a Parliament. The Speaker of Burma's Union Parliament, U Mahn Win Khaing Than, is chairing the assembly. He said Burma is facing many "urgent" and "pressing" challenges and that it seeks collaboration from Asean nations. The post Daw Aung San Suu Kyi: 'Lawmakers Can't be Lawbreakers' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Teacher Charged with Raping Students in Irrawaddy Division Posted: 30 Sep 2016 03:12 AM PDT  Kyaiklat Police Force arrested the teacher on Thursday. (Photo: Salai Thant Zin) RANGOON – Police arrested a high school teacher in Irrawaddy Division's Kyaiklat Township on Thursday for allegedly raping two of his students, according to the Kyaiklat Police Force. Ko Yan Naing, a 29-year-old history teacher at a basic education school in Shwenyaungbin Village, confessed to raping a 15-year-old student five times in the teachers' staff room and a 14-year-old student three times in a classroom, Police Captain Htin Aung of Kyaiklat Police Force told The Irrawaddy. "The teacher told his students to attend an extra class on a holiday," said the police captain. "He asked [the 15-year-old student] to help him check homework in the teachers' staff room. After failing to seduce her, he used force to rape her." "It happened the same way the next four times," said U Htin Aung. Ko Yan Naing attacked the girl a total of five times in July this year. In August, he raped the 14-year-old student three times. "[Ko Yan Naing] and the girl live in Kanyingaing Village, so he told her they could go home together after school. Then, he raped the girl in the classroom," the police captain told The Irrawaddy. The history teacher has been working at the school in Shwenyaungbin Village since Oct. 2014. He previously worked at two schools in Maubin Township. According to a local from Kanyingaing Village, one of the victims' classmates told her parents about the incidents. The classmate's parents contacted the victims' parents who coaxed answers out of the two girls and reported the case to the police. The teacher has been charged under Section 376 of Burma’s Penal Code. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko The post Teacher Charged with Raping Students in Irrawaddy Division appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Thailand Confirms Two Cases of Zika-linked Microcephaly, First in region Posted: 30 Sep 2016 02:28 AM PDT  A city worker fumigates the area to control the spread of mosquitoes at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand on Sept. 14, 2016. (Photo: Chaiwat Subprasom / REUTERS) BANGKOK, Thailand — Thailand confirmed on Friday that the Zika virus had caused two cases of microcephaly, a condition that results in babies being born with small heads, the first time it has been linked to Zika in Southeast Asia. The confirmation came a day after US health officials recommended that pregnant women postpone nonessential travel to 11 Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand and Burma, because of the risk of mosquito-borne Zika. "We have found two cases of small heads linked to Zika, the first cases in Thailand," Prasert Thongcharoen, an adviser to the Department of Disease Control, told reporters in Bangkok. He declined to say where in Thailand the cases were found. The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement the cases were the first of Zika-linked microcephaly in Southeast Asia. US health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last year in Brazil, which has confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Zika has spread extensively in Latin American and the Caribbean over the past year or so, and more recently it has been detected cropping up in Southeast Asia. Thailand has confirmed 349 Zika cases since January, including 33 pregnant women, and Singapore has recorded 393 Zika cases, including 16 pregnant women. Some health experts have accused Thai officials of playing down the risk of Zika to protect its thriving tourist industry but Prasert dismissed that. "Thailand is not hiding anything and is ready to disclose everything," he said, adding that other countries in Southeast Asia might also have cases of Zika-linked microcephaly that they have not disclosed. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday people should consider postponing travel to Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), and Vietnam. The CDC has already issued a "travel notice" for Singapore, and said such a warning would be considered for the new countries if the number of cases rose to the level of an outbreak. Thailand's confirmation of Zika-linked microcephaly comes ahead of China's week-long "Golden Week" holiday with Thailand expecting 220,000 Chinese visitors, up from 168,000 for the week in 2015, Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters. NO VACCINE The Thai health ministry said on Tuesday it was investigating four suspected cases of Zika-linked microcephaly in three babies and an unborn baby. The three babies were born with small heads but it was not clear from ultrasound results whether the 37-week unborn baby had a head size smaller than normal. The ministry ruled out a link between Zika and microcephaly in two of the cases on Tuesday. But Prasert said tests had to be carried out again on one of those cases. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika. An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, making it difficult for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected. There are also no specific tests to determine if a baby will be born with microcephaly but ultrasound scans in the third trimester of pregnancy can identify the problem, according to the WHO. Zika is commonly transmitted through mosquitoes but can also be transmitted sexually. Another health ministry adviser urged everyone to work to stop the spread of mosquitoes but said people should not panic. "Don't have sex with a Zika-infected person. If you don't know if they are infected, then use a condom," the adviser, Pornthep Siriwanarangsan, told reporters. "We can't stop women from becoming pregnant … but we mustn't panic." Microcephaly in babies can lead to respiratory problems related to malformation of the brain, a very serious threat to the lives of babies in the first year of their lives. Children with microcephaly face lifelong difficulties, including intellectual impairment. Zika was first identified in Uganda in 1947 and was first isolated in Asia in the 1960s. It was unknown in the Americas until 2014.
The post Thailand Confirms Two Cases of Zika-linked Microcephaly, First in region appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| HRW: US Military Aid Fails Child Soldiers Posted: 30 Sep 2016 01:10 AM PDT  A billboard promoting a "No Child Soldiers" campaign in Rangoon. (Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that a decision by the United States to give military assistance to countries that recruit and use child soldiers, including Burma, fails child soldiers but is not unexpected. US President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday that he will waive the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 and allow some governments accused of using child soldiers to receive US military assistance. There will be no restrictions at all on military aid to three countries—Burma, Iraq, and Nigeria. The move came after Burma's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi visited the United States earlier this month and may have asked the US to remove sanctions inhibiting economic growth in Burma. However, sources close to US diplomats said that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi did not want Burma to be judged by a lower standard than other countries or be let off the hook for bad behavior, for example waiving the Child Solider Act restrictions on Burma. Critics of President Obama's move pointed out that his actions will remove a vital barrier to military assistance for the Burma Army that still uses underage soldiers as fighters. Jo Becker, HRW's advocacy director of the children's rights division, said the decision wasn't unexpected. "It's what [President Obama] has done during his entire two terms in office," wrote Jo Becker. The Child Soldiers Prevention Act prohibits certain forms of US military aid for governments implicated in child soldier use and it took effect soon after Obama became president in 2009. Under his presidential authority, Obama can forgo the sanctions every year on most of the affected countries under the law's "national interest" waiver provision. This year, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are the only countries that were completely restricted. Military training and peacekeeping support, but not financing and sales, are allowed for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, and Rwanda. "The US has not given military aid to Burma for years, but is now saying that the use of child soldiers by Burma Army won't be an impediment to possible future aid," wrote Jo Becker. The post HRW: US Military Aid Fails Child Soldiers appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Thailand Cracks Down on Migrant Workers Posted: 30 Sep 2016 01:01 AM PDT  Migrant workers are pictured laboring in the Talaat Kung shrimp market and on construction sites in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon, Thailand. (Photos: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) BANGKOK, Thailand — Thailand is cracking down on migrant workers from neighboring countries, saying they are "stealing jobs from Thais", amid fears that anti-immigrant sentiment is rising as Southeast Asia's second-largest economy stagnates. In an operation led by the Thai labor department, police and troops on Wednesday raided a fresh produce market in Bangkok and arrested 14 people, most of them from neighboring Burma. "We have received many complaints about illegal immigrants working in markets including Vietnamese and even South Asians who were stealing jobs from Thais," Thai immigration police chief Nathorn Phrosunthorn told Reuters. "They should be doing the jobs that Thais don't want to do, like work as house cleaners," he said. Under the terms of a 2015 memorandum of understanding Vietnamese citizens are restricted in their employment in Thailand and can work only as manual laborers in Thailand's fishing or construction sectors. Cambodians also have been nabbed in the raids, along with people from Burma and Vietnam. ANTI-IMMIGRATION FEELINGS More than 3 million migrants work in Thailand, the vast majority from neighboring Burma, according to the International Organization for Migration. Thailand became wealthy compared to its neighbors when its economy boasted annual growth rates of over 7 percent in the 1980s and 1990s, drawing migrant workers from across the Greater Mekong Delta region and other parts of Asia. They mostly did jobs Thais tend to spurn, including backbreaking work in the fishing and construction sectors. But, more than two years after the military government seized power and with Thailand's economy on shaky ground, rights groups also see rising resentment against immigrants in Thailand, mirroring such sentiment elsewhere in the world. "There seems to be a surge of national sentiment in Thai immigration policy claiming migrants from Vietnam, for example, are taking jobs that are reserved for Thai nationals," Sunai Phasuk from Human Rights Watch told Reuters. "We haven't seen this kind of rise in anti-immigrant sentiment for decades. This has a lot to do with economic concerns." Sanit Choklamlert, a shop keeper in Bangkok's Silom business district, said migrants are seen as competitors for some Thais. "There are too many Burmese people here now and they're fighting for the same jobs as us," he said. "We need to send some back." HUMAN TRAFFICKING Thailand's economy is on course to grow 3.0 percent in 2016 after expanding 2.8 percent in 2015 and only 0.7 percent in 2014. Nathorn said the crackdown was not driven by an anti-immigrant policy. "We still need migrant labor. We just want to keep some order," he said. The raids have targeted fresh markets, restaurants, supermarkets and shopping malls. Around 153 immigrants were rounded up between Sept. 1 and Sept. 26, according to labor department figures. Those caught face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to 3,000 baht ($100) or deportation. Migrants are often at risk of falling into the hands of human trafficking rings, who sell them into virtual slavery on plantations, timber mills and fishing boats, human rights groups say. Thailand was removed from the bottom rung of the U.S. State Department's annual list of worst human trafficking offenders this year despite what the department described as "widespread forced labor" in the country's vital seafood industry. The post Thailand Cracks Down on Migrant Workers appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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