Tuesday, July 11, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Ma Ba Tha Not Involved in Meiktila Assault: Police

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 08:44 AM PDT

YANGON — Police have denied reports members of ultranationalist Buddhist group Ma Ba Tha attacked a Muslim resident in Mandalay's Meiktila Township on Monday.

Meiktila Township police station confirmed a Muslim resident living at a house between Pyi Thar Yar No. 2 and No. 3 streets was attacked by five unidentified men on Monday night but rejected media reports that members of the Association for Protection of Race and Religion—also known by its Myanmar acronym Ma Ba Tha—were involved in the assault.

"As it only happened last night [Monday night], there are five unknown attackers according to our initial investigation," a police officer of Meiktila Township told The Irrawaddy.

"We're investigating who did it. Only one man was attacked, and it was not done by Ma Ba Tha members or monks as was reported online. They have nothing to do with it."

Meiktila Township No. 3 Police Station opened an assault case, police said.

Bhaddanta Sami, chairman of Meiktila Township chapter of the Ma Ba Tha, denied Ma Ba Tha's involvement in attack.

On Tuesday morning, the Facebook page of Myanmar Muslim Media reported a group of people led by hardcore Ma Ba Tha member Maung Win broke into a house belonging to followers of Islam at midnight on Monday, and attacked them with knives. The report was shared widely online.

 

Muslim resident Ko Hla Aung, also known as Muhammad Ali, was injured in the face and head, and is receiving treatment at Meiktila Township Hospital for minor injuries, according to police.

Media reported Ma Ba Tha members attacked Ko Hla Aung because he bought a plot of land from a Buddhist local and accommodated Muslim followers there. However, police did not confirm this.

Relations between Buddhist and Muslim residents of Meiktila Township remain tense after violence broke out in 2013.

The post Ma Ba Tha Not Involved in Meiktila Assault: Police appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Breaking: Myanmar Army Calls for Action Against Yangon Chief Minister

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 08:38 AM PDT

YANGON — The Myanmar Army has filed a complaint with the government to "take necessary actions" against Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein regarding recent remarks concerning the head of the military, according to a statement released by the Office of the Commander-in-Chief on Tuesday night.

The statement, quoting news reports which have gone viral on Facebook, explained that during a workshop on Sunday in Yangon, the chief minister reportedly said that "there are no civil-military relations in the democratic era" and that "the military's commander-in-chief position is the same as the level of director-general, according to the [state] protocol."

However, Myanmar's State Protocol, released by the National League for Democracy (NLD) government in April last year ranks the military chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, eighth in the leadership hierarchy after the Union Chief of Justice, while chief ministers are ranked at 19. The state protocol in total lists 36 people, from President U Htin Kyaw to directors from the Ministry of Defense.

The NLD administration has attracted the military's ire with their comments twice. In May, the party's spokesperson U Win Htein said he suspected that the military may have been involved in spreading rumors aimed at destabilizing the NLD government. When the military complained, he said he didn't intend to make accusations against anyone, and that his comments were a "slip of the tongue."

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NLD’s Civil Service Reforms Aim to Fight Corruption

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 08:03 AM PDT

YANGON — The National League for Democracy government's civil service reform strategic action plan (2017-2020) puts a strong focus on tackling corruption and working toward decentralization, while encouraging ethical practices in the civil service.

The government shared the plan at a launch event in Naypyidaw on Monday, where they also hosted a three-day "knowledge forum" on "public service motivation."

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi stressed in her opening speech that corruption undermines democracy.

"Corruption is difficult to measure and difficult to spot. But there is no doubt that it remains a problem," she said.

"Corruption has a corrosive effect on trust and on good governance, and on the reputation of the civil service and its staff," said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. "Moreover, corruption places the interests of the few above the interests of the many and thus undermines the central principle of democracy: government on behalf of the people."

"Tackling corruption will contribute to a wider objective of the Strategic Action Plan: the development of greater trust between civil servants and the communities that they serve," she added.

Started one year ago in July 2016, the Union Civil Service Board (UCSB) held numerous national and regional consultation workshops from Aug. 2016 to May 2017 concerning the reform of the civil service, inviting stakeholders from both governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Myanmar has about 900,000 civil servants working in the government's ministries and departments, at both the Union and state levels, according to the UCSB. During the consultation workshops, the government drafted logistical framework detailing actions and measures to reform the civil services. Most of these actions are centered on conducting pilot studies, creating policy recommendations, and reviewing the civil service personal law, as well as bylaws, rules and code of conduct. There is also a follow up survey.

The strategic action plan has four key aims: to develop new civil service governance; uphold merit-based and performance-driven cultures and systems; enhance people-centered civil service leadership and capacity development; and improve transparency and accountability within the service.

The plan also aims to enhance public participation in civil society.

With technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UCSB conducted the 2016 UCSB-UNDP Perception Survey on Ethics, Meritocracy and Equal Opportunities in the Myanmar Civil Service and held consultations on the action plans. They will follow it up every two years.

UNDP country director Peter Batchelor said on Monday, "With this strategic plan, Myanmar cannot only ensure a more inclusive and representative civil service, it can also promote diversity for the benefit of the country and all its peoples."

He added, "Myanmar can achieve success if the same civil servants who dedicated their time and energy to developing the plan also dedicate themselves to applying the principles of ethics, diversity and meritocracy contained in the plan, to the civil service."

Despite the government's efforts to enhance accountability mechanisms and to combat corruption and abuse of authority, the strategic action plan stated that the a survey "identified deep concerns about integrity, meritocracy and accountability in the civil service and barriers to taking action to address these concerns."

For transparency, the action plan outlines a bid to strengthen the assets disclosure procedure for all senior officers and other officers in at-risk positions of being bribed.

The action plan also details the need to strengthen protections for whistleblowers and complainants, as well as grievance recording and feedback provision mechanisms within the services.

The government will form a supervisory committee on the implementation and monitoring of the action plan. It will be led by the UCSB chairman U Win Thein and will be co-chaired by the deputy minister of home affairs and an anti-corruption commission board member. The other members will include deputy ministers and permanent secretaries and directors general of key agencies.

In Myanmar, insufficient salaries of civil servants are often cited as a key reason for continued bribery and corruption.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi added that the government is aware of the low salaries of many civil servants, compared to the staff in other sectors, but stated plainly that pay increases are not scheduled at this time.

"On this issue, I will be frank: there are no immediate solutions yet. The raising of salaries must be an incremental process, carried out responsibly and sustainably, in accordance with the resources available under the national budget," she said.

Generally speaking, clerks serving within a government office earn around 150,000 kyats (US$110) per month, while a director general may earn 500,000 kyats ($367) per month. Comparatively, staff in the private sector typically can earn around 250,000 kyats ($183), and a manager may earn 1.8 million kyats ($1,321).

The State Counselor emphasized that while salary increases may not take place in the immediate future, there are other ways in which the government can and will support them. She pledged to create better working environments and by upgrading existing housing facilities and constructing new homes for retired civil servants so that they may live in security and dignity after their years of service.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi added that in a democratic system, there is no place for those who have no interest in work, but keep their jobs by avoiding confrontation. She said that the public servants must be responsible to the elected civilian government and that the government is trying to keep the civil servants in the "right places with the right people."

Htet Naing Zaw contributed to this report from Naypyidaw.

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Free Speech Advocates: Proposed Changes Make Telecoms Law ‘Worse’

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 07:56 AM PDT

YANGON — Free speech advocates slammed the government's draft bill to amend Myanmar's Telecommunications Law on Monday as failing to address expressed concerns about the controversial statute.

Twenty-two civil society organizations that jointly advocated for the reform of the law and the termination of Article 66(d) called for there not to be a rush to approve all proposed amendments, and for urgent public consultations to take place.

Maung Saungkha, who was jailed under Article 66(d) of the law last year for writing a poem deemed insulting to the former president, said that the draft has made the statute worse in some ways. In particular, he highlighted the proposed removal of a requirement to seek permission from the Ministry of Transport and Communications to file charges under the law.

"This would put everything in the hands of the police," Maung Saungkha said, including acceptance of a case, bringing charges against the accused, and following through with detainments. "The police force is under the home affairs ministry and the home affairs ministry is under the military. It is really worrisome," he said, adding that the number of cases opened by the military have increased in recent months. According to a research team he leads, there have been seven such cases.

"All of our recommendations have been neglected including the termination of 66(d)," he added.

Article 66(d) has been used in recent years to prosecute individuals for "online defamation," including members of the media who have been detained and jailed.

It calls for up to three years in prison for "extorting, coercing, restraining wrongfully, defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or threatening any person using a telecommunications network."

The draft bill that was publicly released on Friday suggests three significant changes to the Telecommunications Law. It states that the accused who are charged under articles 65 and 66(a), (b), and (d) may be granted bail, and that third parties would be banned from opening cases unless they are affected directly by the action or are acting on such an affected individual's behalf. Finally, charges filed under articles 66(c), (d) and article 68(a) of the law would not require permission from the Ministry of Transport and Communication to proceed.

The first two changes were welcomed by some Myanmar social media users as a slight improvement to the law, as many of those who were charged have been denied bail and detained for long periods, even remanded to jail during trials.

Many of the individuals prosecuted under the law have been accused of defaming the country's leaders: former President U Thein Sein, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, despite the fact that the leaders themselves did not personally file the cases; their supporters did on their behalf.

But Maung Saungkha, who has been advocating for reforms of the Telecommunications Law and the termination of Article 66(d), pointed out the proposed change to allow the granting of bail still can be exercised at the judge's discretion, because it stated that the accused "may" be granted the bail, not "must."

Legal adviser U Khin Maung Myint told The Irrawaddy that from a legal perspective, provisions concerning bail are generally not added to the primary law. According to Myanmar's criminal procedure, it is stated charges which can be accompanied by three years or more in jail shall not be granted bail. Thus, in order to guarantee bail, the terms of imprisonment under the law must be reduced to less than three years.

But Friday's draft failed to do this, he added.

"I would like to recommend reducing the imprisonment from three years. I don't want to exclude the seeking of permission from the ministry. Instead, we need to add that the police must get permission from the ministry before they take the accused into custody," U Khin Maung Myint said, emphasizing that "the law shouldn't be a police case."

As much of the determination lies in the hands of the police, they can arrest the accused right after a complaint is filed, meaning that the accused would be detained even they are later found not guilty.

How will they give that time back, U Khin Maung Myint asked.

Local media outlet 7 Day Daily reported that the Upper House Bill Committee's chairman U Zaw Min said after the parliamentary meeting had ended on Monday, the bill had arrived at the Parliament and that lawmakers would carry on with examining the amendments as soon as possible. He added that they would carry out a public consultation before implementing changes.

According to an Upper House lawmaker, the draft has been distributed amongst legislators and will be discussed soon.

"We will keep advocating for what concerns us. If the [current] amendments are enacted, it will be difficult to make further changes," Maung Saungkha said.

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Yangon’s Stray Dogs

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 05:33 AM PDT

From freedom of expression to race and gender discrimination, people at home and abroad have spoken out against human rights issues in Myanmar for years. But you rarely hear anything about animal rights. Let's talk about it, specifically stray dogs in my city.

Yangon is a divided city when it comes to mutts on the street.

For those who love them, these dogs are poor creatures struggling for their survival by scavenging garbage bins or using their hunger-filled eyes to beg people for leftovers at roadside food stalls.

In dog lovers' eyes, the miserable canines are living beings who can feel hunger, pain and fear. They feed them out of sympathy and a belief that mutts have the right to live too.

A stray dog in downtown Yangon. ( Thet Tun Naing / The Irrawaddy)

But, sadly, in many cases, feeding is where the help ends. In Myanmar, bringing a stray home is a novel concept, even to those who care for them.

Plus, vaccinating and neutering the street dogs are rarely considered. (I have to admit there are people who do handle everything, but they are outnumbered by those who don't.) So, it is no surprise that the canine population has grown rapidly over the years, and that strays are now omnipresent on Yangon's streets.

For those who don't like them, street dogs are a threat to their safety. Rabies is a serious concern, as Burma has the highest number of rabies-related deaths in Southeast Asia with some 1,000 deaths per year. If you are attacked by a street dog, you are on your own in most cases. Even if you know the person who cares for the dog, you would likely be told: "I don't own the dog. It's a stray. I just feed it."

The city municipal body, the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC), had scattered poisoned meat around the city for decades to control the unruly population. But this method has largely failed because it never attracted public participation.

Animal lovers stage a protest against poisoning strays in downtown Yangon in May. (The Irrawaddy)

The method is widely criticized by dog lovers as inhumane, as the victims suffer before they die. It sickens them to see dead dogs on the street with froth around their mouths.

Puppies left suckling on the pavement, unaware of their mom's death, melt the heart of even those who think nothing of the strays otherwise.

As such, dog lovers respond by hiding the mutts when they hear of mass cullings and later release them back to the streets to resume feeding and breeding. Their efforts have contributed to an increase from some 70,000 strays in 2013 to last year's 200,000.

YCDC has to stop the practice of poisoning dogs. Even though it is currently suspended, city authorities need to realize that the short-term solution doesn't work. Animals have the right not to suffer at the hands of humans.

The municipal body should emphasize options such as vaccination and sterilization, as well as open shelters like the one it is building in Hlaing Tharyar Township that is large enough to hold up to 1,000 strays.

A stray dog is carried by a volunteer during a YCDC vaccination and sterilization program in July of last year. ( Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy)

It's taken for granted that responsible stray dog lovers will welcome the YCDC shelter. Scheduled to open in October, it could lessen the burden that these people have taken on for years. Individuals and communities have fed, sterilized and vaccinated dogs in their neighborhoods. Some have built private shelters to hide the dogs from the danger of possible poisoning. And thanks to increased Internet connectivity, people concerned with animal rights are more connected and united than ever before.

If a stray dog is hit by a car or needs immediate medical treatment, members of the Emergency Animal Rescue Team (EART) are on call. This is all done with personal money or donations. These are the same people who sign petitions and recently staged a demonstration in front of City Hall against the poisoning of stray dogs. I really take my hat off to them.

On the other hand, I'm worried that the YCDC shelter will become a dump site for strays. Authorities should take animal welfare into consideration and not let this become a place that jails 1,000 dogs grabbed from around the city.

Apart from building the shelter, the YCDC needs to carry out the vaccination and sterilization programs it has initiated. Despite logistical and financial hurdles that make it difficult for the municipal body to follow through on this, it is the only way to curb the stray population in the long run.

To make it happen, the YCDC should form an alliance with animal lovers who might be willing provide logistical and financial support, as long as the mutts they love are no longer killed. International organizations could also be asked to assist. It would also be helpful if stray dogs were welcomed into homes, but I'm not sure that will happen anytime soon.

Whatever the answer is, we need to respect life. Even a stray dog shouldn't suffer mistreatment at our hands. I believe this as someone who has been sheltering, feeding, vaccinating and sterilizing seven pariah mutts for years.

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Thailand Greenlights First Phase of $5.5-bln Railway Project With China

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 05:22 AM PDT

BANGKOK — Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved construction of the first phase of a $5.5-billion railway project to link the industrial eastern seaboard with southern China through landlocked Laos, as part of a regional infrastructure drive by Beijing.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who heads the Thai ruling junta, made use of an executive order last month to pave the way for the project, which has been beset by delays, including negotiations on loan terms.

The first phase encompasses six railway stations on a 250-kilometer (155-mile) high-speed line linking the Thai capital of Bangkok and the northeastern province of Nakorn Ratchasima.

"This project is part of the development of a regional transport network, in particular China's 'One Belt One Road' initiative that will link Europe, Asia and Southeast Asia together," Korbsak Pootrakool, vice-minister at the Prime Minister's Office, told reporters.

The link forms part of Beijing's regional infrastructure drive to connect Chinese cities with Southeast Asia, including Thailand's industrial zones and its eastern deep sea port.

Some analysts see the project as a centerpiece of China-Thailand relations which appear to have deepened following a 2014 coup by the Thai army.

Thailand's government has said Thai firms will be responsible for construction while China will be responsible for the railway technology, signal systems and technical training.

"The project will use Thai materials but Chinese technology will be used in the construction," Prayuth said. "We will send people to learn this so that we can operate the rail system ourselves in the future."

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Artist’s Work Goes From Garbage Bins to International Shows

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 03:06 AM PDT

YANGON — Before he made his name as an artist, Than Htay, 59, from Yangon's Bahan Township, regularly dumped his paintings into garbage cans around Urayasu, a small town in Japan, where he was studying mechanical engineering in the late 1980s.

He asked his Japanese roommate to help him get canvases and paints so that he could paint in his spare time, but his room was too small to keep all the art, so he dumped much of it to make space for new paintings.

Throwing away some work one day, Than Htay was approached by an old Japanese man who expressed his admiration for the art. With the man's help, Than Htay began showcasing his paintings at local art exhibitions, launching himself into Japan's art scene.

Artist Than Htay, 59, showcases his latest exhibition at Nawaday Tharlar Gallery on Yaw Min Gyi Street in Yangon. (Thet Tun Naing/The Irrawaddy)

In 1992, he won several awards in Urayasu, paving the way to solo shows in Tokyo from 1998-2003. Between 1996 and 2004 he displayed his work at the Tokyo Museum with the Japan International Artists Club and won best painting and best drawing technique awards.

He later became a member of the Artist Friendship Association of Asia in Japan, and his paintings were brought to hang on the walls of the Beijing National Museum and Korea National Museum.

Than Htay has now held dozens of solo and group art exhibitions in Myanmar and abroad. His 16th solo exhibition "Beauty Is In Our Own Hands" is currently being showcased in Yangon.

For the exhibition, Than Htay collected more than 300 photos from his friends and the Internet that capture the everyday lives of people across Myanmar.

"It would have been better if I had gotten more photos," Than Htay told The Irrawaddy.

He digitally adjusted the colors of the photos before printing them and sticking them on canvases. Four by five foot in size, the collages depict the landscapes of Shan State and central Myanmar, as well as the people living in those areas.
On closer inspection of the collages, one can see they comprise hundreds of photos, including images of ethnic people, monks, children, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The collage showing one of Bagan's most famous and biggest structures, Dhammayangyi Temple, was sold on the first day of the exhibition on July 8.

"I just wanted to combine the landscapes and people of Myanmar," Than Htay said of his latest exhibition.

Fellow artist San Min said the theme of the latest exhibition was not unusual but the technique was particularly appealing.

"No one has ever created like him—making pictures with photos. What others have done is perhaps stick bank notes [onto canvases]," said San Min.

Curator Ko Pyay Way, who came up with the title of the exhibition, said, "He has combined characters with beautiful landscapes. I thought if people in the real world made their environment beautiful, then we would have a beautiful world. So, I got the idea that beauty is in our own hands."

From throwing away his art to receiving applause and displays in countries such as China, Korea, Singapore, and the United States, Than Htay is an artist Myanmar can hold proudly.

His 16th solo exhibition runs at Nawaday Tharlar Gallery on Yaw Min Gyi Street, Dagon Township until July 14. Each of the 14 collages on display is priced at US$2,500.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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KIA, TNLA Deny Planning Lashio Attacks

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 02:51 AM PDT

YANGON — Two ethnic armed groups, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), have denied allegations that they were jointly plotting to target public buildings with explosives in northern Shan State's Lashio.

On June 8, police distributed pamphlets to Lashio residents alleging that the KIA and the TNLA were planning to detonate bombs in the town. Police also drove around the city and warned the public of the bomb alert over a loudspeaker.

"The KIA would not commit any violent acts in public spaces that might cause panic; we don't have such a policy," KIA spokesperson Lt-Col Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy.

"I think the Tatmadaw was deliberately misinforming the public in order to put the blame on the KIA or the TNLA for bomb attacks which it was planning to launch," he added.

"We have no plan to attack public spaces. We've never done that. Yes, there are ongoing clashes with the army, but we won't ever target the public," TNLA spokesperson Col. Mai Ai Kyaw told The Irrawaddy.

The Myanmar Army pamphlet alleged that the KIA had dispatched six men and four women to carry out explosions in order to cause damage to lives and property of civilians in Lashio.

About 20 bomb experts dispatched by the TNLA were also searching for potential targets, it claimed.

Daw Khin Khin Mar, a grocery store owner in Lashio, told The Irrawaddy: "My son brought home the pamphlet which he said was being distributed in the streets. I heard the police warning that night. Besides this, we have heard nothing [about the attacks]. So far, the town is peaceful."

The pamphlet said that explosions might target markets, bus terminals, railway stations and government offices. It also included the contact information of Col. Kyaw Than Swe, a tactical commander of the Myanmar Army, for the public to reach out to if they noticed suspicious persons.

When asked by The Irrawaddy, the Lashio Township police force said the bomb alert came from the army and that police were put on alert in response.

The Irrawaddy was unable to contact Col. Kyaw Than Swe on the numbers provided on the pamphlet, or Tatmadaw press officers.

In May, businesspeople in Lashio reported to the police that they had received letters demanding "tax" with a bullet in each envelope, allegedly sent by the TNLA.

On March 6, troops of the KIA, TNLA, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Arakan Army (AA)—known as the Northern Alliance—launched attacks on military and police outposts in Laukkai Township, killing more than 30 and forcing more than 10,000 locals and migrant workers from their homes.

On Nov. 20 last year, the Northern Alliance attacked 105 Mile Border Trade Zone and Mongko Township in Shan State, killing more than 40 civilians.

The KIA and TNLA have refused to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the government, and are members of the seven-member Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC) led by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), formed in April to discuss alternatives to the NCA with the government to join the country's peace process.

The Shan State Parliament in December last year branded the KIA, TNLA, AA and MNDAA as terrorist groups.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Rakhine Farmers Seek Compensation for Police Land Seizure

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 02:04 AM PDT

KYAUKPHYU, Rakhine State — Some 200 acres of land confiscated from several dozen farmers since 2013 were used for a security police unit compound in southern Rakhine State's Kyaukphyu Township, villagers told The Irrawaddy on a recent visit.

Locals from Ohn Taw and Pyine Sae Kay villages allege that the Ministry of Home Affairs used the land for a security police unit compound without providing compensation.

The compound was constructed on Doe Dan mountain range behind a controversial water reservoir project, 12 kilometers from downtown Kyaukphyu. The Irrawaddy's reporter visited the two villages as well as the police compound, where some 40 buildings have been constructed.

In 2012, ex-president Thein Sein enacted the Farmland Law. Article 26 of the law states that the Central Farmland Management Body must coordinate between parties to provide suitable compensation without any loss. But in practice, the law has enabled the seizure of "vacant" lands from small-scale farmers without proper compensation.

U San Thein, a former village administrator of Pyine Sae Kay village, said that the previous district police head had seized much of his farmland, citing that it was vacant.

"To be honest, we, villagers are not familiar with the laws," he said.

Ohn Taw villager U Maung Aye Than said many farmers do not have proper ownership documents for land that they have farmed for generations. He said that regarding the land grab, a district police officer told him in 2013 that the police unit was protecting citizens and preparing for the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone.

"There is no thought of local citizens … this has only caused trouble for us," said U Maung Aye Than.

Pyine Sae Kay and Ohn Taw villagers cultivate seasonal trees and crops on Doe Dan mountain range and farm paddy fields in the valley.

Current Pyine Sae Kay village administrator U Than Tun said five acres of the seized paddy lands were officially registered in the township's Land Records Department and that annual taxes had been paid to the government.

"They did not even provide compensation for farmer's who showed land ownership documents," said U Than Tun.

He claimed that Kyaukphyu-based infantry unit 542 had grabbed some 180 acres of land in the area under the military government. Soldiers grew rubber, jackfruit and mango, but the fields were later abandoned.

During ex-president Thein Sein's administration, the military transferred that land to the home affairs ministry and district authorities seized at least 20 additional acres. About 50 farmers from two villages sought compensation for the land, but authorities denied their request, according to village administrator U Than Tun.

The Irrawaddy spoke with several villagers who stated that they had "no money or power" to confront authorities, and were hesitant to go to the police.

Kyaukphyu Rural Development Association coordinator U Tun Kyi said villagers maintain a fear that has carried over from the military regime. He said his organization tried to assist with the land seizures but that disunity among the villagers halted the effort.

U Maung Aye Than said the situation has worsened since 2016, stating that many villagers now have to cross the police unit compound to reach their paddy fields.

Villagers said they used to be able to enter through a police fence but complained of more stringent restrictions in the last year.

A police officer from the unit confirmed that a wall is being built around the compound, which villagers fear will cut them off from their fields completely.

The Irrawaddy contacted several police officials from the unit but they declined to comment.

Lower House lawmaker U Ba Shein of the Arakan National Party has submitted the question of this land seizure to Parliament in recent years to no avail, villagers told The Irrawaddy.

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Mandalay Ma Ba Tha to Defy Govt Ban

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 01:02 AM PDT

MANDALAY — The Mandalay sub-chapter of the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion – known by its Myanmar acronym Ma Ba Tha – announced on Monday that it would continue to use the name and would not remove signboards in defiance of a State Buddhist Sangha authority ban.

"We will not let anyone touch the name Ma Ba Tha," U Wirathu, a leading nationalist monk and signatory of Monday's announcement, told The Irrawaddy.

"We will protect [the association] and we can assure that Ma Ba Tha will not be a threat to the stability and security of the country's sovereignty," he said.

If the state Buddhist Sangha authority continued to pressure the group or forcibly removed signboards, the government would have to "face the consequences," according to the statement.

"If [the government] cracks down on us, it will be breaking the association acts stated in the Constitution," said U Wirathu.

Last month, the Karen State Ma Ba Tha chapter issued a similar statement, threatening legal action against anyone removing its signboards.

Since its founding in 2014, Ma Ba Tha has become infamous for its hardline anti-Muslim stance and inflaming of religious tensions.

In May, the State Buddhist Sangha authority – also known by its Myanmar acronym Ma Ha Na – announced a ban on the association using its name and ordered all signboards to be removed by July.

Senior abbots of Ma Ba Tha's central committee signed the ban.

After a two-day meeting with members from across the country in late May, the association released an announcement that it would "no longer use [the name] Ma Ba Tha, but would go by the Buddha Dhamma Charity Foundation," rebranding itself as a charity group.

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US Urges Myanmar to Allow UN Inquiry Into Crimes Against Rohingya

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:26 PM PDT

YANGON — The United States on Monday called on Myanmar to allow a United Nations fact-finding mission to investigate widespread allegations of killings, rape and torture by security forces against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council established the inquiry in March, but Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar's civilian government and also its foreign minister, has rejected the allegations and opposes the mission.

A Myanmar official said on June 30 that the country would refuse entry to the UN investigators.

The US ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Nikki Haley, said, "It is important that the Burmese government allow this fact-finding mission to do its job."

"The international community cannot overlook what is happening in Burma—we must stand together and call on the government to fully cooperate with this fact-finding mission," she said in a statement. Myanmar was formerly known as Burma.

Some 75,000 Rohingya fled northwestern Rakhine state to Bangladesh after the Myanmar Army carried out a security operation last October in response to deadly attacks by Rohingya insurgents on border posts.

A UN report from February, based on interviews with some of the Rohingya refugees, said Myanmar's security forces have committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya in a campaign that "very likely" amounts to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing.

"No one should face discrimination or violence because of their ethnic background or religious beliefs," Haley said.

Myanmar's government regards the approximately 1 million Rohingya as illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship, even though Rohingya families have lived there for generations.

The post US Urges Myanmar to Allow UN Inquiry Into Crimes Against Rohingya appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Harpist Hopes to Improve Music Education

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 07:23 PM PDT

YANGON — Every day, a 9-year-old girl watched her sister's fingers pluck the strings of an instrument. The hook-shaped wooden object was the first instrument she had ever seen. She loved the sounds the strings made and felt tenderness and fondness just looking at its curved shape.

Despite her fascination with the instrument, she was not allowed to touch it. Her sister's harp master thought that the strings would be out of reach for the young girl to play while holding it.

But she was desperate and badgered the harp master to teach her as well. After weeks of persistence, she was rewarded. The harp master brought a small harp with lower strings and began to teach her to play.

"I was finally allowed to hold it and it made me feel like I mattered," Ma Su Zar Zar Htay Yee said, recalling how important she felt holding the little instrument for the first time. "They didn't take me seriously before that," she said, with a laugh.

Nearly three decades later, the passionate girl who fell in love with the Myanmar harp finds herself helping the Burmese government draft the country's first music textbook for primary students.

"Because of the strong passion I had at that time, I learned quickly. After a year, I was able to play all of the notes that my master taught me," she said. "I feel only peace of mind when I am playing."

The Myanmar harp or "Saung" has reportedly existed in the country since the Pyu period – around 900 AD. It was played at palaces and appreciated by kings, queens and courtiers in the country's ancient times. Myanmar traditional instruments are still tuned primarily to harp scales and it was, and still is, regarded as a royal, national instrument.

The Myanmar harp or "Saung." (Photo: Thet Tun Naing / The Irrawaddy)

Cultivating Music Appreciation

Su Zar Zar graduated from the National University of Arts and Culture (NUAC) with a bachelor's degree in music. She completed a doctorate degree in musicology from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and now works as a music tutor at the NUAC and a part-time curriculum officer at Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which has been helping the Myanmar government draft music textbooks for schools.

People's misconception is that arts education is not as important as academics, making the arts lose their luster in Myanmar society, she said.

A music textbook for Grade 1 students that she helped draft was completed recently. However, she was not satisfied with the education ministry's decision to make it "co-curriculum" instead of "core curriculum."

"We have to understand that the subjects that are currently regarded as co-curriculums are equally as important as other core curriculums," she said, adding that children should begin studying music in primary school.

"Art inspires people to be gentle and softhearted," she said, stressing that art plays a vital role in cultivating children.

"If there is university-level music education in our country, there should also be high school, middle and primary school levels as well," she highlighted, saying that it's "embarrassing" for a university to provide primary school level music education to its college students.

Despite being a traditional harpist, she believes that claiming traditional music is more grandiose than modern music doesn't make sense, and such an opinion is very "narrow-minded," she said.

"There is no color, no Western nor Eastern in music," she said. "Music is complete purity."

Su Zar Zar Htay Yee began playing the harp at age nine, and believes music should be taught from childhood. (Photo: Thet Tun Naing/ The Irrawaddy)

Older generations are keen to criticize young people for not valuing or appreciating traditional Myanmar music, but there are so few venues where it is regularly performed, she said, pointing out that many of the performances occur at high-end places that hope to attract foreigners.

"It's up to them whether they like it or not. But we have to allow them to experience it first so that they can decide."

She also stressed the need to preserve Myanmar traditional music as a "national identity" and urged the government and authorities to create art houses where traditional artists and art students can engage with the public rather than solely perform for tourists at restaurants.

"No musician or artist wants to perform in front of people who are eating during the show. It is not how we, artists, want to be appreciated."

Path to Musicology

Though Su Zar Zar's parents were supportive, other relatives were reluctant when she started playing the harp, insisting that her grades would suffer.

Then, at age 11, in 1990, she was invited to record a 15-minute traditional harp solo at Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), formerly known as Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS). She placed first at government-organized annual traditional arts competitions – from amateur to professional levels – nearly every year.

"When I was a young trainee, I used to practice at my teacher's place. I saw passers-by stop to watch and listen, as his house faced the street," said the 38-year-old single mother of two, and owner of seven dogs, of her days as a young harpist.

After years of practice, she took a sudden break when she began working as a tutor at the NUAC's English department in 2001.

"I was not supposed to teach English but I did because of the department's requirement," she said. "I didn't play the harp during that time," she added.

Married with two kids, the woman who intended to be a harpist and not an English tutor, came to a turning point in 2008 when she went to Japan as a state scholar.

But it came at a price. She had to leave her toddler son, 6-year-old daughter and sick mother behind with her older sister. With tears in her eyes, Su Zar Zar discussed the separation from her children and her failing marriage.

"It broke my heart every time I heard my daughter's voice on the phone. I cried every single day like a crazy person," she said.

The only thing that kept her in Japan was a will to finish what she started.

"I knew I wanted a different life and a fresh start," she said.

She came back to Myanmar with a doctorate degree in musicology after eight years, making her the first and only Myanmar woman living in the country to hold a PhD in the subject.

"The reason why I chose musicology was that Myanmar has so few [written] records of its [traditional] music," she said, adding that she could not even find detailed biographies of the country's late musicians or singers.

Renowned classical musicians Alinka Kyaw Swa U Ba Than and Inlay U Myint Maung being her favorite harpists, her PhD dissertation was about improvisational techniques on the harp.

"I wanted to do research and be able to leave records for later generations to study," she said.

The initial paper was written in Japanese and she feels a responsibility to translate it to Myanmar for her targeted audience.

Since her return to Myanmar in 2015, she has been trying to make up for the missed years with her children and teaching at the NUAC – not for the English department anymore, but for the music department.

When asked about her ultimate goal, she said: "I want my country to have better music education."

"There could be many kids out there who would fall in love with musical instruments just like I, Su Zar Zar, did. Who knows?"

The post Harpist Hopes to Improve Music Education appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to do in Yangon This Week (July 11 – July 17)

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 07:00 PM PDT

Shweman Thabin Troupe | July 14 – 15

One of Myanmar's traditional cultural performing arts troupes, Shweman Thabin, will perform every Friday and Saturday throughout the monsoon season.

Every Friday, Saturday at 7:00 pm. Kandawgyi Myaw Sin Island. Tickets at 09-792866370.

Golden Belt Championship Lethwei 2017  | July 15-16

The quarterfinals of the Lethwei Golden Belt Championship, featuring Myanmar's Phan Thway and Thailand's Iquezang as the main event on Sunday.

July 15-16, 2:00 pm. Theinbyu Indoor Stadium. Advance tickets at 09-254214160, 09-796285224

Seuls: My French Film | July 12

A fantasy film adapted from the popular French comic book series about five teenagers trying to survive in a world of their own. French speaking with English subtitles.

July 12, 6:30 pm. Mingalar Cineplex, Gamone Pwint (San Yeik Nyein), Insein Road. Tickets: 1,500-4,000 kyats

Daniel Chia: Smooth Jazz Saxophonist Live | July 13

Daniel Chia and his band will bring their blend of soulful, funky jazz to Union Bar & Grill, with music from his debut album, The Moment.

July 13, 7:30 pm. Union Bar and Grill, No. 42, Strand Road. Reserve at nikki@57below.com. Free Entry.

Vive La France: French National Day at The Penthouse | July 14

The Penthouse will host a celebration of French National Day with a French cheese buffet and live music from 8.30 pm.

July 14, 7:00 pm. The Penthouse, No. 271-273, Bagaya Street, Sanchaung Tsp. Reservation is recommended at 09-771 239924.

IB Diploma Program Talk | July 15

Shu Khinn Thar International College principal Dr. Mark Uerkvitz will talk about the IB Diploma Program at Sule Shangri-La Hotel for students who have passed their matriculation exam.

July 15, 10-12 pm. Sule Shangri-La Hotel. Free admission, but limited seats. Registration at 01-450396, 01-450397.

Beer and Jazz | July 12

The Bamboo Trio with Aaron Gallegos on the guitar, Pan Thang on the double bass and Soe Soe on the drums, gathers every Wednesday at Mahlzeit throughout the monsoon season.

Every Wednesday, 7 pm. Mahlzeit, No. 84, Pann Hlaing Street. Free entry.

ROc and Roll: 9Micro, Bart Was Not Here, Wunna Aung | July 15 – 29

An exhibition of the latest work by a group of artists including 9Micro, Wunna Aung and Bart Was Not Here.

July 15-29. Myanm/art, No. 98, 3rd  Floor, Bogalay Zay St.

Beauty Is In Our Own Hands | July 8 – 14

Artist Than Htay's solo will feature 14 collages.

July 8-14. Nawady Tharlar Art Gallery at Room No. 304, 20/B, Yaw Min Gyi Road, Dagon Tsp.

Charity for Bagan | July 15 – 18

A group art exhibition of more than 40 artists will showcase dozens of paintings in different medium. Half of the profits will be donated for the repair of quake-hit pagodas in Bagan.

July 15-18. Myanmar Art Center Gallery, Chin Chaung Palace, Bahan Tsp.

The post Ten Things to do in Yangon This Week (July 11 – July 17) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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