Friday, March 3, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Govt Promises to Assist Migrant Workers Sentenced to Death in Koh Tao Murder Case

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 07:58 AM PST

President's Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay says the govt will 'do everything in our power to help.'

The post Govt Promises to Assist Migrant Workers Sentenced to Death in Koh Tao Murder Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

State Counselor to Meet with Female Entrepreneurs to Kick Off Women’s Week

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 04:31 AM PST

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to speak with female entrepreneurs in Naypyidaw at the opening forum of the women's week celebrations.

The post State Counselor to Meet with Female Entrepreneurs to Kick Off Women's Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ta’ang Say Five Monks Detained by RCSS

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 04:21 AM PST

The monks were in Mong Kung to provide educational services to the local Ta'ang community.

The post Ta'ang Say Five Monks Detained by RCSS appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rangoon Chief Minister to Undergo Heart Operation

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 04:13 AM PST

Rangoon Division Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein will undergo a heart operation and be on a sick leave for a few weeks.

The post Rangoon Chief Minister to Undergo Heart Operation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Squatters Allegedly Extort Money from Rangoon Factory Owners

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 03:01 AM PST

Factory owners allege extortion by squatters in their compounds, blaming authorities for failure to provide sufficient legal protection.

The post Squatters Allegedly Extort Money from Rangoon Factory Owners appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ministry Reportedly Invited Electricity Tender Without Budget Approval

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 02:55 AM PST

The Ministry of Electricity and Energy has no budget for two private electricity suppliers that won a 2016 tender to provide electricity to Rangoon.

The post Ministry Reportedly Invited Electricity Tender Without Budget Approval appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

88 Generation Members to Contest 2020 Elections

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 12:19 AM PST

Political activists from the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society will contest the 2020 elections after the establishment of a new political party.

The post 88 Generation Members to Contest 2020 Elections appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Malaysia Condemns Use of VX at Airport; Prepares to Deport N. Korean

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 09:49 PM PST

Malaysia condemns the use of VX, the toxic nerve agent that killed the half-brother of N. Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a Kuala Lumpur airport.

The post Malaysia Condemns Use of VX at Airport; Prepares to Deport N. Korean appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Taking the Long View of Burma’s Conflicts

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 09:43 PM PST

A collection of local and scholarly perspectives explores the 17-year Kachin ceasefire, its breakdown in 2011, and beyond.

The post Taking the Long View of Burma's Conflicts appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Saudi King Salman Embraces “Selfie” on Tour Across Asia

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 09:27 PM PST

Saudi Arabia's King Salman embraces the "selfie", taking part in a number of light-hearted self-shot pictures during his tour of Asia.

The post Saudi King Salman Embraces "Selfie" on Tour Across Asia appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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National News

National News

New management for Mercure Mandalay Hill hotels

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 12:04 AM PST

LP Holding Co., Ltd has signed a management agreement which will see French multinational hotel group AccorHotels take over the management of Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort, Mandalay Hill MGallery by Sofitel and Pullman Yangon Centrepoint at the Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel.

Thai pink card workers ripped off by brokers

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 12:01 AM PST

Myanmar nationals who hold "pink cards" in Thailand are being fleeced of some 7000 baht by brokers for identity documents from the homeland, according to the Migrant Workers Right Network (MWRN).

Mrauk-U airport to be built by tender: minister

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 12:00 AM PST

The Rakhine State government will invite tenders for the construction of an airport in Mrauk-U, U Kyaw Aye Thein, state Planning and Finance Minister said.

Mandalay limits pandal permits

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:56 PM PST

The number of permits for the construction of pandals around the Mandalay moat will be reduced this year ahead of the Thingyan festival, according to the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC).

Charity groups chant slogans to raise funds

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:53 PM PST

Social groups in Mandalay are planning a Thingyan Thangyat (chanting slogans during the water festival) to raise money for charity work.

Majority of mammals in Kayin State in trouble

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:52 PM PST

Wildlife conservationists have found 31 species of mammals, including Asian elephants, tigers and leopards in the hills of northern Kayin State.

NLD seniors weigh in on by-election campaigning

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:46 PM PST

The ruling party, National League for Democracy (NLD), kicked off their first public speech campaign for the April 1 by-election at Yangon's constituencies with party patron U Tin Oo together with the party's central executive committee member and also Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw U Win Myint.

Chinese tourists second largest last year

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:43 PM PST

Recording half a million Chinese visitors last year, Myanmar is hoping to make China one of its main tourism partners, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism said.

Local residents protest NLD MP’s bridge-name proposal

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:42 PM PST

The proposal to name a bridge linking Chaungzone township and Mawlamyine in Mon State after Bogyoke Aung San has led to a protest of 3000 people.

88 Generation to form political party in 2018

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:37 PM PST

Members of the 88 Generation group will form a political party next year to contest in the 2020 general election but will not be an opposition party, said its leader.
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Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

Commentary on “ UNFC commits to NCA negotiations, Panglong process”

Posted: 03 Mar 2017 12:28 AM PST

The UNFC 8 point proposal spelled out in this report is the key to make the NCA a more fair negotiation process and correct the lop-sided present form of agreement. In other words, until now which is the only game in town, would become a level playing field, where contenders could participate in an equal manner.


But when General Mya Tun Oo, joint chief of staff of the army, navy and air force, said by signing the NCA in its present form would do away with the recent Tatmadaw offensives in Kachin and Shan States, he was in effect saying that "if you people don't sign, we will go on with the offensive and swing you to do it". Precisely, he rejected the most important condition proposal of Tatmadaw's unilateral ceasefire declaration, followed by ethnic armies ceasefire declaration, which will then would become a bilateral one, thereby torpedoing the UNFC proposal altogether.

This means, there is no political will and for that matter no good will from the part of the Tatmadaw to end the war for mutual benefit, but to force the ethnic resistance armies to give in to its "negotiated surrender" mode of political settlement, which will not happen given the time tested approach employed earlier for decades by the Tatmadaw and the will of the ethnic people to wage and continue with the resistance war.

On top of this, Mya Tun Oo rejection of all-inclusiveness by refusing even to consider talking about taking the Kokang, Palaung and Arakan Army into the NCA; and Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing recently telling Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Sun Guoxiang that the ethnic armies refused to "sign the NCA because they do not want to carry out peace processes similar to that of international community. Despite wishing to demand all political rights through the meeting in political trend, they want to hold up the armed struggle line. No country accepts the demand of political rights all over the world by holding firearms," according to the publication in his Facebook.

To sum up, despite the Chinese pressure for all-inclusiveness peace negotiation, the Tatmadaw seems to be determined to go on for a continued military offensive on the ethnic armies, presuming that the country's sovereignty is solely owned by it and justify its war on the ethnic nationalities as preserving national unity through sheer military might.

But the fact is that this political notion is contested by the ethnic armies and as well ethnic political parties based on "shared-sovereignty" notion, which in effect means the monopoly of sovereignty by the Tatmadaw and as well, Bamar political class, would not be accepted and this main bone of contention should be ironed out through peaceful negotiation process, rather than just war. That is in fact the roots of the whole conflict problematic.

Link to the story: http://frontiermyanmar.net/en/unfc-commits-to-nca-negotiations-panglong-process

Addressing drug problems in Myanmar

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 08:16 PM PST

Time has come to embrace a different approach and adopt policies that are based on public health, community safety, human rights and development. Only such policies will deliver on the promise to improve people's lives; only such policies will truly allow Myanmar to reduce the harm caused by problematic drug use, trafficking and production.

This policy briefing was drafted by a group of local and international organisations with indepth knowledge and extensive experience of drug-related issues in Myanmar. It is structured around a set of five strategic interventions, each of which comes with concrete recommendations that are adapted to the Myanmar context. It contains reliable, up-to-date information and examples of evidence-based practices from Myanmar and around the world.

We identify the following 5 key strategic interventions.


  • Increase access to health, harm reduction and voluntary drug treatment for people using drugs
  • End the criminalisation of drug users and small-scale farmers
  • Refocus law enforcement efforts on violent organised crime and large-scale drug production and trafficking
  • Promote development projects in opium growing areas
  • Include civil society and affected communities in policy reform 


Introduction

Myanmar's drug policies are out-dated and inadequate to respond to the great challenges posed by problematic drug use and production in the country. The 1993 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law has failed to eliminate - or even reduce - drug use, trafficking and production. Worse, the implementation of harsh policies and penalties has caused immense additional harm to Myanmar people and communities.

Thousands of people have been unnecessarily exposed to the risk of infectious diseases and premature death as a direct result of those policies. Myanmar prisons are filled with drug users serving long-term sentences for mostly non-violent small drug offenses, while major traffickers are left undisturbed. Entire villages of impoverished poppy farmers have been targeted by forced eradication campaigns and pushed further into poverty, without any viable livelihoods alternatives to survive and pay for healthcare and education of their children.

Fortunately, successful interventions have also been conducted in the country. HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs started to decline following the implementation of health and harm reduction services for drug users. The lives of thousands of drug users and their families have hugely improved, thanks to the benefits of methadone programmes initiated by Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports. Several isolated communities from Eastern Shan State that were included in alternative development programmes voluntarily abandoned opium cultivation and successfully transitioned towards licit livelihoods strategies.

These domestic experiences add up to a growing body of evidence from all around the world, which indicate that policies grounded in public health, human rights and development, can yield an impressively wide range of benefits. Indeed, such policies not only improve people's health and support livelihoods, they also lower levels of drug related crime and corruption, reduce violence, conflict, and pressure on the criminal justice system, and ultimately result in greater social cohesion.

Existing good practices are no doubt positive steps but are yet to be implemented at scale. Overall, the lack of adequate response by previous Governments has led to great frustration among affected communities and the Myanmar population at large, as drug related problems have continued to mount and have become a key national concern.

Time has come to learn from such failures, embrace a different approach and adopt policies that are based on public health, community safety, human rights and development. Only such policies will deliver on the promise to improve people's lives; only such policies will truly allow Myanmar to reduce the harm caused by problematic drug use, trafficking and production.

Link story : https://www.tni.org/en/publication/addressing-drug-problems-in-myanmar
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