The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Analysis: Myanmar Journalists Call For Balanced Rakhine Coverage in Intl Media
- Myanmar Photojournalists Detained in Bangladesh
- Govt Investment Director Confident in Foreign Investment Despite Rakhine Conflict
- Southern Thailand Insurgent Group Says Talks Doomed
- TIMELINE: Reporters’ 67 Days Behind Bars
- N. Korea Fires Another Missile Over Japan, Deepening Regional Tensions
- Thai Human Rights Body Hears Complaints Against Tanintharyi Coal Mine
- Behind the ‘Textbook Example’
- Court Drops Charges Against Three Journalists
- The Saffron Revolution in Cartoons
| Analysis: Myanmar Journalists Call For Balanced Rakhine Coverage in Intl Media Posted: 15 Sep 2017 06:38 AM PDT YANGON — Headlines with prominent references to "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing' in Myanmar make veteran journalist Daw Aye Aye Win uneasy, as she explains she feels international media coverage about what is happening in northern Rakhine State fails to tell the whole story of the crisis. Currently, the region is reeling from Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacks on 30 police outposts on Aug. 25 and subsequent violence affecting civilians. The Myanmar government declared the Muslim militant group a terrorist organization and has since begun "clearance operations" in the area, leading to Buddhist Rakhine, self-identifying Rohingya Muslims and other Rakhine sub-ethnicities to flee their homes. Some of the nearly 400,000 Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh have accused the army and ethnic Arakanese of killings, rape and torching of their homes, while members of the 30,000 Arakanese and other ethnic groups internally displaced have claimed they sought refuge elsewhere for fear of attacks from Muslims, who are the majority in the area, but a minority in the country. International pressure mounted on Myanmar this week, with the United States calling for the protection of civilians, Bangladesh urging safe zones so that fleeing refugees can return home, and the top UN human rights official denouncing a "cruel military operation."  Since the outbreak of the ARSA attacks, international media has not been short of stories from the area, mainly focusing on the self-identifying Rohingya. Much of the coverage has been perceived by Myanmar people of different walks of life as not being balanced and fair, with accusations that the coverage has failed to give views from both sides and has neglected the experiences of ethnic Rakhine and others in favor of Muslims' accounts. Daw Aye Aye Win, award-winning former resident correspondent for Associated Press (AP), said she considers much of the international reporting on the issue to be lacking. "I feel really disappointed, including by some stories from AP. They are biased and disproportionate," alleged the 64-year old who worked for the US news agency for nearly 26 years. The only living Myanmar female journalist to have won four international journalism awards, including one for her "life-long dedication to honest and courageous journalism, often at the risk of personal safety" wondered aloud why many of the stories on Rakhine State, including some from her former agency, only have voices from the self-identifying Rohingya while views from the Arakanese and others are nowhere to be seen. "Have they forgotten about media ethics?" she asked. She pointed to the death of six Mro (a sub-ethnic group of the Arakanese) in early August, presumably by Muslim militants in the area, as an example that deserved different coverage. "[AP] has covered everything that has happened to Muslims there. But I didn't see anything about the Mros' deaths. It's unfair," she said. Public Reaction Daw Aye Aye Win is not the only person resentful of international coverage on Rakhine. "I see no fairness in most of their reporting. The suffering of the Rakhine people is hardly seen in their stories," said U Thant Thaw Kaung, the Founder and CEO of Myanmar Book Centre, a leading book importer and distributor in Myanmar. U Sein Win, the training director of the Myanmar Journalism Institute, noted that Myanmar people don't like the international media's recent Rakhine coverage because ARSA's attacks on civilians rarely made headlines, and news about Buddhists fleeing from these attacks appeared to be diminished in favor of devoting full media attention to Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh. Many stories, he said, lacked voices from non-Muslims.  "This is what they have missed in their stories and everyone can see it," he said, adding: "There are also complaints about the use of the term 'Rohingya' and avoiding using 'terrorist.' These are separate controversies." Another media organization attracting ire from local audiences was the BBC Burmese service. The broadcasting service was once embraced by local people for its coverage of democracy movements inside and outside Myanmar when the country was under military dictatorship. But the audience reacted very differently this time, as they felt the Burmese service was taking sides with the Muslims in Rakhine State while ignoring the plight of Arakanese Buddhists, Hindus and sub-ethnicities of Rakhine who were also targeted by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and their followers. Angry readers posted "Shame on you BBC" and other rude comments on the BBC's Facebook page. The reaction was so intense that the broadcaster had to make an announcement asking netizens to refrain from posting such statements. 'Sensational and Commercialized' Coverage U Aung Hla Tun, a former resident correspondent from Reuters and the vice president of the Myanmar Press Council, told The Irrawaddy that he feels when it comes to Rakhine, members of the international media have been sensationalizing issues surrounding the self-identifying Rohingya. A veteran reporter who won Journalist of the Year in 2007 from Reuters said that he thinks phrases like "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing" are used by international media to generate sympathy. On Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein denounced Myanmar Army security operations in Rakhine State as "brutal" and "clearly disproportionate" and said "the situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." The term was rejected by Myanmar's ambassador to the UN on Wednesday, saying it carries very serious connotations.  "They treat the stories like commercial products, aiming for what readers would like to read more about. If you take sides with the Muslims on the Rakhine issue, you will of course have more subscribers from the Middle East," he suggested. As a result, he continued, international journalists covering the Rakhine issue have betrayed bias in descriptions of the self-identifying Rohingya as "the most persecuted people" while Arakanese Buddhists are typically portrayed as hostile to Muslims, rather than as also being victimized. When six Buddhists were killed, presumably by Muslim militants, in an Aug. 4 story Reuters included the fact that the victims may be linked to methamphetamine trafficking, which was perceived by some as a move to downplay their deaths. "They added that they couldn't confirm it," U Aung Hla Tun said. "If you can't verify it, drop it." Both Reuters and AP declined to comment on accusations of bias in their stories. Agenda Setting? No other subject in Myanmar has gotten the same international attention as the persecution of the self-identifying Rohingya, who have been demanding to be recognized as an ethnicity of Myanmar. But the government, military and the majority of the country's people insist that they are "Bengali" and claim they are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh brought to Rakhine State by the British in the early 1900s. Muslims in Rakhine State gained worldwide attention when Myanmar was still under a military dictatorship in the late 1990s, due to the government's restrictions denying their basic rights, like freedom of movement, as they didn't have citizenship status. Successive governments, including the current National League for Democracy (NLD) administration, said such rights would be granted only with citizenship, but most Muslims in the region refused to apply for it as the process did not acknowledge them ethnically as Rohingya. Military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing warned that any international political intervention on the pretext of assisting refugees from this community would threaten Myanmar's sovereignty. When the largest bouts of conflict in decades between Arakanese Buddhists and Muslims broke out in 2012, their plight attracted international media attention. Since then, Daw Aye Aye Win said she has seen many more stories sympathetic to Muslims than to the Arakanese, who she added are frequently portrayed as violent thugs.  U Aung Hla Tun speculated that agenda setting by foreign governments and media may be to blame. The former Reuters correspondent referred to "Rohingya opportunists" outside the country who try to capitalize on "sensational" coverage. "People believe what they see in the media," he said. "[Myanmar local and government media] have failed to counter [international media's] narrative properly. The country's image has now been badly damaged. When it comes to the Rohingya issue, we have lost on the international media front," he added. Ignorance of Realities on the Ground Bertil Lintner, one of the only foreign journalists to have covered Myanmar's conflicts and ethnic affairs for more than three decades, said that he feels international media is fueling the fire by describing the conflict as one where Buddhists are killing Muslims, disregarding the fact that there have been attacks on Buddhist and Hindu communities as well, carried out by militants. "This kind of misrepresentation of the situation, and ignorance of realities on the ground, is very damaging to any attempt to widen the civilian space in Myanmar's current power structure," said the Swedish journalist, referring to the military's powerful role in the country's nascent civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Lintner said it was ridiculous to claim, as even some human rights organizations have done, that the Aug. 25 attacks were carried out by "desperate Rohingyas" who had been driven to violence by the brutality of the Myanmar Army. "In reality, the group in question is led by militants who are not even based in Myanmar, but in Karachi, Pakistan, from where they maintain links with like-minded groups in the Arab world. They are not particularly 'desperate' but ideologically motivated, and they could not have carried out their attacks on Aug. 25 without taking into consideration what kind of backlash it would provoke, and how they could benefit from that backlash. It's a very cynical game the militants are playing," he said. Daw Aye Aye Win pointed out that one of the problems with the international reporting on the issue was "oversimplification." She said there were historical, political and social complexities behind the issue dating back to colonialism, and concerning migration, population shifts and ethnic identity. "But most of the journalists just simplified it as a religious conflict between Muslims and Buddhists rather than explaining the underlying causes," she said "As a consequence, their reporting has fueled the situation as most of the readers only see it as a religious conflict and feel very upset," the former AP correspondent added. No Easy Fix With fledgling private news outlets and government media sharing propaganda, U Aung Hla Tun said it is no wonder Myanmar has not been able to create a more balanced narrative than the one presented by international media. "That's why we have reached this situation. Developing private media might be helpful in the long term, I think," he said. Myanmar Journalism Institute's training director U Sein Win suggested that giving unrestricted media access to northern Rakhine State was the only way to counter unbalanced coverage as journalists complained that they were not allowed to go there. "Just invite those who are famous for their balanced reporting. They will see if there are any atrocities by security forces as well as violence by militants, as some Muslims were killed for their cooperation with the government," he said. Daw Aye Aye Win agreed with what U Sein Win said, adding that if journalists had access only to the Bangladeshi side of the border, they would only see the Muslims fleeing Rakhine, and not internally displaced Buddhists. "Then they will take everything they have heard as pronouncements and write it as it is. No verification process follows," she said. That's why we see [unverified] stories like 'Rohingya Children Beheaded and Burn Alive,'" she said, adding that previous coverage in international media convinced her that journalists are no longer just "observers." "As long as they have preconceived ideas like the Buddhists are oppressing Rohingya, we can't hope there will be fairness in their stories, despite the unrestricted media access." The post Analysis: Myanmar Journalists Call For Balanced Rakhine Coverage in Intl Media appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Myanmar Photojournalists Detained in Bangladesh Posted: 15 Sep 2017 05:46 AM PDT YANGON – Two Myanmar photojournalists, working on assignment for Germany's GEO magazine, have been detained since Sept. 7 by authorities in Bangladesh on suspicion of espionage, according to a statement by GEO on Friday. The statement said the two journalists—Minzayar Oo and Hkun Lat—had reached Cox's Bazar, on the border, in order to report on the situation faced by 400,000 self-identifying Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar government security forces' "counter-terrorism" operations against the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in late August. "We, the editorial board of GEO magazine and the staff and photographers at Panos Pictures, are deeply concerned about the continued detention of Minzayar Oo and Hkun Lat and the fact that they have been denied bail," read GEO's statement. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that, according to the two detainees' lawyer, both are being charged with "false impersonation" and providing "false information," after it was alleged that they had used incorrect visas to enter Bangladesh and carry out work as journalists. AFP also quoted Cox's Bazar police chief Ranjit Kumar Barua, who said the two suspects were also "primarily accused of espionage," but did not elaborate on why. The Irrawaddy phoned Myanmar President Office's spokesperson U Zaw Htay on Friday to discuss the incident, but he was not available to provide a comment. The post Myanmar Photojournalists Detained in Bangladesh appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Govt Investment Director Confident in Foreign Investment Despite Rakhine Conflict Posted: 15 Sep 2017 04:52 AM PDT YANGON — U Aung Naing Oo, director-general of Directorate of Investment and Company Administration under the Ministry of National Planning and Finance, talked to The Irrawaddy reporter Shwe Lay about foreign investment in Myanmar and the government's plan to promote it. How much investment has Myanmar had over the past year? Which countries are the largest investors, and which sectors received the largest investments? Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) approved more than US$3.7 billion in foreign investment by the end of August and approved about $200 million for the Thilawa Special Economic Zone [on the outskirts of Yangon]. So, we've received a total of $3.9 billion, a significant increase compared to about $900 million in the same period last year. About 32 percent of investment is in the manufacturing sector, 24 percent in housing, and 16 percent in the service industry. Singapore is the largest investor this year, accounting for about 40 percent of total investment, followed by China with about 16 percent, and other Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. European countries like the Netherlands also invested in us. We received the largest investment in the manufacturing sector as we've targeted. It is fair to say we are on our targeted path after enacting the new Myanmar Investment Law. The new investment law enacted last October was created to provide simpler procedures and decentralize tax collection. Your directorate has opened branches in other regions and states to facilitate investment. Have these measures attracted more foreign investments? Yes. Previously, region and state governments had to seek the approval of the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) for any investment project. They were not in a position to boost investment in their regions. Now, power has been devolved to them, and they can manage investment projects in their regions. They also have the authority to create an environment to attract investment and permit investment projects of up to $5 million. This contributes a lot to the regions' economic development. You said your directorate would also draw investment to underdeveloped areas. What strategies is your directorate implementing to attract investment to Rakhine and Chin states? The new investment law provides tax incentives and so on to attract investment to underdeveloped areas. Under the new investment law, we group Myanmar into three zones. Zone 1 is the least developed townships, Zone 2 is townships of moderate development, and Zone 3 is developed townships. We've put all the townships in Chin and Rakhine states into Zone 1, so investors in those zones have greater exemption on their income tax. We provide seven years' income tax exemption for investors in Zone 1, five years for Zone 2, and three years for Zone 3. For example, investors in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone will have only three years of income tax exemption. But if they invest in Chin or Rakhine states, they will be able to enjoy seven years of income tax exemption. Another thing is land permission. We permit 50 years for a foreign investor, which can be extended twice, with ten years for each extension—so a total of 70 years. Again, the new investment law allows extension beyond the 70-year period for investments in Zone A like Rakhine and Chin states on condition that that investment project is very beneficial to the state's development, and is also supported by local people. But MIC has to seek the approval of Parliament to give permission beyond 70 years. MIC is also carrying out investment promotion plans in each region and state. Last year, we organized an investment fair in Shan State. We will do a similar event in November in Karen State, bringing those who are interested to invest the state. We'll organize similar events in other regions and states, too. Also, we'll organize an investment fair with the assistance of the British government in Chin State, and open an investment office in October there. We’ll also open an office in Rakhine State on September 30. There won't be rapid changes within one or two years, but there will be significant progress in the long run in underdeveloped regions. Will the conflict in Rakhine hinder investment? I don't think it will, because the large proportion of foreign investment in Rakhine State is in offshore oil and gas production, not in businesses on land. The instability there has no impact on investment. We have not permitted either foreign investment or citizens' investment in northern Rakhine State, which is experiencing conflict. Ongoing conflicts do not have an impact on foreign investment, so we have nothing to worry about. And the Rakhine issue is not a recent problem, but gradually developed under the previous government since 2012. Under both governments, conflicts have not impacted investment. On the contrary, we've seen an increase. The Rakhine issue doesn't have serious impact on foreign investment. Another is about human nature, especially the nature of businessmen. They have greater interest in business than politics. They may take the stability of the country into consideration, but they care more about their business opportunities and political conditions. You said your directorate is going to open offices in Rakhine and Chin states. So, what challenges do you expect? There are mountains of challenges. The top challenge is transportation, which is poor in Chin State. And instability is the challenge in Rakhine State. The second challenge is about forming an investment committee that will make decisions to permit investments. This system is new in Myanmar. So, those committees still don't have enough experience and they have certain concerns about making the wrong decision. The third challenge is that those states have no strong businessmen, so it would be difficult for foreign investors investing in states to find local partners. These are the challenges, but at the same time, there are also opportunities. Poor infrastructure is a challenge to us, but an opportunity for investors. If we have no electricity, it is an opportunity for those wishing to invest in electricity supply. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Govt Investment Director Confident in Foreign Investment Despite Rakhine Conflict appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Southern Thailand Insurgent Group Says Talks Doomed Posted: 15 Sep 2017 04:47 AM PDT BANGKOK, Thailand — Thailand's junta needs to show greater flexibility in talks with Malay Muslim insurgents to bring on board the main rebel group that is still fighting and end decades of bloodshed, a senior group member told Reuters. In a rare interview, Pak Fakih of the secretive Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) said the army's current peace talks with other factions were doomed and the government must drop pre-conditions, show greater respect to the separatists and adopt a more open-minded approach. "It is a mistake to think that we do not want to negotiate. We do, but not under the current circumstances," said Fakih, 67, who said he had been fighting since he was 15 and lost a son in the conflict seven years ago. More than 6,500 people have been killed since 2004 alone in the insurgency in the south of mostly Buddhist Thailand. A soldier and a policeman were killed on Thursday and 26 people wounded by roadside bombs which followed a new session of talks in Malaysia between the army and other insurgent factions. The BRN never claims or rejects any specific attack and Fakih said that policy would continue. It is widely seen as the group with the greatest control over combatants in the three southern provinces. "Our attacks are confined to the Deep South and are about sending a signal to the Thai government. We never want to cause widespread harm," said Fakih, who declined to be photographed. "The government say they are fighting ghosts in the south so we want to show them that we exist and we mean business." The Thai government made no immediate comment. Rejection In April, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha rejected a BRN offer of talks mediated by a neutral third party and said they required no international mediation or observation. The government also sets recognition of Thailand's constitution as a pre-condition – a dealbreaker for the BRN. Until they were annexed in 1909, Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat were part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate. Insurgent groups have long emphasised that their struggle is about identity and not a religious war. "We and the people are like fish and water: inseparable," Fakih said. The BRN had been part of talks before the army seized power in 2014, but stayed out when negotiations restarted under the army in 2015. Talks have taken place between the government and Mara Patani, an umbrella group claiming to represent all major rebel factions. But Fakih disputed its claim to include BRN members too, saying there were only "former members". He said that the Thai government's policy towards the South was also complicated by different factions in the security forces jockeying for power. "They are fighting for control over the budget in administering the region rather than actually listening to what we have to say," he said. The post Southern Thailand Insurgent Group Says Talks Doomed appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| TIMELINE: Reporters’ 67 Days Behind Bars Posted: 15 Sep 2017 04:19 AM PDT On the occasion of the official release of The Irrawaddy's Lawi Weng and the Democratic Voice of Burma's U Aye Naing and Ko Pyae Bone Aung on Unlawful Association charges, The Irrawaddy takes a look at the most pivotal moments that have occurred during their 67 days in detention. The post TIMELINE: Reporters’ 67 Days Behind Bars appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| N. Korea Fires Another Missile Over Japan, Deepening Regional Tensions Posted: 15 Sep 2017 02:15 AM PDT SEOUL/TOKYO — North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan's northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, deepening tensions after Pyongyang's recent test of its most powerful nuclear bomb. The missile flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) east of Hokkaido, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. Warning announcements about the missile blared around 7 a.m. in parts of northern Japan, while many residents received alerts on their mobile phones or saw warnings on TV telling them to seek refuge. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said the launch "put millions of Japanese into duck and cover," although residents in northern Japan appeared calm and went about their business as normal after the second such launch in less than a month. The missile reached an altitude of about 770 kilometers (480 miles) and flew for about 19 minutes over a distance of about 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles), according to South Korea's military—far enough to reach the US Pacific territory of Guam. The US military said soon after the launch it had detected a single intermediate range ballistic missile but the missile did not pose a threat to North America or the US Pacific territory of Guam, which lies 3,400 kilometers (2,110 miles) from North Korea. Pyongyang had previously threatened to launch missiles towards Guam. "The range of this test was significant since North Korea demonstrated that it could reach Guam with this missile," the Union of Concerned Scientists said in a statement. However, it said the accuracy of the missile, still at an early stage of development, was low so it would be difficult to destroy the US Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. US officials repeated Washington's "ironclad" commitments to the defense of its allies. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for "new measures" against North Korea and said the "continued provocations only deepen North Korea's diplomatic and economic isolation." South Korean President Moon Jae-in echoed that view and said dialogue with the North was impossible at this point. He ordered officials to analyze and prepare for possible new North Korean threats, including electro-magnetic pulse and biochemical attacks, a spokesman said. Clear Message The United Nations Security Council was to meet at 3 p.m. on Friday at the request of the United States and Japan, diplomats said, just days after the 15-member council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea over its Sept. 3 nuclear test. Those sanctions imposed a ban on North Korea's textile exports and capping imports of crude oil. "The international community needs to come together and send a clear message to North Korea that it is threatening world peace with its actions," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in Tokyo, describing the launch as "unacceptable." North Korea has launched dozens of missiles under young leader Kim Jong Un as it accelerates a weapons program designed to give it the ability to target the United States with a powerful, nuclear-tipped missile. Two tests in July were for long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching at least parts of the US mainland. "This rocket has meaning in that North Korea is pushing towards technological completion of its missiles and that North Korea may be feeling some pressure that they need to show the international community something," said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum. Last month, North Korea fired an intermediate range missile from a similar area near the capital Pyongyang that also flew over Hokkaido into the ocean and said more would follow. "The first time was unexpected, but I think people are getting used to this as the new normal," said Andrew Kaz, who teaches English in Kushiro City in Hokkaido. "The most it seemed to disrupt was my coffee." South Korea said it had fired a missile test into the sea to coincide with North Korea's launch and the presidential Blue House has called an urgent National Security Council meeting. Japan also convened a National Security Council meeting. Pyongyang had threatened a day earlier to sink Japan and reduce the United States to "ashes and darkness" for supporting the Security Council's latest resolution and sanctions. The US general overseeing America's nuclear forces said on Thursday he assumed that North Korea's latest nuclear test was in fact a hydrogen bomb, as Pyongyang had claimed, based on the size of the blast. "I'm assuming it was a hydrogen bomb," Air Force General John Hyten, head of the US military's Strategic Command, told a small group of reporters who were accompanying Mattis on a trip to Hyten's headquarters in Nebraska. 'Dangerous, Reckless' The North accuses the United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, of planning to invade and regularly threatens to destroy it and its Asian allies. The US dollar fell sharply against the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc in early Asian hours in response to the launch, although losses were quickly pared in very jittery trade. US President Donald Trump had been briefed on the latest launch, the White House said. Trump has vowed that North Korea will never be allowed to threaten the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile, but has also asked China to do more to rein in its neighbor. China in turn favors an international response to the problem. "China and Russia must indicate their intolerance for these reckless missile launches by taking direct actions of their own," Tillerson said. The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty. The post N. Korea Fires Another Missile Over Japan, Deepening Regional Tensions appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Thai Human Rights Body Hears Complaints Against Tanintharyi Coal Mine Posted: 15 Sep 2017 01:04 AM PDT YANGON —Thailand's National Human Rights Commission conducted an initial hearing of complaints against Ban Chaung coal mining project in Tanintharyi Region's Dawei Township on Monday. In June, 135 locals from villages in the project's vicinity filed a complaint with the commission, urging them to investigate the activities of Thai mining firms East Star Co, Thai Asset Mining Co and Energy Earth PCL. Representatives of local villages and officials of Thai companies were present at the hearing, Naw Pi Tha Law of Dawei-based Tarkapaw Youth Group told The Irrawaddy. "The mine is operated by Thai companies on the ground, so locals directly filed complaints to the commission. It will conduct a survey after informing Myanmar Human Rights Commission. Then, it will make a report and send it to the Thai government," said Naw Pi Tha Law. The mine has been suspended since early this year after Tanintharyi Region's minister for resources and environmental conservation inspected the mine following the complaints of locals and found that waste water from the mine was being dumped into Ban Chaung Creek and the smell of burning coal filled the air, according to Naw Pi Tha Law. Locals have complained about land confiscation, poisoning of local waterways and a significant decline in air quality due to noxious fumes. "We have suffered terribly from the burning of coal. We can't stand it anymore," said Naw Aye Po, a representative of Kun Gyi Chaung village who attended the hearing. "We hope that Thailand's National Human Rights Commission will make sure Thai companies do not violate the human rights of Myanmar locals," she said. Local operator Myanmar May Flower won the contract in 2010 to operate Ban Chaung mining project, and three Thai companies started mining in 2012. The project is allegedly affecting more than 16,000 locals in 22 villages in Dawei Township and locals have been calling for the termination of the mine. The post Thai Human Rights Body Hears Complaints Against Tanintharyi Coal Mine appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2017 12:45 AM PDT The world is focusing too much on the moral grounding of one woman as a Nobel Laureate rather than as a politician and is forgetting that there are two sides to the conflict in Rakhine. Suspicious video footage of the so-called Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) was released a few days after attacks on police outposts on Aug. 25. In the footage, ARSA Commander Ata Ullah said loud and clear: "Arakan belongs to Rohingya." Obviously, the ARSA leader was unwise to demand the country's territory and sovereignty and was probably aiming to irk the Myanmar Army. The footage was withdrawn by the group within hours. It reappeared the next day with an inserted clip and paraphrased subtitles with accusations of war crimes, genocide and ethnic cleansing. The link to the edited footage was found within a few hours by an international aid worker. In the cut-and-pasted clip, the words were paraphrased: from "Arakan belongs to Rohingya" to "This land is called Arakan and belongs to Rohingya,"—toning the claim down a bit. The subtitles said: "We are warning the oppressive Burmese government and brutal Burmese military regime to immediately cease their heinous and dehumanizing international crimes (i.e. War Crime [sic], Genocide and Crimes against Humanity)." It was interesting to hear an ill-equipped guerilla group using terminology better suited to the UN human rights council. Farmers-Turned-Fighters In one of the AFP reports, it was mentioned that some self-identifying Rohingya accused the rebels of provoking the army into revenge attacks and inviting nothing but misery upon the long-persecuted minority. AFP quoted a prominent self-identifying Rohingya at a Bangladeshi camp as saying: "These regular farmers-turned-fighters with few weapons will bring nothing but more woe to Rohingya Muslims." He is absolutely right. Without any capacity to protect their people, ARSA made things worse and created a situation whereby almost 400,000 refugees have fled to Bangladesh soil. It is very interesting to look at how ARSA came to social media and who are listed among its online network. ARSA established a Twitter account on March 31 this year. ARSA posted its first tweet linking to an exclusive interview of its leader—Ata Ullah who was born in Pakistan and raised in Saudi Arabia—with Reuters news agency: Exclusive – Rohingya rebel leader challenges Myanmar’s Suu Kyi, vows to fight on. "If we don't get our rights, if one million, 1.5 million, all Rohingya need to die, we will die," he said in the Reuters interview. It is an awkward thing to see a Pakistan native leading the self-identifying Rohingya and commanding whether more than one million people live or die. ARSA follows 27 accounts on its twitter. Among them are strong self-identifying Rohingya activists Tun Khin, Maung Zar Ni and Ro Nay San Lwin who are based in the UK and Europe. The account also follows major rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Fortify Rights and the UN humanitarian aid agency and a few activist journalists such as Adil Sakhawat who recently wrote the exclusive Journey into Rakhine for the Dhaka Tribune in which he travelled into ARSA-occupied territory. Among others who ARSA follows are US president Donald J. Trump, the Prime Ministers of India and Malaysia and Myanmar Army commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing. Looking at ARSA's tweets, we can see the group has done several interviews with international media including Reuters, CNN, and the Dhaka Tribune. Pressure on a Moral Figure While ARSA's leader is positioning himself as more of a freedom fighter than a terrorist leader through international media, the world's attention has quickly focused on the "silence" of moral figure Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She has come under considerable pressure as increasing numbers of self-identifying Rohingya Muslims flee the country. But, with the formation of a 15-member committee to implement the recommendations of the Kofi Annan-led Advisory Commission on Rakhine State and a government investigation commission led by vice-president U Myint Swe, her attempt to find solutions is not completely out of the frame. Within two weeks, the number of self-identifying Rohingya fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh reached almost 300,000—75 percent of Muslim population living along the border. In the same period, Rakhine, Hindu and thousands of minority ethnic individuals were displaced inside Rakhine State, according to the government. In a recent AFP report, a UN refugee agency spokesman said: "In the current security context, the majority, if not all, of these people crossing from Myanmar into Bangladesh are believed to be fleeing insecurity," he said. Many have questioned why Daw Aung San Suu Kyi hasn't stopped military operations in Rakhine State. The answer is very clear: She has no control over the military due to the 2008 constitution, which gives power only to the commander-in-chief to control the military. Media Coverage from Different Areas Due to limited access in northern Rakhine, news stories from international and local media tend to only cover one side: Either from self-identifying Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh or displaced minorities in Rakhine. Underreporting either side can be blamed on either the heavy military operation or the barbaric militant attacks. Arson is rife in northern Rakhine State—committed either by the Myanmar Army or local militants, depending on who you listen to. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, said this week: "We have received multiple reports and satellite imagery of security forces and local militia burning Rohingya villages, and consistent accounts of extrajudicial killings, including shooting fleeing civilians." He said the Myanmar Army operation in northern Rakhine State was a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing". It will be discussed at the 72nd regular session of the UN General Assembly later this month. It was the same phrase used by ARSA's leader just two weeks earlier, as the plight of this huge number of people began. Mon Mon Myat is an independent journalist and graduate student at the Department of Peace Studies in Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The post Behind the 'Textbook Example' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Court Drops Charges Against Three Journalists Posted: 15 Sep 2017 12:35 AM PDT YANGON — Hsipaw Township Court dropped charges of unlawful association against three journalists from The Irrawaddy and Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) on Friday. The journalists, who were detained for 67 days in Hsipaw Prison, were released on bail on Sept. 1 after the Myanmar Army withdrew cases against six journalists, including the three in Hsipaw, and two activists. Despite the military plaintiff adjutant Thet Naing Oo withdrawing the charges on a Sept. 1 court hearing, dismissal of the case was suspended twice, with the judge citing a requirement from the government's legal official. The Irrawaddy's Lawi Weng, also known as U Thein Zaw, and U Aye Naing and Ko Pyae Phone Aung from the DVB were arrested along with three other men by the military on June 26 as they returned from covering a drug-burning ceremony hosted by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The military accused them of unlawful association with the TNLA and opened the case under Article 17 (1) of the Unlawful Association Act. The journalists were taken for court hearings on an almost weekly basis since then. The judge said on Friday's court hearing that the TNLA is negotiating with the government, so for the sake of Myanmar's peace process the court dropped the case, recalled U Than Zaw Aung, a lawyer of Lawi Weng. The charges of unlawful association against another three men who were arrested along with the journalists were also dropped. The confiscated phones, laptops, and cameras of the journalists will be returned after 30 days of the case being dropped, as per criminal procedure, said the lawyer. "Amendments or a repeal of the Unlawful Association Act must be considered, as it can lead to immediate arrests and put the accused behind bars only if they are thought guilty of the crime," U Aye Naing of DVB told media after the court hearing. Lawi Weng of The Irrawaddy said, "I feel like we are back to real life," adding that he would continue reporting on ethnic issues to give a voice to ethnic minorities and inform people of the true situation on the ground. The post Court Drops Charges Against Three Journalists appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| The Saffron Revolution in Cartoons Posted: 14 Sep 2017 10:37 PM PDT When the popular demonstrations led by monks, dubbed the Saffron Revolution, shook Myanmar in 2007, The Irrawaddy provided extensive coverage of the nationwide protests for the international community. One of the most notable parts of the coverage was the editorial cartoons published in the magazine and online at the time by our then in-house artist Harn Lay and contributor Stephff. As this September marks the 10th anniversary of the revolution, here is a selection of Saffron Revolution related cartoons we have published in the past. A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Guns. Sept. 28, 2007. (Stephff) Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai was shot dead by security forces in downtown Yangon on Sept. 27, 2007 while he was covering the peaceful protest led by Buddhist monks.
'We Will Deal with the Protests in a Correct Manner'—Junta official. Sept. 26 2007. (Harn Lay) When hundreds of Buddhist monks took to the streets for economic and political protests on behalf of their followers in September 2007, the then military junta brutally cracked down on them. Prior to the crackdown, a member of the government said they would handle the demonstrations properly.
A Bold Step Forward. Sept. 20, 2007. (Stephff) In a surprise move to the military government, hundreds of Buddhist monks staged peaceful protests against the junta over the economic and political woes their followers were suffering. The protests in September ten years ago turned out to be the biggest since the 1988 Uprising.
No Thanks, We’ll Handle This Our Way. Oct. 12, 2007. (Harn Lay) When the United States and some European countries attempted to push through a resolution that would condemn the Burmese government for its bloody crackdown on the Saffron Revolution, China blocked the attempt, saying such a move would "not be useful" as the protests were a domestic issue and did not constitute a threat to regional and international peace.
'As Always, We Are Closely Watching Events.' Sept. 19, 2007. (Harn Lay) When the army and their thugs staged violent crackdowns against the monk-led protests in September 2007, Myanmar's neighboring China and Asean decided not to intervene.
'Hold on, I Think He's Got a Weapon! It's a Bomb! No Wait…It's a Rice Bowl. Repeat, Suspect Has a Rice Bowl!' Sept. 24, 2008. (Harn Lay) Buddhist monks led street protests in Yangon in September 2007. Despite the religious status of monks in Myanmar, the security forces were under instructions to treat them as common criminals.
'Lay Down Your Alms or We'll Open Fire.' Printed in the November 2007 issue of Irrawaddy Magazine. (Harn Lay) A hike in fuel prices led to street protests in Yangon in September 2007. Led primarily by Buddhist monks, the Saffron Revolution raised international awareness to the oppression in Myanmar but did little to convince the military generals of the folly of their ways.
The post The Saffron Revolution in Cartoons appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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