Monday, June 19, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Kyaukphyu Farmers Propose Compensation Rates for Land Lost to SEZ

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 08:31 AM PDT

YANGON – Farmers from four village tracts in southern Rakhine State's Kyaukphyu Township have demanded that the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) committee compensate seized paddy field at a rate of up to 90 million kyats per acre, according to a township administration official.

The request came after a meeting between Kyaukphyu SEZ committee chairman Dr. Soe Win and 63 farmers from Thaing Chaung, Kat Tha Pyay, Chaung Wa and Khandi villages on Monday. Dr. Soe Win reached Kyaukphyu on Sunday, held a meeting with township authorities and observed the situation on the ground in the villages of concern.

Newly appointed township administration officer U Shwe Hla Aung said farmers also asked for compensation of pastureland at 70 million kyats per acre and for 50 million kyats per acre of farmland which would be lost in the scheme. The committee did not comment on the amounts requested.

According to U Shwe Hla Aung, state-owned Chinese conglomerate CITIC had selected 250 acres of land located in the middle of the four villages to be part of the SEZ. In total, CITIC had planned to develop the industrial zone on nearly 4,300 acres of land belonging to 35 villages.

Social Development Association for Regional Farmers member U Khin Nyunt told The Irrawaddy over the phone on Monday that his organization had provided a document to SEZ committee chair Dr. Soe Win asking that job opportunities be created for locals affected by the project, that a resettlement plan be put forward for the entire community in case of evacuation, and that vocational training be provided for residents. He also recommended that an SEZ bylaw be enacted to protect villagers' legal rights.

The Kyaukphyu farmers' demands have become a topic of debate in the Rakhine community: some describe their compensation scheme as too costly, while others call the land rates reasonable, pointing to higher market prices in the state capital of Sittwe.

"The farmers can grow paddy for a lifetime, but the compensatory money can be lost any time, if they don't know how to do business," said U Khin Nyunt. "Farming is their professional career and paddy fields are irreplaceable things."

U Khin Nyunt told The Irrawaddy that he felt the meeting was too short and lamented that the village representatives were allowed to only briefly present their demands to Dr. Soe Win. He added that the Kyaukphyu SEZ committee had visited the villages last month and promised that the government was working on drafting a strategic plan for villagers.

"We want protection within legal frameworks, not a verbal promise from the committee," he said.

The Rakhine State Minister of Planning and Finance U Kyaw Aye Thein, who joined the trip with the Kyaukphyu SEZ committee, confirmed that villagers demanded compensation for farmland, new land for their village, job opportunities, and training for locals.

"We are still drafting a resettlement plan for the villages with the recommendations of experts, and will compensate the farmers in line with that which would meet international standards," he said.

The authorities did not invite any local civil society organizations (CSOs), regional lawmakers or reporters to the meeting on Monday.  The Arakan National Party's regional MP U Phoe San criticized the conduct of government as lacking transparency.

"The authorities should invite lawmakers and local organizations to the meeting and release the discussions to the public. We don't want a result in which companies pay a small amount of money to the locals and leave the village with the damages," said U Phoe San.

Planning and finance minister U Kyaw Aye Thein defended the discussion as one between the authorities and farmers, and allowed for the farmers to speak frankly.

"We will invite CSOs later. This meeting only required people who are linked to this issue. It has nothing to do with CSOs. We gave the actual farmers a chance to express their opinions," U Kyaw Aye Thein said.

In late April, CITIC Chairman Chang Zhenming visited Myanmar and conducted a meeting with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw. Chinese official Wan Yajun also held a retreat with local businessmen from Kyaukphyu and expressed an eagerness to begin the SEZ without delay.

The post Kyaukphyu Farmers Propose Compensation Rates for Land Lost to SEZ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Age Matters in Politics

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 07:47 AM PDT

When Daw Aung San Suu Kyi made her first speech to a large crowd at the foot of Shwedagon Pagoda on August 26, 1988, she was 43 years old. It marked the official day she entered what would become a long journey into Myanmar politics.

In her 29-year political career, she has founded Myanmar's main and most popular political party—the National League for Democracy (NLD)—become one of the world's most well known political prisoners, and served as an international pro-democracy icon.

Today, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the country's de-facto leader, and has turned 72 years old. Universally, age matters in politics, but how it will play out specifically in Myanmar remains to be seen.

The ruling generals over the past decades have referred to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi derogatorily amongst themselves as kaung ma lay, which can interpreted as calling her a little "girl."  They had never before had their monopoly on power confronted or challenged by a woman, or by someone so much younger than them.

When former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe assumed power from his predecessor Snr-Gen Saw Maung in 1992, he was just 67. Why then did Than Shwe decide to release his iron grip on Myanmar in 2011 and hand over power to his handpicked general, U Thein Sein? Many people speculate that his age played a role—he was 76 then—and that he had the longevity of the regime in mind.

Age might have mattered then and now. In 2012, when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi competed in the by-elections and earned a seat in Parliament, she too was 67. Perhaps Than Shwe and his deputy generals assumed that the "little girl" they had long mocked had developed greater political maturity over the past three decades, after three stints and fifteen years of experience of house arrest.

When Daw Aung San Suu Kyi became the State Counselor right after her NLD government took office at the end of March 2016, she was 71.

With that in mind, she must feel that there is not an extraordinary amount of time left for her to transform her country and achieve her goals.

This issue of time must be one of the key factors in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's prioritizing of those matters which she feels are most important for the country to change politically: reconciling with the military and restoring peace. Additional pressure comes from within, pushing to realize her aims for the country while she remains in good health.

Can Daw Aung San Suu Kyi manage to solve Myanmar's main problems during the tenure of this administration, before the next election in 2020? She will be 75. It seems thus far to be an impossible mission. But as long as she remains strong well into her seventies, her millions of supporters will likely continue to see her as someone who will achieve their aspirations for the country in time.

As The Lady's age advances, we must begin to look toward the next generation of government. Where are our younger potential leaders who can take responsibility for the unfinished duties of building the country?

Kyaw Zwa Moe is the editor of The Irrawaddy's English edition.

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End Impunity for Rapists in Conflict, say Women’s Rights Advocates

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 05:31 AM PDT

YANGON — Advocates for women's rights stressed the challenges of obtaining justice for the survivors of violence, and called for an end to impunity for rapists in conflict, as they marked the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Nang Pu, founder of the Kachin State Women's Network and director of the Kachin-based Htoi Gender and Development Foundation, said justice remains out of reach for women survivors of violence in conflict areas, during a panel discussion organized by the Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process (AGIPP) in Yangon on Monday.

"Not taking action against the perpetrators is the same allowing them to commit rape. And also there is no security for all women [in the state]," she told the attendees.

She said impunity still reigns when rapes are committed by Myanmar Army soldiers. The survivors and their families receive threats from the perpetrators not to report the cases, she added.

Rape is continually used as a weapon in conflict, said Nang Pu. Rape threatens all women, she said, leading to their insecurity, limiting their freedom of movement, and hindering their development, compared to others.

Traditional ways of resolving rape cases stand in the way of justice, she added, explaining that most rape survivors and their families refer to guidance from a religious leader or teacher. This may lead, she said, to compensation of just 200,000 kyats and some chickens.

Or these individuals will try to comfort the survivor instead of reporting the case, she added, as the expenses of a legal process and the idea of dealing with male officers deter them.

Lower House lawmaker Nang Khin Htar Yee of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, who is also a member of the Shan State Women Affairs Committee, echoed her words.

She said soldiers are responsible for most rapes in Shan State, but result in no arrests, and no transparency of whether action is taken against the perpetrator.

Nay Say Hwa, a former lawmaker of Karen State's Hpa-an constituency, said rape is more common in conflict zones, which highlighted the urgent need for a separate law to prevent sexual violence against women in such areas.

Nay Say Hwa, who is also the chair of Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party (Myanmar)'s Women Affairs Committee, said more women participation at the country's major decision-making level is needed—especially in peace and security sectors—to encourage more prevention and protection plans, as well as policies, for women in conflict areas.

Nang Pu listed recommendations: a 30 percent minimum of women participation at all levels of the peace process; the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1820—which relate to women, peace and security issues—by the government and non-governmental organizations; and security for the media to report on sexual violence in conflict.

The post End Impunity for Rapists in Conflict, say Women's Rights Advocates appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Wa-Led Alliance: We Will Only Meet Govt Peace Team as a Bloc

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 05:07 AM PDT

YANGON – An alliance of seven ethnic armed groups based in northeast Myanmar led by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) said it would only meet with government peace negotiators as a single entity, not as separate groups.

The government's peace commission asked the alliance to attend meetings through Chinese officials last week, according to Tar Jode Jar, vice chairman of alliance member the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), though government peace negotiators separately told The Irrawaddy it was unlikely they would meet the groups as a bloc.

"If we meet [with the government], we will only meet as an alliance," Tar Jode Jar told The Irrawaddy on Monday, referring to the new alliance of seven groups, which also includes the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Arakan Army (AA).

If agreed, the meeting is likely to take place later this week somewhere along the border of Myanmar and China, according to Tar Jode Jar.

U Aung Soe, a member of the government's Peace Commission and a lower house lawmaker said, however, the government "will meet three northern groups together [the TNLA, the AA, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)] and the rest separately."

Discussions could include the Panghsang Principles, an agreement signed by the seven groups at a summit in Wa self-administered territory in April, which denounce the government's nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA).

Although the NCA—signed by eight armed groups in October 2015—is the government's chosen peace process, many powerful ethnic armed groups have shunned signing the accord and have put forward alternative approaches to national reconciliation.

Peace process observers have pointed out the need to review the NCA while others criticize the lack of informal talks prior to formal negotiations.

Alongside the second session of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference last month, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met separately with the seven members of the alliance—the UWSA, the KIA, the TNLA, the AA, Mongla's National Democratic Alliance Army, the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army North and Kokang's MNDAA.

The seven groups attended the opening session of the conference at the last minute with the intervention of China's negotiators.

The post Wa-Led Alliance: We Will Only Meet Govt Peace Team as a Bloc appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Obo Prison Inmates Matriculate with Honors

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 04:49 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Seven inmates from Mandalay's Obo Prison passed matriculation exams in the 2016-17 academic year, five of them with honors.

A 19-year-old girl who was sentenced to 20 years on drug charges matriculated with distinctions in geography, history and economics. Four boys who passed the exam received one distinction each.

The results of the matriculation exam were announced on Saturday.

"She was from Sagaing Division's Shwebo Township. She has so far served about two years of her prison term," said U Cho Win Tun, prison superintendent of Obo Prison.

The girl was reportedly arrested in 2015 and jailed under the Narcotics Law after she was found carrying methamphetamine tablets that her aunt had asked her to deliver to a customer.

"If she is qualified for professional study and willing, the ministry will decide whether she can continue in university. We will pursue every possible measure to allow her to continue her studies," the prison superintendent said.

A total of 11 inmates from Obo Prison sat for the matriculation exam.

"If they want to continue to university, we will cooperate with the National Higher Education Department. They could possibly participate in distance education, as they still have to serve their prison terms," said the superintendent.

"We are very proud of these students for studying hard and not giving up on their education."

This was the first academic year in which Obo Prison inmates could sit the exam from inside. In past years, they had to travel to Insein Prison for the exam.

According to figures from the Ministry of Education, 41 inmates from Obo, Insein, Tharyarwaddy and Hpa-an prisons took the matriculation exam, and 16 of them passed.

According to prison officials, in Obo Prison alone, there were 38 inmates studying from grade 6 through matriculation this year. The classes were mainly taught by teachers who were also imprisoned. Teachers from local high schools helped prepare them for the matriculation exams under a program run by the education ministry.

The successful inmates will have to wait until all marks are totaled to see which universities they may be eligible to attend.

Professional universities—such as medicine, engineering, economics and information technology—accept students with the highest marks and do not allow distance learning.

The post Obo Prison Inmates Matriculate with Honors appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Artist Toasts the Lady’s Birthday with ‘Mingalabar 72’

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 04:39 AM PDT

YANGON — While supporters and followers of Myanmar's State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated their leader's 72nd birthday on Monday with cakes and bouquets, the artist MPP Yei Myint marked the day with paints and brushes.

Instead of saying "Happy Birthday Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he takes a more traditional approach for Myanmar, with "Mingalabar 72," wishing "prosperity, blessing or anything auspicious, joyous" for the State Counselor on her birthday and onward.

He uses the greeting as the title of his 15th solo show from June 17-21 in Yangon's Cloud 31 Art Gallery.

As the name of the show suggests, the 54 acrylic paintings open to the public are solely about the Lady—mostly close-up portraits of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, from her younger days to campaign trails to her time as the country's State Counselor.

"I just honor her and the country she is serving. I juxtaposed the Myanmar traditional greeting word [mingalarbar] with someone we valued," explained the 64-year old artist.

Some of the paintings not only depict Daw Aung San Suu Kyi but also excerpts from her speeches as well.

Apart from the canvas, the artist uses the National League for Democracy party's flag—a white star and yellow fighting peacock on a red background—as a backdrop for the Lady's portrait and her speech extracts.

The paintings are in two different sizes: two feet by three feet, and three feet by four feet, with prices ranging from 500,000-2,000,000 kyats.

Asked if he has a birthday wish for her beyond "mingalabar," MPP Yei Myint said he wishes her good health to help her achieve the peace she so covets for her country, referring to the government's ongoing and elusive peace process with ethnic armed groups.

"Without her, I see no one to lead the peace process," he said.

The post Artist Toasts the Lady's Birthday with 'Mingalabar 72' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Reporter’s Notebook: Escaping the Kachin Mines

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 02:44 AM PDT

Tanai Township, Kachin State — Mining officer Myit Aung knocked on the door, stirring me from a deep sleep.

"The Kachin Independence Army [KIA] gave the order last night that we all have to leave today," he told reporters over the racket of a heavy downpour. "This is the last day we can stay in the mining areas, but journalists can stay with the KIA fighters at the frontline."

By June 16, only KIA soldiers remained in Noi Je Bum Patserm Maw, an amber mining village. All of the civilians, including the ethnic armed group's mining officers, had left the area's amber and gold mines in the expectation of a coming attack from the Myanmar Army.

Many internally displaced people (IDPs) had already experienced the violence since fighting broke out on June 6, fleeing to Tanai town in Kachin State. We discussed whether we should visit the frontline for a second time or join the mining officers on their journey back to town in Tanai Township.

The mining officers had provided us with food and transport on our first trip to the frontline. Without them, we would have had to find and cook our own food, as the KIA troops would be too occupied with the battle.

Our accommodation would have been one of the 300 or so houses in the abandoned village of Nam Kham. From there, it is at least a five-day jungle trek back to Hpakant Township, with parts of the route potentially blocked by flooding.

Besides our dearth of experience at such a trek and our heavy backpacks, there was the danger of bumping into the Myanmar Army, which had announced via leaflets dropped from helicopters on June 4 that anyone remaining in the mining areas would be recognized as insurgents.

Finally, we decided to return with the mining officers.

The KIA troops held a meeting at 8 a.m. and then set about moving all the amber, guns, and other equipment from their offices, before driving their fighters to the frontline.

KIA mining officers in front of their offices in a mining area of Tanai Township, Kachin State. (Photo: Lawi Weng/The Irrawaddy)

They told us we would be the last to leave. The Myanmar Army, also known as the Tatmadaw, was getting closer, they said, and had clashed with some KIA troops at the frontline. Fighting may break out soon, they said.

Uneasy, we rushed our meals and two bottles of a traditional Kachin drink—strong rice wine mixed with plant roots—an unmanageable feat to finish, as the troops arrived to collect us at 2 p.m.

After driving for an hour, we arrived at the boat stop and, fortunately, the Myanmar Army had not blocked the river route. We took a boat for another hour, removing our KIA army boots before disembarking.

The group has given us the boots for trekking to the frontline, but we feared Myanmar Army troops would know we had come from the frontline if they stopped us.

On the road back to Tanai town, we held our breath passing two army checkpoints, but we were not stopped—we had passed for IDPs—and, after arriving at our guesthouses, we let out a collective sigh of relief.

The post Reporter's Notebook: Escaping the Kachin Mines appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chin Political Parties Merge

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 02:22 AM PDT

YANGON — Two political parties in Chin State—the Chin National Democratic Party (CNDP) and the Chin Progressive Party (CPP)—agreed to merge last Thursday, almost five years after their first attempts to do so.

"Only if we merge, can we represent the desires of the people and our people can rely on us," said general secretary of the CNDP Salai Ceu Bik Thawng, who attended the meeting of executive committee members held on Thursday in Yangon, adding they had established a working committee with three persons from each party to conduct the merger.

"We aim to win every seat in Chin State in the 2020 general election," he said, after the National League for Democracy largely defeated the Chin parties in the 2015 general election.

CNDP was renamed from the Chin National Party (CNP) in February 2014. Both the CNP and the CPP were formed in 2010 before the 2010 general election and won a number of seats. The two parties have attempted to merge since early 2012.

A joint statement from the CNDP and the CPP said members from the CNDP, the CPP and the Chin League for Democracy (CLD) in Falam, Hakha, Kanpetlet, Matupi, Paletwa, Tedim, and Thantlang townships in Shan State and Kale and Tamu townships in Sagaing Division expressed their desire to merge, though the CLD had not yet reached an agreement to do so.

Chin politicians plan to prepare their new party's registration this month and aim to finalize the merger, including at township level, before July.

CLD had said in a statement released on June 5 an alliance should be first formed to build mutual trust and to collaborate on policies before holding a conference with representatives from all ethnic Chin parties in March 2018 in order to officially merge.

Ngai Sak, chairman of the CLD, told The Irrawaddy last week the party stood by the statement, while welcoming news of the merger of the CNDP and CPP.

CNDP said it expects other parties and individuals will join soon, when they are ready.

"We all have desire to collaborate, thus, I am sure we could all merge before 2020," Salai Ceu Bik Thawng said. "We understand [CLD]'s current position that they are not yet ready for this and we respect their decision."

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Ministry to Legalize Myanmar Domestic Workers in Singapore

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 01:15 AM PDT

YANGON — The Myanmar government will register and legalize Myanmar national domestic workers in Singapore, said deputy director general Daw Khin Nwe Oo of the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population.

The ministry has so far only approved sending some 130 domestic workers to Singapore through a bilateral agreement between the two governments but it is estimated that as many as 40,000 Myanmar nationals are currently engaged in domestic work in Singapore, said the deputy director general during an event to celebrate World Domestic Workers' Day in Yangon on June 16.

"We will tally the number of workers in the first phase. We already have action plans that we will carry out depending on the number. We want to protect them," she said.

"I want domestic workers to get registered, and we'll issue official documents for them," she added.

At the event, civil society organizations (CSOs) engaged in defending and promoting the rights of migrant workers along with a network of labor organizations demanded that the Myanmar government sign International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189, which concerns decent work for domestic workers. But, the deputy director general replied that her ministry has no plan to sign the convention at this time.

The event also hosted a debate regarding the ban on migrant domestic workers. Daw Thet Thet Aung, leader of a CSO called the Future Light Center, said although the Myanmar government has prohibited sending domestic helpers to Singapore since 2014, 30 to 40 workers migrate every day in this capacity, and they dare not ask the Myanmar Embassy for assistance if difficulties arise as they are not there legally.

"In our country, job opportunities are fewer and the pay is less than in other countries. So, people have to go to other countries for their livelihood. Officially sending domestic workers under clear rules and regulations, and with a complaint mechanism, will help protect them," she said.

Participants recalled a recent suicide in which a Myanmar domestic worker jumped from a high-rise in Singapore, allegedly as a consequence of ill treatment by her employer and a lack of options due to Myanmar's ban.

Participants also demanded ensuring the same rights and protections enshrined in labor laws for internal and migrant domestic workers in response to recent media reports about the abuse of domestic helpers within the country.

International Domestic Workers' Day was celebrated last week for the first time in Burma with the assistance of the ILO and the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT).

On June 16, 2011, the ILO adopted a landmark treaty, the Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, which set out the rights of domestic workers. The convention requires countries to guarantee domestic workers the same rights as other workers regarding daily and weekly rest periods, working hours, overtime compensation and paid annual leave; as well as adequate protection against violence.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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‘Psycho Zero’—Myanmar’s First Zero-Budget Movie?

Posted: 18 Jun 2017 11:10 PM PDT

YANGON—When a group of local independent filmmakers wanted to disprove a widely accepted notion in Myanmar that a quality film must, by necessity, be expensive and use good equipment, they did not just make one film, but 14 short films on a total budget of zero.

Supposedly the first of its kind in Myanmar, the omnibus film called "Psycho Zero" is a collection of 14 short films under the same theme, directed by 14 different independent filmmakers. The 85-minute film premiered at the fifth edition of the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival in Yangon and was a highlight of the festival, which ran from June 14-19.

There was a total of 12 rules for directors contributing to Psycho Zero, with the most important rule being zero production costs, according to directors. The minimum duration was set at four minutes and film crews were forbidden from using a tripod, a slider, lighting equipment and other advanced filming equipment.

"It was a way of challenging ourselves because we wanted to know if we could make a film [of a certain standard] with no budget," said one of the directors Kaung Sint, who initiated the idea of making the film.

When he and his filmmaker friends wrote their film scripts for the project, the majority of the stories happened to be psychological in theme, said Kaung Sint. Since the short films are shot with zero budget and related to psychology, they titled the film "Psycho Zero," he explained.

Some shorts strikingly portrayed social frustration and struggles that people face in real life, from relationships to loneliness to traumatic experiences. Some short films consisted of no dialogue whatsoever but showcased the artistry and creativity of the directors.

Myat Noe, one of the 14 directors, told The Irrawaddy that coming up with a story idea that was suitable on "zero budget" was the most challenging part of the filming process, but figuring out how to get around the problems was also his favorite part of the process.

He said he wished the crew had had a designated script supervisor or a post-production supervisor so that the scripts could have been more fine-tuned before shooting and better edited after.

He stressed that the project was never meant to be a stunt or a "guiding light" for other people to follow, but to emphasize that a good story and script, creativity, problem-solving skills, and a practical mindset are the keys to making high-quality films.

"We just wanted to offer an alternative [film-making option]," he said. "If someone sees those alternatives by seeing this film, I personally will feel that our efforts were worth it."

The post 'Psycho Zero'—Myanmar's First Zero-Budget Movie? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Black Box from Crashed Plane Retrieved

Posted: 18 Jun 2017 09:33 PM PDT

YANGON — Search teams retrieved the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from a Myanmarese army plane that crashed into the Andaman Sea in early June with 122 soldiers, family members and crew on board, the Myanmar military said on Sunday.

The Chinese-made Y-8-200F transport plane disappeared on June 7, while flying at 18,000 feet (5,485 metres) on a weekly flight from several southern coastal towns to Myanmar's largest city, Yangon. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.

Since then, the military has recovered 92 bodies during its search operations and has found the personal belongings of some passengers and crew, as well as several pieces of debris.

The military said on its official Facebook page on Sunday that cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder—both crucial to explaining what went wrong and known as the "black box"—were  found in the sea off Myanmar's southern coast.

The search for the remaining bodies and the fuselage will continue amid Myanmar's monsoon season, it added.

Some bodies pulled from the sea have been cremated as relatives and friends mourn victims in the coastal town of Dawei.

State-owned China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp, the manufacturer of the plane, has said it would assist Myanmar authorities fully in the investigation into the crash.

There have been several recent aircraft accidents in Myanmar, involving both civilian and military planes.

A military helicopter crashed in June 2016, killing three military personnel. Five were killed in February 2016 when an air force aircraft crashed in the capital Naypyitaw, media reports said.

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Longtime Activist Returns to Her Studies, Aiming to Change the System for Women

Posted: 18 Jun 2017 09:23 PM PDT

YANGON — Prominent Myanmar women's rights and peace activist Ma May Sabe Phyu received a fellowship to study for a one-year Master in Public Administration (MPA) program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the US this year.

Alumni of the program include the first female president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is also a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Ma May Sabe Phyu, a director of the Gender Equality Network (GEN), and co-founder of the Kachin Peace Network and the Kachin Women Peace Network, won the US State Department's International Women of Courage Award for her tireless efforts toward gender equality and peacebuilding in Myanmar.

The ethnic Kachin activist said she is interested in taking the program's courses on constitutions, political economy, women leadership, political systems, taxation and national revenue management.

Before she left Yangon for her studies on June 15, she sat down with The Irrawaddy to talk about why she chose the MPA and what knowledge she expects to implement in Myanmar on her return.

Why did you decide to study the MPA?

I have advocated for gender equality and women participation for five years, and throughout this time I have put in a lot of effort, kept talking about why we need gender equality, why women participation is important.

More people have started to acknowledge there is no gender equality in Myanmar and have begun accepting women's participation. But in reality, we have not yet got the results or outcome we want, so we are surely missing something.

That is, we need to know how to integrate gender equality and women's rights into the administrative system. For that, we need to know how the overall public administrative system is running, which is why I am going to learn where and how we need to change and improve the administration so women can participate more, and we can ensure women's rights and gender equality.

What do you expect to contribute after returning from the MPA?

I will come back to the GEN. As we want gender integration from the national level to all levels, we are doing national-level advocacy a lot, but no satisfying change has been seen. I expect to push more than we are now for the implementation of that. I will be able participate more practically in peace and politics because there is always the question of how much a woman knows. If I come back from Harvard, there wouldn't be any question on how much I know.

Women activists have been pushing for women's participation in leadership. We now have a woman leading the country, despite the low number of women in the administration. What kind of difference have you seen so far?

We can't say all the faults and shortages are because of her leadership, because absolute power is not in her hands—everybody knows. We can't say the country is led completely under a woman. The military still largely holds power and there is a state in which they might order a coup at anytime. To see real change, the sovereignty of the country needs to be with the civilian government, elected by the people. If not, it will be difficult to achieve real change.

Your family and friends believe you are trying to achieve the impossible in your lifetime—gender equality. Do you think we will achieve gender equality in Myanmar?

Realistically, we can get at least 30 percent of women participation in every sector. We are pushing to get the policies to ensure that. At least, even if we don't get equality, I think I can do that in my lifetime.

In what way do you want to encourage other women?

I can go and study, as my children are becoming adults and my husband supports me, but there might be many women who can't go study because their family doesn't support them or for other reasons.

So I discussed with a senior who finished the MPA program to create a platform on Facebook on which I could stream live videos of some of the lectures, upload parts of the lectures and discussions, and also reflect on the lectures and discussions for people who are interested, like an online class. I would like to share what I learn there through that [Facebook] group but I need to negotiate with the professors.

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