Friday, May 5, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Shan Alliance Demands Greater Ethnic Inclusion in National Reconciliation Process

Posted: 05 May 2017 09:29 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand – Stakeholders' alliance the Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU) has said that its members are concerned that the National League for Democracy (NLD) government lacks the intention of achieving national reconciliation with the country's ethnic minorities.

The CSSU, formed in 2013, said after its two-day annual meeting in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand that the government must be urged to "to collaborate pragmatically" to build mutual respect with other groups in the country, with the ultimate goal of peace.

"The current government is trying to reconcile with the Tatmadaw, but has delayed in doing so with the ethnic groups," said Sai Leik, spokesperson for the CSSU.

He also said that equal treatment is the key to success concerning reconciliation.

He recalled that the United Wa State Army's peace delegation boycotted the first 21st Panglong Union Peace Conference in September 2016 due to alleged discrimination, referring to the Wa representatives walkout. He added, "every group, regardless of the size of their organization, must be treated equally when we hold talks for our Union."

Over 60 representatives from Shan political parties, the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S) and the Shan State Progress Party/ Shan State Army North (SSPP/SSA-N), and community-based organizations gathered to discuss ways to build unity in multi-ethnic Shan State, where armed conflict has been ongoing. Leaders also called for an end to fighting, and to continue the drug eradication efforts.

Ying Harn Fa, a representative from the Shan community-based women's and youth groups said, "We would like to urge both the government and ethnic armed groups to stop the fighting," adding that implementation must move the process forward.

She said that she felt the discussion went well, despite the short time allocated to discuss such wide-ranging issues. The annual meeting served as both a performance evaluation and an opportunity to change leadership.

The CSSU was chaired by Khun Htun Oo of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy until yesterday; now the CSSU chairman is the Gen Yawd Serk of the RCSS.

The CSSU is also pushing for ethnic-based national level dialogue to happen in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, as it has been delayed due to the Tatmadaw's objection over the location.

"The ethnic-based national level dialogue needs to be implemented in Shan State, and we do not accept that the RCSS can conduct it only in its controlled zone in Mong Pan, as the SSPP has not signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement," Sai Leik added.

He added that SSPP could not sign the NCA because of multiple government restrictions, and said that the only way that they might become signatories is if the government agrees to the terms of the ethnic armed group coalition the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), of which the SSPP is one of seven members.

The government's Peace Commission held talks with the UNFC last week and its chairman, Dr. Tin Myo Win, said that progress has been made.

"If the government agreed to the UNFC's nine-point proposal, I believe that the SSPP would certainly be on the NCA path," Sai Leik said, adding, "For that to happen, we are also coordinating."

The post Shan Alliance Demands Greater Ethnic Inclusion in National Reconciliation Process appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Local Arakanese ‘Welcome’ U Wirathu

Posted: 05 May 2017 08:40 AM PDT

RANGOON – Leader of the Ma Ba Tha ultranationalist group U Wirathu and 10 other Buddhist monks were welcomed by ethnic Arakanese villagers in conflict-torn Maungdaw Township, northern Arakan State, on Friday.

A major from the border police told The Irrawaddy that U Wirathu visited Aung Mingalar, Aung Tharyar and Aung Zeya villages, situated near the border police headquarters at Kyi Kan Pyin, which was ambushed by militants in October of last year, killing nine policemen.

"Everything is fine here. But if something breaks out, we will fight against the attackers," the policeman said, on the condition of anonymity.

The other villages that the monks' delegation visited included Long Don and Kyein Chaung, which are situated far from the border police headquarters and surrounded by Muslim villages.

The police official said that U Wirathu donated bags of rice, dried fish and gave sweets to children. The monk also held an informal discussion with Brig-Gen Thura San Lwin at Kyi Kan Pyin. But the police officer claimed that talks between the two men focused solely on religious matters, and rejected statements that it was a "closed-door meeting."

Several vehicles belonging to the border police provided an escort for U Wirathu as he traveled to five Arakanese villages in southern Maungdaw on Friday.

The divisive monk was banned by authorities from delivering sermons for a year beginning in March, handed down for engaging in anti-Muslim hate speech in Irrawaddy Division. But it is unclear whether the prohibition includes restrictions on public speaking in general.

"This trip is not a political campaign. He suggested [that the villagers] protect the Buddhist religion and he advised them to meditate," the police officer said. He also stated that he did not know when U Wirathu would return to his monastery in Mandalay.

The Irrawaddy phoned Ma Ba Tha followers who are accompanying U Wirathu on his Arakan State trip, but was not able to obtain a comment from them.

Local Buddhist Arakanese U Tun Kyaw of Alay Than Kyaw village in southern Maungdaw, told The Irrawaddy he was "really glad" to see U Wirathu, and that he believed the monk had learned more about the challenges of local Arakanese, referring to problems he perceived as population shrinkage.

Some Arakanese in Rangoon and abroad have said that they worry that U Wirathu is exploiting the fears of rural Arakanese for political purposes.

Yet Kyaw Myo Paing, 22, a Buddhist Arakanese man from Mawrawaddy village, disagreed with this perspective.

"I respect and like U Wirathu because he always voices out about being anti-Muslim," he said, saying that people who lived away from the area did not understand the situation.

He said that since riots broke out in 2012, Buddhists and Muslims no longer trust one another.

The Irrawaddy contacted local Muslim religious leaders in the area for comment, but were unable to reach them at the time of publication.

The post Local Arakanese 'Welcome' U Wirathu appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

USDP Won’t Punish Ex-Chief Minister Embroiled in Embezzlement Scandal

Posted: 05 May 2017 08:05 AM PDT

RANGOON — The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will not take action against its former chief minister for Magwe Division, U Phone Maw Shwe, as the politician is now returning some of more than 3 billion kyats that went missing from government development funds.

U Phone Maw Shwe returned 500 million kyats to Magwe Division government on Friday after writing to the divisional government that he would return all the money by the end of July.

The Union government in early April ordered U Phone Maw Shwe to return 1.7 billion kyats, four cars, a digger, and two boats, all of which he donated to the Union Solidarity and Development party (USDP) during his time as chief minister.

The government also instructed him to return more than 1.57 billion kyats that he transferred to Shwe Thuka Microcredit Association. He returned the 500 million kyats through the association's chairman, U Kyi Tun.

Lower House lawmaker U Tun Tun of Magwe's Pwintbyu Township asked Parliament in May 2016 about the alleged embezzlement of regional development funds collected as taxation from small-scale oil producers in Magwe Division by the previous divisional government.

The Bureau of Special Investigations under the Ministry of Home Affairs launched an investigation and found that missing funds amounted to 7.5 billion kyats, and 1.7 billion kyats was spent on then-ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

USDP spokesperson Dr Nandar Hla Myint said the party would not discipline the ex-chief minister.

"He has now taken responsibility for things that happened while he was the chief minister," U Nandar Hla Myint said. "The central executive committee (CEC) of the party has nothing to do with it. But if he was punished for a certain violation of the law, we would probably take action against him, according to party rules and regulations."

U Phone Maw Shwe was also chairman of Magwe Division's USDP chapter during his time as chief minister. He is currently a member of the central consultative committee.

"U Kyi Tun paid the money into Myanmar Economic Bank today. And the divisional government has received it. We will wait for the remaining money, as he said he would return the rest later on," Magwe division government spokesperson U Nay Myo Kyaw told The Irrawaddy.

The ex-chief minister also returned the cars, digger and boats to the divisional government at the end of April.

Director-General of Burma's State Counselor Office U Zaw Htay said that the government would not take punitive actions against U Phone Maw Shwe for the embezzlement, saying that its policy has 'no retrospection.'

After the embezzlement was brought under the spotlight, USDP chairman U Than Htay said that his party was politically targeted.

U Nay Myo Kyaw denied this, however, adding, "We were looking for justice. We did not target an individual or a party out of hatred. We just wanted to get back the public funds for the people."

The post USDP Won't Punish Ex-Chief Minister Embroiled in Embezzlement Scandal appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Army ‘Condemns’ NLD Assumption of Military Involvement in Presidential Resignation Rumors

Posted: 05 May 2017 07:19 AM PDT

RANGOON — Burma's military has "seriously condemned" the ruling party's spokesperson assumption of military involvement in spreading rumors concerning the resignation of the country's President, saying that they will make the "necessary responses."

On Thursday, the National League for Democracy (NLD) party's U Win Htein gave a media briefing on the rumors regarding President U Htin Kyaw.

"It's difficult to say [who is behind the rumor] as we are flooded with information. It's hard to guess if it was [spread] by the USDP [Union Solidarity and Development Party] or some military organizations, or IT guys who hate us," U Win Htein told The Irrawaddy.

A press release by the Military Information Team on Friday afternoon stated that "a groundless reply based on suspicion seriously harms the military's dignity," regarding the NLD spokesperson's comment.

The statement suggested that U Win Htein had "encouraged journalists to breach the Burmese media law that dictates reporters refrain from hurting…an organization's dignity." It added that the military "seriously condemned the groundless accusation. "

Such an act, the military said, "could harm national unity, especially during a time when the government is committed to national reconciliation," adding, "we will make the necessary responses."

U Win Htein was not immediately available for comment on Friday.

The military's response on Friday is the military's first open condemnation of the NLD since 2012, when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi publicly reached out to the army for purposes of national reconciliation.

Mindful of the powerful role the Tatmadaw plays—from the 25 percent of lawmakers appointed by the military to the Parliament, to the three military-controlled ministries related to security issue—the Nobel Laureate had several meetings with military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing in recent years, presumably to build trust.

The army condemnation comes at a time when the relations between the senior general and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi appear to have stalled given the army's hardline approach concerning ethnic armed groups in the country's peace process, an initiative now topping the State Counselor's priority list.

Once internationally criticized for human rights abuses in ethnic areas and general oppression of Burma's citizens, the Tatmadaw today is more likely to respond to criticism that could harm their image. The military recently made a complaint over satire that questioned the country's ongoing peace process.

The post Army 'Condemns' NLD Assumption of Military Involvement in Presidential Resignation Rumors appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

No New Quarrying Licenses to Be Issued in Mon State Forest Reserve

Posted: 05 May 2017 04:13 AM PDT

RANGOON — No new quarrying licenses will be issued in Mt. Kalama Forest Reserve in Mon State's Paung Township, according to the Mon State divisional government, where there have been ongoing disputes between mining companies and locals.

Dr. Min Kyi Win, Mon State minister for environmental conservation and natural resources, told The Irrawaddy that the state government would also reduce the existing number of companies operating inside the forest reserve, as per the instruction of Union Minister for Environmental Conservation and Natural Resources U Ohn Win.

Locals in the area have complained of the environmental impact, stating that waste and dust from the quarries have polluted the air and water sources.

The state minister said there are currently six quarries in the forest reserve. The state government carries out regular checks on quarries in the area to ensure they are in line with rules and regulations, and punitive actions are taken if violations are found, he added.

The Mon State government imposed a total ban on Dec. 13 of last year on all quarries in the Kaylatha Nature Reserve in Bilin Township. The suspension is still in place.

"It is against the laws, rules and regulations to operate quarries in places designated for environmental conservation," said lawmaker Dr. Khin Naing Oo of Bilin Township Constituency (1).

The Protection of Wildlife and Conservation of Natural Areas Law (1994) prescribes up to three years of imprisonment for causing water or air pollution or possessing or disposing of pollutants or mineral pollutants in a natural area.

The post No New Quarrying Licenses to Be Issued in Mon State Forest Reserve appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Attorney General Office Recommends Changes to Article 66(d)

Posted: 05 May 2017 03:54 AM PDT

NAYPYIDAW — Burma's Attorney General Office has recommended that defendants charged under the controversial Article 66(d) of the 2013 Telecommunications Law be granted bail.

The transport and communications ministry submitted a bill amending the telecommunications law to the Union Attorney General Office, permanent secretary of the office Daw Nu Nu Yin told a government press conference on Thursday.

Daw Nu Nu Yin said the office is reviewing the bill and giving recommendations for changes, including granting bail. It will return the bill to the ministry, which will forward it to the government and Parliament, she added.

Currently, judges decided whether to grant bail on hearing the cases, as the law does not specify whether bail should be granted or not.

Article 66(d) states that anyone found guilty of extorting, coercing, restraining wrongfully, defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or threatening any person by using any telecommunications network shall be punished with a maximum three years in prison, a fine, or both.

An increasing number of defamation charges have been brought against politicians, reporters, and social media users under Article 66(d). Activists have called for the controversial defamation law to be abolished or amended, saying that it denies citizens their freedom of speech and expression.

In many cases, the accused have been denied bail.

U Nay Pu Ba Swe, secretary of the Lower House Transport, Communications and Construction Committee, said they would coordinate with the "concerned authorities" to amend the law when the parliament resumes on May 18.

Third parties have filed complaints against some defendants under Article 66(d). Rangoon divisional lawmaker U Nay Phone Latt said the law should be amended so that only the defamed persons can file complaints.

According to the law, the Ministry of Transport and Communications must approve a complaint before the defendant is sued. However, U Nay Phone Latt said the ministry does not thoroughly review the complaints.

"The ministry takes no responsibility at present," he said. "It should assign a group of ministry officers to review the complaints and decide whether the person should be sued or not."

The telecommunications law was enacted under the military-backed government of former President U Thein Sein, ostensibly to regulate private telecom operators. It was mainly used to deter criticism of the administration.

According to an NGO researching the law, there have been 54 cases charged under Article 66 (d) under the new government up to April. Eight have been jailed, and six were denied bail and are facing trial in custody.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

 

The post Attorney General Office Recommends Changes to Article 66(d) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Govt Cuts Military Personnel Appointed to Civil Service

Posted: 05 May 2017 02:05 AM PDT

NAYPYIDAW — The government body responsible for recruiting, appointing, and training civil servants no longer allows transfer of military officers to senior posts in the civilian administration under the new government of National League for Democracy (NLD), according to a member of the Union Civil Service Board (UCSB).

"There are civil servant laws, and by-laws. We have to function according to them. There are exceptions if Union government can allow. But normally, the procedures have to be in line with laws, and by-laws," said UCSB member U Saw Valentine at a government press conference on Thursday.

Successive governments since military dictator Ne Win's coup in 1962 have transferred retired and serving military officers into management positions in various civilian departments. They are often referred to in Burmese language as "Moe kya shwe ko," meaning those who come from above and enjoy privileges.

Military appointees have stifled the progress of experienced civilian staff and their mismanagement has led to the malfunction of civilian departments and the administration at large, critics have pointed out.

Though the new government no longer allows transfer of military officers to civilian departments, 22 captains and majors from the Ministry of Defense injured or disabled in the line of duty were transferred to civilian departments with the approval of the cabinet since April last year, said director-general of UCSB U Kyaw Soe.

"The program was initiated under the previous government to provide a living for military officers who have become disabled as well as give them psychological encouragement," said U Kyaw Soe.

The number of army appointees was more than that in previous years, according to U Kyaw Soe.

When civilian departments need recruits or technicians, the defense ministry is the only ministry that has staff and technicians at hand, according to U Saw Valentine.

"For example, if a particular ministry needs IT technicians, it has to find them in other ministries. If other ministries have no [spare] IT technicians to give, but the army has, then they are transferred," said U Saw Valentine.

Currently, ministry senior management positions such as permanent secretary, director-general, and managing director are all held by army appointees. In August 2015, medical professionals and students organized a black ribbon movement in protest against the appointment of military officers to positions within the Ministry of Health.

"It is not a problem if the appointee has the capacity and deserves the post he is transferred to," said an assistant director of the Ministry of Health on the condition of anonymity.

"But if [the appointee] knows nothing about it and is just sent from above, the experienced staff will not be happy. If the right men are not in the right places, it is a loss for the country," he added.

The post New Govt Cuts Military Personnel Appointed to Civil Service appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Says Fake News Being Spread to Destabilize NLD Government

Posted: 05 May 2017 12:43 AM PDT

RANGOON — Burma's government has warned the public that false news and rumors are being spread by unidentified people wishing to cause "political instability" during the tenure of leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, state-run media said on Friday.

Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi took power in April 2016 as part of a transition from military rule.

Her first year in power has been beset by bureaucratic inertia, ethnic and religious tensions, and conflicts that have displaced tens of thousands, including an estimated 75,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh amid a military crackdown late last year.

Rumors emerged in recent days that President Htin Kyaw—who Daw Aung San Suu Kyi picked for head of state—would step down. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi directs the civilian administration in the specially created role of State Counselor because the constitution—drafted by the still-powerful military—bars her from the presidency.

Police said they would prosecute those responsible for the information, which has spread quickly on online social networks that have grown in popularity amid expanding freedoms and Internet access in Burma.

"False news regarding the president and the State Counselor has been spread on purpose by using accounts with false names," Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's office carried in the government's Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Friday.

It named two Facebook accounts that it said had published "fabricated news."

"It has been found that these acts are being done intentionally to cause political instability during the tenure of the incumbent government," said the State Counselor's office, adding that the perpetrators wished to "create a situation among the people to live in fear and anxiety due to the spread of rumors."

Police Colonel Myo Thu Soe, national police spokesman, told Reuters an investigation was being launched and anyone intentionally spreading false news would be brought to court.

"We will conduct a focused and intensive search for those responsible for this," Myo Thu Soe said.

The post Burma Says Fake News Being Spread to Destabilize NLD Government appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

After North Korea Criticism, China Says Wants to be Good Neighbor

Posted: 04 May 2017 10:55 PM PDT

BEIJING, China — China said on Thursday it wants to be good neighbors with North Korea, after the isolated country's state news agency published a rare criticism of Chinese state media commentaries calling for tougher sanctions over the North's nuclear program.

The United States has urged China, North Korea's only major ally, to do more to rein in the North's nuclear and missile programs, which have prompted an assertive response from the Trump administration, warning that an "era of strategic patience" is over.

A commentary carried by North Korea's KCNA news agency referred to recent commentaries in China's People's Daily and Global Times newspapers, which it said were "widely known as media speaking for the official stand of the Chinese party and government."

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China's position was consistent and clear.

"China's position on developing friendly, good-neighborly relations with North Korea is also consistent and clear," Geng told reporters, in response to a question about the KCNA commentary.

China was unswervingly devoted to the denuclearization of the peninsula and maintaining peace and security and resolving the issue through talks, Geng added.

The WeChat account of the overseas edition of the People's Daily, in its reaction to the KCNA piece, said it was clear that North Korea's nuclear and missile activities were a threat to China.

"North Korea has not left the Cold War behind and does not want to, and is enmeshed in a web of its own spinning of antagonism between its enemies and itself," it said.

China has repeatedly said that while it is happy to help arrange talks, it is ultimately up to the United States and North Korea to sort out their differences.
Diplomats say Washington and Beijing are negotiating a possible stronger UN Security Council response—such as new sanctions—to North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

The KCNA commentary charged that the Chinese articles had attempted to shift the blame to Pyongyang for "deteriorated relations" between China and North Korea and US deployment of strategic assets to the region.

It also accused China of "hyping up" damage caused by North Korean nuclear tests to China's three northeastern provinces.

Chinese state media calls for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear program were "a wanton violation of the independent and legitimate rights, dignity and supreme interests" of North Korea and constituted "an undisguised threat to an honest-minded neighboring country which has a long history and tradition of friendship," KCNA said.

The United States has sent a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to Korean waters and a pair of strategic US bombers flew training drills with South Korea and Japan in another show of strength this week.

"The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," KCNA said on Tuesday.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high for weeks, driven by concern that North Korea might conduct its sixth nuclear test, also in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

 

The post After North Korea Criticism, China Says Wants to be Good Neighbor appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UN Survey: Over Half of Rohingya Girls who Fled Violence Became Child Brides

Posted: 04 May 2017 10:18 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — More than half of Rohingya Muslim girls who fled violence in western Burma ended up becoming child brides, according to a United Nations survey that also showed widespread domestic abuse.

Since 2012, violence and communal clashes in Burma's Arakan State have forced more than 168,000 of the ethnic Muslim Rohingya minorities to flee, including a rising number of women and girls, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

In a survey of 85 Rohingya women and girls who have fled to India, Malaysia and Indonesia, UNHCR found about 60 percent married before the age of 18. The average age that they gave birth to their first child was 18.

One in every three women and girls also said they were victims of domestic violence, according to UNHCR's 2016 Report on Mixed Movements in Southeast Asia.

"We generally counsel them about their options and, if they agree, refer them to a partner or shelter that cares for vulnerable women," UNHCR Asia spokeswoman Vivian Tan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The growing number of Rohingya women and girls fleeing persecution in Buddhist-majority Burma has raised concern that they may be vulnerable to human trafficking, sexual exploitation and child marriage, activists say.

UNHCR said the interviews with the 85 women in its latest report were to assess "continuing vulnerabilities" they face.

There are about 8,000 Rohingya women and girls aged between 14 and 34 in India, Indonesia and Malaysia—the countries where the study was carried out late last year.

The findings showed while the majority of the Rohingya girls in India said they chose their husbands, 76 percent in Malaysia said their marriage was arranged by families or brokers, giving rise to fears of human trafficking.
Rights groups said they have seen an increase in the number of child brides among Rohingya refugees as violence in Arakan worsened, with human traffickers selling girls to Rohingya men as brides.

As Rohingya refugees are denied formal employment in many of the host countries, only 7 percent of the women polled said they were earning an income, even though two-thirds said they desired their own income.

The plight of the Rohingya hit international headlines again in recent months after Burma security forces were accused of carrying out mass killings and gang rapes during their campaign against Rohingya insurgents. The military has denied the accusations.

The post UN Survey: Over Half of Rohingya Girls who Fled Violence Became Child Brides appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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