The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Sittwe Police: Security Escort For Attacked Muslims Was Unarmed
- Restaurant Review: Daw Shan Ma
- Groups to File Lawsuit Against Govt to Rewrite 2008 Constitution
- Cash Donations Rising for Myanmar Pagodas: Religion Minister
- Gen Aung San’s Secretariat Office to be Restored, Open to Public on Martyrs’ Day
- Locals Flee as Chindwin River Swells
- Officer in Mon State Parliament Investigated for Allegedly Soliciting Bribes
- Myanmar Migrants Turn Work Permits into Fashion Statement
- Traffickers Find New Ways to Smuggle Girls From India’s Northeast
| Sittwe Police: Security Escort For Attacked Muslims Was Unarmed Posted: 05 Jul 2017 08:37 AM PDT YANGON – Sittwe district police chief Lt-Col Win Naung said suspects have not yet been apprehended in a mob attack on Tuesday that left one Muslim man dead, despite the presence of a police escort on the scene. Police officials declined to release a statement from the police private who accompanied seven Muslim Rohingya men from the Dapaing camp for internally displaced people to Ywar Gyi Mrauk quarter, a neighborhood with a Rakhine Buddhist majority. Earlier, the group had traveled to the city to witness a trial at the township courthouse, two kilometers from the site of the attack. The Lt-Col admitted that the private assigned to the duty from the No. 2 police station was unarmed and had fled the mob attack, and said that he felt powerless to stop the aggression. "We are still investigating the incident and will release a statement later," he said. Home affairs ministry spokesperson Col Myo Thu Soe told Reuters on Wednesday that they had already questioned the junior policeman who was present during the attack. He said he had tried to prevent the violence, but was unsuccessful as he had no weapon, and therefore ran back to the police station. A police official told The Irrawaddy over the phone that they normally would provide an armed escort when IDPs travel to downtown Sittwe or to the market. Dapaing camp resident U Saw Lwin, who identifies himself as Rohingya, told The Irrawaddy that nearly 100 armed soldiers, including police, had arrived with around a dozen trucks in his village on Tuesday night to bring back the body of the man who had been killed, Maung Nu—also known as Monir Ahmad, aged 55. They also dropped off four others who had survived. Two more men remain hospitalized. According to a statement from the State Counselor's Office Information Committee, Cpl Naing Naing and Private Soe Win had transported local community leader U Myint Naing from Dapaing camp by car in order for him to testify at a township courthouse for an ongoing case on Tuesday. But a private minivan carrying seven other men came after the police van to the court without informing the security team at Man Si checkpoint. Authorities do not allow Muslims to enter Rakhine quarters or to shop at the town market. Buddhist Rakhine are also prohibited from visiting Muslim wards without police permission. After the trial break on Tuesday, the group of seven Muslims went to No. 2 police station in Sittwe to request security for their return. Police Lt Kyaw Moe, who was recently promoted to serve as head of the station, sent a police private to accompany them. Town residents typically use the Mayu main road to exit the downtown or to visit Muslim villages located outside of the town. However, on Tuesday the group of Muslim men and the police private were attacked on U Ottama Street in the Rakhine quarter of Ywar Gyi Mrauk, which is in the opposite direction of the return, according to a policeman who spoke to The Irrawaddy on the condition of anonymity. The State Counselor's Office statement did not elaborate on how the group ended up there, but stated that the Muslim men had gone to buy an old boat at Yaung Ni Oo jetty. While the men were looking at the boat, a mob reportedly began throwing bricks at them. One was killed on the spot and others were injured. The government statement did not mention the name of private who was assigned as the security escort, although the victims' names were published. The Irrawaddy asked authorities several times to provide further detail about the incident, but were not provided with additional information. Residents from Sittwe and Muslim villagers confirmed that the situation has returned to how it was before the incident, and that the authorities have deployed security forces in the town. The post Sittwe Police: Security Escort For Attacked Muslims Was Unarmed appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Restaurant Review: Daw Shan Ma Posted: 05 Jul 2017 07:19 AM PDT Opened last month, Daw Shan Ma is proving a popular local haunt serving up hearty and authentic Shan State street fare in a snazzy fast-food setting. The clean bright restaurant with an open kitchen was opened by partners Ma Su Su Htwe and Jessica Spanton on the far eastern end of Bogyoke Road in a quiet Pazundaung Township neighborhood. The menu features family recipes from across the state as well as a number of innovative items. Shan drums and gongs adorn one side of the restaurant, while on the other are photographs of the region (some taken by Jessica) and some Shan-language graffiti that reads "welcome."  Su Su, a native of Taunggyi, told The Irrawaddy she wanted Daw Shan Ma to fill the gap between dubious quality street side Shan noodle stalls and upmarket restaurants. "I wanted Daw Shan Ma to serve good Shan food, in a clean, modern setting, but stay true to the flavors and street-food style of an Aunty making it right in front of you," she said. The most popular dish on the menu, according to Jessica, is the classic Shan Noodles served with chicken, pork, or vegetables. Key to the dishes' authenticity and full flavor are the restaurant's sourcing of some ingredients from Shan State. Those characteristically springy noodles are imported from Taunggyi, though the pair did toy with the idea of using their own noodle maker.  The restaurant's Hinn Htoke (chicken and spring onions steamed in banana leaf) is made using ingredients sourced from Inle Lake in southwestern Shan State. The local "moe kha" spring onions are particularly important, according to Su Su, as they have a very different flavor to the Yangon variety. Peanut Tofu Nway is another of the restaurant's specialties. Su Su came across the recipe in Kengtung when she was learning how to make Tofu Nway from her aunt. It's silky, rich, creamy—perfect for a wet Yangon day. The chicken curry and coconut rice is another favorite family recipe.  The highlight of a concise drinks menu of Burmese teas, wine, beer, and Milo is the salted plum juice—a refreshing medley of the tart, the sweet, and the salty. The Shan sticky rice burger is the restaurant's most intrepid item. Inspired by something the restaurant owners had in northern Thailand, a pork patty is infused with traditional spices of Shan sausages—lemongrass, Shan coriander, and mint—before being sandwiched between sticky rice "buns."  The post Restaurant Review: Daw Shan Ma appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Groups to File Lawsuit Against Govt to Rewrite 2008 Constitution Posted: 05 Jul 2017 07:10 AM PDT NAYPYITAW — Five organizations are taking steps to file a lawsuit against the government to scrap and rewrite the 2008 Constitution, according to a representative from one of the organizations. Fifteen representatives from five activist organizations – the Association of Elected Lawmakers from the 1990 General Elections, United National Democratic Organization, Farmer's Union, Human Rights Violations Investigation Committee and the Karen Women's Organization – went to Naypyitaw on Tuesday to file a lawsuit at the Dekkhinathiri District Court. But they did not file the lawsuit as they needed additional documents and their lawyer was sick, according to U David Hla Myint of the Association of Elected Lawmakers from the 1990 General Elections. "We plan to file the lawsuit in Naypyitaw because it is the most appropriate place to file this case. We will file a civil case and think it will be accepted as there is no reasonable argument for the court to reject it," U David Hla Myint told reporters. He said the five organizations had decided to start their own initiative to rewrite the Constitution as constitutional reform had reached an impasse. He said the groups would file the lawsuit soon. The military-drafted 2008 Constitution guarantees 25 percent of parliamentary seats to military appointees and requires a vote of more than 75 percent in order for it to be amended. It also bars Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency with an article written with her in mind, banning a person with a foreign-born spouse or children from holding the position. U David Hla Myint's primary point for scrapping the Constitution was the large gap in population statistics from the 2008 Constitution to the 2014 national population census. According to the 2008 Constitution, the country's population was 57 million, but according to the 2014 national census conducted in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund, the population was 51 million. "There is a gap of more than 6 million. The population growth rate shows that the number should have increased and not decreased in those years," he pointed out. Daw Naw Ohn Hla, the chairperson of the Farmer's Union, said: "It is not good for the country and citizens that the Constitution, which is the backbone of a country, is wrong. I am fighting to resolve this out of my sense of civic duty." Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Groups to File Lawsuit Against Govt to Rewrite 2008 Constitution appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Cash Donations Rising for Myanmar Pagodas: Religion Minister Posted: 05 Jul 2017 06:48 AM PDT YANGON — Cash donations by pilgrims and visitors to famous pagodas in Myanmar have risen over the past year, according to the Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Aung Ko. The ministry issued a statement in late June, detailing its achievements since 2016. The previous government handed more than 58 billion kyats and US$14.8 million over to the new administration, it said, as funds for Shwedagon Pagoda. The ministry then reformed the pagoda's board of trustees, and within the following financial year, which started on April 1, 2016 and ended on May 31, the pagoda received more than 2 billion kyats and $100,000 in donations. The ministry also saw an increase of more than 3 billion kyats each in donations to Mon State's Kyaiktiyo and Mandalay's Maha Myat Muni pagodas after forming new boards of trustees at the two sites, according to the statement. "We have saved the cash donations from Shwedagon Pagoda at the Myanmar Economic Bank, and the bank has difficulties paying the interest monthly. So, we bought 12-year treasury bonds with that money. We will get the money along with interest after 12 years," the minister told reporters at a full meeting of the state Buddhist authority State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, popularly known by the Burmese language acronym Ma Ha Na on Monday in Yangon. The ministry also manages contracts of services provided for the famous pagodas, such as parking and accommodation facilities, as well as overseeing other aspects of running the pagodas, said the statement. "For example, money donated into the donation box for electricity can only be used for lighting the pagoda. Money donated for gilding can only be used for that purpose, but not on other things," said the minister. The culture ministry is preparing to nominate Shwedagon Pagoda for UNESCO's list of culturally significant sites in 2019 after Bagan and Rakhine State's Mrauk U. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Cash Donations Rising for Myanmar Pagodas: Religion Minister appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Gen Aung San’s Secretariat Office to be Restored, Open to Public on Martyrs’ Day Posted: 05 Jul 2017 06:44 AM PDT YANGON — For the first time in decades, visitors to Yangon's Secretariat building on Martyrs' Day will get a glimpse as to how Gen Aung San's office once looked just before the independence hero and his Cabinet were assassinated there 70 years ago. The Cabinet meeting room inside the western wing of the complex was in use by various administrations since 1905 and served as Gen Aung San's office. The assassins gunned down him, seven of his Cabinet members, and a bodyguard in that space during a meeting on July 19 in 1947, shortly before the country became a free republic. The date continues to be marked annually as Martyrs' Day. The room, once filled with meeting tables and chairs for politicians, has changed much over seven decades. It has been converted into a prayer hall with a Buddhist shrine. Ma May Thadar Win, a spokesperson of Secretariat Conservation Group, told reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday that the furniture that was in the room during the time of the assassination will be placed exactly as it was during the tragic event in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Martyrs' Day. "Later, we will renovate the room to make it the same as it was in 1947. The family members of the deceased martyrs also agreed to this," she added. The furniture, which has never been on display in public and has been kept by the National Museum, will be loaned for one day to the Secretariat for public display. On the occasion, Ma May Thadar Win said visitors will also be able to see the interior of the partially restored first parliament house, located within the Secretariat compound. It housed the nation's legislature from 1935 until 1962. Its grounds hosted the ceremony ushering in Myanmar's independence on January 4, 1948, when the Burmese flag was raised for the first time in front of the parliament house. The Secretariat was opened to the public for the first time on Martyrs' Day in 2014, and remains closed for the rest of the year. In the past, the public has not been allowed to see the room where Gen Aung San and his comrades were assassinated, and access was also limited regarding the parliament house. An art exhibition will be held for the first time in the Secretariat as well, where 40 paintings by students aged 10 to 14 will be on display, Ma May Thadar Win said. The Secretariat will be open to the public from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on July 19. The post Gen Aung San's Secretariat Office to be Restored, Open to Public on Martyrs' Day appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Locals Flee as Chindwin River Swells Posted: 05 Jul 2017 03:11 AM PDT MANDALAY — Dozens of people living along a stretch of the Chindwin River in Sagaing Division moved to higher ground on Tuesday as heavy rains caused the river to swell. Residents from some 20 homes in villages Aung Thar, Tharsi and Siphyugone, Khamti Township, sought shelter at the Mya Thein Tan monastery, located uphill in the township, as the water level approached the danger mark. "We are taking a lot of heavy rain," said U Aung San Myint, a resident of Khamti. "Local authorities issued a warning for possible flooding and the locals living on the lowland are getting ready to move up to shelters on higher ground." Vendors in Khamti town were preparing to close Myo Ma market as the water was close to breaching the banks nearby, according to locals. Flooding forced the closure of a middle school in Sagaing's Homalin Township and nine primary schools in the surrounding villages, and damaged 30 households, according to the local administration office. "We are preparing everything in anticipation for more floods. There are groups monitoring the water level as well," said a local administrative officer from Homalin Township. Locals said the floods last year were more severe but added that they were readying supplies and plans if the water level rises. The Meteorology Department in Naypyidaw on Wednesday reported the water level of the Chindwin River had passed the danger mark in Homalin Township and is set to increase over the next two days. The post Locals Flee as Chindwin River Swells appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Officer in Mon State Parliament Investigated for Allegedly Soliciting Bribes Posted: 05 Jul 2017 12:43 AM PDT MOULMEIN, Mon State — An investigation is being carried out in response to allegations that a staff officer of the Mon State Parliament has collected 300,000 kyats (US$220) from each new recruit, the speaker and deputy speaker of the parliament have confirmed. The new recruits did not bribe the officer for their appointments. We had already appointed them but the officer asked them for money after the fact, said the speaker. "I heard the allegations on Saturday. I'll investigate to find the truth," Mon State Parliament Speaker Daw Tin Ei told The Irrawaddy. The staff officer who allegedly received money from the new recruits was originally from Mon State's General Administration Department and was to return to his original position this month. The move will be suspended while the investigation is ongoing, said the speaker. "We appointed them on Friday and heard that a staff officer then asked for 300,000 kyats each on the pretext of paying respects [with gifts] to the [parliamentary] speaker, deputy speaker, and directors," said Mon State Parliament Deputy Speaker Dr. Aung Naing Oo. "I met the new recruits on Sunday. Five of them said the officer told them that they had become permanent staff and would now be paid until they were 60 so should give two months' salary to show gratitude," Dr. Aung Naing Oo told The Irrawaddy. The Mon State Parliament posted job openings in early June for staff positions. A total of 160 individuals submitted applications. A written test was held on June 16, which 130 applicants sat for, and 32 passed. Then, an oral assessment was held on June 26, and nine applicants were selected and appointed. "The written test is all the same, asking about Mon State and Parliament. The oral test varies according to our university degrees. No one asked for money at the time of the test; I heard about it afterward," said one applicant. According to its standard organizational chart, Mon State Parliament should have 62 staff members. When the parliaments were first established at the national and state levels in 2011, there was a shortage of staff, and therefore, staff members from other ministries were assigned to the national legislature as a short-term solution. Likewise, the parliamentary positions in divisions and states were filled with staff from concerned general administration departments. They retained their official positions in the general administration departments in the interim. The Union Parliament months ago instructed the state and divisional parliaments to appoint staff by the end of the year. The Mon State Parliament allowed the general administration department staff to choose whether to transfer. More than 30 staff members transferred to the parliament, and nine people were appointed to fill the remaining positions. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Officer in Mon State Parliament Investigated for Allegedly Soliciting Bribes appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Myanmar Migrants Turn Work Permits into Fashion Statement Posted: 05 Jul 2017 12:22 AM PDT CHIANG RAI, Thailand — Although Thailand's new decree on foreign labor has scared many migrant workers back to their homeland, other Myanmar people with legal documentation allowing them to live and work in Thailand have apparently welcomed the new regulations…by posting photos of themselves modeling the required documents. Several people from Tachileik, the border town in Shan State across the river from Mae Sai in Thailand's Chiang Rai province, shared their pictures on Facebook—perhaps starting a new fashion trend of "document necklaces"—stringing together their passports, ID cards and employment documents. One posted a video of herself flaunting the documents in a dance routine.  Pakaimas Vierra, vice chairperson of the Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce, said on Tuesday that few Myanmar workers had been obliged to return to their homeland through Mae Sai because Chiang Rai immigration police had effectively enforced regulations in the past, and there were few factories in the province. Unlike provinces on the western border such as Tak, she added, there were no large cities on Myanmar soil across the border from Chiang Rai. Only 44 Myanmar people left Thailand through Chiang Rai's Mae Sai border crossing on Saturday, and 14 others did so on Sunday. Labor authorities earlier said about 30,000 migrant workers had left Thailand through permanent border checkpoints nationwide since June 23, when the new executive decree on foreign workers took effect, with a fine of up to 800,000 baht (USD$23,500) per case of illegal employment. As the decree caused employers to lay off many illegal migrant workers, and workers themselves were seriously worried about penalties including imprisonment of up to five years, the National Council for Peace and Order decided on Tuesday to delay the enforcement of the decree until the end of this year. The post Myanmar Migrants Turn Work Permits into Fashion Statement appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Traffickers Find New Ways to Smuggle Girls From India’s Northeast Posted: 04 Jul 2017 11:37 PM PDT MUMBAI, India — Young girls from India's remote northeast are lured with promises of good jobs and trafficked through Myanmar to Southeast Asia nations and the Middle East on Nepalese passports, campaigners say, amid fears traffickers are finding new ways to escape checks. "Over a 100 girls from the northeast and northern part of West Bengal state were trafficked in the last two years, nearly 50 to 60 percent of them on passports issued by Nepal," said Hasina Kharbhih, founder of anti-trafficking charity Impulse NGO Network. "Obtaining visas for Middle East countries is difficult on Indian passports, so recruitment agents are getting them from Nepal. They are doing the paperwork for both passports and visas in Kathmandu," Kharbhih told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Shillong, capital of northeastern state of Meghalaya. Traffickers have been trying new ways, including transporting women on tourist visas to Gulf nations to get round Indian emigration checks. They are also trying routes through neighboring countries including Nepal where collusion of officials with traffickers is suspected. Campaigners said traffickers are flying the girls from Kathmandu airport and in some cases crisscrossing through Indian airports with them before flying to a Gulf nation such as Kuwait or Oman. For destinations in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore and Malaysia, the girls are trafficked through Myanmar. India's underdeveloped northeast, a region marred by ethnic violence and armed conflicts, is bordered by China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan and is a hub for sex traffickers to source girls for brothels in Mumbai and Delhi. But cases of trafficking for labor to other countries are being increasingly reported. Recruitment agents peddle dreams to college graduates of well-paid jobs in hotels and spas in Gulf nations or the frozen fish packaging industry of Malaysia. They target illiterate girls for jobs as domestic helps. "The agencies are focusing on these areas because they find many girls are happy to go to Middle East countries as they find they can earn more there," Kharbhih said. But when they arrive they often find themselves trapped in bonded labor, having to pay off debts to traffickers. "Their passports are taken by the employers. They are not paid, as promised," she said. Alerts and Checks The police in Sikkim—considered prosperous among northeastern states—is currently investigating the case of a 25-year-old who flew to Kuwait to work as a housemaid in 2010 and went missing after that. Her family lodged a complaint with police last year. "She had flown on a passport issued by Nepal. This is our first such case," an official with the Sikkim anti-human trafficking unit said. A similar case three years ago put campaigners on the Nepal passport trail when a woman trafficked to Lebanon committed suicide. "We found during the investigation that she was among a bunch of others who was taken there on Nepalese passports for housemaid jobs. That one case was our entry point into the issue," Kharbhih said. Cases have been trickling in since then—a recent one of a girl taken through Chennai on her Indian passport to Malaysia to work in a beauty parlor. Her passport was seized by her employer and she couldn't renew her visa when it expired. "It was a complex case as she was legally detained for overstaying in Malaysia. It was very difficult to get her back," Kharbhih said. Impulse NGO has police from India's northeastern states and campaigners logged on to its trafficking alert software. It is now training border forces on how to send alerts on the system in an effort to curb the numbers of trafficked girls and women. "These girls want a good job, and some mortgage assets and take loans with the hope of returning home with money. In some cases, they do send money back home, but these happy stories are short-lived," Kharbhih said. The post Traffickers Find New Ways to Smuggle Girls From India's Northeast appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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