Tuesday, June 5, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Yangon Govt Submits Plans for New Port, Industrial Zones

Posted: 05 Jun 2018 06:44 AM PDT

YANGON — The Yangon Region government is seeking approval for 11 new industrial zones on the city’s outskirts and a new multipurpose port terminal near the mouth of the Yangon River to promote regional development, create jobs and attract foreign investment.

Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein first revealed plans for the new industrial zones last month on the sidelines of the Yangon Investment Forum 2018 as a way to address unequal development across the region.

On Tuesday, 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 Kun Chan Kone, Kawhmu, Twantay, Thanlyin, Kyauktan, Khayan, Thonegya, Taikgyi, Hmawbi, Hlegu and Htan Tabin townships are to be built on land ranging in size from 750 to 1,871 acre.

It is not clear whether the proposed zones are part of the New Yangon City project, as some of the townships listed to host some of them are in the project area.

"After Parliament's green light, the projects will be submitted to the Union government for further approval," the mayor said in Parliament.

Also on Tuesday, the regional government submitted plans for a 1,053-acre multipurpose terminal with a 2.2 km waterfront in Kawhmu Township, in southern Yangon Region. The new terminal would be used for export and import as the draught of the river in the area was nine meters, deeper than at the nearby Thilawa port.

The new port would also have a liquid bulk terminal for storing oil imports.

In April U Phyo Min Thein said Yangon needed ports closer to the sea — which lies some 90 km from the city — because the existing ones can no longer serve the larger ships now in use.

Parliament has invited lawmakers to discuss the proposals, but a date for the debate has yet to be set.

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1934 Burmese Film Inscribed in UN Heritage List

Posted: 05 Jun 2018 05:35 AM PDT

MANDALAY — A Burmese film from 1934 has been successfully inscribed in the UN’s Memory of the World Register for Asia/Pacific, according to Save Myanmar Film, which works to preserve Myanmar’s film heritage.

"We've received the email that Mya Ga Naing was successfully inscribed…and the certificate will be received tomorrow," Maung Okkar, the group’s project director, said on Monday.

Mya Ga Naing, or The Emerald Jungle, is the oldest Burmese film to be preserved. It was directed by famed Burmese filmmaker Maung Tin Maung and produced by the eminent A1 Film studio.

With a run time of about 97 minutes, it features the adventures and romance of a village girl, Myint Myint, and a young man from Yangon, Chit Shwe.

The submission was presented to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Gwangju, South Korea, on Wednesday.

"U Kyi Shwin, general secretary of the Myanmar National Commission for UNESCO, helped us a lot to submit our presentation in a very short time, there from Gwangju. As the result, Mya Ga Naing has become the first old Burmese film to be inscribed by UNESCO at a regional level," Maung Okkar said.

The team will officially receive the certificate today.

The film started out as a silent movie but had music added around 1954. Dialogue was added in 1970 and it was re-released that year to mark the 50th anniversary of Myanmar cinema. The version inscribed by UNESCO is the 1970 re-release with music and dialogue.

Save Myanmar Film said the original film stock was damaged by dust and scratches but restored with the help of Italy’s Laboratory L'Immagine Ritrovata.

In August 2016, the restored version of Mya Ga Naing was shown at the Locarno International Film Festival, in Switzerland, with English subtitles. The same version was screened again at the Memory International Film Festival in Yangon later that year.

"We struggled to restore this old film and tried for a long time to have it inscribed by UNESCO as our heritage. Thanks to everyone who put all of their effort into this, we achieved it, which recognises the grandeur of the old days of Burmese film," said Maung Okkar.

MEMORY! Cinema, which cooperated with Save Myanmar Film in restoring Mya Ga Naing and submitting it to UNESCO, praised the team on its success.

"This successful UNESCO inscription acknowledges the glorious past of Myanmar cinema and in particular Maung Tin Maung’s and A1’s work. We are proud to have worked on the restoration of this national treasure," the group’s co-founders, Severine Wemaere and Gilles Duval, were quoted as saying in a statement on Tuesday.

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Police Open Probe into Owner of Disputed Ngapali Beach Resort

Posted: 05 Jun 2018 05:27 AM PDT

YANGON – Mingalardon police have accepted a breach-of-trust case filed by a German businessman against his former local business partner, the current owner of Amara Ocean Resort (AOR) on southern Rakhine's scenic Ngapali Beach.

The case was opened under Section (408) of the Penal Code's Section (408), which carries maximum sentence of seven years' imprisonment and a fine.

The township police chief's office confirmed by phone on Monday that police are investigating the case and directed The Irrawaddy to call the township police station for details. Philipp Quack, a German national who is acting as plaintiff on behalf of his boss Dr. Jens Ehrhardt, chief executive officer (CEO) of Germany-based DJE Kapital group, filed an initial complaint to Myoma Mingalardon police station in April. Police received a First Information Report (FIR) from the investor at that time.

In 2009, Daw Kalayar Moe and her German husband Gerald Schreiber (they divorced in 2012) launched a project worth millions of dollars to develop a resort on a profit-sharing basis with German investor Eva Feltan on a 17-acre plot of land on Ngapali Beach. The resort is situated in Gaw village, a few miles from Thandwe Airport. Feltan held a 50-percent stake, with Daw Kalayar Moe and Schreiber holding 25 percent each. The three parties agreed to register the company under Daw Kalayar Moe's name, as foreign investment was highly discouraged at that time, when Myanmar was still under military rule.

Two years later, Feltan sold her 50 percent stake to Ehrhardt. According to Schreiber, Ehrhardt invested a total of USD4.32 million in the resort's construction; the money was transferred to the couple's joint account in a Singapore bank. Schreiber now accuses his ex-wife of cheating Ehrhardt of at least USD1 million by providing fabricated financial information about the project.

After Daw Kalayar Moe officially divorced Schreiber in Germany in 2012, she refused to sell her stake or buy out her co-investors. As part of the divorce proceedings she was ordered to declare her assets but failed to do so. In a separate suit brought by Ehrhardt she was fined 15,000 euros and ordered to repay USD437,500 to DJE Group. She has not done so. In May 2018, a Munich court also ordered her unconditional arrest, applicable throughout the EU, for failing to provide information on the resort's tourist booking numbers and annual income from 2012 t0 2017.

It is unclear whether Daw Kalayar Moe has appealed the fine. She could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Quack said he was summoned by police last Friday to show that he had a valid visa and to provide witnesses as well as original documents relating to the AOR resort. He said he has a list of seven to 10 witnesses willing to testify on his behalf at the police station. They are mostly former employees of the resort, including both Myanmar nationals and foreigners.

"This is the very initial stage of the case," he said.

According to lawyer U Nay Win, the case first needs approval from district police, and later from the Attorney General's Office, before it can proceed to the court. During the investigation period, police can detain the suspect, as Section (408) of the Penal Code stipulates that bail cannot be granted in such cases.

Over the years, Ehrhardt has sought help from both the former government, led by then President U Thein Sein's Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), as well as current National League for Democracy (NLD)-led administration, but without success. In early May, Myanmar President's Office Deputy Minister U Min Thu replied to Schreiber via a brief statement sent to the German Embassy in Yangon. According to the statement, the case is under scrutiny, and the Ministry of Planning and Finance and the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism have been instructed to take "proper action" based on an investigation by the anti-money laundering agency, which wrapped up on March 5. The findings of the probe have not been made public.

The AOR's hotel license was revoked by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism in May 2017 but received a temporary operating license for 2018 after senior NLD official U Win Htein spent a couple of days there.

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Many Challenges Await, New Finance Minister Says

Posted: 05 Jun 2018 05:12 AM PDT

YANGON — Myanmar's new Planning and Finance Minister U Soe Win said on Tuesday that many challenges await, while vowing to the public that he would work hard to improve economic development.

As he was sworn in at the Union Parliament, the 80-year-old minister said that despite the fact that the government only has two and a half years remaining in its term, a lot of work could be done in that time.

"There are many challenges and those can't be underestimated," the minister told the media at Parliament.

He said that he would focus on coordination between departments and ministries to enhance performance, as his ministry has not earned public approval in the first half of the government's term.

U Soe Win has more than 30 years of professional experience in international banking with the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and has been an adviser to Myanmar's taxation, investment law and banking sectors.

The former Planning and Finance Minister U Kyaw Win resigned from his post after he was investigated for alleged bribery by the government's Anti-Corruption Commission.

U Soe Win, a senior member of the National League for Democracy (NLD)'s Central Economic Committee, was appointed after the accused minister's resignation and became the oldest minister in the National League for Democracy government.

The minister said on Tuesday, "I would like to urge [the public] to be patient and wait and see as we will try our best."

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Monk Sued for Assault Sues Victim’s Family for Insulting Religion

Posted: 05 Jun 2018 04:55 AM PDT

MANDALAY/YANGON — A Buddhist monk being sued for the assault of a 14-year-old boy in Mandalay Region has admitted to beating the child but countersued the boy’s family for insulting religion.

The father of the boy sued the monk, U Thu Siri Ya, for beating his son, Wai Phyo Naing, at a monastery in Madaya Township in April under Article 325 of the Penal Code, which covers causing voluntary grievous harm.

A township court held its first hearing in the case on Thursday, taking testimony from the boy and two of his aunts, Judge U Win Myint Soe told The Irrawaddy later that day.

He said U Thu Siri Ya also filed suit against the aunts, along with four other relatives due to testify on June 14, for insulting religion under Article 294. Judge U Win Myint Soe said any lawsuit against the boy should be filed with the juvenile courts.

Contacted on Thursday after the hearing, U Thu Siri Ya said he beat the boy to teach him to behave and that he was not familiar with human rights principles. But if he broke the law, he said, he would accept the consequences.

The monk also claimed that two women from the boy’s family came to the monastery where he assaulted Wai Phyo Naing and threatened to beat him.

Wai Phyo Naing’s mother, Daw San Noi, said she was surprised by the monk’s countersuit.

"He beat to kill my son, yet he is accusing us to punish us. My mind can’t bear it," she said.

The attack occurred after Wai Phyo Naing entered the monastery grounds to collect mangos with a friend. Teasing his friend he said his words were like those "from an angel that came from the mouth of a dog," an old Burmese saying for bad people who say nice things. Wai Phyo Naing’s friend then complained to the monk.

Video footage widely shared on Facebook shows U Thu Siri Ya beating Wai Phyo Naing for using bad words at a monastery and has drawn heavy rebuke of the monk.

The family sued U Thu Siri Ya in late April, soon after the assault. But the case has been delayed by rules requiring the prosecutor to seek approval to sue a monk from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Only then could police bring the monk to court.

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President Calls for Nationwide Revamp of Waste-Management Practices

Posted: 05 Jun 2018 04:45 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — President U Win Myint has called for a review and modernization of Myanmar's waste-management laws, rules and procedures.

Speaking at an event to commemorate World Environment Day held in the capital on Tuesday, the president acknowledged that the country's waste-management system has shortcomings.

"We have to reduce the use of plastic bags and encourage recycling," he said, adding that new policies must be adopted to prevent littering.

In 2015, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the State Counselor and leader of the ruling National League for Democracy, attempted to set an example by picking up garbage in her constituency, Yangon's Kawhmu Township, after the party won the general election of that year.

She ordered party members, including newly elected lawmakers, to start picking up trash in their constituencies nationwide.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi apparently wanted to use her popularity with the people to persuade them to drop the habit of littering. However, her cleanup campaign has not had a significant impact so far.

The president said Myanmar should take its cue from successful waste-management systems applied in other countries, and adopt a system that is appropriate to its resources. He added that the waste problem has grown as the population and industrial development have increased.

He encouraged small and medium-sized enterprises to use waste materials when making new products.

The Ministry of Resources and Environmental Conservation has drafted a national-level waste management strategy and work plan (2017-2030), and will submit it to the government, according to Environmental Conservation Department director-general U Hla Maung Thein.

The strategy focuses on the "3Rs" (reduce, reuse and recycle) to improve waste collection systems, apply environmentally friendly approaches to the treatment of hazardous and industrial waste, secure funds for waste management, raise public awareness, and provide capacity-building training.

Ma Thinzar Aye of Clean Yangon, a civil society conducting monthly cleanup campaigns in the commercial capital, said individual citizens should reduce their plastic use and personal garbage output.

"In the past we used leaves to pack meat and fish [sold in markets]. How can we try to reintroduce the use of leaves [to replace plastic bags]? We can dissuade sellers from using plastic bags," she said.

"This calls for cooperation between civil society, the public and government departments. And the government should also adopt the necessary policies," Ma Thinzar Aye added.

Myanmar has signed a number of international agreements on climate change including the UN Climate Change Convention, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the UN Biodiversity Convention.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Ministry Announces Plan to Close IDP Camps in 4 States

Posted: 05 Jun 2018 04:19 AM PDT

YANGON — The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement has announced a plan to close camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in four states.

"If camps are open for too long, this may hinder the social and educational development of those staying at camps as well as their livelihoods. Our reason is that simple," Union minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement Dr. Win Myat Aye told The Irrawaddy.

The ministry is designing a national strategic plan to close IDP camps in Rakhine, Kachin, Shan and Karen states where more than 160,000 IDPs are taking shelter. It will start closing those camps after the national strategic plan is adopted.

The committee to assist IDPs under the Central Committee for Implementation of Peace and Development in Rakhine State has been assisting with resettling IDPs in Rakhine State since May 2016, according to the minister.

"We won't close all of the camps once and for all. We'll try to close the camps in Rakhine State that have been opened since 2012. But for camps in Kachin, Shan and Karen states, we will start the resettlement when stability is restored and safety can be guaranteed for local people," said the minister.

The ministry has also considered the livelihoods of IDPs beyond the closure of camps, he said. The strategic plan will include vocational training for them and creating job opportunities so that they can earn a livelihood.

The ministry announced the plan on Saturday during a workshop with UN delegates. The Union minister lamented the plight of those in IDP camps – relying on food supplies, without any livelihood, and with limited access to healthcare and legal protections.

Meanwhile, children have also lost access to education and women are vulnerable to sexual abuse and trafficking, he said.

The strategy will be devised depending on the results of the workshop and it will not take long to formulate it, the minister added.

However, local civil society organizations providing humanitarian assistance in Kachin, Shan and Karen states were not invited to the workshop.

The Joint Strategy Team (JST), a network of nine civil society organizations helping IDPs in Kachin and northern Shan State, did not even know about the workshop.

"We didn't know about it. Later we saw reports of it on social media," said Gam Sha Awng of JST.

The government must consult with all stakeholders to ensure the safe and dignified return of IDPs in Kachin and northern Shan State where clashes are ongoing, he said.

According to a number of camp organizers in Kachin and northern Shan State interviewed by The Irrawaddy, IDPs want to get back their homes and farmland, and they want a guarantee from the government that they will not need to flee again because of renewed clashes.

There are more than 100,000 IDPs in Kachin and northern Shan State, and the Kachin Baptist Convention, after consulting with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, made a list of IDPs for their return to homes in relatively stable areas in 2017. But the plan was aborted as the Tatmadaw, or Myanmar Army, did not agree.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Author Champions Ex-President’s Legacy, Glosses over Challenges

Posted: 05 Jun 2018 03:00 AM PDT

YANGON — Long before their humiliating defeat in the 2015 election, a crack in the then ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) leadership had been an open secret.

To most of the senior membership's embarrassment, their chairman cum Lower House Speaker was too close to the country's main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The Parliament he chaired complained that most of the bills and proposals submitted came from the USDP government led by U Thein Sein. In the end, two months before the election, the party chairman and his followers were purged by the president, who claimed they were manipulative of party affairs. However, they made a comeback after the election.

But this time, they were with the NLD.

So furious over their rejection of the party, a cabinet member of Myanmar's former President U Thein Sein called those who now hold high-ranking positions in the NLD government "traitors, turncoats and foxes."

In his book "Myanmar's Transition & U Thein Sein: An Insider's Account," U Soe Thane, one the confidants of the former president and ex-President's Office minister, writes that some top-level USDP party leaders with more than 40 years of military service surrendered to the opposition NLD, which was much more likely to win the 2015 election.

"As a matter of fact, they were traitors, becoming turncoats although they were saying that cooperation was necessary for the sake of country and countrymen," writes the author, adding that "they were excellent pretenders and could be likened to foxes….they were, in fact, great self-protectionists."

But the author did not mention whom he referred to.

"You will see (in the book) some factual details without mentioning the names of the persons involved. As the writer of the book, if I think their names should be told, I do. If I think it's unnecessary, I leave them out," said U Soe Thane, during the launch of the Myanmar language version of the book on Saturday in Yangon. The English version of the book also launched in Singapore late last year.

"I have strong evidence for what I have written," he added.

Even though the former commander-in-chief of the navy doesn't mention the names of the turncoats, some are no longer secret in Myanmar today.

Currently, the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy has appointed U Aung Ko and U Thein Swe (both senior USDP officials) as Union ministers. U Shwe Mann, a former USDP chairman purged by U Thein Sein and  Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's close ally, is now the chairman of the parliamentary advisory Special Cases Assessment Commission. All of them had senior military backgrounds.

In the book, the author, who is also a USDP senior member and loyal supporter of U Thein Sein, says tension between U Thein Sein's government and the U Shwe Mann-led USDP had mounted due to U Shwe Mann's personal grudge against the former president. The story goes back to 2011 when the previous military regime that had run the country for more than 22 years hand-picked U Thein Sein (a former general) to lead the country's transition from military to quasi-civilian rule (the majority of the cabinet was ex-military officials).

U Soe Thane said in the book that U Shwe Mann was widely tipped for the presidency at the time and he himself believed undoubtedly that he would hold the country's top job. But it turned out that U Thein Sein became the president and U Shwe Mann the Speaker of Lower House and USDP chairman.

"I didn't know who made this decision. If one considers logically that the decision for nominating the president was not up to U Thein Sein, grudges should not be held against him. From that time on, U Shwe Mann and his backers become somewhat irrational and their actions seemed to be aimed more at competing for power against U Thein Sein," he writes.

Apart from discussing the power struggle, including two unsuccessful attempts to impeach the president through Parliament, the book is mainly about U Thein Sein's five-year tenure as president, as he tried to reintroduce democratic norms to the country, which had been under military dictatorship since 1962.

But readers should not be misled by the book's subtitle "An Insider's Account." Rather than providing never-known-before information about the president's term, the memoir is more of a promotional piece for the former general turned president whom the author admits in the preface is a "president he admires very much."

During his five-year term, the ex-general was internationally applauded as a "reformist" for his reintroduction of democratic norms to the country. He invited the country's ethnic armed groups that had been warring against the central government for federalism for peace talks. Myanmar was no longer isolated to the outside world as it was before. Former US President Barack Obama visited the country twice. U Soe Thane dutifully details all of these events, including the names of dignitaries U Thein Sein met on overseas trips and some of his speeches in their entirety. For this reason, the book could be useful to those interested in Myanmar affairs during that time.

However, the author fails to provide an 'insider's account' on some challenging issues such as why the U Thein Sein's administration was unable to contain racial and religious violence that erupted at least seven times across the country in 2012-13. When it comes to the suspension of the controversial Myitsone Dam project, the author just says that China was unhappy with the decision and that U Thein Sein made a difficult choice. If you pick up the book to learn about why the government didn't take the rise of ultranationalism and nationalist groups like Ma Ba Tha seriously, you are wasting your time. Curious about the Presidential Security Law that was hastily proposed by U Thein Sein's administration before the end of his term to protect the former head of state from any prosecution for his actions during his term? Forget about it.

U Soe Thane said the message of the book was how to leash political greed and retreat from politics well. In the epilogue, he says the most fearful power is political power, echoing the 19th-century British historian Lord Acton's quote: Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

"Politicians should be mindful not to be too ambitious," the author warns, probably a reminder to U Shwe Mann and his supporters whom he labels "foxes, turncoats and traitors."

But he seems to overlook something. Nearly a month after the election, U Thein Sein received Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to congratulate her electoral victory. U Soe Thane writes: "When she asked U Thein Sein to help her with the new government, he told her to be independent, saying that he has his own work for his party to win in the next election."

Hopefully, the former president is not too ambitious, as his staunch defender warns against.

The post Author Champions Ex-President's Legacy, Glosses over Challenges appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dead Whale Spotlights Thailand’s Losing Battle Against Plastic

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 11:20 PM PDT

BANGKOK — A pilot whale that died after ingesting rubbish has highlighted Thailand’s losing battle against plastic, said conservationists who called for urgent measures to cut back on pollution that also worsens urban flooding.

Thailand remains one of the world’s worst polluters, with government initiatives to convince people to use less plastic largely failing, they said.

The whale was discovered in a canal in the southern province of Songkhla, and veterinarians and volunteers tried to save it for five days.

The whale spit out five plastic bags on Friday and later died, the Marine and Coastal Resources Department said on its website at the weekend. An autopsy found another 80 bags and other plastic items weighing 8 kg in its stomach.

“We use way too much plastic. Reducing our use of plastic, particularly single-use bags, is the first and biggest step we can take,” said marine biologist Thon Thamrongnawasawat.

From street vendors selling satay to shop clerks putting purchases into multiple bags, Thais use a huge amount of plastic.

Authorities have launched campaigns in recent years to try to encourage people to use fewer bags, and to introduce reusable ones, but these have largely failed, campaigners say.

“Without specific goals for reducing plastic consumption and more effective waste management, people do not know what to do, even if they want to do more,” said Tara Buakamsri, Thailand country director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has declared improved waste management a national priority, and government agencies are evaluating ways to reduce consumption, an official said.

“We have a goal to reduce plastic waste by adjusting policies and practices, from their beginning in the production line, then on to consumers’ hands and on to waste management at the end,” said Wijarn Simachaya at the Environment Ministry.

Globally, 8 million tons of plastic — bottles, packaging and other waste — are dumped into the ocean every year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain, the United Nations Environment Program said in December.

Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam dump more plastic into the oceans than the rest of the world combined, according to Ocean Conservancy, a Washington-based non-profit.

Countries including the UK and India are banning straws and single-use bags, and forcing supermarkets to impose levies on plastic bags. Kenya last year enacted the world’s toughest law against plastic bags.

At least 300 marine animals including pilot whales, sea turtles and dolphins, perish each year in Thai waters after ingesting plastic, according to Thon, the marine biologist.

Besides killing marine life, plastic waste clogs waterways, and has been blamed for deadly floods in cities such as Mumbai and Manila.

“But people haven’t really cared to change their behavior despite being aware of the damage,” Thon told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Perhaps this [whale’s death] will make people care more.”

Greenpeace’s Tara urged the government to quickly enact regulations.

“We are facing a serious crisis,” he said. “We need to take action now.”

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Cambodia to Monitor Online News Ahead of July Election

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 10:23 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia will monitor and control online news content intended to cause “instability," an official notice said on Monday, the government’s latest move to control information ahead of a general election in July.

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party and its allies have cracked down on perceived government critics, including independent media, human rights advocates and opposition lawmakers, in the run-up to the July 29 vote.

Staff from three government ministries would aim to “control news content, writing, audio, pictures, videos, and in other forms which have intention to cause instability,” the government said in its notice.

It also required Internet service providers to have software and equipment to filter or block websites, accounts or social media pages that “broadcast in violation of the law."

Lao Mong Hay, a political analyst based in Cambodia, said the articles in the notice were “loosely termed” and capable of being interpreted liberally to charge authors.

“This inter-ministerial order will further severely restrict our right to freedom of expression,” he added.

The government said it aimed to control content “which leads to the destruction of national defense, security and relationships with other countries, public order, discrimination and culture, and national tradition."

Cambodia has long had one of Southeast Asia’s most open media environments, but pressure on critical media has been growing ahead of the general election.

The sale of the Phnom Penh Post newspaper last month was criticized by one international rights group as a “disaster” for media freedom in the country.

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Ban Plastic Bags? UN Seeks to Cut Pollution as Recycling Falls Short

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 10:21 PM PDT

OSLO — Less than a 10th of all the plastic ever made has been recycled, and governments should consider banning or taxing single-use bags or food containers to stem a tide of pollution, a UN report said on Tuesday, UN World Environment Day.

The study, billed as the most comprehensive review of government action to curb single-use plastics, said up to 5 trillion plastic bags were used worldwide each year. Spread out side-by-side, they would cover an area twice the size of France.

“The scourge of plastic has reached every corner of the Earth,” Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment, wrote in the report, compiled with the Indian government and launched along with a slogan: “If you can’t reuse it, refuse it.”

“Only 9 percent of the 9 billion tons of plastic the world has ever produced has been recycled,” the report said. “Most ends up in landfills, dumps or in the environment.”

China is the biggest source of plastic packaging waste, ahead of the European Union and the United States. Per capita, however, the United States produces most, ahead of Japan and the EU.

But there are signs of action to limit plastic pollution, which harms life in the oceans, contaminates soils and releases toxic chemicals when burned.

“Targeted levies and bans — where properly planned and enforced — have been among the most effective strategies to limit overuse of disposable plastic products,” the report said.

Elisa Tonda, who leads UN Environment’s Sustainable Lifestyle program, said more than 60 countries had bans or charges on single-use plastics such as bags or polystyrene containers.

Thirty percent of countries found sharp drops in plastic bag consumption in the first year after imposing restrictions, while 20 percent saw little or no change. But in half the cases, governments failed to gauge the effects of restrictions, the report said.

Among its recommendations, the report called for better sorting of waste and recycling, economic incentives to promote eco-friendly alternatives to plastics, education of consumers and promotion of reusable products.

The report also found other cultural side-effects.

In South Africa, plastic litter is jokingly referred to as “the new national flower.” In Ireland, windblown plastic bags caught in trees are referred to as “witch’s knickers.”

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Defense Says Myanmar Police Withheld Evidence from Reuters Reporters’ Phones

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 10:11 PM PDT

YANGON — Data that could support the defense of two Reuters reporters accused of possessing secret documents in Myanmar was missing from police phone evidence submitted to a court by prosecutors, their lawyers said on Monday.

Defense lawyer Than Zaw Aung said some key files, including communications records from the reporters’ phones before their arrests on Dec. 12, were not included in a report of the data police say they found on the devices that was accepted as evidence by the court last month.

He requested the court to direct the prosecution to submit further details, arguing the additional files would help reveal “truth and justice."

Judge Ye Lwin rejected the defense request, saying further details were not necessary because a police IT expert has previously demonstrated how the files were extracted “systematically” from the reporters’ phones.

In what has become a landmark press freedom case, the court in Yangon has been holding hearings since January to decide whether Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, will be charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung told the court the phones’ call logs were not relevant to the documents that police say they found on the devices. He did not elaborate. Those documents included allegedly confidential government letters and plans for the development of an island off Myanmar’s west coast for tourism.

A second defense lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, told Reuters after Monday’s proceedings that the defense believed “evidence which is beneficial to the defense has not been fully disclosed by the prosecution."

Kyaw Min Aung declined to comment.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay was not immediately available for comment. Previously, he has declined to discuss details of the proceedings or the police investigation, saying Myanmar’s courts were independent and the case would be conducted according to the law.

The next hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday.

Phone Records

At the time of their arrest, the reporters had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in a village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The killings took place during a military crackdown that United Nations agencies say sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

The reporters have told relatives they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some rolled up papers at a restaurant in northern Yangon by two policemen they had not met before, having been invited to meet the officers for dinner.

Whether Wa Lone was called by police to set up a meeting or rang them himself in the hours before the reporters were arrested has been a contested point at previous hearings.

Defense lawyers have previously said phone records show one of the police officers, Naing Lin, called Wa Lone three times on the day the pair were arrested.

Prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung told the court on Monday that Naing Lin had insisted during his testimony that he did not call Wa Lone on Dec. 12, but that the reporter had called him to initiate a meeting. “It’s the defense’s responsibility to prove otherwise,” he said.

Last month, Police Captain Moe Yan Naing testified that a senior officer had ordered Naing Lin to arrange a meeting with Wa Lone and give him secret documents on to “trap” the reporter. Naing Lin denied that when he testified last month.

After his court appearance, Moe Yan Naing was sentenced to a year in jail for violating police discipline and his family was evicted from police housing. Police have said the eviction and his sentencing were not related to his testimony.

The post Defense Says Myanmar Police Withheld Evidence from Reuters Reporters' Phones appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 10:10 PM PDT

General Aung San Shield

Yadanarbon FC and Sagaing United FC meet in the knockout stage of the General Aung San Shield competition.

June 6, 3:30 p.m. Padonmar Stadium.

 Film Concert 'Mya Ga Naing'

Mya Ga Naing (Emerald Jungle), a classic Myanmar silent movie, will be screened to the accompaniment of traditional Myanmar instruments and jazz music.

June 12 and 13, 6:30 p.m. Goethe Villa. Free Admission.

Rock & Roll Night

A dinner buffet with free flow drinks plus rock and roll music.

June 8, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Vintage Luxury Yacht Hotel, Botahtaung Jetty. Tel: 09-250846974, 09-258819933 for reservations. 30,000 kyats per person.

The Re-Vibrating Goethe Villa

The renovated Goethe Villa will be open and turned into a stage for a unique show of sound, light and movement.

June 8, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Goethe Villa.

Study Overseas and Career Fair

Opportunities for studying and working in Singapore will be presented at this event.

June 10, 10 a.m. Myanmar Plaza. Registration at Tel: 01-536260, 09-254711898.

Food & Hotel Myanmar 2018

Myanmar's largest international food and hospitality trade event will feature products from all over the world plus the Myanmar Culinary Arts Competition and more.

June 6-8, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Myanmar Event Park (Mindama).

Japanese Art Style Drink & Draw

A night of wine and painting inspired by traditional Japanese art.

June 6, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Father's Office, Bo Aung Kyaw Street. Entry fee is 20,000 kyats including wine and snacks.

Colors of Friendship

This art exhibition depicts the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Myanmar and Thailand.

June 7-14, National Museum.

A Beast, a God and a Line

In this exhibition, artists investigate traces of colonial domination in South and Southeast Asia, as well as the different ramifications of that hegemony today, when cultural and environmental degradation continues to unravel landscapes, communities, and worlds.

June 6-19, Pyinsa Rasa Art Space, Secretariat.

Rainy Season Art Exhibition

This exhibition features works of renowned artists collected by OK Art Gallery.

June 2-10, OK Art Gallery, Aung San Stadium (North Wing)

The post Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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