Thursday, June 14, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Regional Short Film Contest Launched to Combat Wildlife Trade

Posted: 14 Jun 2018 07:40 AM PDT

YANGON – The British Embassy in Yangon launched a regional short-film competition on Thursday as part of a UK government initiative to combat the global illegal wildlife trade (IWT).

The UK government, in association with the Luang Prabang Film Festival, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) aim to use filmmaking as a tool to raise awareness among the public and policymakers about the need to protect endangered wildlife, to reinforce wildlife conservation practices and the importance of generating long-term sustainable solutions in the Mekong region.

The #IWT Mekong Short Film competition is open to filmmakers from the Mekong region countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and to foreign filmmakers residing in those countries.

The film competition is "an opportunity to produce films which draw attention to this horrible issue of the illegal wildlife trade. We are looking for creative, exciting short films produced by some of Myanmar's best up-and-coming filmmakers," said David Hall, the embassy's deputy head of mission.

He said that Myanmar, given its abundant wildlife and the fact that it formed part of the notoriously lawless Golden Triangle border area with Laos and Thailand, is particularly vulnerable to the illegal wildlife trade. The trafficking of illegal wildlife is the third-largest illicit trade in the world, worth an estimated USD19 billion per year. It threatens endangered species such as tigers, Asian and African elephants, rhinos and pangolins.

"This is a great way to add national and unique voices to the fight against the illegal trade," said Christy Williams, country director for WWF-Myanmar, describing Myanmar as being on "the front line of the international illegal wildlife trade."

The deadline for film submissions is Aug. 15. Films can be up to 6 minutes in length. Interested filmmakers are invited to contact WWF for information on the illegal wildlife trade situation in Myanmar.

The first, second and third prize winners will be awarded USD5,000, 4,000 and 3,000 respectively. The winners will be invited to present their films in the UK on the sidelines of the 2018 London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, to be held on Oct. 10-11. The UK will be inviting governments and NGOs from all over the world to attend the event.

The winners will also receive round-trip plane tickets and accommodation to attend and participate in the 9th Luang Prabang Film Festival in Laos on Dec. 7-12.

Special, country-level prizes worth USD2,000 each will be awarded to the best contributions from each country.

International NGOs said the wildlife trade posed a real threat in Myanmar and deserved more public attention.  However, WWF said, the Myanmar public's involvement in the protection of wild animals and suppression of illicit trading had increased, with an estimated 25 million Myanmar people taking part in the "Voices for MoMos" campaign to protect elephants from poaching and skinning.

In May, the Union Parliament approved the Protection of Biodiversity and Protected Areas Law, which prescribes mandatory prison sentences for poaching or trade in completely protected species or species protected under CITES (the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

Despite the continuous poaching and skinning of elephants and trading in other wild animals, authorities are cooperating to shut down shops selling ivory and other wildlife parts at Shwedagon Pagoda and Bogyoke Market, the WWF said.

As people in some parts of Myanmar still use wild animals for food, and engage in trade with neighboring China in endangered species, Daw May Moe Wah, partnership manager of WWF Myanmar said, WWF is planning to launch a poster campaign to encourage people to stop poaching and to stop selling bush meat to restaurants.

Williams of the WWF added, "While steps are being taken to combat it, all sectors must come together if we are to keep Myanmar's wildlife for future generations."

With Myanmar's tourist numbers on the increase, and likely to rise further if the country remains politically stable, Williams said, Myanmar lacks the kind of wildlife tourism that exists in neighboring countries India, Thailand and Nepal. He added that combating the illegal wildlife trade also helped to develop the economy.

"They [tourists] go to Bagan, Shwedagon, Naypyitaw, Mandalay, but they do not have a single place in Myanmar where they can go to see wildlife," Williams said.

He added, "Every poacher that's taking Myanmar's wildlife out and trading it to China and other places means that your people are losing opportunities, economic opportunity in Myanmar; the ability to raise money for the country, to create jobs, things will be much more sustainable in the long term, which is why the battle against the illegal wildlife trade is more an economic one than a conservation one."

The post Regional Short Film Contest Launched to Combat Wildlife Trade appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Official Papers Show U Kaung Trading Was Shipping Agent in Malaysian Drug Haul

Posted: 14 Jun 2018 06:17 AM PDT

YANGON – U Kaung Trading Company acted as the shipper for suspected drug dealer Haj Yassin, who was arrested last week in Mandalay Division in connection with last month's record drug haul in Malaysia, Myanmar Port Authority (MPA) documents show.

The documents were shown to The Irrawaddy by an official at the MPA's Shipping Agency Department (SAD) on condition of anonymity.

Since last week, at least three suspects have been in the custody of anti-narcotics police in Yangon: U Min Naing, the owner of the Nice Guy Clearance Service Agency; his wife Daw Thida Moe, director of U Kaung Trading Co.; and exporter Haj Yassin. It is unclear whether U Kaung Trading managing director U Aung Soe Moe has been arrested by police or is still at large.

The married couple was arrested some time prior to the June 5 arrest of Haj Yassin, who also goes by the Burmese name Maung Maung and who contracted with U Kaung Trading to export foodstuffs to Malaysia. In fact the shipment contained almost 1.2 tons of methamphetamine and a quantity of heroin disguised as golden tea packages in a container with the Log No. FSCU 9911521 for transport to Malaysia's Port Klang.

Haj Yassin is the only suspect to have been officially identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Based on the container's log number, The Irrawaddy has determined that it was transported by the container ship Pathein Star V.017S, owned by Pathein Star PTE Ltd, during the Myanmar Water Festival period, an official long holiday for workers and government servants. The vessel regularly operates between Yangon; Penang, Malaysia; Port Klang, Malaysia; and Singapore.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Myanmar Port Authority (MPA) officials verbally denied online speculation that port officials were somehow involved in the illicit drugs shipment. However, a senior SAD official told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity at his office on Wednesday that U Kaung Trading signed the Bill of Lading (BL) as the shipper in the transaction.

Additionally, on a Booking Note contracted between Samudra Shipping Line and the trading company, the shipper's name is written in bold capital letters as "U KAUNG TRADING CO., LTD." The name appears on the first line of the agreement, which states that the container is to be discharged at Port Klang (West) in Malaysia. The SAD officer also provided a copy of a Shipping Instruction letter dated April 9, 2018, signed by U Kaung Trading Co. managing director U Aung Soe Moe. It states that the container was loaded with 905 cartons and 120 bags of traditional Myanmar and other types of food items. One of the servicing companies hired by U Kaung Trading also confirmed that U Kaung Trading was the shipper.

U Aung Soe Moe has not shown up at his office in the Kyauktada lower block in downtown Yangon for several weeks. Employees declined to say whether their boss was hiding from police or had being detained.

Export declaration  

Trading companies must complete a significant amount of paperwork to expedite the export declaration process. This includes securing recommendations and approvals from Customs, the MPA, and the Commerce Ministry. The process from beginning the paperwork to loading the cargo can take two weeks. Exporting even simple foodstuffs like tea requires a recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration.

Much of the commentary online regarding Customs clearance procedures and the role of port authorities singles out various types of government officials from a range of departments for criticism, alleging that both MPA and Customs officers are likely responsible for the illicit drug shipment.

However, according to MPA deputy general manager Dr. Myo Nyein Aye, the idea that MPA officials are responsible for inspecting shipments is a popular misconception. "We are not authorized to check containers sealed by Customs. And the examination process is not our business either; all we provide is logistics services for the port."

A senior SAD official added that the shipper is primarily responsible in cases involving illegal drugs. He explained that U Kaung Trading was hired by Haj Yassin to expedite the entire process, from renting a container from a container services company, arranging packing, and contracting with feeder and carrier lines, to handling the declaration process at the destination port. After that, the shipper needs to submit an Export Documentation form (ED), invoice letter, sales contract, shipping instruction, Booking Note and other necessary documents as part of the Customs Department's documentation examination process.

X-ray process

Following this, the Customs Department assigns the shipper to the Green, Yellow or Red channel based on the Myanmar Automated Cargo Clearance System (MACCS), which receives technical support from the Japanese government. Shippers with a Green designation are automatically exempt from an X-ray scan at the port. Those assigned to either the Yellow or Red channel are usually examined with an X-ray machine, which is handled by a Customs officer. After the X-ray examination process, a container still needs approval from the Customs officer to be sealed and approved for vessel departure.

SAD officials told The Irrawaddy they had no idea whether U Kaung Trading's container FSCU 9911521 was designated Green, Yellow or Red. If the container was designated Yellow or Red, it would almost certainly have been X-rayed. The Customs Department regularly rotates port and air terminal officials after a few months. It's unclear which Customs officers were on duty at Myanmar Industrial Port (MIP) during the Water Festival.

One shipping servicing agency staffer explained that there are very few possible loopholes that would allow a shipment to escape an X-ray examination; these would include being designated Green or bribing an officer to turn a blind eye to a cargo container designated Yellow or Red. The Irrawaddy on Wednesday requested a meeting with Customs Department director U Nay Lin Aung but one of his subordinates said his boss was too busy, as he had a number of meetings scheduled for this week in Naypyitaw.

An SAD official said U Kaung Trading has been exporting foodstuffs and other commodities for many years. The department's BL filing system is not computerized, and it keeps documents for about three years. He declined a request to ascertain precisely how many BL documents U Kaung Trading had submitted in that period, but gave a rough estimate that the company had shipped between 100 and 200 container-loads to Malaysia and Singapore. It is unclear how many times U Kaung Trading had been designated Green or how many times its had provided services for detained suspect Haj Yassin.

"People are blaming the port authorities without understanding the procedures. In fact, the department that is most responsible is Customs. We never touch container checking or X-ray inspections," the SAD official said.

According to the MPA, the government operates four terminals in Yangon under build, operate and transfer (BOT) agreements with private companies Asia World Port Terminal (AWPT), Myanmar Industrial Port (MIP), Bo Aung Kyaw Street Wharf (BSW) and Ahlone International Port Terminal (AIPT). Only Sule Port, which mostly handles rice shipments, is directly supervised by port authorities. MPA records show that the five terminals handled up to 92,000 containers in fiscal 2016-17 and around 88,500 in 2017-18.

Under investigation

The Irrawaddy visited Seik Kan Myo Ma police station, where Haj Yassin was detained before being sent to a mental hospital to determine whether he is a drug user, but did not see U Min Naing, Daw Thida Moe or U Aung Kyaw Moe. Police Major U Tin Oo said three suspects are being questioned elsewhere in Yangon by a combined team of anti-narcotics police and other relevant departments including the Bureau of Special Investigation.

The Irrawaddy has learned that Haj Yassin is close to U Min Naing's family and has been working with them for years. Nice Guy Clearance Agency owner U Min Naing was named Second-Best Servicing Agent by the Myanmar Customs Department in 2016. A few days ago, The Irrawaddy attempted to contact some Customs agents who work for Nice Guy, but they did not respond. It's unclear whether the entire Nice Guy team, which is believed to number about 10 people, were on the run or being interrogated by police.

Another U Maung Maung who is the owner of the Shwe Gabar construction company recently denied unconfirmed reports spread on Facebook that he was the same person as suspect Haj Yassin. The business owner is now 60, whereas the suspect detained by police is 44. The Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association vouched for the older U Maung Maung, saying he was an executive committee member and an honest man.

Nine days since the arrest of Haj Yassin, police had not provided any updates about Haj Yassin's background or its investigation results as of Thursday. Many commentators on Facebook predicted that the case would end with the arrest of Haj Yassin, with the mastermind let off the hook as usual. Yangon Division Police spokesman Major Hla Wai on Thursday declined to confirm for The Irrawaddy the arrests of the married couple or any other suspects.

Maj Hla Wai said, "We are still questioning [Haj Yassin]. We have already announced his arrest in newspapers as well, which is the latest information. We cannot discuss the case further as the investigation is ongoing. The Irrawaddy should understand that this is an ongoing case and we are still investigating."

The post Official Papers Show U Kaung Trading Was Shipping Agent in Malaysian Drug Haul appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Launch of Army-Backed Mytel Draws Wary Welcome

Posted: 14 Jun 2018 05:12 AM PDT

YANGON — Myanmar’s private telecom operators stressed the importance of a fair playing field with the official launch of a new competitor that has the backing of the country’s powerful military.

The country's fourth and latest telecom provider, Mytel, had its official launch on Saturday in Yangon.

Mytel is 49 percent owned by Viettel, a telecom provider owned by Vietnam’s Defense Ministry, and 28 percent owned by Star High Company, a subsidiary of the Myanmar Army’s Economic Holdings Ltd. A consortium of 11 local companies, Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public Ltd., owns the rest.

The launch was attended by senior officials from both Vietnam and Myanmar, including Myanmar Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the defense minister and the heads of the navy and air force.

Mytel was granted an operating license on Jan. 12, 2017, and started selling SIM cards in some regions in mid-March.

While some netizens have vowed to boycott the military-backed provider, others say they like the company’s promotions, which make it cheaper than its competitors.

The operator is offering 500 MB of free mobile data and 50 minutes of on-network calls from June to September along with other promotional bonuses.

Ma Shwe Yinn Mar Oo, external communications manager for Norway's Telenor, told The Irrawaddy that the country's telecom sector was becoming more competitive.

"We expect that the fourth operator will try its best to get market share. And at the same time, we also anticipate to have healthy competition," she said.

Mobile penetration in Myanmar has skyrocketed since Telenor and Qatar's Ooredoo rolled out their networks in 2014, breaking a monopoly by state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) that for many years had put the price of a SIM card out of reach for most people.

In a joint announcement in February, the three operators said they had a combined 53 million subscribers. MPT, which partnered with Japan's KDDI in 2014, led the way with 25 million subscribers, followed by Telenor with 19 million and Ooredoo with 9.5 million.

In the announcement, released just before Mytel started its pilot sales, they pledged to abide by sound pricing practices, including floor pricing and no free SIM cards, as set out in the Pricing and Tariff Regulatory Framework of June 2017.

Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing (center) attends Mytel’s launch at the Pullman Yangon Centerpoint hotel in Yangon on Saturday. / Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing / Facebook

"It is important that all operators abide by the same rules, which is something we will continue to stress to the regulator," Ooredoo Myanmar CEO Vikram Sinha told The Irrawaddy.

"With a level playing field, we are confident in our ability to compete and thrive," he said.

Under the current Tariff Regulatory Framework, telecom operators cannot charge less than the fixed floor prices for their services, including rates on calls, SMS and mobile data.

However, through promotions they can reduce the floor prices by as much as 40 percent, said U Myo Swe, deputy director general of the Post and Telecommunications Department at the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

But he said Mytel has been allowed to reduce the floor prices by 70 percent during its promotion period — which typically lasts three months — because it still had a small market share and would have little effect on the established providers.

According to a report in 7Day Daily, Mytel has distributed 3 millions SIM cards to shops and sold more than 100,000.

At the launch, the army chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, said Mytel’s network already covered about 72 percent of the country and, if the operator’s plans came to pass, would reach 93 percent of the population by the end of the year.

The Post and Telecommunications Department is presently redrafting the Tariff Regulatory Framework in collaboration with the operators and says the changes will better serve operators and subscribers alike. The department is taking public comment on the draft until June 30 and hopes to have it finished in four to five months.

U Myo Swe said all four operators will have to abide by the new framework once it takes effect but added that Mytel would be afforded some leeway until then.

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Yangon Lawmakers Call Local Govt’s Industrial Zone Projects ‘Unrealistic’

Posted: 14 Jun 2018 03:46 AM PDT

YANGON — Yangon lawmakers have criticized the industrial zone projects of the regional government as "unrealistic."

Lawmakers on Tuesday discussed the regional government's plan to establish 11 new industrial zones on the city's outskirts. It was announced by Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein last month on the sidelines of the Yangon Investment Forum 2018 as a way to address unequal development across the region.

On June 5, Yangon Mayor U Maung Maung Soe submitted a report to the regional Parliament about the proposed zones, slated for the southern and northern fringes of the city. The proposed zones in Kungyangon, Kawhmu, Twante, Thanlyin, Kyauktan, Kayan, Thongwa, Taikkyi, Hmawbi, Hlegu and Htantabin townships are to be built on land ranging in size from 750 to 1,871 acres.

Though the plan has good intentions of spurring regional development and creating jobs, it should be reviewed to be realistic on the ground, said Kyauktan Township lawmaker U Zaw Moe Lwin.

"Those industrial zones need to be successful if they are intended for regional development. Otherwise, locals will just lose their farms and nothing will change," said U Zaw Moe Lwin.

It is unrealistic to set up industrial zones in 11 townships at the same time, said Dagon Township lawmaker U Kyaw Zeya.

The regional government should stop "daydreaming" since it has only two years until the next election in 2020, he said.

"I want the regional government to do only what is realistic," he said.

The government should set up a model industrial zone first in a specific township and implement more zones according to experience gained in the process, suggested U Kyaw Zeya.

"There are 29 industrial zones in Yangon Region. Compared to industrial zones of neighboring countries, ours hardly attract foreign investment. Though those industrial zones were established a long time ago, a lot has yet to be fulfilled in terms of electricity, transportation, security and the rule of law," said Mayangone Township lawmaker U Yan Shin.

As thousands of acres will be used for industrial zones, it will have significant impact on the agricultural sector of Yangon Region, said U Tin Win, a Coco Islands lawmaker.

"A total of 12,302.32 acres will be required for the project. The production of agricultural produce will decline if those farmlands are taken. So, there is a need to reclaim new farmlands," said U Tin Win.

According to the government report, 1091.96 acres in Kungyangon, 1,000 acres in Kawhmu, 850 acres in Twante, 1,088 acres in Thanlyin, 1051.36 acres in Kyauktan, 1,000 acres in Kayan, 1,871 acres in Thongwa, 1,000 acres in Taikkyi, 750 acres in Hmawbi, 1,000 acres in Hlegu and 1,600 acres in Htantabin are earmarked for industrial zones.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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4 Missing After Yangon-Dala Ferry Capsizes

Posted: 14 Jun 2018 03:16 AM PDT

YANGON — Four people are missing after a small ferry capsized Wednesday evening between Yangon and Dala, lawmaker U Tun Yin, who represents Dala Township in the Yangon Region Parliament, told The Irrawaddy.

The ferry capsized after leaving the Sin Oh Dan jetty in Yangon for the Kama Kathwel jetty in Dala once its engine broke down at about 8:30 p.m., he said.

"The engine of the ferry boat got entangled in flotsam and went under a ship that was docked at the Sule jetty," U Tun Yin said.

Twelve people including the helmsman were on board the ferry and eight of them were rescued, according to police. All four missing people are Dala residents.

"We are searching for them with five ferry boats," U Myint Htoo, chairman of the Ferry Boat Helmsmen Association, told The Irrawaddy Thursday morning.

Police have opened a case against the helmsman of the capsized ferry, U Kyaw Min, in connection with the accident.

On Dec. 20, three passengers died when their ferry sank, also between Yangon and Dala. Survivors of that accident likewise blamed it on flotsam.

U Tun Yin said there were about 100 motorboat ferries that transport passengers between Yangon and three jetties in Dala. But he said the boats were tightly packed around the jetties and had little room to maneuver.

While a few larger ferries ply the same route, some passengers prefer the smaller boats for their speed.

A lawmaker from Seikkan Township has previously urged the regional Parliament to ensure that larger vessels dock far from the jetties the smaller ferries use for their safety, but to little effect.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Main Kachin Aid Group Ordered to Halt Humanitarian Work in Rebel-Held Areas

Posted: 14 Jun 2018 02:17 AM PDT

The Myanmar Army has threatened to take legal action against members of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) if they continue to deliver humanitarian aid and meet IDPs in rebel-controlled areas near the Chinese border, according to local sources.

In a letter issued by the Myanmar Army-controlled Border Affairs Ministry on May 21, the KBC was warned that its members should not travel again to areas held by the Kachin Independence Army after KBC workers made trips to the Myanmar-China border in early May.

"In such cases, we could take action," said Col Thura Myo Tin, who wrote the letter in his capacity as security and border affairs minister, based in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.

"Therefore, none of you should go there anymore," he said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by The Irrawaddy.

The Myanmar Army official said KBC members who ignored the warning would be charged with unlawful association under Article 17 (1), which stipulates prison terms of two to three years for violations of the law.

The KBC is the main Kachin group providing aid to IDPs in Kachin State.

According to the army, KBC members traveled to Border Points No. 6 and 8 in Waingmaw Township in early May, where they met IDPs and handed over food supplies.

Rev. Hkalam Samson, who is general secretary of the KBC, told The Irrawaddy that his organization has been working for seven years providing help to IDPs near the border.

"We help only IDPs, not the KIA. So, for our side, we do not believe we broke the law. We are people who help IDPs. And we will continue to help them the best that we can," he said.

Rev. Samson said his group would not be intimidated by the threats from the army, noting that the KBC's work was solely humanitarian.

As for the motive behind the letter, Rev. Samson said he believed "It was part of the military's strategy."

There are 150,000 ethnic Kachin IDPs who have been forced to flee their homes because of fighting that erupted between the KIA and Myanmar Army after a ceasefire collapsed in the region in 2011. Those IDPs stay in both government and KIA-controlled areas.

With the arrival of the rainy season, many IDPs need shelter, healthcare and access to school, according to the KBC.

Following the threatening letter, Rev. Samson said his KBC members did not feel safe when traveling and this had disrupted their missions. His members even wondered whether their humanitarian work to help others in need was wrong.

However, members of the KBC would always be ready to help IDPs, he said.

The KBC cannot be constrained by borders as they were an organization that helps IDPs, he said. The KBC members have to travel where there were IDPs, even if they were in rebel-controlled areas.

Since the Myanmar Army issued the letter, some KBC aid convoys have been blocked, Rev. Samson said. But, the group would seek other ways to meet IDPs and deliver relief supplies.

Rev. Samson noted that even China had offered to provide 40 million kyats of supplies to Kachin IDPs early this month. As such, the KBC may be able to ask Chinese authorities for permission to cross the border from the Chinese side, Rev. Samson said.

The Myanmar Army has blocked UN agencies from delivering humanitarian aid to Kachin IDPs in KIA-controlled areas. The agencies were, however, allowed to travel and deliver humanitarian aid to IDPs in government-held areas.

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Repatriation Deal With UN No Threat to Sovereignty, Minister Says

Posted: 14 Jun 2018 01:55 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — The Union Minister for Labor, Immigration and Population on Wednesday moved to calm fears that the government's invitation to United Nations agencies into the country to help deal with the Rakhine issue posed a threat to the nation's sovereignty.

The Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, has called for caution on cooperating with international agencies, and opposition parties including the Union Solidarity and Development Party and Arakan National Party have continuously opposed foreign intervention in the issue.

"We don't need to worry about the UN [agencies] coming into the country. The government has taken steps that are in the nation's best interest," Union Minister U Thein Swe told reporters in Naypyitaw.

Myanmar must cooperate with UN agencies on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees in order to make the process credible, he said.

"Under current circumstances, our country can't handle the issue alone. Only by cooperating with the UN agencies will we be able to take firmer steps and win the trust of international organizations," he said.

The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding on June 6 in the administrative capital of Naypyitaw with the UNDP and UNHCR on the repatriation of refugees to Rakhine State.

Myanmar previously cooperated with the UN on the repatriation of refugees in 1993, the minister said.

"The repatriation process will not be led by the UN agencies. We will implement the process in accordance with the procedures of UEHRD," the minister said, referring to the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine State. "They will assist us in coordinating with their offices in Bangladesh," he added.

U Pe Than of the Arakan National Party said the Arakanese people have concerns, as the government has not made public any details of its agreement with the UN.

"We have concerns about what agreements and compromises the government has made over the repatriation process. Terrorists may enter the country by impersonating refugees. The problem may grow worse if we can't prevent this," U Pe Than said.

Minister U Thein Swe said the government will allow UN agencies to go to northern Rakhine State and provide the media with free access to the area, depending on the security situation.

"We hope there will not be one-sided allegations and exaggerations. There will be correct reports, and the image of Myanmar will improve," U Thein Swe said.

The UN and the international media have reported that nearly 700,000 refugees have fled to Bangladesh following Tatmadaw clearance operations in the wake of attacks by the Arakan Rohingya State Army in northern Rakhine on Aug. 25 last year.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of refugees within two years.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Philippines Unlikely to Be Rice Self-Sufficient: Duterte

Posted: 14 Jun 2018 12:03 AM PDT

MANILA — The Philippines is unlikely to become self-sufficient in rice production, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday, appearing to contradict his agriculture minister who had set a 2020 target to produce enough rice to meet the country’s needs.

The Southeast Asian country is a frequent buyer of rice mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, usually importing more than one million tons of the staple grain every year to meet domestic demand and maintain stockpiles.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said last year the country could produce enough rice for its own needs by 2020 with the help of free irrigation and other state measures to boost output.

“I do not believe we can be rice sufficient,” Duterte said in a speech to officials of state universities at the presidential palace.

“If you’d ask me, in the next how many years, we will just have to import rice,” Duterte said.

He said shrinking farmland and a growing population made it difficult to produce enough rice to meet domestic needs.

In April, Duterte ordered the National Food Authority (NFA) to build up its depleted rice stockpiles to the equivalent of 60 days of national consumption, or about 1.92 million tons.

The NFA has so far bought 500,000 tons mostly from Vietnam and Thailand and is set to import an additional volume of up to 805,200 tons.

Duterte said on Wednesday he wants NFA warehouses to be filled “up to the ceiling” with rice.

“I do not care if we have to sell it at a lower price someday if there’s a glut in the market,” he said.

Retail rice prices in the Philippines have risen steadily since the start of the year due to the absence of government-subsidized supply in the market. This has fed inflation, which hit its highest level in at least five years in May.

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S. Korea’s Moon Meets Pompeo, Says World Has Escaped Nuclear Threat

Posted: 13 Jun 2018 09:51 PM PDT

SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-In said on Thursday the world had escaped the threat of war after this week’s Singapore summit, echoing US President Donald Trump’s upbeat assessment of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump and Kim issued a joint statement after their historic meeting that reaffirmed the North’s commitment to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” an end to joint US-South Korean military exercises and gave US guarantees of security to North Korea.

“There have been many analyses on the outcome of the summit but I think what’s most important was that the people of the world, including those in the United States, Japan and Koreans, have all been able to escape the threat of war, nuclear weapons and missiles,” Moon told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ahead of a meeting between the two in Seoul. The summit statement provided no details on when Pyongyang would give up its nuclear weapons program or how the dismantling might be verified.

Skeptics of how much the meeting achieved pointed to the North Korean leadership’s long-held view that nuclear weapons are a bulwark against what it fears are US plans to overthrow it and unite the Korean peninsula.

“I am confident that we took a very good, significant step in Singapore,” Pompeo told Moon on Thursday ahead of a trilateral meeting including Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.

Pompeo insisted after the meeting that Pyongyang was committed to giving up its nuclear arsenal but said it would “be a process, not an easy one."

Kim Jong Un understood getting rid of his nuclear arsenal needed to be done quickly and there would only be relief from stringent UN sanctions on North Korea after its “complete denuclearization,” Pompeo said.

“Everybody Much Safer”

The United States has long insisted on complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization by North Korea but, in the summit statement, North Korea committed only to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” phrasing it has used in the past.

Pompeo said a day earlier he would like to accomplish major nuclear disarmament in North Korea within Trump’s current term.

“Absolutely … you used the term major, major disarmament, something like that? We’re hopeful that we can achieve that in the 2-1/2 years,” he said.

Pompeo, who is charged by Trump with leading follow-on negotiations, bristled at a question about why the words “verifiable” and “irreversible” were not used in the summit joint statement in the context of denuclearization.

“It’s in the statement. You’re just wrong about that … Because complete encompasses verifiable and irreversible. I suppose you could argue semantics, but let me assure you that it’s in the document,” Pompeo said on Wednesday.

Trump returned to the United States on Wednesday and took to Twitter to hail the meeting, the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, as a major win for American security.

“Everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office,” Trump tweeted. “There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!”

Democratic critics in the United States said the agreement was short on detail and the Republican president had made too many concessions to Kim, whose country is under UN sanctions for its nuclear and weapons programs and is widely condemned for human rights abuses.

Maintain the Readiness

Tokyo has reacted with concern at Trump’s plans to cancel military exercises with South Korea, saying such drills are vital for East Asian security.

Two North Korean missiles flew over Japan last year as Pyongyang made rapid advances in its program to develop a missile capable of striking the US mainland with a nuclear warhead.

Tokyo is working on arranging a meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong Un, with one possibility including the premier’s visit to Pyongyang around August, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

A government source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Japanese officials planned to discuss the summit meeting with North Korean officials at an international conference on Northeast Asian security to be held in Mongolia on Thursday and Friday.

Despite Trump and Moon’s assertions about the North Korean nuclear threat being over, a senior US official responsible for studying the North Korean military said the US intelligence assessment of the nuclear and other military threat posed by North Korea to US and allied forces in Asia and the northwest Pacific remained unchanged.

US officials said it was unclear what types of training involving US and South Korean troops might cross into Trump’s now forbidden zone of “war games.” But big, joint US-South Korean exercises appeared off-limits under the new guidance.

“Make no mistake, we are going to maintain the readiness of our forces in South Korea,” said one US official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official acknowledged, however, it was still not certain how that was going to happen.

The United States maintains about 28,500 soldiers in South Korea, which remains in a technical state of war with the North after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

The post S. Korea’s Moon Meets Pompeo, Says World Has Escaped Nuclear Threat appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

In Thai Tourist Spots, a Hidden World of Male Sex Slavery

Posted: 13 Jun 2018 09:14 PM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Young boys walk in pairs late in the evening at Chiang Mai’s popular Tha Phae Gate, sauntering past tourists taking photos of the fort as locals hawk souvenirs.

No one would connect the boys to the older, white men – and a pair of Chinese 40-somethings – seated under a tree, or to the young man with the mobile phone leaning on a parked motorbike.

But for Alezandra Russell, founder of non-profit Urban Light, this scene – which unfolds every evening in one of the country’s most popular tourist stops – sums up everything that is wrong with Thailand’s approach to trafficking and slavery.

“The dialogue in Thailand – and around the world – is focused on women and girls, because the general perception is that boys are big and strong, and that they can take care of themselves,” said Russell, pointing out the deals being done.

The boys, aged from 14 to 24, walk in pairs for greater safety, making eye contact with the men, who then communicate their choices to the man with the mobile phone. Once the deal is done, the boys move to a side alley to wait for their clients.

If no one passes muster, the men head to one of dozens of bars and karaoke lounges that offer boys for sex. The rates range from 2,000 baht ($62) for an hour to 5,000 baht for longer, in a back room or in the client’s hotel, Russell said.

“Why does this not shock and enrage people as much as it does when it’s girls?” said Russell, whose drop-in center is for boys in Chiang Mai’s sex industry.

“They are no less vulnerable and abused than girls who are trafficked into sex work. Yet it is much more hidden, so there’s much less sympathy, and far fewer resources for boys,” she said.

Soapy Massage

Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for children trafficked for sexual exploitation.

Thailand has more than 123,530 sex workers, according to a 2014 UNAIDS report. Of these, at least 40 percent are under 18, and a significant number are boys, according to rights groups.

Children are trafficked into Thailand from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Victims from Bangladesh, Pakistan, North Korea and China also transit through Thailand en route to the United States, western Europe and Russia, activists say.

“We are aware that there are boys also in the sex trade,” said Krittat Uamson, deputy director of the justice ministry’s human trafficking division in Bangkok. “But the majority of sex workers is girls and women, so our main focus is women.”

Globally, as many as 2 million children are sexually exploited annually, according to the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF. A significant number are boys, campaigners say.

Boys in poorer countries are particularly vulnerable, as they are often forced to work to support their families, and end up being lured to popular tourist spots.

Thailand’s sandy beaches, gilded Buddhist temples and popular cuisine drew a record 35 million visitors in 2017, with that number expected to rise to nearly 38 million this year, according to government data.

Although prostitution is illegal, it is tolerated.

Go-go bars, karaoke lounges and parlors offering “soapy massages” – bubble baths that usually end with sex – can be found in most cities and beach towns such as Phuket and Pattaya.

Agents prey on boys at bus stations, or go to villages to recruit them. The boys quickly run up debts with bar owners for clothes, drugs and money sent to their families, forcing them to remain in the bars, Russell said.

Stigma

Violence and abuse are common, as is substance abuse and sexually-transmitted infections including HIV and AIDS, according to a 2013 study on boys in Chiang Mai’s sex industry.

The boys also display self-harming and suicidal tendencies, said Russell, who pawned her engagement and wedding rings to set up Urban Light.

“They are exposed to so much abuse and violence: I have seen boys come in who cannot even sit down. No 15-year-old should go through that,” she said.

“But we shouldn’t focus just on getting boys off the street. We have to involve the families, the communities that are putting them at risk, and talk about child rights, and safe migration,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A 2016 Global Slavery Index, compiled by the Walk Free Foundation, estimates that 425,500 people live in conditions of modern slavery – including sexual slavery – in Thailand.

To clean up the country’s image, the government recently partnered with airlines and charities to warn visitors about trafficking, urging them to report suspected cases.

It also runs vocational training for at-risk young people, and operates 24-hour hotlines, said Krittat.

But most of these efforts are focused on girls and women, leaving boys and young men vulnerable, activists say.

“There is greater stigma around sexual abuse of boys in some cultures, including in Thailand,” said Damian Kean at ECPAT International, a network of non-profits working to end sexual exploitation of children.

“Anecdotal evidence shows it’s under-reported to a far greater degree than sexual abuse of girls. And the offenders are not just Western tourists, but are just as likely to be locals and other Asian men,” he said.

Children worldwide are more likely to be preyed upon by residents of their own homeland than foreign tourists seeking illicit sex, anti-trafficking experts say.

Tuk-tuk

Last year, Urban Light worked with more than 1,000 boys in Chiang Mai, which Russell said was a record.

Poverty drives thousands in rural Thailand and from neighboring countries to the bustling capital of Bangkok, too.

Boys and so-called “ladyboys," or transgender women, are trafficked to the city, lured by promises of jobs in restaurants, then forced into sex work.

There are at least 10,000 ladyboys working in Bangkok’s sex industry, said Celeste McGee, founder of Dton Naam, a charity that focuses on boys and transgender women.

“There is more stigma around transgender women than even homosexual men,” said McGee.

“They are exposed to a lot of violence and abuse from clients, and need different interventions for rehabilitation.”

Urban Light and Dton Naam offer counseling, vocational guidance, funds to complete school, and job opportunities.

In Chiang Mai, many drive tuk-tuks with the help of loans or grants, Russell said.

One of them, who goes by the name Joe, entered the trade when he was 15 years old, and worked for seven years, contracting HIV along the way.

Today, he drives a tuk-tuk, his girlfriend sometimes accompanying him, with an Urban Light sticker that says ‘Boys cannot be baht’ displayed prominently on the vehicle.

“I like this job, and being my own master,” he said. “This makes me feel happy, confident.”

The post In Thai Tourist Spots, a Hidden World of Male Sex Slavery appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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