Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

UNFC Seeks Talks with State Counselor, Army Chief

Posted: 13 Dec 2017 07:01 AM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand – The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a bloc of ethnic armed organizations that has yet to sign up to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), has requested meetings with the State Counselor and the Myanmar Army chief later this month, hoping to revive deadlocked talks on peace negotiations.

The proposed meeting would be the group's second with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The first was in March.

The UNFC requested the meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in a letter sent on Monday. Nai Ong Ma-nge, the UNFC's spokesman for the delegation on political negotiation (DPN), said the group hoped to receive a reply within 10 days.

Negotiations on the UNFC’s eight-point proposal have been going on for 17 months, since 2016, but Nai Ong Ma-nge said the group's leaders are ready to talk. "We hope the deadlock we are now facing can be sorted out when leaders of both sides meet and talk things through," he said.

The DPN first proposed the meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto head of government, and Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the military chief, before their last formal meeting with the government's Peace Commission in mid-November.

After DPN leaders led by Khu Oo Reh met the State Counselor on March 1 to seek a way forward on negotiations, the bloc spokesman described the meeting as a success.

However, the deadlock has yet to be broken, and it still seems unlikely that the bloc will sign the NCA before the third session of the 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference in late January 2018.

Government peace negotiators contacted by The Irrawaddy on Monday said they were unable to comment on the meeting, as the DPN had also met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in March, but did not elaborate further. Government peace commissioners and U Zaw Htay, the spokesperson for the State Counselor's Office, referred The Irrawaddy to the Peace Commission spokesman, who was not available to comment.

"We would seek to continue our discussion from the eighth and ninth rounds of talks, but two of the proposal's eight points have yet to be agreed," said Nai Ong Ma-nge, including a disagreement over an official description of the country to be added to the amendment in the UNFC’s eight-point proposal. They demand that it be part of the annex to the NCA. The government backs the terminology "Democracy and Federal Union" while the UNFC prefers "Federal Democratic Union". The title is not yet contained in the NCA.

In the last week of November the New Mon State Party (NMSP) held an urgent meeting to discuss the peace process with Mon State Chief Minister Dr. Aye Zan, but the contents of the discussion were not made public.

Nai Ong Ma-nge, who is also a member of the NMSP, told The Irrawaddy earlier this week that the party discussed its stance with UNFC members at a meeting on Sunday, believing that continued negotiations are important for the peace process.

The post UNFC Seeks Talks with State Counselor, Army Chief appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

BREAKING: Reuters Reporters Arrested in Yangon Under Official Secrets Act

Posted: 13 Dec 2017 02:11 AM PST

YANGON — Two reporters from Reuters were detained under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly possessing internal security reports related to fighting between border guard forces and Muslim militants the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in August.

Local reporters U Thet Oo Maung, also known as Wa Lone, and Kyaw Soe Oo, also known as Moe Aung, were arrested by police from Htauk Kyant station in Mingalardon Township in northern Yangon on Tuesday at 11:30 pm, according to the police report.

The report says a copy of an Aug. 27 security report by Border Guard Police Unit (8) in Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State was found with Wa Lone, 31. The report describes the number of security forces and their remaining ammunition after the fighting.

ARSA launched attacks on 30 security posts in Maungdaw on Aug. 25. The attacks were followed by army clearance operations and international accusations that government troops had arbitrarily killed and raped civilians and burned their homes. The Myanmar government denounced ARSA as a terrorist organization following the attacks.

The police also allegedly found a detailed security report about ARSA's attack on the Myin Hlut police outpost on Aug. 25, a map of the outpost, and another report on the number of Rohingya houses burned with reporter Moe Aung.

The Htauk Kyant Police Station has filed a lawsuit against the two reporters under Article 3 of the 1923 Official Secrets Act for "news gathering with an intention to damage the safety and interest of the State." If found guilty, the reporters could be imprisoned for up to 14 years.

Pan Ei Mon, the wife of Wa Lone, told The Irrawaddy that she was not informed of her husband's arrest by the police but learned about it from his Reuters colleagues.

"Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been missing since Tuesday night. We have filed a missing person's report and are doing everything we can to locate them," a Reuters spokesperson told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

Two foreign journalists working for TRT World are currently serving prison terms for convictions under the Aviation Act for trying to fly a drone near Parliament in Naypyitaw.

In June, the Myanmar Army arrested three journalists from The Irrawaddy and DVB in northern Shan State under the Unlawful Association Act but released them after more than two months in custody.

The post BREAKING: Reuters Reporters Arrested in Yangon Under Official Secrets Act appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Police Raid KIO Office in Myitkyina

Posted: 13 Dec 2017 01:34 AM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Police raided the office compound of the Kachin Independence Organization's (KIO) Technical Adviser Team (TAT) in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, which a TAT office spokesman called "politically unacceptable."

Some 50 Myitkyina police officers, both in uniform and plainclothes, surrounded and entered the KIO's office compound and conducted a search without a warrant on Tuesday afternoon between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m.

Dau Kha, a TAT spokesman, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday: "Initially, the police reasoned that the search was related to the John San Linn case. Later, after they didn't find anything, the staff had to sign forms saying they did not use illegal drugs."

Former freelance photographer John San Linn and his wife were arrested on Dec. 5 in Myitkyina, after police stated that they found more than 1,000 bullets hidden under their home in Myawaddy, Karen State.

The TAT spokesman said the police raid most likely occurred because of tensions between the Myanmar Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

"This should not happen. Their actions have damaged the dignity of a nationality as well as the KIO's political image," Dau Kha said.

A previous ceasefire signed in 1994 between the two sides lasted 17 years. Similar raids happened at liaison offices after fighting renewed in June 2011.

"Since then, we shut down all of our liaison offices. We only kept the one in Myitkyina but changed it to a TAT office, tasked to arrange logistics and research and present information relevant to political negotiations," Dau Kha explained.

Under the former administration, there was communication between the government and the KIO's TAT office. Dau Kha said there has been little communication under the new National League for Democracy government.

He also added that there has been increased tension between the Tatmadaw's Northern Command and the TAT office recently. He said they would not take any legal action but reported it to KIO headquarters, as such incidents are expected given political and military tension between the two sides.

Since November, fighting has resumed in KIA-controlled areas in northern Kachin State, particularly in Tanai Township.

Dau Kha said the conflict could only be solved through talks between high-level leaders from the KIO and the government.

Numerous attempts for KIO and Tatmadaw leaders to hold formal talks have reportedly been unsuccessful over the past six months.

The KIO is currently a member of the northeast based seven-member bloc the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), led by the United Wa State Army (UWSA). Further peace talks are being delayed partly because the government and Tatmadaw are unwilling to accept this new bloc.

The post Police Raid KIO Office in Myitkyina appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

A Third of Myanmar’s Population Living in Poverty

Posted: 13 Dec 2017 01:14 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — About 32 percent of Myanmar's 50 million population, or 15.8 million people, are living in poverty, according to an assessment of the 2015 Myanmar Poverty and Living Conditions Survey.

The new report, compiled jointly by the Ministry of Planning and Finance and the World Bank, is the second of the two-part Myanmar Poverty Assessment and was launched in Naypyitaw on Tuesday.

Of the 15.8 million people living below the poverty line, 13.8 million are in rural areas.

Poverty has declined significantly since 2004, falling from an estimated 48.2 percent to 32.1 percent in 2015, according to the report.

However, beyond the 32 percent living below the poverty line, a further 14 percent are near-poor, living within 20 percent of the poverty line, the report adds.

The second report defines the poor as those who cannot afford a basket of goods that captures basic minimum needs. The earlier report released in August measured poverty based on basic minimum needs using consumption patterns from 2004-05.

According to the second report, poor households tend to have fewer working age adults, more dependents and fewer resources that can generate income, such as land or farming tools.

The extreme poor are disproportionately in the agriculture sector as casual laborers or smallholder farmers and have few alternatives for income.

Malnutrition, high infant mortality and poor-quality education limit the physical and cognitive development of children from poorer households.

Only a third of households have access to electricity from the public grid and nearly 3 in 10 people lack access to clean drinking water throughout the year.

"Having a more detailed understanding of the characteristics and profiles of those most in need and the constraints they face enables us to prepare appropriate responses and help reduce poverty for everyone in Myanmar," said U Maung Maung Tin, director-general of the Planning Department at the Ministry of Planning and Finance.

The poverty assessment is part of a series of analytical works outlined in the Country Partnership Framework, the World Bank Group's first full strategy for Myanmar in 30 years. The strategy supports reforms that promote growth in rural areas and invest in services that work toward better nutrition, health, education, infrastructure and more jobs.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post A Third of Myanmar's Population Living in Poverty appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Humanitarian Groups Raise Money for IDP Christmas Meals

Posted: 13 Dec 2017 12:28 AM PST

YANGON — Various humanitarian groups have started a campaign to host a Christmas feast for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kachin and Shan states on Dec. 25.

The project 'Christmas Meal for IDPs' aims to share joy, happiness and love with the estimated 120,000 IDPs, most of whom are Christian, said 'Concern, Care, and Contribute to the IDPs Now,' a humanitarian campaign initiated in 2015 for IDPs.

"By organizing this campaign, we want to tell them that we remember them, and we are with them. People from across the country contribute to this meal. Their individual contributions may be small but they still remember them and their plight. This is the message we want to share. We want to give them emotional support," said Esther, a spokesperson of the campaign.

The campaign is collecting 1,000 kyats per person/per meal both online and offline, and has received more than 1 million kyats, according to campaigners.

More than 120,000 civilians have been forced from their homes over the past six and a half years and are taking shelter at 167 IDP camps across Kachin and Shan States due to the clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), as well as other ethnic armed groups such as the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

Some of the camps are in government-controlled areas, some are in areas controlled by armed ethnic groups and others are along the Myanmar-China border.

By the end of 2016, the World Food Program (WFP) had slashed its foods supplies to IDPs by some 50 percent, and IDP camps in Kachin and Shan states face food shortages as a result.

Some camps still receive a month's ration of some 13 kg of rice plus just 2,500 kyats per meal per person, while some camps do not receive anything.

Hundreds of IDPs from three camps in Kachin State's Waingmaw were forced from their camps due to Tatmadaw attacks toward the end of 2016, and have had to take refuge in new camps at Shait Yang on the Myanmar-China border where temperatures drop below zero in the winter.

Clashes in June this year also forced more than 1,000 Tanai residents from their homes to three new IDP camps. Those camps have had to rely on domestic donors as they do not receive aid from international countries, and are facing food shortages as well.

"We'll contact JST after collecting money to make donations at the camps. If we get a good sum, we'll donate to all the camps. If not, we will give priority to needier camps," said Esther.

JST is a coalition of community-based and non-governmental organizations that have led most of the humanitarian efforts in Kachin State since the renewed clashes broke out in June 2011.

"Some camps at the border are facing greater hardships than others. Some of them have had to relocate two or three times and we'll give priority to such camps," said Gam Sha Awng, a JST spokesperson.

Donations for Christmas Meals can be made on the Concern, Care and Contribute to the IDPs Now Facebook page, which began the campaign for the first time in December 2015 and was able to collect some 30 million kyats that year.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Humanitarian Groups Raise Money for IDP Christmas Meals appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thai PM Says No Trade With North Korea, Ahead of US Envoy’s Visit

Posted: 12 Dec 2017 08:32 PM PST

BANGKOK — No trade takes place between Thailand and North Korea, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday, ahead of an expected visit by a US envoy seeking to step up pressure on North Korea over its weapons programs.

The United States has been urging Southeast Asian countries to do more to cut funding streams for North Korea as tension mounts over its development of nuclear weapons and missiles to carry them as far as the US.

"Thailand guarantees … that we have abided by the United Nations resolutions," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters at his official Government House offices.

"There have been reports about North Korean boats in our waters … I prohibited them a long time ago. There is no trade … there is no commerce," he said.

Joseph Yun, the US special representative for North Korea policy, is due in Bangkok this week to discuss stepping up pressure on North Korea, which has been pressing ahead with its weapons tests in defiance of UN resolutions and sanctions.

During a visit to Bangkok in August, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pressed Thailand, the United States' oldest ally in Asia, for more action on North Korea.

At the time, the US said it believed North Korean companies were active in Thailand and said it was encouraging Thailand to close them.

Following Tillerson's visit, Thailand's foreign ministry said trade with North Korea had dropped by as much as 94 percent over the previous year. It did not give any more detail.

North Korea tested its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile late last month.

The UN Security Council is due to hold a ministerial meeting on North Korea's nuclear and missiles programs on Friday.

The post Thai PM Says No Trade With North Korea, Ahead of US Envoy's Visit appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UN Envoy Urges Security Council to Visit Myanmar, Bangladesh

Posted: 12 Dec 2017 08:19 PM PST

UNITED NATIONS — A top UN official recounted to the Security Council on Tuesday "heartbreaking and horrific accounts of sexual atrocities" by Myanmar soldiers against Rohingya Muslim women, urging the body to visit the region and demand an end to attacks on civilians.

Pramila Patten, special envoy of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on sexual violence in conflict, said one woman told her she was held by Myanmar troops for 45 days and raped repeatedly, while another woman could no longer see out of one eye after it was bitten by a soldier during a sexual assault.

"Some witnesses reported women and girls being tied to either a rock or a tree before multiple soldiers raped them to death," Patten told the Security Council.

"Some women recounted how soldiers drowned babies in the village well. A few women told me how their own babies were allegedly thrown in the fire as they were dragged away by soldiers and gang raped," she said.

Patten said the 15-member Security Council should visit Myanmar – also known as Burma – and Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, where more than 626,000 refugees have fled to since violence erupted in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State on Aug. 25.

She said that a Security Council resolution demanding an immediate end to violations against civilians in Rakhine State and outlining measures to hold the perpetrators accountable "would send an important signal."

Myanmar's army released a report last month denying all allegations of rapes and killings by security forces.

"This is unacceptable," said US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. "Burma must allow an independent, transparent and credible investigation into what has happened."

"While we are hearing promises from the government of Burma, we need to see action," she said.

Myanmar has been stung by international criticism for the way its security forces responded to Aug. 25 attacks by Rohingya militants on 30 security posts. Last month the Security Council urged the Myanmar government to "ensure no further excessive use of military force in Rakhine State."

China's Deputy UN Ambassador Wu Haitao said the crisis had to be solved through an agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh and warned that any solution "reached under strong pressure from outside may ease the situation temporarily but will leave negative after effects."

The two countries signed an agreement on voluntary repatriation Nov. 23. UN political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman pushed on Tuesday for the United Nations to be involved in any operation to return Rohingya.

"Plans alone are not sufficient. We hope Myanmar will draw upon the wealth of expertise the UN can offer," Feltman told the Security Council.

The post UN Envoy Urges Security Council to Visit Myanmar, Bangladesh appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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