Friday, June 2, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Police: Husband Killed Wife Before Suicide

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 08:04 AM PDT

RANGOON — The bodies of a married couple were found with stab wounds at their house in No. 14 Ward of Rangoon's Thaketa Township on Thursday morning.

In a statement on its Facebook page, Rangoon Division Police Force said it appears Victor Raj, in his 40s, killed his wife Ma Khaing Sabel Hnin Aung, in her 30s, with a hammer and a cleaver before stabbing himself and slitting his wrists.

Photos of the bodies along with the bloodstained hammer and cleaver were posted by police on Facebook, causing social media users to question how Victor Raj could slit both wrists and stab himself with a cleaver, which has a flat blade.

According to police, Victor Raj, from India, bought the hammer and cleaver from Capital Hyper Market on Wednesday, before killing Ma Khaing Sabel Hnin Aung, who was from Burma. Their housemaid found the man's corpse on the upper floor and the woman's corpse on the lower floor of the two-story house, according to media reports.

Police said Victor Raj had two stab wounds and a cut in his chest, and both of his wrists were slit. Ma Khaing Sabel Hnin Aung had her throat cut and was hit by a heavy object on the left part of her skull, police added.

Social media users also questioned why there was no blood surrounding Victor Raj's wrist wounds, and why he was found naked.

"It is not that he stabbed himself with the cleaver," an officer of Thaketa Township police station told The Irrawaddy. "There were other knives. He stabbed himself with a sharp knife. We also found a knife that had not been unwrapped. The divisional police force will release more information."

Victor Raj had been unemployed for several months and was heavily in debt, according to the police statement, which also said he owed his wife 5 million kyats. Victor Raj was previously the general manager of The One Bar in Bahan Township. The executive director of its parent company The One Group Co. announced through his lawyer that the company would not take responsibility for the finances of Victor Raj.

The Rangoon Division Police Force and the Criminal Investigation Department, which is investigating the case alongside the local police force, were unavailable for comment on Friday.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Police: Husband Killed Wife Before Suicide appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burmese Newspaper’s Chief Editor and Satirist Taken Into Police Custody Over 66(d) Charge

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 07:50 AM PDT

RANGOON — Police detained chief editor of The Voice Daily newspaper Ko Kyaw Min Swe and its regular columnist Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing—also known by his pen name British Ko Ko Maung—on Friday afternoon, according to the chief editor's legal adviser U Khin Maung Myint.

The pair is facing a lawsuit filed on May 17 by the Burma Army under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law over a satirical article questioning the country's armed struggle and peace process.

Ko Kyaw Min Swe and Ko Ko Maung were first summoned to Bahan Township police station on Friday afternoon for further investigation regarding the suit, U Khin Maung Myint said.

"Police said they could not allow them to leave [the police station] since there's an arrest order [for the pair], and that they had to put them in custody," U Khin Maung Myint told The Irrawaddy.

Article 66(d) requires that an arrest warrant issued by the court within 24 hours of placement in police custody, but since the courts are closed over the weekend, U Khin Maung Myint said he is negotiating with the police regarding the matter.

The article in question, titled 'Kyi Htaung Su Thitsar'—meaning 'Oath Made in a Nation of Bullets'—was written by Ko Ko Maung and published on March 26.

The title was a play on the army-produced film 'Pyi Htaung Su Thitsar'—translated as 'Union Oath'—that commemorated the country's 72nd Armed Forces Day and aired on state- and military-owned channels in early March.

The piece suggested that ethnic armed groups in the long-running civil war are united only in fighting one another. It said people in Burma do not need to leave the country to fight wars when they are a day's drive from the frontline.

Lower-ranking soldiers die in ongoing battles while the leaders of armed groups hold peace talks and exchange smiles, British Ko Ko Maung wrote.

The lawsuit came amid mediation held by the Myanmar Press Council between the paper and the military, which complained to the council about the article just before the Thingyan holidays in April.

A member of the press council told reporters that the article "could cause divisions between military officials and their subordinates because it implied that lower-ranking soldiers are the ones who actually have to die in battle while officials do not really have to fight."

The Voice Daily published a note in its May 14 edition, expressing its regret for the army's complaint. It stated that the article was humorous, constructive and did not intend to harm the image of the Burma Army or any other ethnic armed groups.

U Khin Maung Myint told The Irrawaddy that The Voice Daily had sent a draft letter with proposed wording to the military through the press council on May 24, to amend the note published earlier in the month, but have not heard back since.

Defending his piece, satirist Ko Ko Maung said that it did not name specific institutions, groups, or the army, but satirized the generic situation of all armed groups. The Voice Daily's executive editor Ko Aung Soe also said that there are different standards and qualifications for news stories and satirical articles, and that the military might have misinterpreted the piece.

U Aung Hla Tun, a vice-chair of Myanmar Press Council, who is leading the negotiation process, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the mediation could be assumed to have been unsuccessful in this particular incident.

He refused to comment further regarding the case.

Since the enactment of the Telecommunication law in 2013, there have been a total of 67 cases filed under Article 66(d), according to the a local research group led by a former prisoner Maung Saung Kha, a poet who was jailed under the same charge in 2016.

Advocates who promote freedom of speech and expression have been lobbying for the complete abolishment of this particular section of the Telecommunications Law.

The post Burmese Newspaper's Chief Editor and Satirist Taken Into Police Custody Over 66(d) Charge appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Displaced and Forgotten, Kaman Search for a New Home

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 07:37 AM PDT

RANGOON — It's a modest life, but it's a lot better than what came before.

Father-of-two U Khin Maung Shwe works as a motorcycle taxi driver outside Rangoon. His wife, Daw Ni La, runs a small shop.

They get by mainly on their own efforts, and that's important to the Kaman Muslim family who came to Htauk Kyan village in Mingaladon Township three years ago, hoping to escape the tough conditions they experienced in the Ramree camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Arakan State for three years.

"It was very restrictive there. We had to rely on food from donors. And we couldn't move about freely like we can here."

By contrast, life in Rangoon feels safe, and free, he said. The couple can see a future. They hope to save money, and to send their children to school.

Losing Everything

The sudden eruption of violence between members of the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Arakan State in 2012 resulted in around 112 deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, the majority of whom were Muslims who identify as Rohingyas.

The Muslim Kaman community were also deeply affected, with thousands placed in camps in Ramree, Kyaukphyu and Sittwe townships, for their "safety" according to authorities.

The Kaman are classified as one of Burma's 135 official ethnic groups and one of seven ethnic subgroups of Arakan State. The total community numbers only around 45,000 people, according to estimates of the Kaman National Progressive Party (KNPP).

Most come from Thandwe, Kyaukphyu, Ramree, Sittwe and Myaybon townships in Arakan State and there are significant communities in Rangoon and Mandalay. Around 12,000 lived in Rangoon prior to 2012, according to the KNPP.

After the 2012 violence, the community increasingly found itself isolated and in an uneasy relationship with elements of both the Buddhist community and the Muslim Rohingya community.

Some 4,000 Kaman fled from camps or other locations to Mandalay and Rangoon in the immediate aftermath of the initial communal violence, the KNPP estimates.

Since then, another 2,000 joined them in the flight to Burma's two largest cities, according to the party. Among them were a number in 2015 who were granted National Verification Cards and allowed to travel, Kyaukphyu Township administrator U Nyi Nyi Lin told The Irrawaddy.

U Khin Maung Shwe sits outside his house in in Htauk Kyan village of Rangoon's Mingaladon Township. (Photo: Maung Nain / The Irrawaddy)

No Way Home?

Promises from both the previous government and the current administration that the Kaman could return to their former homes in Ramree, Kyaukphyu, and Sittwe have failed to materialize.

Hundreds of families from Kyauktalone camp in Kyaukphyu owned properties in the western part of the township, including in the Thanpan Chaung, Myitnartan, Ahyarchi quarters.

Some properties were destroyed during the violence of 2012. Other homes and properties remain intact, but authorities have discouraged the owners from returning, saying they could not guarantee returnees' safety. A number of properties have been taken over by squatters.

"I went secretly a few times to find out the condition of my house in Ahyarchi quarter and saw that strangers were staying there. But I can't say anything against them because I am an IDP," said U Tin Maung Shwe who is living in Kyauktalone camp.

"I am really dissatisfied, but what can I do?" he said.

Over the years some Kaman IDPs have also leased their land or sold their houses, often at below-market rates to unscrupulous buyers who took advantage of their vulnerable positions.

"It should not be that way—authorities have a responsibility to oversee such problems and enforce the law on the ground," said Kyaukphyu Rural Development Association coordinator U Tun Kyi.

Last week, authorities from Kyaukphyu did act to remove squatters from a previously burnt out area of eastern Pike Seik ward, locally known as a Muslim quarter. But any future return home of the original residents would be handled by the Union government, U Nyi Nyi Lin said.

Kaman representatives have been in talks with the government about relocation since the previous administration, with little result.

Last month they met Union Social Welfare minister Dr. Win Myat Aye who was on a visit to Arakan State.

According to U Tun Ngwe, Dr. Win Myat Aye and chief minister U Nyi Pu suggested during the meeting that authorities would return lost land and houses to Kaman.

"But the problem is that now there is no one remaining in Ramree except some civil servants, and a few people in Kyaukphyu," said U Tun Ngwe of the Kaman Social Network.

U Tun Ngwe from the Kaman Social Network in in Htauk Kyan village of Rangoon's Mingaladon Township. (Photo: Maung Nain / The Irrawaddy)

Distrust Between Communities

U Tun Ngwe recalled a recent discussion between Arakan State's border affairs minister U Htein Lin and Kaman political party and civil society representatives in which the minister said that relocation to places like downtown Kyaukphyu would "take time."

Relations between the majority Buddhist community and the Kaman have soured since 2012, with some Buddhist community members accusing Kaman of assisting Rohingya Muslims to obtain "pink cards," denoting full citizenship of Burma. U Tun Ngwe told The Irrawaddy that the issue was a result of "malpractice of some government officials".

Relations also took a turn for the worse last year after two IDPs were accused of the rape of a Buddhist woman. The accusation occurred around the same time as the government was negotiating a resettlement project for Kaman.

U Tun Kyi remains positive still about future relocation prospects. "Many of the old relationships [in the community] remain stable," the Kyaukphyu rural development coordinator said.

"It's fair enough that they demand to be relocated to their place of origin," he said, adding that most Kaman from Kyaukphyu worked as laborers and could not survive in areas where fishing is the main source of livelihoods.

But in reality, in the immediate term the authorities are looking to rehouse Kaman in new, yet to be determined locations, according to township administrator U Nyi Nyi Lin.

The Kyauktalone camp for internally displaced persons, located on the outskirts of Kyaukphyu, southern Arakan State. (Photo: Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy)

Moving Away

Meanwhile, Kaman still languishing in camps after five years are continuing to seek the best of a poor set of options, and the camps are gradually emptying.

Kyauktalone camp now houses around 1,100 people, down from a former 1,900 with around 800 having left for Rangoon in the last five years, U Nyi Nyi Lin said.

Only four or five families remain in the Ramree camp, which once housed 800 people, according to KNPP secretary U Tin Hlaing Win.

In April, around 130 people from Ramree camp arrived in Rangoon, with some having received financial assistance from the Arakan State government, said U Tun Ngwe. According to one new arrival, the assistance included air tickets, cash assistance of 500,000 kyat for each family and an additional 100,000 kyat per family member.

Two Kaman boys play in Htauk Kyan village of Rangoon's Mingaladon Township. (Photo: Maung Nain / The Irrawaddy)

Some of the Rangoon arrivals are living in Hlaing Thayar Township and in downtown areas where they seek to find work as casual laborers.

Others have received support from the Kaman Social Network and U Tun Ngwe, who has provided many families with homes and jobs on five acres of his livestock farm in Htauk Kyant.

In April, Kaman in Htauk Kyant celebrated the Arakanese traditional water festival alongside local Buddhist residents, U Tun Nge said.

Residents of Htauk Kyant have given a warm welcome to the fresh faces, ethnic Bamar U Khin Maung Than told The Irrawaddy.

Buddhists and Kaman were living happily together, he said.

The Kaman buy goods from the Buddhists' shops and Buddhists buy traditional Arakanese food from small Kaman stores, he added.

But U Tun Ngwe worries that other Kaman need assistance, while his farm and the KSN lack the capacity to help many more.

"In the future, the state government should provide them with land in Rangoon. They have lost everything in Arakan State."

The post Displaced and Forgotten, Kaman Search for a New Home appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ma Ba Tha’s New Political Party Denounces NLD Govt

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 04:35 AM PDT

RANGOON — The chairman of a new political party formed by supporters of banned ultra-nationalist Buddhist association Ma Ba Tha has accused the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government of failing to support Buddhism.

"The government banned the use of Ma Ba Tha's name and signboards; they do not support us, they even oppress us," said chairman U Maung Thway Chon last month in response to government moves to shut down Ma Ba Tha.

He said comments from government members, including from Rangoon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein, that Ma Ba Tha was unnecessary amounted to an abuse of the rights of Buddhists.

"The former government did not support us, but they did not oppress us," the chairman said. "We could do our work without being disturbed."

Leading laypersons from the Association to Protect Race and Religion—commonly known as Ma Ba Tha—announced the formation of 135 United Patriots to "work for national interests, unity and sovereignty," at a two-day conference attended by thousands of Ma Ba Tha supporters in Rangoon on Sunday.

The state Buddhist Sangha committee – known as Ma Ha Na – recently ordered Ma Ba Tha to cease all activities, including use of its name, citing actions of leading Ma Ba Tha monks, such as U Wirathu, who spread anti-Muslim hate speech.

Through the political party, Ma Ba Tha supporters hope to challenge the Ma Ha Na and the NLD on policies including the recent ban, Maung Thway Chon said.

"It is not enough to only protest, we need to enter politics in order to protect [Buddhists]," he said.

The post Ma Ba Tha's New Political Party Denounces NLD Govt appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Report: Burgeoning Market for Methamphetamine in Burma

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 03:17 AM PDT

RANGOON – The methamphetamine market in Burma has remained high, along with other countries in East and Southeast Asia, as seizures of the drug rose steadily between 2006 and 2015, according to a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released Thursday.

The report, titled "The challenges of Synthetic Drugs in East and South-East Asia," reviews trends and patterns of amphetamine-type stimulants and new psychoactive substances from 2006 to 2015.

It noted annual seizures of methamphetamine increased more than fivefold in East and Southeast Asia during the period, while heroin seizures increased by only 75 percent.

Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam saw increasing use whereas other countries in the region saw either stable or decreasing use, the report said.

The report did not cover May 2016 to 2017, but Burmese authorities seized 4.6 million methamphetamine pills in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State in February and 400,000 methamphetamine pills in May of this year.

Authorities seized approximately 50 million methamphetamine tablets in 2015—including a seizure of 26.7 million methamphetamine tablets in Rangoon in July 2015 and another two million in September that year—which is larger than the sum seized between 2012 and 2014.

Last week alone, Burma's anti-narcotics police in different parts of the country seized almost 300,000 stimulant tablets in eastern Shan, Karen and northern Arakan states, according to state media.

On Monday, an anti-narcotics squad, together with the local Border Guard Force seized 218,400 stimulant tablets and seven kilos of powdered stimulant drugs in Parkhar village in Tachileik in Shan State. Two days before, anti-narcotics police in Lashio seized 39,000 stimulant tablets from two vehicles on the Lashio-Mandalay Road near Nawnghkio on May 27.

On May 28, Karen state's Hpa-an district anti-narcotics squad seized 28,000 tablets in a house in Htoogon village. Some 230 stimulants drugs known as "WY" were seized in Arakan State's Buthidaung Township on Sunday.

Heroin remains a drug of major concern in some Southeast Asian countries, including Burma, Malaysia and Vietnam, said the UNODC report, with Burma being one of the main sources of opium poppy cultivation and heroin manufacturing.

Methamphetamine pills are widely used in Burmese society, especially among young people in rural areas, said Dr. Nang Pann Ei Kham, a drug policy advocate in Burma.

"The users mostly smoke the drugs, believing that the methamphetamine can boost their capacity to work. It has been widely used not only in urban communities, but sadly spreading into villages and rural areas," she said, explaining that more research needs to be done on the issue.

Part of the availability of the tablets and pills are due to trading of the substances for the raw opium, she added, as poppy producers are given the stimulants for about two-thirds of the cost for the opium, in cultivation areas such as in Shan and Kachin states.

Drug policy advocates stressed the need to create markets for other crops, to persuade opium farmers to stop. Ongoing conflicts in Burma's northeast have hampered such campaigns, they noted.

Illicit drug trafficking and drug addiction "is a key problem and must be tackled as a national issue" said Daw San Wint Khaing, the Pa-O ethnic affairs minister from Mon State.

"The drug problem is affecting everyone in each state and region, regardless of their age, thus the drug problem must be regarded as a social issue as well as a security issue," she told The Irrawaddy last week.

She supported the government's drug eradication policy and highlighted the need to include it in future policy. She noted that one of the 37 principles signed at the recent Union Peace Conference was the prevention of drug trafficking.

The post Report: Burgeoning Market for Methamphetamine in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Trump Hails Deals Worth ‘Billions’ With Vietnam

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 12:35 AM PDT

WASHINGTON, USA — US President Donald Trump talked trade with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a White House visit on Wednesday and welcomed the signing of business deals worth billions of dollars and the jobs they would create.

The US Commerce Department announced 13 new transactions with Vietnam worth US$8 billion, including $3 billion worth of US-produced content that would support more than 23,000 American jobs.

These include deals for General Electric Co worth $5.58 billion for power generation, aircraft engines and services, its largest-ever combined sale in Vietnam.

Caterpillar Inc and its dealer in Vietnam also agreed to provide generator management technology for more than 100 generators in Vietnam, the company said.

"They (Vietnam) just made a very large order in the United States—and we appreciate that—for many billions of dollars, which means jobs for the United States and great, great equipment for Vietnam," Trump told reporters at the White House.

The Commerce Department estimate of the deals was considerably less than the $15 billion figure given by Phuc during a speech at the Heritage Foundation, adding that most of the total involved the import of US equipment.

Communist Vietnam has gone from being a Cold War enemy to an important partner for the United States in the Asia-Pacific, where both countries share concerns about China's rising power.

Phuc told Trump the relationship had undergone "significant upheavals in history" but that the two countries were now "comprehensive partners."

Phuc's meeting with Trump makes him the first Southeast Asian leader to visit the White House under the new administration.

Trade Friction

However, while Hanoi and Washington have stepped up security cooperation in recent years, trade has become a potential irritant, with a deficit widening steadily in Vietnam's favor, reaching $32 billion last year, compared with $7 billion a decade earlier.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said it was important to shrink the US trade deficit with Vietnam but noted that the Southeast Asian country of 80 million people was the fastest-growing market for US exports, rising 77 percent since 2014 to $4.4 billion.

"The growth of the middle class and the increasing purchasing power in Vietnam are further incentives to strengthening our long-term trade and investment relationship," Ross said.

Trump, who has had strong words for countries with large trade surpluses with the United States, said he would be discussing trade with Phuc, as well as North Korea.

Washington has been seeking support to pressure North Korea to drop its nuclear and missile programs, which have become an increasing threat to the United States. Hanoi has said it shares concerns about North Korea.

In his Heritage speech, Phuc welcomed Trump's plans to attend the November APEC summit in Hanoi. He called it a sign of US commitment to the region and "an important occasion for the United States to assert its positive role."

In a reference to somewhat warmer ties between Washington and Beijing under Trump, who has been courting China's support on North Korea, Phuc said Vietnam welcomed good relations between the two powers, but hoped these would serve the interest of other nations in the region too.

He urged Washington and Beijing "to act with full transparency and in a responsible manner so as not to impact negatively the region and relations among other nations."

Vietnam's government said on its website Trump and Phuc had agreed to promote defense ties and discussed the possibility of US vessels, including aircraft carriers, visiting Vietnamese ports.

It said they had expressed concern about the South China Sea, where Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei are involved in maritime disputes with China, which claims nearly all the strategic waterway. Taiwan also stakes a claim.

"They emphasized that parties must not take actions accelerating tension such as the militarization of disputed structures," it said, an apparent reference to China's construction work.

'Nice, but not Enough'

Murray Hiebert, a Southeast Asia expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that while the Trump administration welcomed new business deals with Vietnam, its view was they were "nice, but not enough."

"They want Vietnam to bring some ideas about how to tackle the surplus on an ongoing basis," he said.

On Tuesday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressed concern about the rapid growth of the deficit with Vietnam. He said it was a new challenge for the two countries and he was looking to Phuc to help address it.

The deficit is Washington's sixth largest and reflects growing imports of Vietnamese semiconductors and other electronics products in addition to more traditional sectors such as footwear, apparel and furniture.

On Tuesday Vietnam's trade minister, Tran Tuan Anh, presented Lighthizer with suggestions to address some US concerns, such as advertising on US social media, electronic payment services and imports of information security and farm products, Vietnam's trade ministry said.

Vietnam was disappointed when Trump ditched the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, of which Hanoi was expected to be one of the main beneficiaries, and focused US trade policy on reducing deficits.

The post Trump Hails Deals Worth 'Billions' With Vietnam appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Majority of Moulmein Prisoners Incarcerated on Drug Charges

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 12:27 AM PDT

MOULMEIN, Mon State — More than half of the prisoners serving their time in Moulmein Prison are incarcerated in connection to drug cases, according to Mon State Chief Minister Dr. Aye Zan.

According to the chief minister, the Moulmein Prison currently has 1,259 inmates, of which more than 650 are imprisoned for drug abuse, dealing or possession.

"One in two inmates are behind bars for drug cases. What's more, many more have been arrested [in connection with drug cases]," Dr. Aye Zan told The Irrawaddy during the Mon State government's press conference on its first-year performance.

According to the Mon State Security and Border Affairs Minister Col Win Naing Oo, around 300 drug cases were found and more than 500 million kyats worth of drugs were seized in the state since the National League for Democracy (NLD) government assumed office in April 2016.

Among the seized drugs were marijuana, methamphetamine, and opium. Methamphetamines were the most common, he added.

The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) also reported overcrowding in prisons across the country earlier this year. Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison was detaining about 10,000 prisoners — 5,000 more than its maximum capacity, it revealed to the press. About 75 percent of the 3,000 prisoners in Kachin State's Myitkyina Prison were convicted on drug-related charges, including inmates in their 70s and 80s, MNHRC said.

Local and international advocate groups including Drug Policy Advocacy Group-Myanmar (DPAG) and National Drug Users Network Myanmar (NDNM) have been lobbying for the decriminalization of personal drug use.

Draft legislation modifying the country's notorious 1993 narcotics law will soon be submitted to Parliament. It would order an effective treatment policy for drug users rather than prescribe punishment and imprisonment, according to advocacy groups.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘A New Political Chapter for Burma?’

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 12:09 AM PDT

Kyaw Zwa Moe: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! The second session of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference concluded on Monday in Naypyidaw. We'll discuss whether the conference has ushered the country into a new political landscape. Ko Mya Aye, one of the 88 Generation students and Ko Maung Maung Soe, ethnic affairs analyst and writer, join me to discuss this. I'm Irrawaddy English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe.

In his closing speech to the conference, Lt-Gen Yar Pyae of the Burma Army said the current political landscape presents a new chapter in Burma's political culture. Ko Mya Aye, what is your assessment of this? To what extent do you think it is true?

Mya Aye: It is difficult to assess based on that statement, but one thing is for sure: according to what I have heard from ethnic participants, they have had heated debates over the topic of secession, although they could not work out an agreement and left the issue for discussion at the next session. It is good that they debate face-to-face now, unlike in the past. To put it in the words of [former President] U Thein Sein, it is a new political culture. Talking of political trends, the conference reached agreements on 37 points, and 12 points are about politics. I don't see any breakthrough in those 12 points. I heard that while some participants signed those agreements willingly, some signed them unwillingly, which concerns me. To make a long story short, Northern Alliance members came and attended the conference, but then they left, as they were not allowed to take part in the discussion. And none of the five members of the UNFC (United Nationalities Federal Council) signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA). So we need to see the reality.

KZM: What is your assessment?

MA: Frankly, the second session was not much different from the first one. The draft Union Accord only includes some NCA provisions, and no other significant agreements. Yes, it is good to hold face-to-face, candid discussions rather than fighting with arms, but it is also important that such discussions yield good results.

KZM: Ko Maung Maung Soe, how much do you agree with Lt-Gen Yar Pyae's statement? And what do you think of the draft Union Accord?

Maung Maung Soe: Face-to-face discussion is good, but those 37 agreements are quite general because the government wanted to make sure they were acceptable to all involved. For instance, one of the points is that the sovereign power of the Union is derived from the citizens. Some wanted to change it to national people, not citizens, but finally it was agreed upon as the sovereign power of the Union is derived from the citizens. This is quite general, but still there are many important issues beyond this that need extensive discussion. If sovereign power is derived from citizens, those elected by the people should be included in the executive and legislative branches. But according to the 2008 Constitution, unelected people remain in both executive and legislative branches. If that point were discussed extensively, the talk would be concerned with amending the Constitution. My view is that the initial agreements are good, but there are still many hurdles and many extensive discussions needed to move forward.

KZM: Ko Mya Aye, you mentioned secession. The oldest Constitution—the 1947 Constitution—and the [Panglong Agreement] signed by Gen Aung San provided the option of secession ten years after Burma's independence. It is the main issue that locked the talks in stalemate at the second Panglong conference. The Burma Army and the government want ethnic armed groups to ensure they would not secede from the Union, but most of the ethnic armed groups refused to sign. What do you think of secession?

MA: This issue did not need to be discussed at all [at the conference] because the NCA enshrines Our Three Main National Causes, namely non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity and perpetuation of sovereignty. I don't think it is an issue that needs to be discussed separately, as the NCA does not allow a part of the Union to secede from it. There is the question of whether they want to build a pushy Union or an equal, federal Union through serious negotiations. Forcing them into signing it is neither politics nor natural. Some say that the Union may break up with the secession of the ethnic states, but they need to understand that the Union is made of different states from the very beginning. For example, Karenni or Kayah states have not been under successive government control. We need to study their historical backgrounds. Yes, I also do not want to see the break-up of the Union, but Unions that are pushed too much to prevent break-up tend to split more easily. Take a look at the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. These are the historical lessons. On the other hand, real federal Unions built through thorough negotiations and that guarantee equality are unlikely to break up.

KZM: [The State Counselor Office's spokesperson] U Zaw Htay said ethnic armed groups just need to sign to promise not to secede from the Union, and there would be nothing more of it. How sensitive is this issue to ethnicities, and to what extent do the government, Parliament and Burma Army need to guarantee self-determination to persuade ethnic armed groups to sign this agreement?

MMS: Non-secession can neither be demanded nor promised by any individual or organization. [Secession] is the birthright of every ethnic group. For each ethnic group, the most important thing is identity. Speaking of ethnic issues, some think that ethnic armed groups may not secede if they are given rights, but besides the issue of rights, there is also the problem of identity. Take Scotland, which has been the part of UK for more than 300 years. Until recently, it had demanded secession, and not because of a problem concerning rights—the living standard is high in Scotland, one of the highest in Europe. But then, it demanded secession. Why? Because of identity. Let's take a look how it was handled: the UK enacted the law for a referendum, which was held in Scotland. Those who were against the secession preached the merits of the union, and those who were in favor of secession preached its merits. Finally, the Scottish people decided through the national referendum that Scotland would not secede. I mean, the problem should be addressed correctly. At the peace conference, ethnic armed groups were told that if they promised not to secede from the Union, they would be allowed to draft their own state constitutions. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has frequently urged ethnic armed groups to think about what they can give and do first before making demands. According to her own words, wouldn't it be better for the government to think what it could give regarding ethnic rights and federalism rather than asking for them to promise not to secede? They should do that.

KZM: We all know that the government and the military are not on the same side. Wouldn't this make it difficult for the government to negotiate? Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said in his opening speech to the conference that he would not accept the second way [an alternative to the NCA proposed by a Wa-led committee], but would adhere to the NCA and political dialogue. Do you think what Ko Maung Maung Soe has just suggested is practical?

MA: Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said there is no path other than the NCA, but the UNFC's nine demands are based on the NCA. Likewise, the Northern Alliance including the United Wa State Army (UWSA) said that they would adjust the NCA, and not resort to other means unless altering the NCA is possible. They were just arguing over the NCA first, but later the disagreement became wider. It is said that each state will have its own constitution, but going against the 2008 Constitution is barred. The chairman of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) also said that those constitutions should not go against the 2008 Constitution. How then, can the Union be federal?

KZM: Reading the seven-point policy of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, it can be said that her entire political roadmap including the peace process and the 21st Century Panglong is directed toward changing the 2008 Constitution—to a point where Union level agreements are signed to amend the Constitution. Constitutional amendments currently need 75 percent of votes from lawmakers, so the Constitution can only be changed when the Burma Army accepts it. Do you think that path is possible?

MA: We need to think about these two separately. The ceasefire agreement is the ceasefire agreement, and political dialogue is about building a nation. You're right, the 2008 Constitution will be amended automatically if that path leads to an answer. But the question is, how long will the discussion last? The peace process was initiated under [former] President U Thein Sein and how many years have passed now? Another question is whether all the ethnic armed groups have joined it. In political dialogue, everyone must be allowed to join, and detailed discussions must be had. The ceasefire and political dialogue are different. The 2008 Constitution should be forgotten in those discussions. Only then, will there be new ideas, otherwise the discussion would still be influenced by the 2008 Constitution.

KZM: But military representatives in the Parliament and the entire establishment are chiefly responsible for protecting the 2008 Constitution. Do you think the ultimate purpose of the entire peace process implemented by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is to amend the constitution? How long will it take? Karen National Union (KNU) leader Mutu Say Poe said in his opening address that it would take time to solve the problems that have existed for nearly 70 years. So, Ko Maung Maung Soe, do you think the ultimate purpose of the peace process is to amend the Constitution?

MMS: The government's aim is to amend the Constitution, and they expect to achieve this, as the military also agreed to it in the Union Accord. But nobody can say to what extent it can be changed. Firstly, armed groups involved in conflicts still can't be brought to the negotiation table. Secondly, national-level political dialogues still can't be held in every state, as stated in the NCA. Only when these two stages are completed, a nationwide agreement will be reached. For example, if national-level political dialogue is to be held in Shan State, we can't leave behind Danu and Intha tribes. Likewise, we can't leave behind Kadu and Kanan in Sagaing Division, and plain Chin in Magwe Division. How can we leave them behind? I don't mean they should all be brought to speak at the Panglong conference, but we must make sure they can express their voices at political dialogues in respective divisions and states, but this still does not happen. So it is fair to say the conference has shaped a certain landscape for the peace process, though much remains to be done to reach the goal.

KZM: Ko Mya Aye, the conference was held for the second time under the new government. What are your expectations of the third session?

MA: We can't give up hope. Discussion is better than fighting. They have started to talk frankly, and as they get closer to each other, there will be a greater understanding between them, so the 21st Century Panglong is not fruitless. But much is yet to be done to deliver good results, and I want this conference to be independent. If it is to be discussed under the 2008 Constitution, it is meaningless, and will never give way to federalism.

KZM: Ko Mya Aye, Ko Maung Maung Soe, thank you for your contributions!

The post Dateline Irrawaddy: 'A New Political Chapter for Burma?' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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