Friday, June 8, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Another Two Suspects in Custody Over Malaysian Drug Haul

Posted: 08 Jun 2018 09:10 AM PDT

YANGON – Police last week detained two people in connection with last month's record drug haul in Malaysia, which was believed to have been shipped from Myanmar, customs agents told The Irrawaddy.

The detention by anti-narcotics police of a married couple — one of them the owner of the Nice Guy Clearance Service Agency in Yangon and the other the director of the U Kaung Trading Company — occurred prior to Tuesday's arrest in Mandalay Division of Haj Yassin (also known as Maung Maung) in connection with the case, they said.

The customs agents, who are close to Nice Guy Clearance Service Agency, told The Irrawaddy the couple is being held for questioning in Yangon. According to a police statement issued Wednesday, Seik Kan Myo Ma police station on June 2 opened a case against the suspects on multiple charges that carry unlimited imprisonment terms or the death penalty. This was followed by the apprehension of Haj Yassin in Mandalay.

The police statement named the companies with which the couple is involved but not the individual suspects. It was thanks to information they supplied that anti-narcotics police were able to arrest Haj Yassin at a checkpoint on the Pyin Oo Lwin-Mandalay Highway on Tuesday and transfer him to Yangon. On the same day, police remanded Haj Yassin and sent him to a mental hospital.

The Irrawaddy has learned that Nice Guy Clearance Agency is owned by U Min Naing, and that his wife, Daw Thida Moe, serves as director of U Kaung Trading Company, which also provides trading firms with customs and port document processing services. U Kaung Trading Company was registered at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) in 2012 with U Aung Zay Yar Oo and U Thar Oo named as inactive directors. The DICA records show the company's business license expired in 2013. U Aung Soe Moe is believed to be acting as managing director and Daw Thida Moe as director of the company.

Based on DICA's records and a copy of Daw Thida Moe's business card seen by The Irrawaddy, two reporters from The Irrawaddy on Thursday visited U Kaung Trading Company located in Kyauktada (lower block) in an effort to confirm the arrests. About five to seven employees were seen working on documents, many in manila files clearly marked "U Kaung Trading" in Burmese. There were no banners or other signage on the exterior of the building identifying the premises as housing the offices of U Kaung Trading or Nice Guy Purified Water (a firm related to Nice Guy Clearance Agency) in front of the building or apartment.

Some customs agents working at the office told The Irrawaddy that their boss Daw Thida Moe had not been to the office this week, but declined to provide further details. Attempts to call two mobile phone numbers for Daw Thida Moe reached devices that were switched off. Pictures uploaded by individuals named U Min Naing and Daw Thida Moe on Facebook indicate that the latter also acts as the owner of the Nice Guy purified drinking water factory in Hlegu Township.

A Ministry of Home Affairs statement did not mention customs agent U Min Naing, his wife Daw Thida Moe or U Kaung Trading Managing Director U Aung Soe Moe by name. They simply referred to "accomplices" of Haj Yassin, adding that they are still investigating the suspected drug trafficking ring.

Workers at the Nice Guy factory also said that their boss had not shown up for several days. Factory manager Myo Zar Ni said, "I have nothing to say about my boss." He strongly denied a statement by police alleging that Haj Yassin had stored a large quantity of drugs at the factory and transported them in a Kia Bongo vehicle to a warehouse in lower Pazundaung. According to the manager, the Nice Guy factory had been open for a few years, and he had been working there for about four months.

According to the police report, suspected drug dealer Haj Yassin, 44, a resident of Tarmwe's Nat Mauk quarter, contacted U Kaung Trading about exporting goods in container Log No. FSCU 9911521, in which nearly 1.2 tons of illegal narcotics were loaded, disguised as packages of tea. Malaysian police estimated the narcotics had a street value of USD18 million, making it the largest seizure in the country's history. It is unclear whether the narcotics were packed into the tea packages at the Nice Guy factory or at the lower Pazundaung facility.

Kaung Trading Company, the Nice Guy Customs Clearance agency and the Nice Guy factory are owned by U Min Naing's family. It is unclear how or why Haj Yassin, a Muslim whose family's origins lie in northern Rakhine State, came to be storing tons of illegal drugs in a factory owned by a Yangon Buddhist family like that of U Min Naing.

Myanmar Army clearance operations in response to deadly Rohingya insurgent attacks in August 2017 have caused nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. The UN Security Council has described the resulting mass devastation as "ethnic cleansing" and urged Myanmar authorities to allow a credible investigation into alleged rights violations in Rakhine.

According to a post on Facebook by social influencer Aung Naing Htwe, who has at least 190,000 followers, a suspect named Aung Zaw Win, 55, who owns the SHINE construction company and was arrested at Yangon International Airport in March for allegedly funding the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (a Rohingya Muslim insurgent group), has close ties with Haj Yassin. Aung Zaw Win is currently detained at Buthidaung Prison awaiting trial. He secured a spot on the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)'s ticket in the 2010 election for Maungdaw Township but resigned from the party after then-president Thein Sein revoked Rohingyas' "white cards", temporary election documents which would have allowed them to vote in the election in that year.

Police have not elaborated on the background of Haj Yassin, or whether he is genuinely involved in either the trading or construction businesses.

The Irrawaddy found two Facebook accounts with the name Haj Yassin, one with a profile picture showing a house and one with a profile showing a car. The account with the car as a profile picture has around 1,020 "friends", while the other one has only 180. Two Facebook account holders named U Min Naing and Haj Yassin are friends on Facebook and have commented on each other's pages periodically since 2015. Some netizens strongly criticized the omission of the suspects' names from the police statement and questioned how tons of drugs could be stored at a drinking water factory and then successfully clear X-ray checks and other shipping procedures. The container was loaded on the Pathein Star vessel, which entered Myanmar Industrial Port (MIP) during the Myanmar Water Festival period. It departed on April 16 and arrived at Klang Multi-Terminal, a port in Selangor, Malaysia on April 19.

The anti-narcotics police officer who is handling the operation could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The post Another Two Suspects in Custody Over Malaysian Drug Haul appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Hot Local Indie Bands Bring Rare Energy to Yangon’s Nightlife

Posted: 08 Jun 2018 08:33 AM PDT

The live music scene in Yangon is small, with most of the events taking place in bars featuring indie, metal, punk and hip-hop acts.

A few months ago, a great local indie band, The Peacists, released their first album, a collaboration with another band called General Tiger Gun.

I loved the album and when I heard The Peacists and two other up-and-coming indie bands, The Reasonabilists and Mooni, would perform at the 7th Joint Bar, I decided I had to be there, front and center to catch all their songs.

The energetic The Peacists perform to the crowd. /Htet Wai

The gig happened last night, with the bands kicking off their performance at around 8pm, an hour after the scheduled start time of 7pm.

We had arrived at the bar before 7pm along with a small crowd to catch the bands doing their sound checks and happily waited for the chance to lose ourselves in this funky indie music.

The vocalist from The Peacists provides a forceful rendition of of the group's popular songs /Htet Wai

7th Joint Bar has two floors with the bands playing on the ground floor. There were a few tables and room for about 20 to 50 people to stand, more or less face-to-face with the band. We took the nearest table as the band finished their set-up.

The gig was opened by The Peacists, who set the tone for an energetic show and quickly got the crowd going. The band has three members while the vocalist from The Reasonabilists also joined in as a guest guitarist.

They performed their popular songs from their album and the bar came alive with The Peacists' melodic tunes about love, earth and people.

The Reasonabilists get their turn to shine. /Htet Wai

Getting to stand right in front of the band and feeding off their energy was a great experience.

The drumbeat and the bass had everybody shaking their heads and legs along with the music. The guitarist was jumping around with his guitar while the vocalist was busy with his microphone and a guitar as well.

The band performed a total of seven songs — all original. The crowd wanted more; but the band couldn't continue, undermined by a broken guitar string.

The Reasonabilists then stepped in to keep the crowd happy.

The Reasonabilists' lead singer cuts loose. /Htet Wai

The vocalist has an energetic and sweet voice while he also plays the guitar as well. The band started with their own song, an English-language song called "Flowerbed", while their set of six more songs included covers of classics such as "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers and "With or Without You" by U2.

The crowd roared their appreciation and sang along. The vocalist showed great control of his voice so as not to destroy the famous songs he was covering.

The Rreasonabilists style was a bit different from that of the Peacists but the crowd loved it and they ended their set gracefully.

The crowd lets down its hair. /Htet Wai

When Mooni took to the stage, the crowd had thinned. Maybe because the lead vocalist is a foreign girl and it was getting late, and people were thinking about having to get up and go to work the next morning.

But our group stayed until the end, even though we didn't know the band's songs. But they performed well, playing about seven songs to the small remaining crowd.

The gig finished around 11 pm but the bar stayed open, playing international indie and rock songs on its sound system. So, instead of a typical boring Thursday night in Yangon we had a funky night of lively indie music. People were still chilling at the bar, while we left with our great new memories.

The post Hot Local Indie Bands Bring Rare Energy to Yangon's Nightlife appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Gov’t Holds Rare Top-Level Security Meeting on Rakhine State

Posted: 08 Jun 2018 07:01 AM PDT

YANGON — Key National Defense and Security Council members including the president, state counselor, Army chief and other senior Myanmar officials met at the Presidential Palace in Naypyitaw on Friday to discuss the latest developments in restive Rakhine State.

The high-level meeting including members of the NDSC was the first since President U Win Myint took office in late March, and only the second since the National League for Democracy-led government took power more than two years ago.

The council comprises President U Win Myint, Foreign Affairs Minister and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar Army Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's two vice presidents, the speakers of the upper and lower houses of the Union Parliament, the deputy military chief and the ministers of home affairs, defense and border affairs.

The officials discussed the government's signing of a memorandum of understanding with UN agencies on the return of refugees from Bangladesh, the formation of an investigation commission, the latest Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore, and border security problems, according to the President's Office.

The meeting was joined by the ministers of the State Counselor's Office and international cooperation, and the deputy minister for the President's Office.

Executive director Ko Ye of the Tagaung Institute of Political Studies said the government and the military appeared to be locked in a struggle over Rakhine State, with the two sides taking different views on the issue.

"I think the meeting is also being held to inform the military about the [government's] recent signing of an MOU regarding the refugee repatriation process, and the inclusion of an international member in its new commission of enquiry," he said.

After a recent visit to Myanmar by a UN Security Council team, the council urged that transparent investigations be conducted into accusations of violence against Rohingya Muslims, warning that failure to do so could lead to military officials being referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The President's Office announced plans on May 31 to establish a three-member independent commission of enquiry to investigate "violations of human rights and related issues" that occurred during violence that engulfed northern Rakhine after Rohingya militants attacked security posts there in late August. It said the body will consist of three people including an international member and be assisted by local and international legal and technical experts.

On Wednesday, the country's main opposition and former ruling party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), submitted an urgent proposal to the Lower House imploring the government to exclude foreigners from the commission.

Parliament approved discussion of the USDP's proposal and had scheduled debate for Friday. However, it was announced on Thursday that sessions of the Upper House and Lower House scheduled for Friday had been canceled.

USDP spokesperson Dr. Nanda Hla Myint alleged that the establishment of the commission was intended by the government to put the military as well as the country in danger.

The USDP released a statement opposing the commission.

The post Gov't Holds Rare Top-Level Security Meeting on Rakhine State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bagan Civil Group Demands Action Over Ancient Temples On Hotel Grounds

Posted: 08 Jun 2018 05:32 AM PDT

Mandalay – Locals from Bagan, the archaeological heart of Myanmar, urged the government on Thursday to declare safe and free zones for ancient pagodas and temples located inside hotel grounds and private compounds.

The Save Bagan civil society group told journalists there are about 100 pagodas and temples situated on land leased by hotels and in private compounds in Bagan. Authorities have so far done nothing to address the situation despite appeals from civil groups.

"We've submitted complaints over the past two years when we have had the chance to meet the regional minister and authorities from other related departments, but nothing has happened," said Ko Myo Set San, a leader of Save Bagan.

The group said it has met several times with the chief minister of Mandalay Division, representatives of the Archaeological Department, Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, local administration officers and officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs in recent years.

"So far we've collected over 8,000 signatures from Bagan locals that were sent along with the complaint requesting safe and free areas be declared for those pagodas and temples inside hotel grounds and in private compounds," he said.

The group sent the petition to State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the regional chief minister.

According to locals, the "ugly situation" is the result of past military government's decision to permit the building of hotels in Bagan, starting in the 1990s.

"There are 22 pagodas inside the Eden Group's hotel compound alone. Inside the Ayar Hotel compound, there is Aggatae Temple with its beautiful mural paintings. If visitors want to visit it, they need to get permission from the hotel first, which is bothersome," Ko Myo Sat San explained. "We want to fence off those pagodas and temples, to separate them from the private compounds, and allow people to visit them with no conditions."

The group said that when it sent its complaint to the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, the minister, Thura U Aung Ko, replied that fencing might not be possible because the grounds were leased to the private sector [the hotel investors] on long terms.

"The minister told us that we would have to wait 15 or 20 years until the leases expire, but that nothing was certain. What if the investors renew their contracts?" said Ko Myo Sat San.

"Since Bagan is trying to be registered as a World Heritage site with UNESCO, we are very concerned that this ugly situation may affect that," he added.

According to the Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library, the pagodas and temples on private lands have already been declared safe zones, which allows members of the public to visit them freely between 6am to 6pm, every day.

"As for our department, we cannot do more than this yet, for this situation happened a long time ago and it will take time to resolve. There are many steps to negotiate with the investors and many other related government offices," said U Aung Aung Kyaw, director of the Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library's Bagan branch, which is part of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture.

"We also have concerns about this matter. So, we are making sure not to repeat the mistakes of the past, especially when we do conservation of our heritage. At the same time, we are carefully choosing the best way for the development of the region," he said.

Apart from putting up fences to designate safe zones for the pagodas and temples, the petition also urges the government to investigate some hotels located on the banks of the Irrawaddy River that have dumped sand and soil to extend their riverside holdings.

"We've seen some hotels add sand to the river bank, and some have even built bungalows for their guests. We officially want to request the central government investigate such hotels and take action to conserve the nature of the Irrawaddy River," Ko Myo Sat San said.

Bagan, the country's major tourist attraction, is home to pagodas and temples dating from the 9th to the 13th centuries.

Since 1994, the country has sought to register the area as a UNESCO list of World Heritage Site. However, Bagan was initially ruled ineligible due to its failure to meet the requirements of World Heritage Site status, allegedly on account of mismanaged development plans and sub-standard, inauthentic restoration efforts under previous governments, especially in the 1990s.

In 2016, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture again nominated Bagan for a UNESCO World Heritage Site listing.

As the required dossiers have been submitted, members of the World Heritage Site Committee are due to visit Bagan in mid-2018. The site's nomination will be brought up for deliberation at UNESCO's World Heritage Site convention in 2019.

The post Bagan Civil Group Demands Action Over Ancient Temples On Hotel Grounds appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Is Kyaukphyu in Danger of Slipping Out of Our Hands?

Posted: 08 Jun 2018 04:45 AM PDT

Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has stated that she wants to reform the country's education sector. If that is her intention, we must make a serious effort to educate the younger generation about history and geography so that they develop a fuller understanding of Myanmar's neighboring countries.

In particular, a country we should be making a serious effort to study is China.

Myanmar still doesn't have a think tank dedicated to studying China, its intentions, its geopolitical interest in the region or its hugely ambitious regional development strategy, the Belt and Road Initiative, and its implications.

Myanmar's border with China is more than 2,000 km long, but few Myanmar citizens have much idea about China's rising political and economic power, beyond vague feelings of fear and resentment. Nor does the Myanmar public have access to the information and data needed to fully understand China's declared mega-projects in Myanmar, let alone Beijing's shadowy influence over several powerful ethnic insurgent groups in northern Myanmar.

China's leaders have promised to assist the "peace process." But what is the cost of this assistance to Myanmar?

Given China's past assistance to repressive regimes and exploitation of Myanmar's natural resources, many in this country are worried about China's plans, and this has the potential to fuel anti-China sentiment.

In 2011, when then-president Thein Sein ordered the suspension of the Myitsone Dam, a controversial hydroelectric project financed by a state-owned Chinese company, many applauded the move. The decision angered China but it was popular with the Myanmar public.

China has approached Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government about reviving the dam project but nothing appears to have come of that. Greenlighting a restart for the project would be political suicide.

At any rate, Beijing has switched its attention to another area in Myanmar in which it has a strong economic and strategic interest.

Since last year China has signaled that its attention is now focused on building a deep-sea port in Kyaukphyu, in western Rakhine State.

The port will give China access to the Indian Ocean via Myanmar in one of the Belt and Road Initiative's many planned trading corridors.

As The Irrawaddy has repeatedly emphasized, Kyaukphyu is important to China when it comes to long-term strategic influence, both commercial and military, because Beijing needs to secure oil imports from the Middle East and trade routes to and from Africa and Europe.

China has already built oil and gas pipelines in Kyaukphyu and proposed a railway link, though that project is currently suspended.

In any case the Kyaukphyu project is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Myanmar. The most important question is: Who will own the project in the future? Under the current terms, China holds 70 per cent and Myanmar's government and local companies hold 30 per cent.

Concerns have been raised that the US$9 billion price tag for the port development is artificially high and that the port will fall under China's exclusive control if Myanmar were to default on its debt. The good news for now is that the project is under review.

One doesn't have to look too far for a precedent; Asia analysts point to Sri Lanka's Hambantota port. Colombo was unable to service its China-held debts relating to the project and Beijing now exercises de facto sovereign control over the strategic facility.

Critics of the project see Kyaukphyu as part of a disturbing pattern — already visible from the Horn of Africa to South Asia to our own region — in which Chinese investment is linked to exorbitantly high-interest loan agreements. When a host country falls behind in its payments, a deal is struck whereby Beijing assumes greater control of the strategically important project.

Some analysts would go further and say the projects that China is taking on around the world are rigged decisively in their favor in a concerted policy of "debt diplomacy."

Many here at home fear the Kyaukphyu project is in danger of leading Myanmar into a similar "debt trap."

Looking at this and other examples around the region, Myanmar's leaders must think twice before agreeing to China's plans. Such critical decisions require both vision and imagination.

Realistically, the Kyaukphyu project cannot be canceled, but Naypyitaw will have to think carefully about how the port is managed, its long-term development plans for the region, and the flow of trade. Who will benefit from the project?

To begin with, we must take a close look at the financing. What are the interest rates and terms of repayment to China? What will be the consequences if Myanmar can't pay back the loans? Rakhine is one of the poorest and least developed states of Myanmar. The real benefits of developing a port there must accrue to the Rakhine population and the country, not just to investors.

So, what to do with the Kyaukphyu project from here?

The simplest answer — if we don't want to fall victim to China's debt diplomacy — would be to halt the project once and for all. A second option, perhaps, might be for Myanmar to put the project under the control of a publicly listed state enterprise — or set one up for this purpose — which would be bound by stock exchange rules and subject to greater transparency, and then invite more investors to participate.

The post Is Kyaukphyu in Danger of Slipping Out of Our Hands? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rebel Group Sends ‘Tax’ Letter to Shan State Schools

Posted: 08 Jun 2018 02:37 AM PDT

YANGON — The Kachin Independence Organization/Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA) has reportedly sent extortion letters to 21 private and boarding schools in northern Shan State’s Muse Township.

Private schools that received the letter told The Irrawaddy that they arrived on Tuesday.

The letter bore the seal of the KIO/KIA and was reportedly sent out by the taxation section of the KIA’s 9th Battalion in Kutkai District.

"The letter was not directly sent to our school. But all the 21 letters were sent to a school, and it was asked to send letters to other schools," said a teacher who asked not to be named.

The letter asked the school owners to pay taxes for the 2017-18 fiscal year at the battalion’s taxation section by June 15.

Nine of the schools were asked to pay 1.5 million kyats ($1,106) each. Another 11 were asked to pay 1 million kyats each, and a kindergarten was asked to pay 900,000 kyats.

“This is not extortion, but annual taxation as usual,” the letter said.

Police Lieutenant Colonel San Win, of the Shan State police force, said private schools have reported the letters to the police.

"I don't know if they paid the money. This is the first time I heard that they asked for money from schools. You might have heard reports of them asking for money from industrial zones, bus service providers and banks. It is not unusual," he said.

The Commander-in-Chief’s Office of the Myanmar Army also reported the letters on Thursday. It said a man arrived by motorbike at the Galaxy private school on Tuesday evening and handed over letters addressed to the 21 schools.

The Irrawaddy called the phone number provided in the letter. The person who answered said he was with the KIA’s 9th Battalion and that the money had to be paid at an office in Ruili, a city in China’s Yunnan Province that sits just across the border from Myanmar. When asked about the requested taxes, he said he was not authorized to answer and that his supervisors were not in the office.

Colonel Naw Bu, information officer for the KIO/KIA, did not deny the KIA collects taxes from businesses, but he said he did not know about the letters sent to the schools in Muse.

"I didn't see those letters, and I have gotten no report about them. So I can neither confirm nor deny that those letters were sent by us. But according to our policy, we always do it," he said, referring to collecting taxes from businesses.

The KIO regularly collects taxes from businesses in Muse — based on their size — because the township is under the control of its 9th Battalion.

Col. Naw Bu declined to comment about the total amount of tax it collects per year or about its tax rates.

Other armed ethnic groups collect taxes in northern Shan State as well.

The KIA also levies taxes in Kachin State for their “revolutionary fund” and occasionally collects tolls along some of the state’s roads.

Most businesses do not bother to file complaints with police or other authorities and pay the taxes.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Child Dies in Shan State Flooding

Posted: 08 Jun 2018 02:25 AM PDT

YANGON — A child died in a flood in Shan State's Taunggyi after heavy rains on Tuesday, said the Naypyitaw disaster management department.

"Drainage ditches were filled with rainwater in the Kyaung Gyi Zay ward of Taunggyi on June 5. The 10-year-old boy washed his feet in a ditch and because the water was flowing rapidly, he was carried away and died," officer U Than Kyaw Htay of the department told The Irrawaddy.

Fourteen households with some 60 people were also affected by flooding, which inundated their houses on the same day in another ward of Taunggyi, said the department.

Dozens were forced from their homes due to flooding in Lashio in northern Shan State. Torrents of water were also reported in Nan Lan village tract in Hsipaw Township, affecting dozens more.

The Shan State disaster management department denied news reports that two people were killed due to flooding in Nan Lan village tract.

"No one died or was injured. People from 11 houses had to move. Currents were high in the morning, but subsided in the evening," head of the department U Soe Naing told The Irrawaddy.

Despite rising water levels in rivers across the country, they may not reach danger levels this month. People do not need to worry about severe flash floods at this time," said director-general U Kyaw Moe Oo of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

"There are low-pressure areas in the Bay of Bengal and this has caused heavy rains in central Myanmar and Shan State. Heavy rains have also come in along the coastal areas; they are likely in Tanintharyi, Bago, Irrawaddy and Rakhine," he said.

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Military Representatives Criticize Parliamentary Committee for Lack of Transparency

Posted: 08 Jun 2018 12:21 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Military representatives to Myanmar's Lower House of Parliament have criticized a parliamentary committee that they say was formed and operated without transparency.

On Thursday, lawmakers discussed the 2016-17 report of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of the Union Parliament—the first discussion of its function since it was formed some four years ago at the Lower House.

The committee was formed to facilitate coordination between the two houses of the Union Parliament as well as cooperation between the Union Parliament and international partners, international Parliaments, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Military representatives claimed that lawmakers were not officially informed when the committee was established in June 2014 under President U Thein Sein's government. Though the committee was formed at the Lower House and named the Joint Coordination Committee, the Upper House did not have such a committee.

Lawmakers were informed only when the committee was abolished and reformed as the Joint Coordination Committee of the Union Parliament in 2016, said military representatives, adding that the functions and activities of the committee were never reported to lawmakers.

The USDP and IPU provided US$13.7 million to the committee from 2013 to 2017, said Daw Wint Wah Tun, a National League for Democracy lawmaker, who discussed the committee report on Thursday.

JCC vice chairman and Upper House lawmaker U Aung Kyi Nyunt said that he could not comment because he was not present at the parliamentary session on Thursday. Another member and Lower House lawmaker U Phyo Zeya Thaw declined to comment, saying that concerned lawmakers will explain more in detail regarding the JCC next week.

According to the 2016-17 report, the JCC was formed at the Union Parliament level in May 2016 and led by the vice chairman of the Lower House. The report says that the JCC is cooperating with 13 international partners.

Military representatives asked the JCC to exercise caution in cooperating with international agencies and ensure no state secrets are leaked.

They said that even the Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission has to seek the Union Parliament's approval for its formation and yearly extensions, but in the case of JCC, it was never done.

"Lawmakers were not informed when committee members were changed. And even the Union Parliament website does not provide information about the committee," military representative Major Zin Lin told the reporters.

Military representatives welcome the formation and objective of the JCC, but "we raised an objection because it was not formed in line with parliamentary laws and rules," he added.

"We are legislators, and it is important that legislators do not break the law. Only then, will we be able to do checks and balances on others," he said.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Cut More Trees! Cambodians Challenge Conservation

Posted: 07 Jun 2018 10:34 PM PDT

TA BOS, Cambodia — The Cambodian rosewood had stood for hundreds of years, but its value finally proved too hard to resist and the giant tree came crashing down — inside a protected forest.

It’s unclear exactly who was behind the felling — nobody has been charged — but it set off a series of events that culminated in hundreds of villagers rejecting their community forest in favor of cutting more trees.

The incident underscores the challenge of protecting the country’s forests, which researchers say have been rapidly disappearing due to logging and agricultural land concessions granted to companies.

Cambodia has among the highest deforestation rates in the world, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances in 2017.

The Southeast Asian nation lost 1.6 million hectares between 2001 and 2014, including 38 percent of its “intact forest landscape," which the study defined as “a seamless mosaic of forest and naturally treeless ecosystems.”

Conservationists have fought for years to convince the government and people in remote areas to check deforestation, and the community forest model has been a key strategy.

Local residents agree to preserve a community forest, although they are allowed to continue to farm areas already under cultivation, as well as harvest timber needed for construction — if they receive permission.

That model is broken, according to Ben Davis, who has worked in conservation in Cambodia since 1992 and set up the community forest near Ta Bos village in the province of Preah Vihear.

Davis has helped non-governmental organizations (NGOs) establish other community forests, which he said had ended up being logged as soon as no one was around to enforce protection.

“Unless there’s an NGO that is living there in the forest,” he said, trailing off. “The minute they’re gone…”

Davis, an American, and his Australian wife, Sharyn, live with their two children in the community forest where they have set up an eco-tourism lodge, and he often accompanies Ministry of Environment forest rangers on patrol.

A year ago, rangers startled some men who had just cut down the ancient rosewood, which Davis said was the biggest in the forest.

Authorities decided to confiscate the tree, but the rainy season delayed them and it lay in the jungle until this past April, said Davis and Pov Samuth, the local commune chief.

After the rangers hauled the rosewood to the village common area, residents protested, demanding that it be turned over to them, Davis and Pov Samuth said.

Davis said villagers recently sold one section of the tree — 1.7 meters long and more than a meter in diameter — for $10,000.

“It’s no wonder this thing set off a firestorm,” he said. “You can see why the villagers are hell bent on taking the forest over.”

About 400 residents demonstrated outside Davis’ house in April, and hundreds have applied their thumbprints to a petition demanding his eviction.

“We are not satisfied, because they said the area should be protected for the next generation, but villagers can’t go into the forest to do our work,” said Rorn Chhang, who added her thumbprint to the petition.

Her sister, Sorum Chhang, said she owned 20 hectares in the forest, which she began clearing in 2001.

“A few years ago, they came and said it belongs to the protected area, so they don’t allow me to do anything on my land,” said Sorum Chhang, who has no ownership documents.

Time to Talk

As the controversy continued, government officials in the capital, Phnom Penh, decided to meet with the villagers to explain the regulations around community forests.

About 300 people crowded into a wooden pagoda in the center of the village to speak to Lay Piden, deputy chief of law enforcement and governance at the Ministry of Agriculture.

“Nowadays, there are restrictions even to walk into the forest,” one man said to nods and murmurs of agreement.

After a heated discussion, Lay Piden said the villagers seemed most interested in figuring out how to keep felling trees, as they had before the community forest was established.

“Now, the officials from the Ministry of Environment prohibit them,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “That’s why they come here and get mad.”

Meas Nhem, director of the Phnom Tnout Wildlife Sanctuary, where the community forest lies, denied that residents are prevented from entering the protected area.

“We are not strict with the villagers,” he said by phone. “We allow them to take yields from the forest, but what we ban is deforesting for farming land and selling to dealers.”

Debt and Deforestation

Davis said almost every family in the village has taken out loans, putting up their land as collateral, and they struggle to service the debt.

Pov Samuth, the commune chief, concurred.

“Nearly all villagers take money from the banks,” he said. “Some need to cut the trees to construct houses, and some also sell for paying the bank.”

Debt-driven deforestation in the Phnom Tnout Wildlife Sanctuary has raised fears among conservation groups.

In April, eight organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund, released a statement warning of “the rapid rate of destruction” and urged authorities to “enforce the rule of law.”

Already this month, three villagers have been arrested for cutting down a massive padauk tree, an endangered, luxury hardwood that is carved into furniture and musical instruments.

Davis said the rosewood incident had emboldened residents, as some had gained from the illegal felling.

“They hope to get away with it again,” he said.

The post Cut More Trees! Cambodians Challenge Conservation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

As Kim Arrives in Singapore, No North Korean Comrades in Sight

Posted: 07 Jun 2018 10:18 PM PDT

SINGAPORE — Stella Choi, the principal of a Korean language school in a drab tower in downtown Singapore, works just across the elevator lobby from the modest suites that make up North Korea’s embassy.

Yet the South Korean national, who runs the iSpeak Korean Language Center, says she has neither seen nor spoken to any of her Northern neighbors or people entering the embassy since they moved in two years ago.

Choi’s experience is consistent with the extremely low profile Singapore’s small community of North Koreans has kept in recent years as diplomatic pressure on their home country made traveling and working abroad increasingly difficult.

But they have disappeared in recent years as UN sanctions tightened around Pyongyang, and Singapore has been among the countries that have dutifully implemented resolutions to cut trade ties, ban transactions with North Korean banks and cancel the work passes of its citizens.

North Korea’s place in the world – and that of its diaspora – comes into focus in Singapore next week, when the city-state hosts the first ever summit between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader. Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un will discuss ending the North’s nuclear weapons and missile programs in return for diplomatic and economic incentives.

Singapore, a global trading and financial hub, was once home to a close-knit group of a few dozen North Korean diplomats and businessmen responsible for channeling money, fuel and goods to the secretive state.

While it still maintains diplomatic ties, North Korea’s embassy has moved from a three-story property in a lively neighborhood of heritage shop-houses to its present unassuming home.

“I hope to see them one day. Since the North and South Korean relationship is getting better, I may even be able to speak to them,” said Choi.

Reuters has visited the North Korean embassy multiple times over the last year but on all but one occasion there appeared to be nobody there. Reuters did once meet the embassy’s first secretary, Ri Pyong Dok, while he was entering the embassy in February 2017, but he declined comment.

In a call in recent weeks to the embassy to ask about preparations for the summit, a North Korean staffer also declined comment.

The Singapore foreign ministry has four North Korean officials and their spouses in its list of diplomatic and consular staff as of June 2018.

Strategically Managed

“The sanctions and the pressure that was put on by the US and its allies were definitely … key motivating forces that encouraged him (Kim Jong Un) to consider engaging more, and to come out and have this summit,” said Nicholas Fang, director of security and global affairs at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

North Korea has always strategically managed its expatriate population, mainly sending them to allies like China and Russia, where they feel they will not be corrupted by Western ideals.

Singapore is probably the most diplomatically neutral place where they’ve based people historically – more for trade reasons than diplomacy, said John Kim, a Korean-American businessman who advises a non-profit offering training in entrepreneurship and business in North Korea.

Kim said he had not spoken to a North Korean in Singapore in around five years. The last person John Kim spoke to told him there were around 50 North Koreans operating in the city-state, mainly in industries like shipping, although there are no official figures of the size of the community.

In contrast, there are about 20,000 South Koreans living in Singapore.

In November, Singapore suspended all trade with North Korea to comply with tightening UN regulations.

In March, Singapore said it had revoked the work permits of all remaining North Koreans in the country.

A long-time South Korean resident of Singapore who did not want to be named said until a few years ago, groups of North Koreans would come into South Korean-run restaurants for barbecue dinners and would sometimes strike up casual conversations with the South Korean patrons or staff.

They would be relaxed and friendly, though there was occasionally tension in the banter, reflecting the rivalry between the two states, he said.

One more prominent North Korean figure in Singapore was Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of the current leader who was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur airport last year.

A socialite, he often drank at a plush bar on the top of the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel or in one of the city-state’s many karaoke joints, according to one of his friends, who declined to be named, citing safety reasons.

The friend said Kim Jong Nam was down-to-earth, self-deprecating and open to jokes about his family connections.

“We would always ask, ‘So Kim, what do you think about communism?' and he’s was always saying, ‘I’m all about peace and love.”

The post As Kim Arrives in Singapore, No North Korean Comrades in Sight appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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