Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Arakan Army Seizes Ceasefire Signatory’s Outpost  

Posted: 23 Aug 2017 07:06 AM PDT

YANGON – Nearly 70 soldiers from the Arakan Army (AA) raided a front line post belonging to nationwide ceasefire signatory Arakan Liberation Army (ALA) in Chin State's Paletwa Township on Tuesday.

The post's location, near the intersecting border of Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, is around four miles from Chin Let Wa village, located in a heavily forested area. The fresh clashes mark the first such incident between the two Arakanese armed groups since the AA set up strongholds in northern Rakhine State in 2015.

U Khine Aung Soe Than, secretary general of the ALA's political wing the Arakan Liberation Party, confirmed to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that fighting had broken out the day before and that the ALA had lost the territory.

A statement by the group released on Wednesday said that two ALA soldiers were killed in the attack, three were "severely" wounded, and two more were missing.

According to U Khine Aung So Than, the ALA unit in the camp had just 20 soldiers and they withdrew from the base as AA soldiers surrounded them and began the assault.

"Clashes are continually happening today, even though the ALA pulled back its unit," he said.

He speculated that AA troops likely used artillery weapons including 60-mm mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades to secure the post. He also recalled an incident that occurred days earlier, in which two ALA soldiers were reportedly detained by the AA when they came to report to their new post's commander.

In the days which followed, he added that two more soldiers were captured by the AA in a Ka Ki village monastery, situated on the Indian side of the border.

"Our leader, Khine So Naing Aung, already sent a letter to talk about the fresh clashes but there have been no replies from the AA's side. We have no idea what the reason is for fighting against the ALA," said Rakhine State-based U Khine Aung Soe Than.

The AA's spokesman U Khine Thukha, a former leader of the ALP, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Another high-ranking member of AA, Thailand-based Col Kyaw Han, refused to speak on the reports of skirmishes with the ALA.

Ethnic affairs expert U Maung Maung Soe remarked that clashes occasionally happen between ethnic armed groups.

"Fighting can occur at any time, maybe because of territorial problems or because of different political directions," he said.

He pointed out that the AA possesses strong support from the ethnic Arakanese population, and speculated that fresh fighting against the ALA would not likely harm its popularity.

Both the AA's commander-in-chief Brig-Gen Tun Myat Naing and Vice Chief of Staff Dr. Nyo Tun Aung have been attending a conference of northeastern armed groups in Panghsang, the administrative capital of the United Wa State Army-controlled area in Shan State, since earlier this week.

On May 4, the AA issued a "warning letter" written in the Arakanese language on its official Facebook page, alleging that 30 soldiers from the Arakan Liberation Army (ALA) had posed as AA soldiers and extorted money from locals near the Bangladeshi border. Moreover, the AA accused troops from the same group of pretending to be Myanmar Army soldiers and collecting "protection money" from residents of Garam Pa village in early May.

The letter said, "We are closely watching the group and the AA will respond with appropriate action if the same conduct happens in the future."

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Myanmar Voters Prefer Male Candidates: Survey

Posted: 23 Aug 2017 05:19 AM PDT

YANGON — The majority of respondents in a recent public poll conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI) said they prefer male candidates to females, even when they hold the same qualifications.

The nationwide survey was conducted between March 9 and April 1 this year through in-person interviews of 3,000 citizens age 18 or older, selected randomly from across all states and regions.

The poll asked, "If there were two candidates running for office and they had the same qualifications aside from the fact that one was a man and one was a woman, which candidate would you be more likely to support?"

The answers allowed were: prefer men, prefer women, makes no difference, or do not know.

Sixty-three percent of men interviewed for the poll answered that they preferred male candidates while only 13 percent preferred women; seventeen percent said it made no difference.

Forty-four percent of women interviewed said they were more likely to support male candidates, while 38 percent stood with women candidates.

Dr. Nyo Nyo Thin, a former outspoken Yangon regional lawmaker who was defeated by her male counterpart from the National League for Democracy (NLD) in the 2015 general election, said the survey highlighted a remaining hurdle in society for women wanting to enter politics.

"They assume women lawmakers can't do what men do," she said. "I want to urge women to try even harder."

Now a founder of the School of Law, Gender & Politics in Yangon, she said more women lawmakers in Parliament could bring more plans for health, education and welfare systems, which are now weak.

Ko Nay Phone Latt, a Yangon regional lawmaker, said gender should not matter, and that performance should be the priority.

"The nature of the surveys is that people need to choose from the given answers. Sometimes, the given answers are not complete," he added.

The survey also asked the respondents about issues concerning socioeconomics, performance of the government, state and regional autonomy, political parties and media.

The survey was released on Tuesday.

When the survey asked what the most important reason was for choosing a political party, 34 percent chose party platform, 23 percent chose party leader and only 12 percent chose the quality of the candidates.

Eighty-four percent of the respondents said they voted in the 2015 general election while 16 percent did not vote. Meanwhile, 77 percent said they are very likely to cast their votes in the upcoming 2020 general election.

There were 150 women elected in the 2015 general election of the 791 who stood for office nationwide: 44 in the Union Parliament's Lower House, 23 in the Upper House and 83 in regional legislatures, putting female representation at about 13 percent – an increase of 8 percentage points, or an almost threefold rise compared to the previous makeup.

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NMSP Eyes Signing NCA Before Third Panglong Conference

Posted: 23 Aug 2017 05:11 AM PDT

MAWLAMYINE, Mon State — The New Mon State Party (NMSP) will consider signing the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) before the third session of the Union Peace Conference, said an NMSP official.

The NCA dictates that only signatories can send delegations to the conference— also known as the 21st Century Panglong peace conference—and take part in discussions.

"We've always said that we'd sign the NCA. We're trying to sign it before the third session of 21st Century Panglong so that we can participate in the meeting," Nai Win Hla, head of NMSP internal affairs, told press after a meeting between an NMSP delegation led by its joint secretary Nai Kyaw Ye and the Mon State government on Wednesday.

Mon State chief minister Dr. Aye Zan, who led the government delegation at the meeting, told press that the NMSP asked his government to wait for three months, as the ethnic armed group is "persuading other members" of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) to sign the agreement.

"They said they would give a clear answer in three months whether other members agree to sign it or not," he said.
The NMSP and Mon State authorities have met three times since the National League for Democracy (NLD) took office, but in the latest meeting the two sides agreed to meet monthly.

The NMSP also called for the Mon language to be included on the state school curriculum and questioned the deployment of Myanmar Army troops in Mawlamyine District. The chief minister said both of those issues are directly related to the NCA and the peace process.

Ko Min Zayar Oo, a member of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee's secretarial body, suggested that the NMSP is likely to sign the NCA on October 15—the second anniversary of the signing of the NCA between U Thein Sein's government and eight armed groups. The Union Peace Conference is expected some time between October and December.

The NMSP declared in May that it was trying to sign the NCA together with its fellow UNFC members, including the Arakan National Council (ANC), Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).

The government has required armed groups to sign a nine-point Deed of Commitment (DoC) before signing the NCA. The NMSP has reached agreement with the government over four points and is still discussing the remaining five.

Mon State border and security affairs minister Col Win Naing Oo is optimistic that the NMSP will sign the NCA because it participated in drafting the agreement.

"The NCA book is kept open at the peace committee office. Since the time of President U Thein Sein, ethnic armed groups have been invited to sign it anytime. If you can't sign it now, you can sign it later. The book is kept ready," he said.

There are many gaps in cooperation between the Mon State government and NMSP in the areas of regional development and rule of law because the NMSP has not yet signed the agreement, he added.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Insufficient Toilets Pose Risk to Women and Girls

Posted: 23 Aug 2017 04:38 AM PDT

YANGON – One and a half million people in Myanmar do not have access to a toilet, creating health issues that disproportionally affect women and girls and put them at risk of sexual assault, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

Three quarters of Myanmar households have direct access to a toilet that hygienically separates human contact with excreta while 16 million people have access to some kind of latrine, according to a 2014 census report released by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) last week.

One and a half million people have no access to a toilet at all and defecate and urinate in the open.

"For women and girls who have to relieve themselves and manage their menstrual hygiene in the open or in a shared facility, this makes them particularly vulnerable, and puts them at risk of harassment and physical assault, especially after dark," said UNFPA representative of Myanmar, Janet Jackson.

Women and girls in urban slums, rural areas, and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps are the most at risk.

Campaigners in India, where 770 million people require better facilities, have been addressing the link between poor toilets and sexual assault for a number of years, but the issue remains shrouded in silence in Myanmar.

Daw Nang Pu, a spokesperson for the Kachin-based Htoi Gender and Development Foundation, told The Irrawaddy she had witnessed sexual harassment of women and girls traveling to and from shared toilet facilities.

Incidents are underreported, she said, as the women and girls often do not speak out due to shame and fear.

Vice chairwoman of the Mon Women's Organization Mi Kon Chan Non told The Irrawaddy: "Sexual harassment and physical assault can occur in public and crowded areas, but women are more at risk when they are alone and it is dark."

Women in Mon State answered the call of nature together when there was no toilet available in their home or village, she said.

"Nowadays, most families have toilets on their land, but it is still far from where their homes are," she added.

National League for Democracy lawmaker Daw Phyu Phyu Thin, who represents Yangon's Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township in the Lower House, told The Irrawaddy she had heard reports of sexual harassment and rape when women and girls visited shared toilets during festivals in rural areas.

She said that even in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon, some people don't have access to toilets in their homes and share public toilets—including in four wards of Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township—and urged Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein to address the problem in his urban development projects.

"It's not just about safety but also dignity and basic human rights," the lawmaker said.

Kachin youth activist Mai Mai told The Irrawaddy that female IDPs faced frequent health problems relating to a lack of sanitation and privacy when managing menstruation.

Inadequate or unhygienic toilet facilities disproportionally affect women as a lack of waste disposal or running water can lead to infections and other complications with menstrual hygiene.

At Kachin IDP camps in Tanai Township in Kachin State and Kutkai Township of Shan State, 100 people typically share two or three toilets, she said.

"Although adequate toilet facilities will not stop sexual assault and rape, the lack of safe facilities makes women vulnerable and is a daily challenge," she added.

While more than two thirds of Myanmar households (69.5 percent) have access to non-contaminated drinking water, 16 million people in Myanmar, primarily in rural areas, do not have access to safe drinking water.

Worldwide, diarrheal diseases that are commonly spread by contaminated water kill more children than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined.

"There is an urgent need to address Myanmar's housing challenges holistically," said Jackson.

"We need to look at all aspects of living conditions, including health, sanitation, electricity, communications and safety."

"Space is also a key element to dignified housing. People need homes that allow for privacy for families as well as for intimacy between couples," she added.

The findings come from the 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census Thematic Report on Housing Conditions and Household Amenities, published by the Government of Myanmar and UNFPA.

An estimated 1,090,000 Rohingya in Rakhine State, 69,700 people in Karen State and 46,600 people in Kachin State were not included in the census.

The post Insufficient Toilets Pose Risk to Women and Girls appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Economy More Important Than Democracy in Myanmar, Survey Says

Posted: 23 Aug 2017 04:16 AM PDT

YANGON — Myanmar people rated economic development as more important than democratic reform, according to a survey of Myanmar public opinion by the International Republican Institute (IRI) released on Tuesday.

The survey questioned 3,000 people over the age of 18 across all states and regions between March 9 and April 1, 2017 on their views about their socio-economic status, political and security situations of the country, the democratic transition and rights, and perceptions of government, legislature, political parties and the media.

Only 24 percent of respondents said democratic reform was more important than economic development while another 11 percent described democratic reform as moderately important.

Forty percent of respondents thought the economy was more important than democracy.

IRI Asia Senior Advisor Johanna Kao said the survey intended to highlight what the government and political parties should do in the months ahead based on public opinion.

According to the survey, economy is the biggest concern of the people, followed by peace and resolving conflicts.

Thirty-one percent of the respondents answered that the economy should be a higher priority of the government than resolving conflict.

"Most of the voters will focus on their socio-economic life. They will think about other things only when they enjoy their socio-economic status. They will like and accept a government only when it solves their livelihood problems," said Rob Varsalone of Global Strategic Partners who supervised the survey.

The majority of the respondents were optimistic about Myanmar's economy with 53 percent answering that it was doing well, while 22 percent said it was doing badly.

"It is important to assess those figures based on demographics rather than believing the figures as they are," said U Tin Maung Oo of the Former Political Prisoner Society.

He pointed out the survey did not touch upon issues concerning the military.

IRI, a US-based non-profit organization promoting democracy worldwide, conducted its first survey in Myanmar in 2014.

The organization operates in 85 countries around the world.

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Govt Prepares Mrauk-U UNESCO Bid

Posted: 23 Aug 2017 01:20 AM PDT

YANGON — The Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs and Rakhine State authorities are drafting an application for next year to get the old Arakanese capital Mrauk-U recognized by UNESCO.

The proposal to mark the archaeological zone on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list will be submitted by September next year, said Daw Nu Mya Zan, chairperson of a sub-committee compiling the report for the bid.

The initial application will include a report and management plan, a second application will be submitted in 2019, and the final application in early 2020, added Daw Nu Mya Zan, who previously served as the deputy director general of the Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library.

From the 15th century to the late 1800s, Mrauk-U was the seat of Arakanese kings, who at the height of their power controlled an area covering large parts of eastern Bengal, modern-day Rakhine State and the western part of Lower Myanmar. Much of the city's remains are well-preserved and some 380 historic temples are scattered between the lush hills of northern Rakhine.

Since 2014, the culture ministry has carried out digital mapping and improved preservation of Buddhist temples and palace grounds in Mrauk-U.

World Cultural Council officials, experts from UNESCO, local and foreign historians, Arakanese history researchers, state government workers, and lawmakers held a workshop in Mrauk-U on Monday.

"There are selection criteria for UNESCO World Heritage Site recognition. The workshop discussed which criteria most fit Mrauk-U so as to present it in the application. And two criteria were initially agreed upon to present in the application," said Daw Nu Mya Zan.

These two criteria promoted Mrauk-U as "bearing a unique" or exceptional testimony to a "cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or has disappeared," and the ability to "transcend national boundaries and be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity."

Daw Khin Thein, chairperson of the bid's sub-committee on historical facts, said Mrauk-U residents do not need to relocate their houses for the process.

The archaeology department has formed 14 sub-committees to help prepare the nomination. At present, Rakhine State government is funding the process, and the Union government and international partners have also promised to provide funds, according to sub-committees.

Myanmar's three ancient Pyu cities became the first to be recognized in the country by UNESCO in June 2014. The government has also nominated Bagan for the same status.

Mrauk-U is located on the Kaladan River in northern Rakhine State, some 60 kilometers inland from the state capital Sittwe. Internal violence between Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims that erupted in mid-2012 has driven down tourist numbers to the area.

Following the violence, authorities closed down the old city for foreign tourists and although the ban was lifted after several months the area has seen only a trickle of visitors since.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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IFC Approves Support for Controversial Tycoon’s Mandalay Cement Project

Posted: 23 Aug 2017 01:11 AM PDT

The World Bank's private sector lending arm the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has given the go ahead to support a multi-million dollar plan to expand a cement factory in Mandalay Region, operated by the Shwe Taung Conglomerate. The firm's chairman, Aik Htun, had been alleged by US authorities to have had ties to the drug trade and narcotics-related money laundering. The Sino-Burmese businessman has long said these accusations are not true, a view now shared by the IFC, which claims to have thoroughly investigated the matter.

The project proposal, which also includes expanding a coal mine in Sagaing Region that supplies the factory, drew strong objections from Myanmar civil society groups who raised environmental concerns about the project that will see the IFC invest US$15 million and provide a loan of $20 million for the expansion that is expected to cost a total of $110 million.

An open letter signed by a coalition of 174 NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOS), most of which are based in Myanmar, also raised allegations made by US authorities more than a decade ago concerning Aik Htun’s involvement in a now defunct bank that the Bush administration had designated a financial institution "of primary money laundering concern."

Aik Htun previously served as the second in command at the Asia Wealth Bank (AWB), which he co-founded in 1995. In less than a decade after its establishment, AWB became Myanmar's largest private sector bank. In early 2003, a major crisis in Myanmar's banking sector triggered a massive run on AWB and two other private banks, which ultimately led AWB to end operations.

In November 2003, several months after the crisis had put AWB in serious financial trouble, the US government announced that it was taking action against AWB and another Burmese bank, using a section of the US Patriot Act citing money-laundering concerns.

In the announcement about the decision, the US government described Aik Htun as someone who had been "specifically identified as having connections with Burma's narcotics trade." The announcement of the targeting of AWB also claimed that the bank, which Aik Htun was a significant shareholder of, was "affiliated with prominent organizations and figures in the drug trade, including members of the Kokang ethnic group headed by notorious drug lord Peng Chia-Sheng," a reference to the veteran Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army leader whose name is more commonly spelled Peng Jiasheng.

No Evidence to Support Allegations says IFC Myanmar Country Chief

The IFC said that the allegations concerning Aik Htun and his former bank that were leveled by the US treasury department and printed in the US Federal Register, the official journal of the US government, have proven to be unfounded.

"IFC conducted extensive due diligence on STG and its shareholders and found no evidence to support Mr. Aik Htun's involvement in alleged money laundering or drug trafficking, while he was vice chairman and minority shareholder of Asia Wealth Bank," said the IFC country chief in Myanmar Vikram Kumar in a letter written in response to the NGO coalition's open letter to the World Bank's chief Jim Kim, opposing the IFC's involvement in the project.

The strongly worded letter from the NGO coalition had urged the IFC to stay away from Aik Htun. "[F]inancing this project would send the message that the IFC disregards the reputational risks associated with the borrower, and is more interested in lining its pockets and that of Myanmar's crony elite than promoting sustainable development in accordance with its mandate," warned the letter which was sent just before the IFC board was initially supposed to decide on the case at the end of May.

Though ultimately the IFC board chose to disregard the NGO coalition's warnings, the letter appears to have had some impact, with the final decision on the project that had originally been scheduled for May having not have been made until two months later.

When reached for comment, Mr. Kumar emphasized that prior to the project receiving the go ahead from the IFC's board on July 31, the IFC examined the allegations thoroughly. "[E]xtensive due diligence, including independent third party research and reference checks with reliable sources in the market, makes IFC comfortable with the sponsor's business practices, source of wealth and most importantly, their commitment to adhere to the highest standards of corporate governance, business ethics and environmental and social sustainability."

The IFC's confidence concerning the source of Aik Htun’s wealth stands in sharp contrast to a leaked US diplomat cable written during the military era some three years after AWB stopped operations, which suggested something quite different. "Aik Htun enjoys the regime's confidence, and benefits handsomely from its business," wrote a US diplomat in February 2007 shortly after meeting Aik Htun. The cable also cited a fellow businessman in Myanmar who believed that Aik Htun "could not have amassed such profits at AWB without drug money."

Aik Htun for his part has claimed that the allegations were the result of petty jealousies. "In Myanmar at that time the government was not transparent. There were so many rumors, [there was] so much jealousy," he told the Financial Times in 2015.

While the US government's designation of AWB as a money-laundering concern was withdrawn by the US treasury department in 2012 because the defunct banks "no longer exist and thus pose no further threat to financial systems," the accusations against Aik Htun, remain available to be read on US government websites. The IFC's endorsement of Aik Htun and his firm, where his children also serve as senior executives, is a significant victory for the tycoon and represents something of an internationally recognized rehabilitation of his reputation.

The US as the largest shareholder in the World Bank has considerable influence over whom the World Bank and its various branches lend money to. It is therefore very unlikely that the IFC's involvement in a project like the one involving Shwe Taung could have been approved without a nod from Washington, who nominated the current World Bank head, Jim Kim, who is also a member of the IFC’s board of directors.

The project also appears to have sailed through approval without reservations being raised by the present National League for Democracy (NLD) government. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration has opted to embrace the oligarchs who profited immensely from their access to Myanmar’s previous military regime, when she and many of her NLD colleagues were in detention or forced into silence. Last week, Myanmar’s Minister of Planning and Finance Kyaw Win told reporters that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi no longer wants those businessmen, many of whom earned a significant amount of notoriety for their close ties to the military regime, to be described by the media as cronies.

Project Go Ahead Despite Widespread NGO Opposition on Environmental Grounds

The coalition of NGOs also cited the use of coal at the factory and the project's planned expansion of an existing coal mine already operated by Shwe Taung that supplies the factory as strong reasons not to go ahead with the project, in particular, because the coal mine is located in what has been classified a Critical Habitat area.

The NGO letter complained that the IFC’s support for the project violated a promise made by the World Bank that it would not support coal power in Myanmar. Kumar maintains this is inaccurate because the World Bank policy on coal only concerns power plants that contribute power to a national grid, and not something like the cement plant which only uses coal to heat the factory's kiln.

The NGO coalition has also expressed concerns that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) carried out for the project were not sufficient and did not do enough to involve potentially affected communities.

While the NGO coalition of 174 groups opposed to the project represents a broad spectrum of civil society in Myanmar ranging from ethnic land activists to former political prisoners, Kumar maintains that support for the project does exist on the ground.

"[T]here has been extensive consultation with communities, whom, in our opinion, have indicated their broad support for the project. In addition, a public forum was convened in Yangon last month with civil society to engage on their issues and concerns and IFC is satisfied that the project will adequately address these," said Kumar.

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Engagement with the Military?

Posted: 22 Aug 2017 07:35 PM PDT

There is a common misperception among outsiders that it was Western engagement with Myanmar's generals that led them to embark on a process of change after several decades of military-dominated rule. Or perhaps it was behind-the-doors-policies by some members of Asean, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that achieved the required result?

The latter notion can easily be dismissed by looking at Asean's two cardinal principles, non-interference and consensus, which makes the bloc acutely ineffective when it comes to solving bilateral problems such as border conflicts or issues relating to the governance of the member states. And, apart from the Philippines and Indonesia, Asean's members are ruled by authoritarian regimes with little regard for democratic principles.

On the other hand, the notion that Western engagement did the trick reflects what amounts to a blatantly neocolonial attitude. Myanmar today is full of foreigners who suffer from what can only be described as a "White Messiah complex." Clearly overestimating their own importance, they seem to believe that they can achieve peace in the country, and make the peoples of Myanmar love each other so they can march together towards a more democratic future. And all that is needed for the military to change is to invite them to the West and tell them they are wrong — and then they will adjust accordingly.

William C. Dickey, a former US defense attaché to Myanmar, assisted by Nay Yan Oo, a resident fellow at the Pacific Forum of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, contended, correctly, in an article published by the Nikkei Asian Review on August 18, that the Myanmar military "holds the key to further reform." Change would have to come from within the military, still the country's most powerful institution.

But then their arguments go astray. They believe that the US-funded Expanded International Military and Education Training (E-IMET) program will help the Myanmar military understand issues such as a military justice system that is in accordance with internationally recognized human rights and the principle of civilian control of the military, and that "US engagement with the Myanmar military is necessary to help Myanmar stay on track for democratic reforms."

First of all, it is misleading to talk about "democratic reform" in Myanmar. The current Constitution, which was drafted under military auspices and adopted after a blatantly rigged referendum in May 2008, actually provides for what could at best be described as a hybrid system. Under the new charter, the military holds 25 percent of all seats in the parliament and regional assemblies. Since all changes to the Constitution's major clauses require 75 percent approval — followed by a national referendum — the military enjoys what amounts to veto power over any changes in the country's power structure.

Among the clauses that cannot be changed without military approval are those stipulating that the military appoints the three most important ministries, namely those of Defense, Home Affairs and Border Affairs. Military control of the Defense and Border Affairs ministries excludes the elected government from military matters as well as issues relating to ethnic insurgencies in border areas. The Home Ministry controls the police — and the powerful General Administration Department, which staffs all local governments, from the state and region levels down to districts and townships. Elected ministers, or ministers appointed by the elected government, are confined to issues such as health and education, fisheries and agriculture.

When the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in the November 2015 election, enabling pro-democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to become State Counselor (the 2008 Constitution prevented her from becoming the country's President, as her two sons are not Myanmar citizens, so this new position was created solely for her), people in Myanmar were enthusiastic and foreign observers hailed the event as an important step towards democratic rule. But less than two years later, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Myanmar's first truly elected government since 1960 is a mere fig leaf for continued military rule — which has to take the blame for issues beyond its control, among them the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, the arrest of journalists and inertia in the local administration.

Than Soe Naing, a Myanmar political analyst, told The Irrawaddy in August this year that, "according to the very essence of the 2008 Constitution, it is the Tatmadaw [military] which will decide the fate of Myanmar's politics." In the same article, Col. Aung Myint Oo, head of internal and external relations at the National Defense College, was quoted as saying: "Considering the reality, it is impossible to remove the military from politics."

Myanmar today has a political system that was designed by the military to preserve their power. It suits them perfectly and they have no intention to change it. It is important to remember that the "reforms" were not introduced because the generals suddenly had decided to become liberal democrats but to break their international isolation in order to lessen their dependence on China. The bitter reality is that it's the Myanmar generals who have successfully — and cleverly — managed to engage the West, not the other way round.

And the problem is not that the leaders of the Myanmar military are unaware of human rights principles or what civilian control of the military means. There are plenty of papers produced by officers at Myanmar's National Defense College on precisely those subjects. Thus, the issue is not lack of knowledge, but the fact that the Myanmar military has had its own ideology since the late 1950s, the essence of which is that the military has to play a dominant role in matters of defense as well as political and social affairs. That deep-rooted belief is not going to change only because some Western instructors tell them otherwise.

The example of US "success" in helping with "a military's professionalization and a country's democratic tradition" mentioned by the authors — Indonesia — is highly dubious. We are led to believe that it was officers who had attended IMET training, not a massive popular uprising against the old, dictatorial Suharto regime that came in the wake of a severe economic crisis in the late 1990s, which paved the way for a more democratic Indonesia. No such conditions exist in Myanmar today, and how do the authors explain that US-trained military officers have staged several coups in Thailand? Or that Burmese officers who prior to 1988 did attend IMET courses remained loyal to the regime they served and did not become champions for democracy?

Training courses in the West could even be counterproductive as those would only provide Myanmar's military leaders with international recognition and legitimacy, which have been lacking for decades, and the officers would therefore be even more immune to reform. Human rights concerns would be swept under the carpet "so as not to antagonize the military" and "hamper the reform process" — and that is already happening in Myanmar today.

While severe human rights abuses are daily occurrences in the country's war zones, most notably in Kachin and northern Shan State, gone are the days when the international community issues strongly worded statements condemning such atrocities. Change may eventually come to Myanmar, and it would have to come from within the country's most powerful institution, the military, as well as from a much stronger civil society than today is the case. But all this will be homegrown and not because of patronizing attitudes by Westerners. The White Messiahs and other outsiders are little more than pawns in a game of which they understand very little. And the sooner they realize that their involvement is irrelevant, and even harmful to possible democratic development in Myanmar, the better.

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Mapping Chinese Rangoon – Place and Nation Among the Sino-Burmese

Posted: 22 Aug 2017 06:37 PM PDT

The meaning of a new place, as defined by an immigrant ethnic community, is often shaped by daily interactions with the local population, evolving circumstances that make one resourceful, and the yearning for an adopted 'home' away from home. Identities get created, questioned and reshaped vis-à-vis a place, offering chances to explore the 'self' and the 'other,'charting new spaces for fruitful engagement.

Jayde Lin Roberts attempts to reflect upon the Sino-Burmese in Yangon and their efforts to be both Chinese and Burmese at the same time; their pragmatic recognition of the desirable interdependence which becomes necessarily instrumental for their negotiation of and survival in Myanmar. They have tried to retrieve their cultural heritage as a way of living to make a place for themselves in Yangon. Although they have struggled with their changing fortunes in Myanmar, their pursuit of economic stability and cultural belonging has helped them to overcome difficult times.

Through spatial ethnography, Roberts describes the Sino-Burmese with a focus on the Hokkien Chinese in Yangon, analyzing various aspects of their lives and kinship networks through the study of their temples, schools, commerce, public spaces and festivals. In doing so, she simultaneously outlines the phases of insecurity found in Sino-Burmese history- insecurity created by the regimes: China, which was indifferent to the Sino-Burmese population, and Myanmar, which actively marginalized them.

Roberts begins with the rigid rectilinear grid of city planning and the spatial–legal structure of the colonial city which, in Yangon, was a construct of the British that brought with it a social order unfamiliar to local residents. The Chinese migrants managed to fit themselves into this urban framework – a fact evidenced by the establishment of the China Wharf – setting up of family and clan-based businesses which focused on rice trade profit, the rise of active Chinese middlemen interested in luxury goods import, the rise of clan and native place associations, and the emergence of secret societies and rich Hokkien mansions, the latter having connections with the Baba-Nyonya culture and Peranakan practices in Penang. Today, Nineteenth Street and the Mahabandula night market in Yangon are an inseparable part of the Chinese neighborhood.  They are also interesting and embracing zones of identity-formation and new cultural contact.

The Hokkien Chinese community has tried to provide security and a sense of belonging to their existence in Myanmar through the spiritual worship center of the Hokkien Kuanyin Temple. It is here that the interconnections between generations are encouraged, traditions are cherished and the ancestral village is reconstructed in memories through the reverence for regional deities. It also serves as a supportive community center for the elderly and the destitute.  The temple has become a place where the young and the old share their past and present, linking them in a strong social network.

Just like the temples, the Chinese medium schools have become a rallying point to draw the Hokkien, the Cantonese or the Yunnanese into distinct but overlapping communities of learning. The Sino-Burmese have steered clear of politics and moved inwards towards forming ties of dialect and native place. The schools have faced innumerable challenges operating in an ever-changing environment, like balancing the need to retain Chinese culture with the relentless attempts at Burmanization, suppression of anything Chinese during the Socialist period marked by temporary school closures, the conflict of ideology between mainland China and Myanmar and finally, communal riots in the 1960s.

The silence of the community, as observed by the author, during the period from 1967 to 1988 speaks volumes to the difficult times that they have faced. This resulted in firstly making the community practical, displayed by their urge to make money as a safety net and secondly, it made them tactical, evident by their desire to promote Chinese literacy without promoting Chinese patriotism – thus charting out a utilitarian path from being a Chinese into a Sino-Burmese.

This was evident in the realm of commerce too as Jayde Roberts discusses the calculated risks taken by the Sino-Burmese merchants. She traces their position during the colonial times vis-à-vis the Indian community, the Confucian principles combined with commercial acumen, their peripheral economic role in the overseas Chinese network and their reliance on domestic market matched with intimate economy, the latter reinstating their belief in family ties.

As compared to the Indians, they were less wealthy which meant fewer backlashes from the locals and their easy mingling with the local Buddhist society revealed their commonsensical approach. The book takes us through changing times of the 1990s when rapid changes of more foreign investment and open border trade were seized by the community – the growth of City Mart in Yangon being a case in point of new successful business ventures and retail experimentation.

The Sino-Burmese are also seen enthusiastically financing Chinese New Year celebrations with cultural performances like lion and dragon dancing. Old customs, like having zodiac decorations and pre-packaged traditional sweets, are being combined with contemporary practices like the use of decorated floats, which is also a traditional part of the Burmese New Year Thingyan. Introduction of martial arts such as lion dancing on posts is making Chinese festivals more attractive for the locals too. The Sino-Burmese are seen as adapting to the local Burmese context while retaining the Chinese essence of the festival. Even the custom of placating ghosts has been changed to suit local practices.

Identity is always in relation to the other. The book displays how the Sino-Burmese have reinvented themselves to suit unforeseeable situations and unfamiliar audiences. They have been flexible and stoic, connected to their roots yet ready to mould themselves in a new terrain. They have felt excluded from the mainstream in Myanmar but their economic prowess and enterprising spirit has been acknowledged over the years. They see their future linked to a country where they have faced hardships but used their resilience and community-networks to build their lives. Alienation and ownership co-exists just as traditional Chinese norms and modern opportunities mix. Jayde Roberts is successful in weaving this absorbing narrative of space, place and history of a community, thus helping us to grasp their responses to socio-economic up-rootedness and uneasy political shifts in Myanmar.

This article originally appeared in Tea Circle, a forum hosted at Oxford University for emerging research and perspectives on Burma/Myanmar.

The post Mapping Chinese Rangoon – Place and Nation Among the Sino-Burmese appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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