Wednesday, July 25, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Analysis: Trading Armed Struggle for Battle in the Market Place

Posted: 25 Jul 2018 07:26 AM PDT

YANGON – For decades, ethnic armed groups (EAOs) in Myanmar have raised money by extorting "protection" payments from smugglers, engaging in illicit logging and jade mining projects, and trafficking drugs in order to buy tactical weapons and pay their troops.

Hope are high that this will soon change, especially among those groups that have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), now that the government's Peace Commission has begun implementing its "Business for Peace" (B4P) platform.

The B4P paradigm was officially adopted late in 2013 in line with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) framework, the brainchild of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan introduced in 2005. The global compact promotes responsible businesses in high-risk, conflict-affected and post-conflict regions around the world.

To engage with the UNGC, Prof. Aung Tun Thet established a local network, the UNGC Network Myanmar, in 2012. He is also the vice chairman of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council of Myanmar and a member of the Peace Commission (NRPC) established by the government of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Myanmar B4P project aims to earn a "peace dividend" for NCA signatories by helping them to establishing public companies through official channels. The companies would serve as business arms of the EAOs. In 2017, UNGC Network Myanmar was applauded by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader, as Prof. Aung Tun Thet's team signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).

At the recommendation of Prof. Aung Tun Thet, the Myanmar Ethnic Entrepreneurs Association (MEEA) was established in March 2018. It comprises 27 members of eight major ethnic groups and has the ambitious goal of boosting socio-economic development in ethnic regions.

B4P targets infrastructure development in post-conflict regions, while also assisting the Peace Commission in its work and alleviating poverty. The MEEA was officially launched at the UMFCCI building in Yangon last Friday. The event was joined by representatives of NCA signatories and ethnic affairs ministers from across the country.

A meeting participant told The Irrawaddy that Prof. Aung Tun Thet gathered seven signatories — the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLO), Chin National Front (CNF), Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), Karen National Union/ KNLA (PC), and the New Mon State Party (MNSP) — at the NRPC's office and explained its new business model to the representatives.

EAOs give nod to B4P

PNLO spokesman Khun Myint Tun said during his keynote speech that his group attended the conference to learn how ethnic businessmen could jointly operate businesses in post-conflict regions. He said that multiple stakeholders in the country currently share the cause of establishing a democratic federal union. To reach that ultimate goal, three key conditions — peace, political transition and economic reform — are needed, he said.

Lieutenant-Colonel Khun Aung Mann of the PNLO, who joined both the MEEA launch ceremony and a meeting with Prof. Aung Tun Thet on Friday, said the discussions centered around the establishment by EAOs of public companies through the Directorate, Investment and Company Administration (DICA) as a source of steady income. The professor urged newly established MEEA members and the UMFCCI to offer technical support to EAOs. The PNLO officer acknowledged that six signatories agreed in principle with the public company strategy.

"It was like a workshop; we did not make a commitment to proceed with [forming] a company," said Lt-Col. Khun Aung Mann.

He said that while the six NCA signatories have not all attended face-to-face meetings on the public company approach, his organization had held internal consultations on its potential risks and advantages. Some EAO representatives sought clarification on whether they need to be members of the MEEA in order to participate. Some said they had only learned of the formation of the MEEA last week.

While the PNLO officer pointed to a lack of information or a clear strategic plan, Union Ethnic Affairs Minister Nai Thet Lwin said his ministry will present relevant ministries with possible projects in post-conflict ethnic regions, referring to the areas the NCA signatories control.

During a B4P workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand on May 19, Prof. Aung Tun Thet said, "Foreign investors are worried about safety in the ceasefire areas. I have talked with many companies from Thailand and Singapore. There are opportunities in those regions if we can persuade them to invest."

Will B4P work out?

Since peace negotiations began under then-president U Thein Sein's administration in 2011, fighting between the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) and EAOs in northern Shan State has displaced more than 150,000 people. The Karen National Union (KNU), Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and six other groups inked the NCA with the previous government.

The European Union has poured a pile of money into assisting Myanmar's peace process since the country's transition from military rule to a quasi-civilian government under U Thein Sein began. Its total aid is due to reach some 103 million euros by 2020. It remains unclear how much of this the previous government spent. When the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government took office in 2016, its leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi took control of the peace process. The New Mon State Party (MNSP) and Lahu Democratic Union signed the NCA earlier this year.

Although seven NCA signatories appeared at the MEEA opening ceremony last week, and six groups have basically accepted the idea of establishing public companies, some of the strongest ethnic armed signatories like the KNU and RCSS did not show up. However, Prof. Aung Tun Thet is confident that the remaining groups will join the plan later.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity, an inside source at the MEEA said the new business model was not much of an incentive for the stronger armed groups, as they have been operating proxy businesses in the remote areas under their control, and elsewhere. He pointed out that some regions like Karen and Shan states had seen recent skirmishes between EAOs and the Tatmadaw.

He said, "None of them has engaged in corporate business in the past, and sometimes [signatories] have even clashed with each other. And now, B4P seeks to mobilize signatory groups to establish public companies. There are a bunch of challenges to this; how can they be realistically solved?"

A source at MEEA said that many questions remain to be answered regarding such issues as the shareholder structure and profit-sharing arrangements for each group, as well as administrative roles within the public companies, and the sustainability of the entities. Moreover, the risk of asset forfeiture is a big concern for any public company, and they would certainly need legal or other official protection, the source said.

"What if one of the signatories stumbles into a clash with the Army? Will the government seize its public company's assets and properties?" the source said.

The PNLO's Lt-Col. Khun Aung Mann echoed these concerns, saying, "We assume that the implementation process will be very difficult in terms of each group's profit-sharing and investment, and organizational structure."

'Do No Harm' Policy

Prof. Aung Tun Thet agreed there would be challenges, but as an economic expert he said he wished to focus on the opportunities rather than the challenges.

"Well, I do think in a positive way on those issues. Let bygones be bygones, and if we do seek to have new institutions, we need to think how to start them."

Prof. Aung Tun Thet explained that the Businesses for Peace philosophy has four fundamental components; protecting human rights, upholding labor standards, preserving the environment and fighting corruption. Especially, he is keen to promote a "do no harm" policy among companies in post-conflict regions. He said this could maintain stability and keep the situations on the ground from deteriorating.

He believes that setting up companies and creating opportunities for NCA signatories can address the EAOs' financial hardships through official channels, as well as helping to halt logging in conflict zones. To oversee technical matters, UMFCCI-affiliated associations in each state and division could help EAOs set up public companies, he said.

"Six [armed] groups are interested in founding public companies… I have urged them to register as soon as possible," he said.

After the EAOs' public companies are registered by DICA, ethnic affairs ministers will seek business opportunities on the ground including infrastructure projects. Business organizations and the UN Global Compact Network Myanmar will also seek to drum up foreign investment in post-conflict region.

Start 'Tomorrow'

Yangon-based ethnic armed affairs expert U Maung Maung Soe was skeptical of the plan, saying that having EAOs set up public companies would not be an effective long-term solution. He compared it to the previous government's offer of car permits for peace signatories.

He suggested that instead of promoting such a complex business scheme, the government should distribute a "peace dividend" to EAOs in the form of a share of its annual revenue depending on the size of the region under each group's control. He said this could be done by amending a few sections of 2008 Constitution.

The Constitution's Section 37(a) stipulates that the ultimate owner of all lands and all natural resources both above and below ground and bodies of water is the Union, while Section 37(b) states that the government can enact the necessary laws to supervise the extraction and utilization of state-owned resources.

U Maung Maung Soe recommended that the ruling NLD government amend the law, as it has majorities in the Union and local parliaments, rather than waiting for the Union Accord to be completed as part of the 21st-Century Panglong Union Peace Conference.

"To my understanding, forming a public company to generate a steady income for EAOs is just a short-term solution. [It doesn't address] the root cause of armed conflict in Myanmar," U Maung Maung Soe said.

Prof. Aung Tun Thet defended his approach, saying it is based on economic, rather than constitutional, resource-sharing mechanisms. He said his business initiative effort is based on a macro-economic approach. He insisted that the B4P approach would build trust between armed groups and the military.

He expected the EAO-established companies to complete the registration process within the next three months.

Asked by The Irrawaddy when the scheme could be up and running, Prof. Aung Tun Thet said, "We have to start it without delay. If you ask me when, then I will say I want it to start tomorrow. We are keen to do so; it will surely happen, whatever the timeline."

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Military Requests Slightly Higher Budget than Last Year for 2018-19

Posted: 25 Jul 2018 05:51 AM PDT

YANGON — The Ministry of Defense has requested a budget of 3.26 trillion kyats for fiscal 2018-19, which starts in October.

The request is equivalent to 13.07 percent of the annual budget, estimated at nearly 25 trillion kyats.

On Wednesday, representatives of 22 ministries, and those of 11 Union-level departments, offices and other entities under the National League for Democracy-led government, began presenting to the Union Parliament their initial budget requests for October 2018 through September 2019. This will be the first fiscal year since the switch to an Oct. 1-Sept. 30 calendar; the country is currently operating on a provisional six-month budget (March-August 2018).

Budget requests were presented Wednesday by six of the 11 Union-level bodies (the Union Government Office, Attorney General’s Office, Constitutional Court, Auditor General’s Office, Union Election Commission, and parliamentary offices) and 11 ministries (Defense; Home Affairs; Border Affairs; Foreign Affairs; the State Counselor’s Office; Information; Religion and Culture; Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation; Transport and Communications; Natural Resources and Environmental Preservation; and the President’s Office). Government representatives will continue their presentations on Thursday.

Major-General Myint Nwe, the deputy minister of defense, told the Parliament on Wednesday that this year’s defense budget request represents an increase of 57.114 billion kyats from last year's actual budget of 3.19 trillion kyats.

Explaining the increase, Maj-Gen. Myint New said the requested budget is necessary to implement the Myanmar Military (or Tatmadaw)'s long-term plan to transform itself into a "standard Army, Navy and Air Force."

He said the budget covers the cost of salaries and support for military personnel, weaponry, building construction, military operations and other expenses. He did not reveal precise figures of military personnel or details of the equipment the Tatmadaw plans to purchase.

The military budget has accounted for approximately 13 to above 14 percent of the national budget since fiscal 2012-13. Sai Thiha Kyaw, a Lower House lawmaker from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, told The Irrawaddy, "I realize the military budget is around 13-14 percent, although the annual overall budget increases every year. However, [the Tatmadaw’s] use of weapons and warfare equipment machinery are of high standard."

The defense budget accounted for 13.9 percent of the total budget in 2017-18, 14.3 percent in 2016-17, more than 13.6 percent in 2015-16, 12.7 percent in 2014-15, nearly 13.3 percent in 2013-14, just over 14 percent in 2012-13 and more than 14.6 percent in 2011-12, and is projected to account for 13 percent of spending next year (2018-19).

According to the lawmaker, the largest shares of next year’s total budget are requested by the ministries of Finance and Planning (22.9 percent); Electricity and Energy (22.2 percent); Defense (13.07 percent); Education (8.7 percent); Transport and Communications (5.3 percent); and Health and Sport (4.6 percent).

The Ministry of Finance and Planning also tops the list of projected proportional income, accounting for 42.6 percent of the estimated government total, followed by the ministries of Electricity and Energy (25.7 percent) and Transport and Communications (8 percent).

The state budget includes estimated expenditure of 24.954 trillion kyats, against estimated income 20.051 trillion kyats, including foreign loans. This leaves a budget deficit of 4.9 trillion kyats. The coming year’s budget is higher than the April 2017-March 2018 fiscal year budget, which included total expenditure of 20.59 trillion kyats and a budget deficit of 4.38 percent.

The increase is partly due to an increase in foreign debt to over USD10 billion, from around USD9 billion last year, Sai Thiha Kyaw said.

He said the Union budget estimate excludes state and regional budgets estimates. However, the Union will support the total 1.794 trillion-kyat deficits of the state and regional budgets via the Union Fund. State/regional budget expenses amount to an estimated 2.859 trillion kyats, while their incomes amount to 1.065 trillion kyats, he said.

The Union Parliament’s 20 joint assessment teams will assess the budget requests and submit them to the Public Accounts Committee over the next two months. That committee will decide whether to approve the budgets before October, said Sai Thiha Kyaw, who is a member of the committee.

The post Military Requests Slightly Higher Budget than Last Year for 2018-19 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Landmine Blast Kills One, Injures Two in Shan State

Posted: 25 Jul 2018 05:41 AM PDT

Mon State — A 43-year-old woman was killed after stepping on a landmine while picking mushrooms in northern Shan State’s Kutkai Township on Tuesday, setting off an explosion that also injured two others, according to a local NGO.

Lashi Kaw Nan died from her injuries as she was being carried away from the site of the blast while U La Doi, her husband, and Lahtaw Seng Mai were taken to a public hospital in Lashio Township, said Tawm Mai, who works with the NeT Organization to raise landmine awareness.

She said the three victims were in a group of five foraging for mushrooms in a part of the forest near Tarmoenye Town where there had been fighting in 2011 and that Lashi Kaw Nan was walking in the lead when she stepped on the mine, which tore through both of her legs.

Lashi Kaw Nan and U La Doi had 4 children and collected mushrooms to supplement their income, Tawm Mai added. She said she visited U La Doi in the hospital and that he was worried his eldest daughter, who is in the 10th grade, would now have to leave school.

She said U La Doi and Lahtaw Seng Mai were both injured in their legs and would have to undergo surgery to have mine fragments removed.

There were 119 landmine explosions in Myanmar last year, killing 52 people and injuring 124, according to Halo Trust, a UK-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that clears mines.

Of the 119 explosions, 45 occurred in Shan State, killing 22 people and injuring 54.

This year, from January through May, there have already been 127 landmine explosions, which have killed 23 people and injured 136. Forty-nine of the explosions were in Shan, killing nine and injuring 49.

lway Ai Aww, a Halo Trust manager based in Lashio, said most of the incidents in Shan occur in the north of the state.

Also from January through May, there were 65 landmine explosions in Kachin State, which killed eight people and injured 76.

Both states see frequent fighting between the many ethnic armed groups based in the area and the Myanmar military, and sometimes between the ethnic armed groups themselves. All sides are accused of using landmines against their adversaries, though many get planted where locals forage for food.

Local NGOs like NeT say they face many challenges raising landmine awareness in the area, from the intermittent fighting to the busy schedules of the civilians they are trying to educate. They say they are sometimes stopped and questioned by the armed groups when travelling to affected areas.

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Chinese, Japanese, S. Koreans to Get Visas on Arrival from October

Posted: 25 Jul 2018 05:29 AM PDT

YANGON—Amid declining tourists numbers during the first half of the year, the government on Tuesday announced a plan to ease visa requirements for Japanese, South Korean and Chinese citizens effective Oct. 1.

According to the Hotel and Tourism Ministry, citizens of Japan, South Korea and China will be able to request visas on arrival at certain border crossings and/or airports, depending on which of these countries they are from. Chinese passport holders (including those from Hong Kong and Macau SAR) will be charged a visa fee of USD50, but the visas will be free for Japanese and South Korean passport holders.

However, travelers from all three countries will need to show that they are carrying USD1,000 in cash in order to cover expenses for the duration of their stay in the country.

Chinese passport holders will be able to receive visas on arrival at Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw international airports. Japanese and South Korean passport holders will be able to receive them at international airports, as well as at the Tachileik, Myawaddy, Kawthaung and Htee Khee crossings on the Thai border.

The tourist visas apply to independent travelers and members of package tours. They permit holders to stay in Myanmar for 28 days, the ministry said.

Tourists from most countries need to apply in advance for an e-visa, pay a USD50 visa fee and wait at least three working days to obtain visa approval. The duration of the visa is usually 28 days with no extension allowed.

"Tourist numbers have declined compared with last year, especially from Western countries. But Japanese and Korean tourists are always interested in visiting our country among Asian destinations. So, we expect more tourists from those countries," said U Myint Htwe, deputy director of the ministry.

U Myint Htwe said the government plans to focus more on attracting tourists from Japan and South Korea, two countries with which Myanmar has good diplomatic relations.

In 2017, Thailand topped the list in terms of tourist arrivals to Myanmar, followed by China, Japan and South Korea. About 40 percent of travelers arrived with a pre-arranged tourist visa, according to the Hotel and Tourism Ministry.

The tourism industry's income has fallen since the humanitarian crisis erupted in northern Rakhine State in August last year. The situation has tarnished the country's image in the eyes of many Western travelers.

From January to June, roughly 1.8 million visitors entered Myanmar, a drop of roughly 38,000 compared with last year. Overall visitor numbers from the U.S., Canada, the Middle East and Europe have declined significantly in 2018. However, tourism officials still target 7 million annual tourist arrivals by 2020.

"We need more tourists from our region when European and [other] Western tourists can't come," U Myint Htwe said.

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Education Ministry Suspends Construction of 6,000 New Schools

Posted: 25 Jul 2018 04:32 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — The Education Ministry has suspended its project to construct about 6,000 educational facilities including basic education schools across the country due to budget constraints.

The government had already granted a budget for the project but since new President U Win Myint increased the pay for civil servants in April, the Education Ministry no longer has the budget to pay the additional amount to its some 400,000 staff and has to use funds that were designated for the construction project, said deputy education minister U Win Maw Tun.

The deputy minister explained the suspension of building schools on Tuesday at the Lower House of Myanmar's Parliament as some lawmakers talked about the requirements of schools in their constituencies.

"We have a deficit of 100 billion kyats to pay the ministry staff. And we are not allowed to ask for extra funds because it is the six-month interim budget," the deputy minister told The Irrawaddy.

"So, we have to postpone the project," he added.

The new government has set a new timeframe for the country's fiscal year starting on October 1 and ending on September 30, replacing the April 1- March 31 timeframe.

It then set the interim budget for the transitional period of six months from April 1 to September 30, which was approved by the Parliament in March before the President announced the pay increase on April 17 that saw the salary of staff increase by 20 percent and that of officials by 10 percent.

The Education Ministry however has proposed to resume the project in the 2018-19 fiscal year, he said.

"We've had to reduce the budget for some construction works because of constraints. And some of the construction works have not even started yet. But we'll ask for funds for all of the projected schools in the 2018-19 fiscal year," he said.

Businessmen who won the tender for construction of schools are not happy with the suspension, said lawmaker U Aung Hlaing Win of Mingalardon Township in the Lower House.

"Tender winners are waiting to get money. It usually costs a businessmen around one million kyats to win a tender for a school building. Some tender winners have already started building," said U Aung Hlaing Win, who saw the construction of four schools suspended in his constituency.

According to U Aung Min, chairman of the Lower House Bill Committee, there are one million civil servants in Myanmar and the Education Ministry alone has over 450,000 staff.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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No Room in Modern Myanmar for Faith-Based Nationalism

Posted: 25 Jul 2018 03:47 AM PDT

YANGON — On July 19, Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi opened the door of her lakeside villa in Yangon to a group of interfaith leaders, who were invited to pray for her late father, General Aung San.

The annual ritual was initiated by her late mother, Daw Khin Kyi, and has been held at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's residence since her release from house arrest in 2010.

On Thursday, more than a dozen representatives of the Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Baha'i and Christian faiths gathered at her home to pray for her father, who was assassinated 71 years ago along with eight colleagues. Known in Myanmar as Martyrs' Day, it is a national day of mourning. In the morning on the same day, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as a Buddhist, made offerings to monks on behalf of the martyrs. Even 30 years after her mother's death, it is interesting that she keeps Daw Khin Kyi's interfaith ritual alive.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi joins an interfaith prayer service for her father, the late General Aung San, at her residence in Yangon on July 19. / State Counselor's Office / Facebook

Al Haj U Aye Lwin, Chief Convener for the Islamic Center of Myanmar, who joined the service as a Muslim leader, quoted the State Counselor as saying, "As a national leader, my dad never discriminated based on race or religion. Please pray for the betterment of our country, without racial or religious bias."

It's likely that she was referring to Gen Aung San's message to the Karen Conference in 1945, in which he said: "Everyone has freedom of religion, and the state has to be neutral on the issue. No one may be discriminated against based on their gender, race or religion when it comes to seeking work."

Sadly, more than seven decades after his death, his vision still seems a long way from being realized, as the nation experiences a wave of Buddhist nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment.

As the State Counselor, his daughter is aware of the situation, of course. As a believer in the notion that diversity is a strength, she encourages people of different faiths to develop mutual understanding. Amid the rise in Buddhist nationalism across the country, she understands the fact that harmony and peace among followers of different religions is needed more than ever if the country is to move forward. That's why Myanmar saw its first ever mass interfaith rallies across the country last year. The events drew thousands of people from the country's major religions—Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity—with religious leaders appealing to people to stop blaming others for conflict and to help restore peace.

It is heartening to see that the country's interfaith movement for peace and harmony has received the state's blessing. And it's a source of relief for followers of minority religions, who have been alarmed by the rise in Buddhist nationalism, to see the interfaith prayer service being held at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's home. The knowledge that the nation's de facto leader is, unlike her predecessors, religiously tolerant, offers them some feeling of security at least.

For all her tolerance, the State Counselor's administration has been tightening its grip on the nationalists since coming to power. This much-welcomed effort has seen more restrictions than ever placed on Buddhist nationalism, which saw its heyday under former President U Thein Sein's Union Solidarity and Development Party-led government.

On the other hand, it seems that the government has been taking calculated measures to punish the nationalists in order to avoid public discontent or division among the Buddhist clergy.

Over the past three years, any time they have faced government restrictions, the nationalists have threatened action, usually without following through. Their small, unpopular and failed sit-ins in Yangon and Mandalay last year showed that rather than attracting public support, such actions earn it public condemnation for inflaming nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment, and are seen as attempts to derail the government's national reform process. At the same time, the public revulsion against the nationalists has earned praise from the government.

So, in the best interests of the country, the NLD-led government should no longer hesitate to wipe these groups out, as they are giving Buddhism a bad name and inflaming instability in the country. On the other hand, the government should embark on more interfaith engagements to build trust among followers of the various faiths. Only mutual respect and understanding can cure the phobia some people feel toward other religions. Most importantly, to make Myanmar religiously harmonious, there can be no room for faith-based nationalism.

The post No Room in Modern Myanmar for Faith-Based Nationalism appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Plaintiff in Myanmar Now Lawsuit Sentenced

Posted: 25 Jul 2018 03:26 AM PDT

MANDALAY — A court in Mandalay's Chanmyathazi Township sentenced the plaintiff in a Myanmar Now lawsuit to a year and a half in prison on Wednesday for taking part in anti-government protests in Mandalay in 2017.

U Kyaw Myo Shwe was detained on Aug. 7, 2017, and charged with incitement for participating in anti-government protests along with nationalist monks and laypersons.

He was sent to Obo prison immediately after being charged.

Six nationalist monks were also arrested when local authorities raided a protest camp on Aug. 6, 2017. Demonstrators were urging the government to step down for failing to protect national interests.

U Kyaw Myo Shwe was arrested the following day when he appeared at court in Maha Aung Myay Township as the plaintiff in a lawsuit against an esteemed Myanmar Now journalist.

All of the arrested nationalists were charged with incitement under Article 505 (b) of the Penal Code. The six nationalist monks were sentenced in December 2017 to 18 months imprisonment with hard labor.

Since U Kyaw Myo Shwe was suffering severe back pain, he reportedly submitted several appeals to the court to allow bail. However, the court refused, as Article 505 (b) is a non-bailable offense. The process of submitting appeals for bail extended the duration of his trial.

Since U Kyaw Myo Shwe has already spent almost a year behind bars, which will count as time served, he will only have about seven months remaining on his sentence.

U Kyaw Myo Shwe filed a lawsuit against Myanmar Now chief editor Ko Swe Win under article 66 (d) of Myanmar's Telecommunications Law in March 2017, accusing the editor of insulting ultranationalist monk U Wirathu in a Facebook post.

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Dhaka Completes First Official Count of Rohingya Refugees Since 2017 Influx

Posted: 25 Jul 2018 01:51 AM PDT

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) says there are 1,118,578 Rohingya living in Cox’s Bazar after completing its first official count of the population, which has mushroomed since a crackdown by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State in August that drove hundreds of thousands across the border.

Bangladesh is now working with the UN to register the refugees by household.

"We have so far completed joint verification of over 11,649 Rohingya from 2,538 families and are continuing our work. It's complicated and time consuming because of [the need for] proper documentation," a senior government official in Cox's Bazar told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Muhammad Habibul Kabir Chowdhury, chief of refugee affairs at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, told The Irrawaddy last week that the government and UN were aiming to complete the joint registration by November.

He said they were hopeful that repatriation could begin very soon and would give Naypyitaw a list of 15,000 “forcedly displaced Myanmar nationals” ready and willing to return by the end of the month.

In February, Bangladesh gave Myanmar a list of 8,032 Rohingya refugees prepared to repatriate. Myanmar has since cleared about 2,500 of them for return.

None of them has as yet made the trip back to Myanmar, however. Bangladesh will send a delegation to Naypyitaw next month to follow up.

In a statement on June 26, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was working with Bangladesh to verify the identities and documents of the Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar. The refugee agency had recently signed deals with both countries to help with the repatriation process.

"The verification exercise, which is expected to take approximately five to six months to complete, will help to consolidate a unified database for the purposes of identity management, documentation, protection, provision of assistance, population statistics and solutions," the UNHCR said.

All refugees over the age of 12 will be issued plastic identification cards with anti-fraud features including their photographs and biometric data collected from iris scans and fingerprints.

The cards will be issued jointly by Bangladesh and the UNHCR and help the refugees access assistance services in Bangladesh.

"This exercise is a major step forward to establish the legal identity of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar,” said Kevin Allen, the UNHCR’s head of operations in Cox's Bazar.

A senior government official in Cox’s Bazar, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, told The Irrawaddy that the data already collected by the DIP were of no help with repatriation because the department registered the refugees only as individuals.

“The data collected by the DIP will not help us in the repatriation process because we need household-based data of the Rohingyas. It was a hurried decision and the existing data are now worthless,” the official said.

The DIP’s director general, Major-General Masud Rezwan, declined to comment.

The Bangladesh army and board guard began registering the refugees on Sept. 11, soon after the exodus from Myanmar began in late August.

Maj-Gen Rezwan and Home Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal both claimed last year that the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration were assisting with the process.

The UNHCR estimates that 721,732 people crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar since Aug. 25 and that the total number of Rohingya, including those who had come earlier, now stood at 887,661 from 204,354 families.

It says about 67 percent of the Rohingya are from Rakhine State’s Maungdaw Township and that 80 percent of the Rohingya refugees arrived between August and December.

The last Rohingyas, a group of 28, arrived on May 10.

Nur Khan Liton, an independent rights campaigner, said he was disappointed by the DIP’s registration drive and blamed its shortcomings on inexperience.

Now, he said, "We expect the government and UN bodies to complete a flawless registration."

The DIP had previously told The Irrawaddy that its registration drive would prevent the refugees from obtaining Bangladesh passports and national identification cards.

On July 6, however, five Rohingya refugees were caught at an immigration checkpoint near the Indian border with newly issued Bangladesh passports and visas for India.

'We thought their documents were suspicious because one of them could not give us details of the place he claimed to be coming from. And we started checking the passports of two others, and two more arrived at the queue at the same time,' said Sub-Inspector Abdul Alim, who was running the checkpoint at the time.

He said police launched an investigation to find out how they obtained the passports and learned that four were issued in Cumilla District in May and that the other was issued in Feni District on Feb. 20. Both districts are in Chittagong Division, which borders Myanmar.

“I became suspicious once I checked his passport and saw he used an address in Darshana but his passport was issued in Cumilla,” which lies more than 300 km away, the sub-inspector said.

The five refugees were sent to a local police station.

Emdad Hossain, the station inspector, told The Irrawaddy that they had all arrived from Myanmar earlier this year and lived in a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar.

“They are all in our custody and we are discussing what action should be taken against them,” he said.

Cox's Bazar police authorities say they have foiled the attempts of more than 54,761 Rohingya refugees to flee the camps since September, and that 3,348 refugees who tried to evade registration have been sent back to Cox's Bazar from across the country.

“We rescued them and sent them to camps where they have to live under our supervision,” said Afruzul Hoque Tutul, an assistant police superintendent for Cox's Bazar.

He said police were also holding regular meetings with passenger bus owners to prevent Rohingya from leaving the camps.

Since September, Bangladeshi authorities have set up several checkpoints in Cox's Bazar to monitor and control the movement of the Rohingya, but many have still managed to leave.

At a press conference on July 17, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the home affairs minister, said many Rohingya refugees were obtaining and using false identification numbers but added that “as soon as we are informed we are cancelling them.”

The post Dhaka Completes First Official Count of Rohingya Refugees Since 2017 Influx appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Karenni Halt Protests Against Gen Aung San Statue

Posted: 25 Jul 2018 01:02 AM PDT

YANGON — Ethnic Karenni youth activists, who are against the Karenni State government's plan to erect a statue of late independence hero General Aung San in the state capital Loikaw, said on Tuesday that they would halt their protests considering the possible divide between locals over the statue.

Those in opposition to the statue held a press conference on Tuesday at The Orchid Hotel in Yangon, saying they decided to halt their protests because the Karenni State chief minister had disbanded the government committee and asked community-based organizations to take the lead role in proceeding with the plan to erect the statue.

Karenni State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho said at a press conference at the state government office on Monday that a new statue committee would be established by community-based organizations, with the state government playing an assistance role.

"We view it as sowing discord between supporters and opponents of the statue.  He [L Phaung Sho] is mainly responsible for this. He shifted the responsibility when problems arose, which might provoke confrontation between local residents," said Naw Phaw Wah, one of the opponents of the statue.

"We'll continue our protest if they proceed with the statue. But, we will avoid confrontation with the people. Meanwhile, we will cease our activities. And those who are sued will just focus on facing trial," she added.

The government has sued 23 ethnic Karenni youth activists in connection with their protests against the statue and for distributing pamphlets that explained the history of Karenni State.

Twelve were sued under Article 505 (b) and (c) of the Penal Code for defaming the government and the rest under Articles 19 and 20 of the Peaceful Assembly Law for organizing the protest.

The state chief minister announced on June 12 the plan to put up a bronze statue of Gen Aung San, which would cost some 80 million kyats and be built with funds from the state government. The state government had planned to unveil the statue on July 19 to mark Martyrs' Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the assassination of Gen Aung San and his cabinet members.

About 1,000 local Karenni people marched against the project in Loikaw on July 3. The demonstration turned violent after police blocked the marchers' path to the park where the statue is to be erected.

The state government met opponents of the statue on July 7 and said that the timetable for erecting the statue of Gen Aung San would be postponed to allow time to gauge public opinion.

The chief minister met officials of local political parties, the ethnic culture and literature committee, and civil society organizations on July 16 and warned that he would call in troops to quell demonstrations.

But on Monday evening, the military released a statement saying that under the country's Constitution, chief ministers of states and regions have no authority to order military intervention in case of emergency.

While ethnicities are still being denied equality and self-determination, the government's plan to erect a Gen Aung San statue in Loikaw despite the objection of local Karenni people is a blatant attempt to wield racial influence over ethnicities, said Naw Paw Wah.

Ko Oattra Aung, a central committee member of the Union of Karenni State Youth, also questioned if the community-based organizations to be tasked with commissioning the statue will really represent local ethnic people who have lived in the state for generations.

"The problem with the Gen Aung San statue is that it is very dangerous for ethnic politics," he said, adding that it is the state chief minister and the statue that are destabilizing Karenni State.

Karenni youth launched a petition campaign against the statue and collected around 40,000 signatures from July 12 to July 19.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Karenni Halt Protests Against Gen Aung San Statue appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Cambodia Puts on Armed Forces Display Ahead of Election

Posted: 24 Jul 2018 09:37 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s armed forces put on a show of power on Wednesday, displaying anti-riot gear and assault rifles at a sports stadium in the capital Phnom Penh ahead of a general election this weekend which some have criticized as a sham.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled the Southeast Asian nation for more than 30 years, is expected to win easily on Sunday after the main opposition party was dissolved last year and following a crackdown on dissent, including civil society and independent media.

A total of 4,625 police officers wearing flak jackets and armed with automatic rifles gathered at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh on Wednesday in a display meant to discourage any street protests during the election.

Phnom Penh’s Police Chief Chuon Sovann said that the forces will be deployed across the city to maintain security on Sunday.

“All of these forces have a duty to prevent, stop and crackdown on every case that leads to the obstruction of the election,” Chuon Sovann told the gathering forces.

Chuon Sovann said that police will stop any protests or those who urge others not to vote.

Authorities have said calls to boycott the vote are illegal, but rights groups argue the calls are not against the law.

Sunday’s election has been criticized by the United Nations and Western countries as fundamentally flawed after the Supreme Court last year dissolved the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and its leader, Kem Sokha, was imprisoned for treason.

Kem Sokha’s supporters say his jailing was politically motivated. He is currently in pre-trial detention near Cambodia’s border with Vietnam.

Kem Monovithya, Kem Sokha’s daughter, said that the display of force showed that the vote will be conducted under pressure.

“This is evidence that the election is not only being conducted without a viable opposition, it is also conducted under threat, forcing people to go to vote in a fake election,” Kem Monovithya told Reuters.

The post Cambodia Puts on Armed Forces Display Ahead of Election appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Black Hoods, Kneeling, No Sleep: Reuters Reporter Details Myanmar Custody

Posted: 24 Jul 2018 09:32 PM PDT

YANGON — A Reuters reporter on trial in Myanmar had his head covered with a black hood, was deprived of sleep and forced to kneel for hours at a secret police interrogation site after he was arrested with a colleague last year, he told a court on Tuesday.

Kyaw Soe Oo, one of two Reuters journalists accused of obtaining state secrets, said the interrogators focused on a story the reporters had been working on about the murder by soldiers of 10 Rohingya Muslims, showing no interest in the documents they are accused of obtaining.

During two weeks of questioning by officers from military intelligence and police special branch, the reporters were denied access to their families and lawyers, Kyaw Soe Oo told Judge Ye Lwin, overseeing proceedings at the court in Yangon.

The 28-year-old reporter and his colleague Wa Lone, 32, face charges brought under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, in a case seen as a test of press freedom in Myanmar. Both have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.

The reporters say the documents were planted on them by a police officer during a meeting at a restaurant on the outskirts of Yangon on Dec. 12. Defense lawyers have said the evidence put forward by the prosecution shows the police entrapped the journalists to interfere with their reporting.

In his testimony, Kyaw Soe Oo said they were arrested immediately after leaving the restaurant and taken to a nearby police station, before being driven to a special police interrogation site in northern Yangon called Aung Tha Pyay.

“They put black hoods on us outside the Htaunt Kyant police station and we stayed hooded until we arrived at Aung Tha Pyay,” said Kyaw Soe Oo.

“There were around 10 interrogation officers who took turns interrogating me. They didn’t let us rest and asked questions for three days straight while I was in handcuffs.”

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, defense lawyer Than Zaw Aung likened such treatment to how Myanmar’s former military rulers used to interrogate political opponents.

“Asking questions repeatedly for three days without letting them sleep made them mentally weak. This kind of mental and physical torture is a human rights’ violation,” said Than Zaw Aung.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said the government has “asked the police force whether they have illegal torture or not – the police said they guaranteed that they don’t do any illegal torture."

Zaw Htay also said Myanmar’s courts were independent and the case would be conducted according to the law.

Prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung declined to comment at the end of the day’s proceedings. Police spokesman Colonel Myo Thu Soe did not answer calls seeking comment.

Captain Myint Lwin, the officer in charge of the Htaunt Kyant police station, denied that the reporters were deprived of sleep or made to kneel when he testified to the court in June, saying officers were not allowed to “do such a thing."

Kyaw Soe Oo testified throughout the day, before Judge Ye Lwin adjourned the proceedings. The trial will resume on Monday.

Ordered to Kneel

At the time of their arrest, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in the village of Inn Din in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

The killings took place during a military crackdown that United Nations officials have said constituted ethnic cleansing. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh since August last year, according to UN agencies. Myanmar rejects almost all accusations of wrongdoing and says its armed forces launched a legitimate counter-insurgency operation after coming under attack by Rohingya militants.

Kyaw Soe Oo, who comes from the violence-torn Rakhine region and is a member of the Rakhine ethnic group, said the non-stop questioning ceased only after the police found photographs of the 10 men from Inn Din on the journalists’ phones.

Then, one of the interrogators burst into Kyaw Soe Oo’s cell and asked angrily: “Why haven’t you told us about this?” referring to the picture of the 10 kneeling men tied together, taken shortly before they were killed last September.

At one point, a military intelligence officer brought printouts of the Inn Din photographs and asked Kyaw Soe Oo whether he had “sent the photos from my phone to human rights organizations from foreign countries”.

Kyaw Soe Oo denied sending the photographs to anyone and told the officer: “I’m a reporter and I follow journalistic ethics.”

The post Black Hoods, Kneeling, No Sleep: Reuters Reporter Details Myanmar Custody appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dozens Feared Dead, Rescuers Search for Missing After Laos Dam Collapse

Posted: 24 Jul 2018 09:27 PM PDT

BANGKOK — Rescuers searched in difficult conditions on Wednesday for dozens of people feared dead and hundreds missing after a dam collapsed in a remote part of landlocked Laos, one of Asia’s poorest countries, a government official said.

State media showed pictures of villagers, some with young children, stranded on the roofs of submerged houses. Others showed villagers trying to board wooden boats to safety in Attapeu Province, the southernmost part of the country.

A senior Lao government official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said dozens of people were feared dead and hundreds remain unaccounted for after the hydropower dam that was under construction collapsed on Monday.

“We will continue with rescue efforts today, but it’s very difficult. The conditions are very difficult. Dozens of people are dead. It could be higher,” the Vientiane-based official told Reuters by telephone.

The once-isolated Southeast Asian country, one of the world’s few remaining communist states, has an ambitious dam-building scheme in order to become the “battery of Asia.”

Its government depends almost entirely on outside developers to build its planned portfolio of dams under commercial concessions that agree to export electricity to its more developed neighbors, including power-hungry Thailand.

Environment rights groups have repeatedly warned about the human and environmental costs of the rapid pace of dam construction, including damage to the already-fragile ecosystem of the region’s rivers.

Attapeu is a largely agricultural province that borders Vietnam to the east and Cambodia to the south.

The dam that collapsed is part of the hydroelectric Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy power project, which involves Laotian, Thai and South Korean firms. The subsidiary dam, known as “Saddle Dam D,” was part of a network of two main dams and five subsidiary dams.

South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction said part of a small supply dam was washed away and the company was cooperating with the Laos government to help rescue villagers near the site.

An official at the firm said fractures were first discovered on the dam on Sunday and that the company had ordered the evacuation of 12 villages as soon as it became clear the dam could collapse.

Brian Eyler, director of the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia program, said a breach of a saddle dam could be “worse in terms of devastation” than that of a main dam.

“With a saddle dam breaking, it’s flushing water into an area that’s not used to having water inside it and it will continue to breach until the water can be diverted again, which is one option, or until the reservoir is drawn down to a level below the breach,” Eyler told Reuters.

“This is yet another major shock to Laos’ plan to become the battery of Southeast Asia,” he said.

Tholakhong, a Lao language news site, said on Tuesday water levels at the gauge in one of the affected villages showed a decrease of 79 cm.

The post Dozens Feared Dead, Rescuers Search for Missing After Laos Dam Collapse appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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