Monday, November 6, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Youth Volunteers to Deliver Aid in Rakhine 

Posted: 06 Nov 2017 05:17 AM PST

YANGON — About 60 youth volunteers will go to Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships this week to deliver humanitarian assistance to people affected by the latest conflict in northern Rakhine State.

Young people from philanthropic groups and individuals across Myanmar will join the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development (UEHRD) in the region after State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called for public participation to alleviate the crisis.

The group will head from Yangon to Sittwe on Thursday and continue traveling to the two townships.

The volunteers and staff from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement will receive humanitarian assistance training in Yangon for the first three days of the 20-day program, said Dr. Aung Thu Rein, deputy director from the ministry's Relief and Resettlement Department. The training began on Monday.

The volunteers will also collect data of households and counsel the affected families as well as deliver aid, he said, adding the team would distribute food, clothes, medicine, and nutrients for babies.

The ministry has invited youths between aged from 18-35 years old to participate in second and third visits after the first group completes the program. Dr. Aung Thu Rein said they received 25 applicants within a day.

Ko Htet Paing Soe from the Humanitarian Coordination Youth Team who is included in the first group met the State Counselor during her one-day visit to the state last Thursday. He will participate in the training in Yangon before returning to Rakhine with his fellow volunteers.

He told The Irrawaddy that the State Counselor advised them to provide aid effectively and systematically.

"The State Counselor has also guided us to consider how to prevent conflict in the region, bring peace and also to heal the trauma of the victims when delivering aid," he said.

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Myanmar Academics Urge Continued University Collaboration

Posted: 06 Nov 2017 03:56 AM PST

Myanmar academics urged international universities to continue collaborating with local universities in order to strengthen educational development.

Since 2013, universities in the UK, United States, Australia and elsewhere have established partnerships with once prominent universities in Yangon and Mandalay to help improve Myanmar's education system.

Last week, the London-based Times Higher Education reported that international universities were being pressured to cut ties with Myanmar universities due to the recent crisis in Rakhine State in which a militant attack and subsequent military clearance operations led to the displacement of some 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to neighboring Bangladesh.

U Thein Naing, an ethnic language curriculum consultant and curriculum expert, said: "No sanctions on educational institutions should be imposed. We need assistance for the development of education in this young democracy."

He said that he had seen talks of sanctioning the universities online but that Myanmar scholars and university communities were opposed.

Yangon University was closed for 26 years and reopened four years ago when then US President Barack Obama requested delivering a talk there in November 2012.

"We have many challenges facing Myanmar's educational development; in terms of both quality and quantity, as it has to redevelop from the beginning," U Thein Naing said, adding, "These educational challenges are the same for the development of peace and human resources."

The sanctions, if imposed, would impact public education [at the university level], which is under the control of the Ministry of Education, said U Kyaw Moe Tun, the founder of the Parami Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

"If universities from around the world pull out for their reputations due to the political pressures, our public universities will face difficulties," he said, "but bigotry and prejudice will not go away with sanctions."

Six decades of military rule has had a negative impact and awareness through education could help combat issues the country faces currently, advocates say.

Myanmar academics question why those who advocate cutting ties want to deny a quality education to young people, just as they were denied under military rule.

"We have no right to deny young people the opportunity to liberate themselves from the mentality and the mindset of the oppressed," said Dr. Khin Mar Mar Kyi, the inaugural Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gender research fellow at the University of Oxford and the first senior Burmese female academic at the institution.

"Denying education for our youth, you join the military," she wrote on her Facebook page, criticizing those who advocated for cutting ties.

She said the "expert" academics who recommend denying the right to a quality education are like the military who denied young people education for decades.

"The recent history of Burma has already proven that sanctions against the military did not work. Now they think collective sanctions for education institutions will work. How so?" she asked.

The post Myanmar Academics Urge Continued University Collaboration appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Collaboration is Key to Solving Rakhine Crisis

Posted: 06 Nov 2017 01:42 AM PST

Conflict in Rakhine State escalated dramatically in late August and has since mushroomed into an enormous crisis comprising countless tragedies. It has forced more than 600,000 Rohingya to flee their homes, cost at least hundreds of civilians their lives, and destroyed nearly 300 villages.

More than two months since militant attacks sparked this severe period of violence, the urgent question is how to end the rooted conflict so that some form of normalcy can be reestablished in the region. The answer depends on all the key players—the government, Tatmadaw (the military), Arakanese and Rohingya people, and the international community—to form a common understanding.

Muslim militant group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) clearly planned its violently orchestrated attacks before Kofi Annan, chairman of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, released recommendations on improving the situation in Rakhine, which the government vowed to implement. ARSA launched the attacks on Aug, 25, hours after the recommendations were published.

The military then executed its notorious "clearance operations," which caused a mass exodus of people to flee to Bangladesh where they languish in squalid camps. The military should have been restrained, but little else was expected, considering the some 500,000 ethnic refugees and internally displaced people driven from their homes in Myanmar's north and northeast because of clashes between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups. ARSA knew the nature of Myanmar's military and should not have provoked it.

In dealing with the latest round of violence in Rakhine, the military should have fully collaborated with the incumbent administration led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who said in her diplomatic briefing on Rakhine on Sept. 19: "The security forces have been instructed to adhere strictly to the Code of Conduct in carrying out security operations, to exercise all due restraint, and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage and the harming of innocent civilians. Human rights violations and all other acts that impair stability and harmony and undermine the rule of law will be addressed in accordance with strict norms of justice."

But the magnitude of the exodus has not indicated the presence of such restraint.

Albeit with limited control on security matters, the civilian government failed to facilitate access to the crisis area for media and international organizations. It failed to provide enough information on the crisis, and now must keep both its people and international community regularly updated on the situation.

In this sense, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi must make regular public speeches and appoint capable and articulate spokespeople who are immediately available for local and international press. Whenever needed, press conferences must also be held.

The government's duty is to accelerate the repatriation process, as it has promised. It must ensure the safety of all returnees and their households. Equally important is the need for the government to rightly grant citizenship for the Rohingya under the under the National Verification Card process, which was resumed in October in conflict-torn parts of Rakhine.

Arakanese people cannot deny co-existence with Rohingya people who have lived and were born here. Meanwhile, Rohingya should not have a separatist agenda—as many Arakanese perceive—beyond citizenship and their basic rights.

Western countries, the United Nations, and international organizations must understand the Rakhine issue is much more complicated and sensitive than most of them know. They must be aware that such instability poses a potential threat to the fragile state of Myanmar's democratic transition.

They cannot rule out a possibility of a return to military rule if the military leadership feels the Rakhine conflict is endangering the country's "stability." Moreover, there are political opportunist and ultranationalist groups quick to undermine the country's first elected government since 1960.

Grasping that the government is still in the early stages of dealing with issues spawned under the decades-long military rule is also crucial. The government can not rid itself of many ex-military senior officials in its ministries and main mechanisms such as the General Administration Department. Analysts see these officials as capable of hindering the government's efforts.

Last but not least, the international community must know that relations between the government and the military—the most powerful and established institution in Myanmar—are not stable. When asked in an interview with Radio Free Asia, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi described relations as "normal." But other signs suggest relations are not good, meaning this transition is still at stake.

As it would be in other countries facing a similar crisis, the government and military are the most important actors and must work together. The crisis calls for international help, so the international community, particularly the West, needs clever diplomacy, a deep understanding of the country's history and a vision of the bigger picture in order to approach these two key actors and allow all stakeholders to collaborate.

The post Collaboration is Key to Solving Rakhine Crisis appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Shooting on Myanmar-Bangladesh Border Prompts Police Complaint

Posted: 06 Nov 2017 01:09 AM PST

SITTWE, Rakhine State — Myanmar Border Guard Police have filed a complaint with Border Guard Bangladesh after a shooting between milepost No. 45 and No. 46 on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.

Four Myanmar border police were shot by a group of armed men from the Bangladesh side around 5:45 p.m. on Sunday, said director-general of Myanmar's State Counselor Office U Zaw Htay.

"The shooting came from inside Bangladesh. So, we've complained to the Bangladeshi border guards. They must investigate it," said U Zaw Htay, adding that Myanmar border police provided their Bangladeshi counterparts with the exact location of the attack.

Nobody was injured and no ammunition was stolen in the shooting, said U Zaw Htay.

"So were Bangladeshi border police there at that time or if not who were the shooters? Who does [the Bangladeshi government] allow to operate at the border? Bangladesh must investigate this and give us an explanation," he added.

The four Myanmar policemen based at milepost No. 45 in northern Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, were returning from Aung Thabyay Police Station where they had received their salaries when they came under attack near Sali Taung village at milepost No. 46, according to U Zaw Htay.

A group of armed men fired over 30 shots at them from a hill in Bangladesh some 100 yards from the border fence, said U Zaw Htay.

It was followed by an exchange of fire, and then one of the four policemen rode a motorbike to Aung Thabyay Police Station and requested reinforcements. More than 20 police including the station's chief went to the scene and rescued the other three policemen.

U Thein Shwe Oo, the administrator of Aung Thabyay village, reported hearing gunshots. "It is a worrying sign. So, I've told the villagers not to go outside the village alone, and not to go too far even when they are short on food and have to go fishing," he told The Irrawaddy.

On Oct. 22, four Daingnet villagers of Aung Thabyay villages were attacked allegedly by Muslim militants while they were hunting boar between border mileposts post No. 46 and 47. Two were killed and two injured in the attack.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Shooting on Myanmar-Bangladesh Border Prompts Police Complaint appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

2015 Election: The Countdown Begins

Posted: 06 Nov 2017 01:00 AM PST

Two years ago, the country's much-anticipated general election was held on Nov. 8. The Irrawaddy revisits this cover story from August 2015 about Myanmar people's hopes during the election and post-election periods.

YANGON — In recent times, general elections in Myanmar have been cursed. The results of the 1990 election were annulled by the previous military regime after the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won in a landslide.

The following national election held in 2010 was rigged to favor the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), with reports of widespread voting irregularities.

Both elections failed to usher in the much-needed democratic reforms yearned for by the vast majority of Myanmar citizens.

Whether or not the upcoming national election on November 8 will be similarly blighted is still a burning question among Myanmar voters amid their collective electoral trauma.

But major impediments to holding a free, fair and credible vote remain, not least of which is the country's military-drafted 2008 Constitution.

Article 59(f) of the Constitution bars popular opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president, regardless of the electoral outcome in November. The charter also reserves 25 percent of parliamentary seats for military appointees, effectively providing them with a veto over major amendments to the Constitution—which require a 75 percent majority of parliamentary votes.

The military's political role is further cemented by a constitutional provision mandating that the ministers of Defense, Home Affairs and Border Affairs, be army appointees.

Furthermore, the Union Election Commission (UEC), tasked with organizing and overseeing the nationwide poll, is chaired by a former military general who is also a former lawmaker with the ruling USDP.

But despite these undemocratic restrictions, the expectation of a transparent electoral process lingers on for Myanmar people.

One positive of recent times was the handling of the 2012 by-election, broadly considered to be a credible poll, in which the NLD won 43 of the 44 constituencies it contested. The ruling USDP claimed a solitary seat of the 45 constituencies on offer.

However critics contended that President U Thein Sein's government had needed to hold a fair poll, which saw Daw Aung San Suu Kyi win a seat in the legislature, in order to convince skeptics, at home and abroad, that the reform process was genuine.

Nevertheless, the by-election was one small but encouraging step in the country's slow-burning transition to democracy and likely encouraged many political parties to contest the 2015 national election.

The 2012 result was also clear proof of the wide support for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD—a serious concern for the ruling party. If this year's election is similarly credible, the NLD and other pro-democracy parties are likely to perform strongly.

With greater numbers in Parliament, the NLD and other ethnic political parties will be able to push for legislative changes that benefit Myanmar's citizens.

It remains difficult, however, to foresee radical changes, particularly to the Constitution, considering the ongoing presence of a military bloc in Parliament. The main, self-ascribed duty of these unelected MPs is to defend the 2008 charter recently described by The Economist as an "army-drafted monstrosity."

With a more diverse Union Parliament expected following the election, the military is perhaps even more unlikely to relinquish its political foothold. Any return to the barracks would take time.

Thus, the post-election period will be as delicate as it will be crucial. If the democratic opposition and ethnic parties win a parliamentary majority, all eyes will turn to the USDP and the military as to whether they accept the result.

Myanmar people don't want to relive the bitter experience of the 1990 election.

Even with a new government formed in 2016, a genuine dialogue between key political and military leaders will be necessary to address the country's myriad challenges.

Until now, the incumbent president U Thein Sein has shown little interest in such a dialogue. Talks held in recent months between the president, the army chief, parliamentary speakers, an ethnic representative and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, were merely superficial.

Like it or not, the result of the upcoming election will have a direct impact on every individual in Myanmar and on the country's foreign relations.

The result will shape Myanmar's future, though it may not herald the radical political shift that many have fought—and died—for.

The post 2015 Election: The Countdown Begins appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Documentary About Forgotten Myanmar Royalty Premieres in Mandalay

Posted: 05 Nov 2017 11:54 PM PST

MANDALAY — The national premiere of "We Were Kings" – a documentary about the forgotten royal descendants of King Thibaw, the last king of Burma – kicked off a nostalgic atmosphere at the Irrawaddy Literary Festival in Mandalay over the weekend.

The 58-minute film features interviews with the grandchildren and great grandchildren of King Thibaw. Author of "The King in Exile," Sudha Shah, was joined by the only two living grandchildren of King Thibaw, their descendants and royal descendants of the penultimate King Mindon.

"We Were Kings," directed and produced by Alex Bescoby and Max Jones of Grammar Productions, has won the Whicker's World Foundation Award 2016.

The film brings the lost descendants of King Thibaw into the spotlight by focusing on the struggle of U Soe Win, the great grandson of King Thibaw, as he tried to bring the remains of the exiled king back to Myanmar. King Thibaw was sent to India by the British in 1885 and died in exile in 1916. Some of the last king's descendants had hoped and planned for years to return the remains.

"There are many different views, even in our family, about bringing back the remains, as were featured in the film," U Soe Win told The Irrawaddy, after the premiere.

"My uncle Taw Phaya said let it be and my cousin Devi said it was not yet time. But I still wanted to keep trying simply because I do not want him to rest in exile, not because I want to reestablish the monarchy."

U Soe Win led his family to restore the abandoned tomb of King Thibaw and the first princess in Ratnagiri, India. Since King Thibaw did not receive a proper royal ceremony or religious rituals at his funeral, U Soe Win struggled to perform these rituals by seeking support from the governments of Myanmar and India.

"But bringing back the remains was another story. It was not only up to the royal descendants. It became the affair of the entire country and the decision rests in the hands of the people," said U Soe Win. "We also need to think about the descendants of the first princess, who are living in India. Maybe, the time hasn't come yet for that [to move her remains]."

Prince Taw Phaya – the third son of the fourth daughter of King Thibaw, Princess Hteik Su Myat Phaya Galae – said the remains should be left where they are as the country and the world have changed greatly.

"May he rest in peace. Let's not dig this up again," he added.

On the other hand, for the royal descendants of King Thibaw and King Mindon, "We Were Kings" revisits their lives in Mandalay, the last royal capital where King Thibaw spent his final days as monarch.

"I do not want to recall the bitter past. When I watched this film with my brother, family and other royal family members, I was sad remembering that my mother had to struggle a lot," said Princess Hteik Su Phaya Gyi, the only living granddaughter of King Thibaw, who presented at the premiere.

Princess Hteik Su Phaya Gyi, 95, widely called Phwar May or Aunty Su among the royal descendants, is the second daughter of the fourth daughter of King Thibaw, Princess Hteik Su Myat Phaya Galae.

"Since stories of us have been wiped from the pages of history for a long time, youth today have no idea what is happening with King Thibaw's descendants. I thank Alex, Max and Sudha Shah," she said.

"However, I no longer want to live as royals after all the time and troubles. Things have changed. I am now at peace living as an ordinary person. Do not call me princess or a royal, for I am not anymore. It was history and let it stay history," she said.

The film will be screened in Yangon in the coming weeks.

Treasure Hunt

Together with the film's Myanmar premiere, one mystery has entered the spotlight again—the disappearance of an enormous ruby of the royal family.

According to an article by Bescoby that appeared in BBC last week, U Soe Win travelled to London for the first time and visited the Victoria & Albert Museum to see valuable artifacts that once belonged to his family.

Accompanied by Bescoby, U Soe Win's visit had another purpose—a treasure hunt for an enormous ruby, also known as "The Nga Mauk" of the then-royal family that was said to be "worth a kingdom," the piece said.

Hundreds of gold and gem-studded items were seized from King Thibaw by the British and the then British colonel Edward Sladen, who was the chief political officer of the invasion force and has been the main suspect in the disappearance of the ruby, Bescoby's piece stated.

There are rumors within the royal descendant's family that the ruby was given to Queen Victoria as a gift by the colonel and might have been kept as part of the Royal Collection since then.

The post Documentary About Forgotten Myanmar Royalty Premieres in Mandalay appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

IMF Visits Myanmar for Annual Economic Checkup

Posted: 05 Nov 2017 08:37 PM PST

WASHINGTON — An International Monetary Fund delegation visits Myanmar this week for an annual economic checkup of a country whose treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority has put it in the international spotlight.

The Article 4 mission, a yearly assessment that the Fund conducts of each of its member states' economies, begins on Monday, an IMF spokeswoman said.

This will be the IMF's first visit since more than half a million Rohingya fled into Bangladesh after a military crackdown that the United Nations has said is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.

While IMF missions do not look into politics, they do consider ramifications of political developments on an economy.

So far, there are no signs that the crisis has had a direct bearing on Myanmar's economy because it is located in a remote northern part of Rakhine State. The international community has criticized the army's actions and called on the civilian government of Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to speak up against the atrocities.

Last month, the World Bank froze US$200 million in budget funding for Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis despite objections from some member countries, such as China and Japan. US President Donald Trump's administration supported the decision but urged the Bank not to disengage altogether from Myanmar, according to sources with knowledge of discussions.

In an Oct. 12 statement, the Bank called on Myanmar's government to "take urgent steps to de-escalate the situation and support a broad and inclusive humanitarian response."

Last year's IMF economic review praised Myanmar's progress in economic reforms after an initial surge in growth as the country emerged from decades of isolation. At the time, the Fund projected gross domestic product growth at around 6.5 percent for 2017, from about 7.3 percent the year before.

Growth this year is now expected to come in at 6.3 percent, according to the latest IMF data, based on an unfinished political transformation, overall manufacturing slowdown and delays in construction permitting.

Another likely focus for the IMF mission is Myanmar's banks, which are struggling to meet stringent new capital safeguards. Banks have appealed to the government for flexibility in implementing the rules.

US lawmakers last week proposed travel sanctions on Myanmar's military officials, the day before Trump left on his first trip to Asia. The legislation would restore some sanctions lifted last year as Myanmar returned to democracy. The European Union is also considering sanctions against top generals.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Myanmar on Nov. 15 for talks on the Rohingya crisis.

The post IMF Visits Myanmar for Annual Economic Checkup appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Trump Says to Push Japan for More ‘Reciprocal’ Trade, in a Friendly Way

Posted: 05 Nov 2017 08:31 PM PST

TOKYO — US President Donald Trump, charging "Japan has been winning" on trade in recent decades, said he would push for more reciprocal trade with Washington's close US ally – but in a friendly way.

Trump was speaking in Tokyo on the second day of a 12-day Asian trip expected to be dominated by North Korea and trade.

"The United States has suffered massive trade deficits at the hands of Japan for many, many years," Trump said at the start of a meeting with Japanese and US business leaders.

Trump praised Japan for buying US military hardware, which he said was the "best military equipment in the world," but added that "many millions of cars are sold by Japan into the United States, whereas virtually no cars go from the United States into Japan."

"We want free and reciprocal trade but right now our trade with Japan is not free and it's not reciprocal and I know it will be and we’ve started the process," Trump said. "I have no doubt that it will be done in a quick and very friendly manner."

Trump also said Washington wants to make the United States the most attractive place to hire, invest and grow.

Japan had a US$69-billion trade surplus with the United States last year, according to the US Treasury Department. The United States was Japan's second biggest trade partner after China, while Japan was the United States' fourth largest goods export market in 2016.

Japanese officials have countered US trade complaints by noting Tokyo accounts for a much smaller slice of the US deficit than in the past, while China's imbalance is bigger.

Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday for golf, lunch and dinner, and will hold a more formal summit with Abe later on Monday.

In a second round of economic talks in Washington last month, US Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso, who doubles as deputy premier, failed to bridge differences on thorny trade issues.

The two sides remain at odds over how to frame future trade talks, with Tokyo pushing back against US calls to discuss a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).

Trump also said that an Indo-Pacific trade framework would produce more in trade that the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact pushed by his predecessor but which he announced Washington would abandon soon after he took office.

"TPP was not the right answer," he said, adding he knew not everyone in his audience agreed. "We will have much bigger trade with the way we are doing it right now and it will be a much less complex situation."

The 11 remaining nations in the TPP, to which Japan's Abe is firmly committed, are edging closer to sealing a comprehensive free trade pact without the United States.

The United States has also complained about Japan's safeguard mechanism on US frozen beef imports, which imposes higher tariffs if quarterly imports rise more than 17 percent from the previous year. Sources have told Reuters that Tokyo will propose changes to the system to reduce US pressure.

Royal Audience, North Korean Kidnappings

Trump met Emperor Akihito before his lunch and talks with Abe. He will also meet relatives of Japanese citizens kidnapped decades ago by North Korean agents to help train spies.

Abe has made the abductions a keystone of his career. The families hope their talks with Trump – the third US president whom they have met – will somehow contribute to a breakthrough in the emotive issue, although experts say progress is unlikely.

North Korea's recent actions, including several missiles that flew over Japan and Pyongyang's sixth and largest nuclear test, have raised the stakes in the most critical international challenge of Trump's presidency.

The US leader has rattled some allies with his vow to "totally destroy" North Korea if it threatens the United States and with his dismissal of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a "rocket man" on a suicide mission.

Abe, however, has staunchly backed Trump's stance that "all options are on the table" including military action, and repeatedly said that now was the time for added pressure, not dialogue "for the sake of dialogue."

Trump will also visit South Korea and China, where he is expected to urge Beijing to do more to pressure Pyongyang to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

A centerpiece of the trip will be a visit to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Danang, Vietnam, where Trump will deliver a speech in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, which is seen as offering a bulwark in response to expansionist Chinese policies.

The post Trump Says to Push Japan for More 'Reciprocal' Trade, in a Friendly Way appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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