Friday, May 19, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Yuzana Reps and Farmers Clash in Kachin State

Posted: 19 May 2017 08:57 AM PDT

Tension over contested land led to a confrontation between members of Yuzana Company Ltd and local farmers in a Kachin State village on May 17.

The village in question, Nawngme, is in the Hukawng Valley in Hpakant Township.

Locals told The Irrawaddy that around 60 people representing Yuzana came to the area with knives and sticks, telling 10 farmers: "We will take back our place. You need to go away from here." The farmers then reportedly called for assistance from other locals, and the confrontation eventually de-escalated.

One local man had a small wound on his neck, after a man allegedly affiliated with Yuzana put a knife to his throat and threatened to cut him, said land rights activist Sai Awng from Mungchying Rawt Jat (MRJ).

"We did not dare to respond to anything when they first came. But, when more and more of our farmers came to join, then they dared to fight us," he said.

U Ye Myint, a manager from Yuzana, said that members of his company had gone to plough the land but that it was they who had been attacked by local farmers.

"They brought other farmers from Nawngme and Nanmati. They confronted us, to attack us," he said.

The village head from Nawngme, the township authorities from Hpakant, and the Karmine police reportedly called U Ye Myint, asking him to resolve the dispute through the law, and to halt cultivation of the land in the meantime; he said he had complied.

Yuzana—which is involved in many industries, including agriculture, construction, and hospitality—now claims ownership of large amounts of forested land in Kachin State, where people have complained that up to 8,000 acres of land has been confiscated by the company.

The land was reportedly taken by Yuzana in 2007. Since last year, around 100 families have returned to 1,000 acres of the land to grow food, according to U Brang Seng, a local farmer from Nawngme.

The company did not complain after their return in 2016, but has reportedly began to grow hostile.

U Ye Myint said that an increasing number of farmers from Myitkyina and Nanmati townships have come to occupy land near the Yuzana compound since last year. But, even though the company has sent a letter of complaint, the regional government has not take action in response, he added.

When Yuzana got the land, U Ye Myint said that it "belonged to no one," and alleged that only after it had been cleared did locals claim it.

Both Yuzana and local farmers say that they have official documentation demonstrating that they own the land in question.

The post Yuzana Reps and Farmers Clash in Kachin State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD Patron U Tin Oo Suffers Stroke, Remains in Critical Condition

Posted: 19 May 2017 07:32 AM PDT

RANGOON — National League for Democracy (NLD) patron U Tin Oo is receiving medical treatment at the intensive care unit in Rangoon General Hospital after falling in his bathroom and suffering a stroke, although his condition is improving, according to doctors at the hospital.

"His right side is paralyzed because of the stroke," said Dr. Win Min Thit, head of the hospital's neurological department, on Friday. "He still can't speak. But his left side can move well. We have to wait and see because his condition may change within a week."

The 91-year-old politician slipped in his bathroom on Wednesday evening and was rushed to Shwe Gon Dine Hospital before being transferred to Rangoon General Hospital at around 3 a.m. on Thursday.

He developed a small blood clot in one of the three cerebral arteries, which does not require an operation, said Dr. Myat Thu of the neurological department. According to the doctors, he has abnormally high blood pressure and a heart condition, but he did not break any bones in the fall.

The hospital formed a committee of medical experts led by its superintendent Dr. Aye Ko Ko to treat U Tin Oo in the intensive care unit, where he will remain for at least three weeks.

"His condition has improved compared to yesterday," said U Aye Ko Ko.

U Tin Oo served as the Burma Army's commander-in-chief and defense minister from 1974-1976. He was imprisoned for alleged involvement in an attempted coup in July 1976, and released in 1980 during an amnesty. Eight years later he co-founded the NLD, becoming its vice-chairman and chairman.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post NLD Patron U Tin Oo Suffers Stroke, Remains in Critical Condition appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Court Rejects New Arrest Warrant in U Ko Ni Murder Trial

Posted: 19 May 2017 07:24 AM PDT

RANGOON — The Rangoon Division High Court rejected a petition from a lawyer in the U Ko Ni murder trial requesting a new arrest warrant be issued in Naypyidaw for fugitive Aung Win Khaing on Friday.

Lawyer U Nay La—representing the family of the National League for Democracy's (NLD) assassinated legal adviser U Ko Ni—presented the criminal revision to the divisional court on April 28.

Aung Win Khaing is suspected of involvement in the murder but remains at large. He was last seen in Naypyidaw, according to CCTV footage.

Prominent Muslim lawyer U Ko Ni was shot by gunman Kyi Lin outside Yangon International Airport on the afternoon of Jan. 29. Police have put forward four suspects: gunman Kyi Lin, and alleged co-conspirators Zeya Phyo, Aung Win Zaw and Aung Win Tun.

Lawyer U Nay La initially requested that the northern district court issue the warrant in Naypyidaw in March, but the court ruled against the move.

Last month at the divisional court, he claimed that the district court has been handling the case "carelessly" and is "weak" in examining the case surrounding the fugitive in accordance with designated procedures.

"We still don't know the reason why the court rejected our request to issue a new arrest warrant," U Nay La told the media after the Friday's court hearing at the divisional court.

"There are different legal perspectives between our side and the court," he said. "We will consult with our legal team for the next move."

The next court hearing will be held at the northern district court on May 26.

According to U Nay La, a police order dated Feb. 15 calling for the arrest of Aung Win Khaing was sent to only six of the force's stations—in Dawbon, Thaketa, Bahan, Mingaladon, Gyobingauk, and Meiktila townships.

The first warrant issued by the district court on Mar. 3—before the trial—only covered Aung Win Khaing's home address in Rangoon's Dawbon Township.

He said that an arrest warrant that only allows for a fugitive to be apprehended at his permanent address is unfitting for the situation.

Referring to the police reports, he said that Aung Win Khaing had not passed through the country's border gates since the assassination and that a new arrest warrant covering where the fugitive was last seen should be issued.

Shooter Kyi Lin and three alleged co-perpetrators—Aung Win Zaw, Aung Win Khaing and Zeya Phyo—are being charged under Article 302 of Burma's Penal Code for murder.

Zeya Phyo, a former military intelligence officer, is also charged under Article 67 of the Telecommunications Law for the possession of restricted telecommunications equipment and Article 468 of the Penal Code for the forgery of national identity cards.

Two of the suspects—gunman Kyi Lin and alleged co-conspirator Aung Win Zaw—are being charged under Article 19(d) and (f) of the country's 1878 Arms Act for illegal arms possession and transportation, in addition to the murder charge.

The post Court Rejects New Arrest Warrant in U Ko Ni Murder Trial appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

KIA Reports Clashes with Burma Army

Posted: 19 May 2017 05:49 AM PDT

Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops clashed with the Burma Army in Hpakant Township of Kachin State, according to Lt-Col Tang Seng of KIA Battalion 6.

"We are closely watching the [Burma Army] troops after they entered areas under our control," he told The Irrawaddy on Friday. "We have had only small clashes so far, but we are expecting a big fight."

He estimated that at least five battalions from the Burma Army, also known as the Tatmadaw, entered KIA-controlled areas.

"We did not negotiate with them, they would not accept that even if we tried, as we have no ceasefire agreement," he said.

The KIA's bilateral ceasefire with the government broke down in 2011.

The Irrawaddy was unable to reach the Burma Army or speak to people on the ground to confirm the KIA's reports.

Clashes between the KIA and the Tatmadaw had simmered down after government troops launched a large-scale offensive in December last year and seized the strategically important KIA base Gideon and two other mountain posts.

The National League for Democracy-led government will hold the second round of its Union Peace Conference, also known as the 21st Century Panglong peace conference, next week.

Although State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that all ethnic armed groups would be invited attend, it is unclear in what capacity.

The KIA had previously suggested that if the organization was invited as an "observer" to the peace conference it would not attend.

The post KIA Reports Clashes with Burma Army appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ministry Apologizes After Posting Burma Army Chief Photo Alongside Elephant Story

Posted: 19 May 2017 05:43 AM PDT

RANGOON — The official Facebook page for Burma's Ministry of Information (MOI) has apologized to the army's Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing after posting his picture alongside a story about a wounded elephant on Thursday morning.

The photo showed Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and the Philippines' armed forces chief Gen Eduardo Ano at the ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM) in Manila, with an article titled 'A Wounded Wild Elephant was Found and Treated.'

In the story, the forestry department and police found a wounded elephant in the forest near a village in Thabeikkyin Township of Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Division. The team treated the elephant's injuries, including a wound from a poisoned arrow, and returned the animal to the forest.

The unfortunate juxtaposition was shared by social media users and prompted the MOI to apologize that night. Its website and newspapers released the correct pictures for both stories.

"We mistakenly published the commander-in-chief of the military's photo in the news titled 'A Wounded Wild Elephant was Found and Treated' around 8 a.m. on May 18 on the MOI Webportal Myanmar Facebook page. We seriously apologize to the commander-in-chief for the mistake," the apology read.

On May 11, the Facebook page published a photo-shopped photograph of US President Donald Trump holding an executive order imprinted with the words 'James Comey You're Fired!'

The post Ministry Apologizes After Posting Burma Army Chief Photo Alongside Elephant Story appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Nationalists Prepare for Protest Against Religious Affairs Minister

Posted: 19 May 2017 05:29 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Nationalists claiming Burma's government is failing to support Buddhism began traveling to the country's capital of Naypyidaw on Friday to voice their anger against the religious minister.

Organizers said about 30,000 people, including monks and nationalists from Mandalay, Rangoon, and Irrawaddy divisions, will join the protest on Shwe Nantha field in Ottara Thiri Township against the Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture, U Aung Ko.

Naypyidaw's general administration office stated, however, that the organizers have requested a protest of up to 15,000, and the authorities have allowed only 300.

"Buddhism is the major religion of the country and the religious affairs ministry must protect, support and encourage the Sasana [Buddhist mission]. It was clearly stated in the Constitution," said U Eain Daw Bar Tha, one of the leaders of the Nationalist Buddhist Monks Organization in Mandalay.

"However, Thura U Aung Ko fails to do this and repeatedly upsets the Buddhists of the country. That's why we're going to express our dislike of the minister," he added.

The monk cited Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's speech marking the one-year anniversary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government in which she said the party would be "ready to step aside" if people are dissatisfied with the leadership.

"We believe the government will keep their promises after seeing our objection to Thura U Aung Ko," said U Eain Daw Bar Tha. "After the protest, we will wait and see the government's reaction. It is too early to say what we will do next."

U Aye Thaung, officer of Ottara district, told The Irrawaddy that local authorities would take legal action against the organizers if the protest exceeded more than 300 people.

'The local authorities will stop them in accordance with the Peaceful Assembly Act if they do not follow the permitted numbers," said the officer.

The planned protest follows an arrest warrant for seven nationalists and Buddhist monks last week who were involved in a recent confrontation between Buddhists and Muslims in Rangoon's Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township. They have been charged with incitement to commit violence.

The post Nationalists Prepare for Protest Against Religious Affairs Minister appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mandalay Division Govt Takes Tough Line on Illegal Logging

Posted: 19 May 2017 04:20 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Mandalay Division government will crack down on illegal logging in the area, said division minister for planning and finance U Myat Thu.

The divisional government is planning to punish smugglers under the Public Property Protection Law and the Public Utilities Protection Law, both enacted in 1947, rather than the Forest Law, as is the current case.

The divisional government had not been able to effectively punish smugglers of smaller quantities of logs and looked at other ways to fight smugglers, said minister U Myat Thu.

"Previously, if we seized less than one ton of logs, we had to hand over the case to the Forestry Department," explained the minister. "According to the law, smugglers could pay a fine and the logs were returned—some smugglers even handed themselves in to authorities to legitimize the logs."

Under the new punishment system, the divisional government will levy penalties according to type and amount of timber seized.

It will charge culprits under the 1992 Forest Law for seizures of up to one ton of teak, or up to three tons of other hardwood. Under the Forest Law, the penalty is a fine of 10,000 kyats plus double the value of seized timber. The timber will also be confiscated.

The government will charge under the Public Property Protection Law for seizure of between one to three tons of teak, or between three and five tons of other hardwood.

It will charge under Public Utilities Protection Law for seizure of above three tons of teak, and above five tons of other hardwood.

Both Public Property Protection Law and Public Utilities Protection Law grant no bail and prescribe sentences of up to seven years in prison.

The divisional government announced the laws under which actions are to be taken against illegal logging on April 24, and informed the Mandalay Division Advocate-General Office, and the division's police force, forestry department, parliament, security and border affairs ministry and general administration departments.

Police Col Tin Zaw Htun of Mandalay Division said: "Under the new system, those who smuggle in large quantities will get harsher penalties—this will effectively deter them."

Smuggled timber, mainly teak, tamalan and padauk, are mostly seized at three checkpoints in Mandalay Division—16th Mile, Shwekyin and New Sagaing Bridge—as they are smuggled to China through Mandalay, according to Mandalay Division government.

Union minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation U Ohn Win said at the Union Parliament in March that the government seized over 40,000 tons of smuggled timber and took actions against over 7,000 smugglers including 11 foreigners in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

The post Mandalay Division Govt Takes Tough Line on Illegal Logging appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

World Bank Arm Considering Support for Businessman Linked to Blacklisted Bank

Posted: 19 May 2017 03:54 AM PDT

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank, is considering providing funding for a cement factory project in Mandalay Division’s Thazi District led by a division of the Shwe Taung Group, a conglomerate whose majority stake is held by the family of the company’s chairman, Aik Htun.

The US government previously alleged that Aik Htun had "connections with the narcotics trade" while running a now-defunct bank more than a decade ago that was also alleged to be involved in money laundering. These accusations were dismissed by the Sino-Burmese entrepreneur as falsehoods driven by petty jealousy.

The IFC posted details of its proposed involvement in the cement project last month on its website in line with the Washington-based group's disclosure policy. The IFC plans to invest up to US$15 million in the project and provide a loan of up to US$20 million; the project’s total cost is estimated to be US$110 million.

According to details disclosed by the IFC, the project—if it goes ahead—will involve the expansion of an existing cement factory run by Shwe Taung Cement in Pyi Nyaung Village. In addition to expanding the factory’s cement production capacity, it will also involve the construction of a Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) and an "improvement in emission control systems." The IFC will be playing a key role in supporting the project. In addition to providing the aforementioned funding, the IFC says it is also looking to "mobilize up to US$20 million through syndication of Parallel Loans and up to US$20 million investment in common equity from IFC AMC Emerging Asia Fund (EAF)."

The Shwe Taung Cement group also operates an open pit coal mine in Sagaing Division that exclusively supplies the factory. According to the IFC's outline of the project review, mining operations at this site will more than double from current levels of 60,000 tons of coal mined per year to an estimated 150,000 tons of coal per year. The IFC summary of the project acknowledged that a visit to the coal mining site by the IFC team in September 2016 during the project review process was not possible due "to access constraints" associated with the rainy season. The mine is some 4.6 km west of the Maharmyaing Wildlife Sanctuary, described by the IFC as an important bird area.

A native of Shan State, Aik Htun was a co-founder of the Asia Wealth Bank, of which he served as vice chairman. The bank was targeted for sanctions in Nov. 2003 by the Bush Administration who labeled it a "Financial Institutions of Primary Money Laundering Concern" using a provision granted under the 2001 Patriot Act. A summary in the US Federal Register accompanying the announcement of the proposed action against the bank described Aik Htun as having been "specifically identified as having connections with Burma's narcotics trade." The announcement also claimed that the bank was "affiliated with prominent organizations and figures in the drug trade, including members of the Kokang ethnic group headed by notorious drug lord Peng Chia-Sheng." The latter is a reference to former the Burmese Communist Party rebel commander and long-time leader of the MNDAA Peng Jiasheng, who at the time was on good terms with the Burmese military regime.

A follow-up announcement issued in March 2004 announcing that the sanctions had been put into effect, declared that both the Asian Wealth Bank and Myanmar Mayflower Bank, another Burmese bank targeted by the US Treasury Department, were being used by their owners to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking. "Individuals owning and controlling both banks are linked to drug trafficking and money laundering, including using the banks for such purposes."

In less than a decade since its founding in 1995, AWB had become Burma's largest bank. A financial crisis in the country's banking industry that culminated in a massive run on the bank in early 2003 untimely led to the demise of AWB, which eventually had its license withdrawn by government authorities in 2005. A move that the State Department described as being done in response to information passed on by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

According to a New York Times article from 2015, "After the United States imposed sanctions on Asia Wealth Bank and the Burmese authorities withdrew its license, Mr. Aik Htun changed the name of his corporate holdings, which were part of the same group as Asia Wealth Bank, to the Shwe Taung Group."

Despite the obvious commercial setback associated with the fall out from AWB, Aik Htun's other business interests in construction and real estate, including such high-profile projects as the building and operating of several malls including Rangoon’s Junction Square, appeared to do very well in the years that followed the bank’s demise.

A US diplomatic cable disclosed by Wikileaks, penned following a meeting between the businessman and diplomats in 2007 when Burma was still ruled by a military regime noted that "Aik Htun enjoys the regime’s confidence, and benefits handsomely from its business." The cable went on to note Aik Htun's annoyance at being subject to US restrictions on visa issuance before adding that "he seeks every opportunity to profess his innocence to Embassy employees."

Aik Htun has also on at least one occasion publicly denied the claims about him and his now defunct bank, chalking up the allegations to rumor mongering by those envious of his success. "In Myanmar at that time the government was not transparent. There were so many rumors; [there was] so much jealousy," he told the Financial Times in Nov. 2015.

Although he was previously on the European Union sanctions list, Aik Htun was noticeably absent from the US government's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, which was expanded to include the names of prominent Burmese businessman in 2008, several years after his bank had already become defunct. An attempt by the Washington-based campaign group US Campaign for Burma to have Aik Htun and his son, Aung Zaw Naing, who serves as CEO for the Shwe Taung Group, added to the SDN list in 2011 was unsuccessful.

Aik Htun has claimed to have come from modest origins and through hard work has become the successful businessman that he is today, a narrative that has been called into question by some, including Australian economist Sean Turnell in his book on Burma’s banking crisis Fiery Dragons. According to Turnell, "Aik Htun maintained an elaborately constructed public image that belied the stories of his links to narcotics, and in numerous public appearances and press profiles, he affected a 'rags to riches' story that chronicled his rise from being the son of a small farmer from Mong Kung in Shan State. The narrative even included the vignette that he "walked two miles to school each day, after which he completed his chores on the farm."

While it remains to be seen if the IFC's board of directors will give the green light to Shwe Taung's cement project at their meeting next month, the IFC's involvement with Shwe Taung, is in many ways a test case for possible future involvement with other firms and individuals who were previously targeted by the US government for alleged connections to previous military regime and the drug trade, such as Asia World.

The IFC, whose primary focus is giving financial assistance and other support to businesses that invest in developing countries was, along with its parent the World Bank, largely absent from Burma until the lifting of most sanctions in 2012. Since the sanctions were lifted, the IFC has become involved in a number of Burmese projects including backing the expansion of Rangoon's Shangri La hotel and a high-end apartment complex also operated by Shangri La, a firm controlled by Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok.

The IFC is also currently assisting Burma's government to

carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Hydropower Sector, an effort criticized by environmentalists in Kachin State opposed to further dam projects.

The IFC has also come under heavy criticism for its connection to a controversial coal mining project in Tenasserim Division, near the Thai border, that is run by a Thai mining firm whose bank shareholders the IFC has equity investments in.

The post World Bank Arm Considering Support for Businessman Linked to Blacklisted Bank appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Report: Burma Rapidly Losing Forest Cover

Posted: 19 May 2017 03:05 AM PDT

RANGOON — Satellite imagery indicates that intact forest cover in Burma has declined rapidly over the last decade, according to a study.

A countrywide analysis of Landsat data for the period 1990–2000 showed that Burma had retained much of its original forest cover during that time, stretching across 65 percent of the country's land.

More than a decade later in 2014, more than 63 percent of Burma remained forested, but intact forest had declined by 11 percent, or by more than 2 million hectares, with an annual loss of 0.94 percent.

The total intact forest, which is vital for biodiversity and conservation, was just 38 percent in 2014, according to the study in the journal PLOS ONE.

The reduction of armed conflict in some areas and the expansion of commercial agriculture, including plantations, were identified as key contributing factors to forest loss.

The report identifies nine township "hotspots" of deforestation.

The areas around Homalin Township in Sagaing Division, Bokpyin Township in Tenasserim Division and Hpakant Township in Kachin State lost the most intact forest between 2002 and 2014. Other areas most affected included land around Myitkyina and Tanai townships in Kachin State and mangrove forests in the Irrawaddy Delta.

The authors found a large area of some 6.3 million hectares of intact forest in northern Burma. The Southern Forest Complex in Tenasserim still jointly covers around 1.7 million hectares of intact forest, the study found.

Burma is "at a crossroads," according to the authors. "Protection of remaining intact forests, and restoration of degraded forest are critical to ensuring the long-term future of the country's forests," they said.

The post Report: Burma Rapidly Losing Forest Cover appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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