Monday, January 30, 2017

Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

In Praise Of The Fallen Hero U Ko Ni: The lawyer with a vision

Posted: 30 Jan 2017 05:51 AM PST

U Ko Ni, a National League for Democracy (NLD) legal adviser, who was also a patron of the recently formed Myanmar Muslim Lawyers Association, was shot and killed at the Yangon airport on January 29 yesterday upon his return from Indonesia, where he was part of a delegation attending a senior leadership meeting in Jakarta. He was waiting at the taxi station at the airport at around 4:30pm when he was shot in the head and killed.

I have always been a sympathizer, adorer and vivid follower of U Ko Ni's political speeches and statements as his views were innovative, articulate and practically aimed at resolving problems, his assassination news stuck me like a lighting and makes me feel sad and angry, even though it is clear from the outset that there was a possibility that he could be harmed by radical nationalist rightist group or hardliner elements that could not tolerate his clipped and clear way out suggestions in which Burma is now lost, as if being in a labyrinth, and how one could navigate to free itself from the situation it is in.

Apart from that being a Muslim in the ultra-Buddhist-nationalist sea, he was openly vulnerable, although he would have met such a faith have never come to mind until it happened.

I have been following U Ko Ni's activities, since he came up with a proposal on how to circumvent the 75% approval clause in amendments or rewriting of the constitution, so that it is possible to overcome the hurdles impacted by the Military-drafted Constitution of 2008.

He said in order to circumvent it, a simple majority motion on the need to amendment the constitution should be tabled citing unconstitutionality of the 2008 Constitution, where 50% or more votes could be easily achieved given the NLD majority and ethnic political parties votes that would support such a bill, which the military won't be able to block.

For the time being, even though the NLD now controls the government and both houses of parliament, the military still retains 25 percent of seats, giving it a veto over any change.
Since 2013, U Ko Ni had been airing and lobbying that the 2008 Constitution is not going to lead to  democracy or a genuine federalism and rewriting is the only way.

According to SHAN report of 23 September 2013, U Ko Ni, who is a lawyer pointed out, during his speech at the Shan-Kayah-Mon Trust-building for Peace forum held in Taunggyi, whether the 2008 constitution is democratic or not can be determined by answering two following questions:

·         The extent of the participation of the people
·         To whom power was transferred to
To the first question, his answer was that it was clear the people's wishes and participation was never taken into consideration:

·         The National Convention, held in 1993 to lay down the basic principles of the constitution, was organized by the military with its handpicked delegates
·         In 1996, a law was issued threatening people with imprisonment engaging in constitutional discussions outside the National Convention
·         During the 2008 referendum, many had chosen not to cast votes while several others voted against the draft. It was nevertheless ratified by the military saying more than 92% had voted in favor.

As for the second question, the constitution says sovereign powers belong to the people. However, it was negated by other articles:

·         25% of military appointed representatives at all levels of the legislature
·         The Executive does not have any say in the appointment of defense, home and border affairs ministers
·         The military also conducts its independent judiciary
·         No matter how many people want to amend the constitution, it must be approved by "more than 75%" of the Union Assembly representatives

Moreover, although the constitution stipulates that the country is a Union, the Chief Minister of each state is appointed by the President and state governments are run by the home ministry. "Chapters 4, 5 and 6 need to be amended to straighten out things," he said.

According to The Myanmar Times report of April 22, 2016: "The NLD has tried twice to amend the constitution within parliament but both times it failed. So I think the NLD will not choose the same way again. They will consider writing a new one instead of wasting time trying to amend [the constitution]," U Ko Ni said.

"If the military still focuses on protecting its interests, it will be impossible to change any part of the constitution within parliament. That's why writing a new one is the best way to pursue a democratic constitution."

Another outstanding performance of his unwavering loyalty to his party, that was not necessary politically correct, is the NLD use of Presidential power to name State and Regional Ministers without having to yield to the choice of the State citizens' concern or political parties that might have more seats than the NLD.

The point to be noted here is not the inappropriate move of the NLD, which it should have given in to the demand of endorsing State Chief Ministers from the Arakan National Party (ANP) and Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) ethnic political parties in Arakan and Shan States respectively, but his loyalty to the NLD as a staunch party soldier.

The onerous here is that the NLD should show solidarity to the ethnic parties as long time allied during its opposition days under military rule and let go the 2008 constitutional privilege to name Chief State Minsters.

In a Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) debate program a few months earlier, when asked to explain the NLD move on Chief State Ministers' appointment of its party members and not the ones from ethnic parties, he was trying to defend the NLD by pointing out that it was legally in order to make use of the Presidential power to install the two NLD State Ministers, with a dead face, although he was visibly embarrassed when the moderator cracked a joke saying: "So it means although the 2008 Constitution is bad and need to be amended, NLD would make use of the clause that benefit the party," or something to that affect.

Whatever the case, U Ko Ni would be remembered as a brave true democrat, brilliant lawyer and politician that had done his part without reservation until his last days and for this all of us should be really thankful.

When U Win Htein recently told The Myanmar Times, "It is a very sorrowful thing for Myanmar, and a very big loss for the country, I have to say," we all could only agree to it and should try to carry on his unfinished job of democratization and building an agreeable federal union for everyone,  to repay for what he had sacrificed and done for all of us.

May U Ko Ni's soul rest in peace.

To Hopeland and Back: The 26th trip

Posted: 29 Jan 2017 11:37 PM PST

(22-25 January 2017)

Whatever wholesome that I've learned, may it be yours

The detention last December and legal action on 4 leading members of the 2 signatory EAOs, namely the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), was the immediate reason for this trip.

But leaders of the 8 signatory EAOs who met on 10-11 January, foresaw that it would be an expensive waste of the opportunity to meet the State Counselor and, as it turned out, the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services just to discuss the issue of the detained members and return.

The Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) leader Gen Mutu Saypoe of the Karen National Union/ Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA) had therefore prepared two written messages to be read out during the meeting with them.

This journal describes what took place during the 4 day sojourn.

Day One. Sunday, 22 January 2017

If God didn't want them sheared, he wouldn't have made them sheep.
Magnificent Seven (1960)

I never knew there's a direct flight from Bangkok to Naypyitaw until today. This is how.

There is a 3 ½ hour delay of Bangkok Airways' Chiangmai-Mingladon flight. It means chances are I may likely miss the connection flight to Naypyitaw. So what the BA does is to redirect me to Bangkok (Flight 917), 1 hour, and then to Naypyitaw (Flight 721), 2 ¼ hours, instead.

By the time I've got checked in at Thingaha, a hotel owned by U Chit Khaing, said to be a very influential businessman, at 20:00, the pre-meeting of the 6 men delegation is almost as good as over.

I find them discussing with the Tatmadaw's Col Kyaw Soe Win, who's been with the peace process almost right from the beginning, about the sitting plan for tomorrow. It doesn't take much long.


I'm to find later tomorrow that the sitting plan is a bit different with that of the meeting with the Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, who notified just yesterday he had recovered well enough from his cataract operations last week to grant us an audience.


 Just before we say goodnight to each other at 21:30, somebody cracks a joke on the Union Peace Conference 21st Century Panglong (UPC 21 CP).

"The first UPC was a farewell party for President U Thein Sein, while the second was a welcome party for the new government and the State Counselor. Well, I hope the third is not going to be a bye-bye party to all of us."

Well, so do I. Because I have this incorrigible infantile attitude of looking at the world with full of hopes, whatever happens. Let us see what the big day tomorrow brings us.





Once again, Sithu Aung Myint is not considering why there is this rebellion in the first place?Commentary on "Nothing gained for Muslims in Rakhine"

Posted: 29 Jan 2017 06:22 PM PST

Oppression and stripping the group off human security are the cause of resistance. If a dog is cornered, and has no place to run, it will bite back. It is as simple as that.


So giving the oppressed Muslim population in Arakan some space to breath and human security is the way to persuade the majority of their people that armed struggle won't help them much, but cooperation will.

But first, humanitarian concern and treatment with dignity to all is needed, so that persuasion for denouncing violence could work. Otherwise, radical Muslim fundamentalist groups will gain ground, as International Crisis Groups has pointed out its report lately.

Some said there is still time to change this failed approach of total subjugation through institutionalized violence and replace it with a more logical humanitarian facet, employing human security needs. Only time will tell us if this is going to be the case, even if the government is ready to correct its course, which it still refuses to comply and rejects despite repeated international urging.

Besides, all know that National League for Democracy (NLD) government is a hybrid regime and that the military bloc is calling the shots in communal violence oppression in Arakan and ethnic conflict situation in other ethnic states, notably in the Kachin and Shan States. The NLD bloc within the government is virtually powerless. And thus making it even harder to formulate appropriate policies and logically implement them for the benefit of the country and its people.

Link to the story: Nothing gained for Muslims in Rakhine
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