Monday, July 31, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Jailed Myanmar Now Editor Released on Bail

Posted: 31 Jul 2017 07:22 AM PDT

MANDALAY – A court in Mandalay Division's Maha Aung Myay Township released the detained chief editor of Myanmar Now, Ko Swe Win, on bail on Monday.

The editor signed a statement in front of the judge committing to be present at all court hearings in the defamation case, filed under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law by Mandalay resident U Kyaw Myo Shwe in March, who accused Ko Swe Win of insulting ultranationalist monk U Wirathu.

"We've submitted the appeal for bail and the court accepted it. Two locals have paid 5 million kyats worth of bail money for Ko Swe Win. The next court hearing will be on August 7," said U Khin Maung Myint, Ko Swe Win's lawyer.

The granting of bail was initially opposed by the plaintiff's lawyer, saying lawsuits filed under Article 66(d) call for remand.

U Khin Maung Myint countered by highlighting Ko Swe Win's position as a journalist, and pointing out that he has no intention of fleeing from the law.

After the court session, Ko Swe Win told media he wondered why the police brought him to court four months after the filing of the case; he was arrested after arriving at the Yangon airport on Sunday and was transported to Mandalay, where he was detained.

"The surprise arrest by the police at the airport is a misunderstanding. I have not been restricted from traveling since the lawsuit was filed against me. And I have no intention of fleeing," Ko Swe Win said.

"I've traveled to the border areas many times to cover the news and I've cooperated with the police several times for my lawsuit. If I wanted to flee, I could have fled the country at any point since the beginning [of the case]," he added. "I will certainly face this lawsuit according to the law."

Buddhist nationalists also attended Ko Swe Win's court hearing on Monday. When the Myanmar Now chief editor exited the courthouse after being released on bail, around ten nationalist Buddhist monks gathered in front of the building, shouting at journalists as they spoke to him.

Ko Swe Win later told The Irrawaddy that the country's instability during the political transition has affected freedom of expression in the country.

"Detained journalists are being treated like criminals. Our fellow journalists detained in Shan State are facing a lawsuit which is out of date and unjust," he said, a reference to three reporters—including The Irrawaddy's Lawi Weng—facing charges under the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act for reporting on a drug-burning event in territory controlled by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army. "I, as a journalist, would like to tell the government that now is the time to change the laws which are outdated and unjust," he added.

Plaintiff U Kyaw Myo Shwe told The Irrawaddy that he would submit an appeal to the court in Maha Aung Myay, as he was disappointed with the granting of bail.

"I have no personal feelings concerning Ko Swe Win. I'm just disappointed with the judiciary, which is handling the law as they wish. In the past, people did not receive bail," he said, regarding defamation cases filed under Article 66(d). "This is unacceptable and the law needs to be straightened out," he said.

The post Jailed Myanmar Now Editor Released on Bail appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US Firms Lobby for Removal of Myanmar Trade Restrictions 

Posted: 31 Jul 2017 07:03 AM PDT

YANGON — American businesses based in Myanmar are urging their government to remove sections 311 and 312 of the USA Patriot Act which prohibit US banks from trading in Myanmar.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar (AMCHAM) led 13 financial service companies to meet with government officials from Yangon and Naypyitaw as well as US Ambassador to Myanmar Scott Marciel and US embassy staff on July 24-26.

The delegation encouraged the US representatives to help remove the sections in order to create a better understanding among US financial institutions of the local market and opportunities in Myanmar, according to an AMCHAM statement. The group also encouraged US companies to operate in Myanmar.

AMCHAM executive director Judy Benn said the bans "seriously impact US companies' ability to do business with Myanmar, especially including exports to that country, investment in the country, and participation in the economy on equal footing to other foreign companies."

Myanmar Citizen Bank chief executive Dr. Thaung Han welcomed the effort to drop legislation that bars US banks from operating in Myanmar. The US government allowing its banks to invest in the country would positive impacts such as national development, and technical support for local banks, he said, adding that it could be a stabilizing force for Myanmar's banking industry.

"The US has a crucial role in the world's business community. To be honest, we welcome them. The entire globe is working with the dollar, we cannot avoid that," said Dr. Thaung Han.

He said private companies would follow US banks to Myanmar. "I wish it to happen as soon as possible," he added.

During the three-day trip, US government officials and businesspeople held meetings with the economic adviser for State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; the secretary of the Myanmar Investment Commission; the deputy director of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration; the finance minister; and the Governor of the Central Bank and Financial Regulatory Department.

Delegates also met with the Myanmar Insurance Business Regulatory Board and suggested continuing reforms which would give foreign insurance companies access to the domestic insurance market.

"A healthy economy is one in which all companies, both local and foreign, operate in an environment that is free of prohibitive and discriminatory regulations, that encourages diversity and innovation, and allows companies to compete under fair conditions," read the AMCHAM statement.

The post US Firms Lobby for Removal of Myanmar Trade Restrictions  appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Stakeholders Speak Out at Peace Process Consultation

Posted: 31 Jul 2017 05:56 AM PDT

YANGON – Stakeholders in Myanmar's peace process shared their views and recommendations during an informal consultation in Yangon on Saturday attended by the government Peace Commission chairman Dr. Tin Myo Win, State Counselor's Office minister U Kyaw Tint Swe, and its spokesperson U Zaw Htay.

Among the participants were peace experts, civil society members, representatives from ethnic political parties, media practitioners, and descendants of those who signed the 1947 Panglong Agreement.

U Maung Maung Soe, an independent analyst on federalism and ethnic issues, said their views were shared with the government representatives, whose task was mainly to listen.

Stakeholders shared their perspectives on State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's views, as she is often quoted by her staff and those she trusts, said Dr. Banyar Aung Moe from the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP).

Banyar Aung Moe, a former Upper House lawmaker, said that during the meeting he stated that the government and the Myanmar Army need courage and goodwill to deal with the country's peace process and to announce a unilateral ceasefire.

He also emphasized the importance of the government hastening negotiations with the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) on their nine-point proposal, so that the ethnic armed coalition might sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA).

Meanwhile, the former MP urged the government to bring the Northern Alliance, comprised of seven ethnic armed groups based in Myanmar's northeast, into the peace process. Every ethnic armed group, he said, should be included and see their desires reflected in the next session of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference.

Banyar Aung Moe explained that tripartite talks must be held between the government, ethnic armed organizations, and political parties in order to support the work of ceasefire monitoring committees.

"We just need to raise our recommendations. They will use them if they want. They won't use them if they don't like them. That's all," he said.

During Saturday's meeting, other topics of discussion included the effect of insecurity in the country on the media, the question of non-signatories eventually signing the NCA pact, and the work being done toward the amendment of the 2008 Constitution, following the full implementation of the NCA.

Other topics of discussion included diminishing aid and support for internally displaced people, the role of the United Wa State Army in the NCA and peace process, and continued trust-building with the eight NCA-signatories, and not neglecting these relationships.

Dr. Min Nwe Soe, from AMRDP said the latter is a particularly urgent need, as "the government builds trust with NCA signatories first, and then we can move forward to achieve peace."

The post Stakeholders Speak Out at Peace Process Consultation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Hospital Sued After Allegedly Releasing Wrong Baby’s Body

Posted: 31 Jul 2017 04:38 AM PDT

YANGON — The family of a baby who died at Yankin Children's Hospital in Yangon are suing hospital staff after the body was reportedly given to another family.

Four-month-old boy Zau Sut Aung from Shan State's Muse Township was admitted to the hospital on July 16 to receive treatment for a low white and red blood cell count that had been diagnosed two months before.

The boy was transferred to Halpin Children's Hospital on July 21, according to his aunty Ja Bauk Mai, but then returned to Yankin on the morning of July 25 because, she said, the hospital had more equipment for the patient. He died at 10 p.m. that night.

When the family went to collect the corpse from the hospital mortuary on July 27, they were told it was given to someone else, said Ja Bauk Mai.

"We were told the body was taken to Kyisu cemetery and crematory [in South Dagon Township] but we did not know what and where Kyisu was as we are not from Yangon," she told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

The family had intended to give the baby a Christian burial, but persevered with the service without the body.

The family filed the case at Yankin police station on Saturday "as we want the responsible people to be investigated, and we don't want such a loss to happen again to any other patients and their families," said the aunty.

On Monday, the family gave their statement to police, who have opened up a case under section 297 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail sentence of up to one year and a fine for someone who "offers any indignity to any human corpse" among other offences.

The post Hospital Sued After Allegedly Releasing Wrong Baby's Body appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

H1N1 Outbreak Kills Three More in Yangon

Posted: 31 Jul 2017 12:39 AM PDT

YANGON — Three more people died of H1N1 influenza on Sunday in Yangon, raising the total number of H1N1 deaths to 10, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports.

The health ministry's Department of Public Health reported on Sunday evening that one person admitted to Yangon General Hospital on July 15 and another two admitted separately to the hospital on July 28 died on Sunday. The hospital did not give further details of the victims.

From July 21-30, Myanmar has had 182 suspected cases and 51 confirmed cases of the virus known as swine flu. The health ministry said it has accelerated emergency response, monitoring, prevention, control and awareness campaigns to combat H1N1.

"It is important to admit the person to the hospital as soon as they are suspected of having the influenza. If they are admitted early, the possibility of survival is high," Dr. Myint Htwe, minister of health and sports, said at a meeting on the outbreak on Sunday in Yangon, according to state media.

The ministry urged the public to follow precautionary measures, including avoiding crowds, frequently washing their hands, using disposable tissues when sneezing and coughing, and thoroughly cleaning utensils and plates before use.

Meanwhile, chickens at a house in Yangon's Mayangone Township were confirmed to have contracted H5N1 bird flu following the results of a laboratory test.

The outbreak in Yangon comes just after about 1,000 chickens died of the flu in Tanintharyi Region's Dawei Township.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation have released instructions on how to prevent the spread of bird flu.

The post H1N1 Outbreak Kills Three More in Yangon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

H1N1 Halts Taung Pyone Nat Festival

Posted: 31 Jul 2017 12:20 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Myanmar's largest annual nat festival scheduled to begin on Monday in Taung Pyone near Mandalay has been cancelled over fears of spreading the H1N1 influenza outbreak currently rattling the country.

"The festival ground is always crowded and germs would spread easily, so we have decided to postpone the festival until the influenza is under control," Mandalay Region Chief Minister U Zaw Myint Maung told reporters on Sunday.

Hundreds of thousands of people from across Myanmar flock to the annual festival in Taung Pyone village, 15 miles north of Mandalay. It is held in honor of two brothers—Min Gyi and Min Lay—who were believed to have become nat spirits after they were executed by King Anawrahta.

On Sunday, the health ministry announced 10 lives had now been claimed by the influenza from a total of 182 suspected cases since July 21. Parliament approved an urgent proposal to boost awareness of H1N1 influenza in an attempt to control the country's outbreak last week.

U Zaw Myint Maung said government health officials will screen people who have already arrived in the area to attend the festival, which was scheduled to run until Aug. 8, and treat and quarantine infected persons.

Owners of local shops, food stalls, and restaurants have complained over losing business due to the late cancellation.

Restaurant owner Daw Swe Swe said she was one of many shop and restaurant owners who would lose out after already paying rental fees for a spot at the festival.

Trustees of the festival said they had already forked out wages for security personnel and other laborers and were worried that spiritual mediums, who channel nat spirits at the event, would not pay due rental fees.

"We will miss out as medium performers will not receive visitors and worshipers," said a trustee of the festival. "But what can we do? This is a health issue."

Mediums, however, told The Irrawaddy that performers would remain at festival grounds to perform the rituals regardless.

"We do this every year no matter what happens," said senior spiritual medium Mommy Noe. "We will do the ritual without failure, even if there are no worshippers visiting Taung Pyone."

"For health and safety, I will not leave the festival grounds until the festival has finished, and I will take care of my health. I believe Min Gyi and Min Lay will bless us with good health," she added.

The post H1N1 Halts Taung Pyone Nat Festival appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Silencing Media Has No Place in A Democracy

Posted: 30 Jul 2017 07:05 PM PDT

During my 15 years as a journalist, I never thought I could be arrested for meeting insurgent groups. Now I have been out of the industry for just as long, I dread to think about going through the same ordeal as Lawi Weng from The Irrawaddy and U Aye Naing and Ko Pyae Phyo Naing from the Democratic Voice of Burma.

The situation in Northeast India, where I spent most of my journalism years, is not too different from the situation in Myanmar. Journalists like Lawi Weng, U Aye Naing and Ko Pyae Phyo Naing who cover conflict from the field are exposed to hazards completely different from those working from the newsroom. Conflict journalists often find themselves sandwiched between state and non-state forces and there is almost zero guarantee of staying out of harm's way.

In this, the state has a huge responsibility. It has to protect members of "the fourth estate" which forms a very important pillar of any democratic society. This protection is perhaps the only difference between journalists on the Indian side of the border—who cover an equally intense and complicated conflict between ethnic groups and the military—and those that do so in Myanmar. I don't remember any incident of significance concerning the arrest of a journalist for covering or contacting an insurgent group in India. Undoubtedly, we were constantly tracked by intelligence agencies, the police, and the military special branch, and at times we were interrogated. But that was about it.

Northeast India, which shares a 1,643-kilometer border with Myanmar, has been "on the boil" for several decades with over a hundred different insurgent groups operating in the area at one point in time. Many of the armed outfits used Myanmar, Bangladesh, and even Bhutan as safe havens for their groups. Hundreds of journalists have been covering conflict in the region and many have traveled to unthinkable places to interview leaders of banned organizations such as the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC).

I clearly remember the day when I and another colleague were driven along the Bangladesh border by a driver from a militant group from Meghalaya—one of the insurgency-affected states of Northeast India. I was afraid that it may not be entirely ethical on our part, but I knew that given the situation and our poor knowledge of the terrain that this was the best thing to do. We had interviewed both the state security agencies and the non-state armed groups. Our reporting was done and we could have trekked back, but that we would be taking great risks, one of which was being arrested or detained by border guards and having to negotiate a complicated process to get ourselves released.

The prospect of temporary detention or interrogation we faced comes nowhere close to what the three journalists in Myanmar have had to go through. Their arrest apart, the way they have been treated and put in chains conjures scary images of the iron-fisted regime that ruled Myanmar for decades.

Even if the journalists somehow made a mistake, the response from the state has been appalling to say the least. Firstly, you don't arrest journalists by applying a somewhat draconian colonial-era law (the Unlawful Associations Act) and secondly, you don't treat them like criminals for simply doing their job, as I, and any number of others, have done in our professional careers as reporters.

Looking over the different provisions of the law, one wonders which aspect applies to the trio. It could be the part which states "whoever is a member of an unlawful association, or takes part in meetings of any such association, or contributes or receives or solicits any contribution for the purpose of any such association or in any way assists the operations of any such association, shall be punished…." Alternatively, it could be provisions that state "whoever manages or assists in the management of an unlawful association, or promotes or assists in promoting a meeting of any such association, or of any members thereof as such members, shall be punished…."

The million-dollar question is how do these two statements apply to Lawi Weng and the other two journalists? They don't come close to having committed any of what the law prescribes as violations. They were merely at the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) camp to cover a drugs-burning event. I have covered a few similar events also hosted by banned "terrorist organizations" (under Section 35 of India's Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967). Did I commit a crime? No. Did I avoid trouble because the Indian state is more careful in how it deals with its media personnel? Or is it a case of an older, established democracy versus a state merely trying to pose as one.

The fact of the matter is that on November 8, 2015 Myanmar held open and seemingly credible elections for the first time in decades under the watchful eyes of national and international election observers and the international community at large. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was elected to create a civilian government in a landslide victory. The government now has a reasonable amount of power both inside and outside of Parliament to counter undemocratic acts by the military or other forces.

The challenge, perhaps, is that in a fledgling democracy there will always be those that continue to hold on to the past and remain objectionable to anything that threatens the status quo. It is definitely time to ask State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi what is the use of a democracy where supporters who have backed her through her struggles are punished on flimsy grounds? Is this the kind of democracy she wants the country to accept as it moves towards the 2020 elections? The answer, for now at least, is perhaps anyone's guess.

Bidhayak Das is a former journalist who has spent over a decade working on promoting democracy in Myanmar. He is currently working as an independent consultant on elections, media and communications.

The post Silencing Media Has No Place in A Democracy appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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