Friday, September 14, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Parliament Approves 2018-2019 Budget

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 07:33 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Parliament approved the 2018-2019 fiscal year budget on Thursday totaling some 24.72 trillion kyats ($16.1 billion), more than 230 billion kyats less than requested.

The approved total for the coming fiscal year, however, which begins in October, is still significantly higher than the 20.59 trillion kyats approved for 2017-2018.

The cuts to expenses, foreign loans and international support were made judiciously by the Parliament’s assessment teams, said Lower House lawmaker U Pe Than, who sits on the legislature’s Farmers and Labor Affairs Committee.

The assessments were made after the proposed budget was submitted to Parliament on late July.

"The deductions were made mostly to unnecessary expenses in each ministry, but the joint parliamentarians assessment teams put priority on current needs," U Pe Than said.

The lawmaker said he believed the requests were made with care but added that pricing inconsistencies — discrepancies in the prices listed for similar or identical items by different ministries — were still found by the teams and fixed, accounting for some of the cuts.

The largest cuts, worth 56 billion kyats, were made to the Construction Ministry.

Another 1.7 billion kyats worth of cuts were made to requested defense spending, bringing its total down to 13 percent of the total budget, equal to what was approved for the previous full fiscal year.

Cuts to the budget requests from ministries totaled 122.56 billion kyats, including 18 billion kyats from Health and Sports; 10.7 billion kyats from Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation; 8.5 billion kyats from National Planning and Finance; 8.3 billion kyats from Foreign Affairs; 4.7 billion kyats from Border Affairs; 2.6 billion kyats from Home Affairs; and 1 billion kyats from Education.

More than 4.7 billion kyats were also cut from the requests from non-ministerial nation agencies, along with 11.84 billion kyats from the requests from the Central Bank of Myanmar, the Naypyitaw Union Territory Council and municipalities.

The post Parliament Approves 2018-2019 Budget appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Parliament Blocks Request for Review of 3,000 Kaman ID Cards

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 07:26 AM PDT

YANGON—An urgent proposal calling for the review of the issuing of more than 3,000 pink identification cards which state the holder is ethnic Kaman, which were recently issued by the immigration department to Rohingya in southern Rakhine’s Ramree Township, was blocked by upper house on Monday.

Arakanese upper house legislator Daw Htoot May submitted the motion on Monday this week but didn’t receive any response from parliament by Wednesday. The following day she approached the house speaker's office to inquire about the lack of response. She recounted the verbal explanation from upper house speaker U Mhan Win Khaing Than to The Irrawaddy by phone on Friday, saying that the speaker claimed her proposal doesn’t meet the Hluttaw Law’s Article (164).

The article stipulates that an issue related to public interest or an urgent matter shall receive a Hluttaw decision and parliament shall not accept the proposal to discuss the issue if the relevant ministry has already taken action. The Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population previously told The Irrawaddy they had no plan to review the case.

“The Kaman party has filed a complaint with the government but there has been a lack of action from the relevant ministry. I have explained those points and urged for a parliament debate to be allowed. I have tried my best, but all my efforts were in vain,” said MP Daw Htoot May.

However, she claims that she will try to raise the issue by any means via a parliament channel. The MP had already inquired about the disputed Kaman ID cards with local authorities and reiterated that the IDs which had recommendations given by Ramree’s Kyauk Ni Maw Village trustees and Kaman community leaders. She criticized the unclear methods authorities used to label the recipients as genuine Kaman.

Daw Htoot May pointed out, for instance, that despite the fact that the names of recommenders in regular NRC application forms appear in Burmese or Arakanese, the applicants' names apparently had religious Islamic titles such as "Abdu". She elaborated saying that since late 1990, almost all Kaman people were officially granted pink cards with stating their regional code (11).

She said that during military administration, especially around 1990, the immigration department used to register the NRC applications with abbreviations for each town such as RRE for Ramree, KPU for Kyaukpyu and SDW for Thandwe townships respectively. It is also locally known as tri-fold card.

Surprisingly, MP Htoot May has learned that some of RRE-registered applicant names reappeared among the 3,306 recently issued IDs.

“As far as I know, no Kaman uses Islamic religious names nowadays in Ramree’s Kyauk Ni Maw. If Naypyitaw's immigration department truly believes that the applicants are genuine Kaman, then let me say that something is totally wrong here,” said Daw Htoot May.

During communal riots between Rakhine and Rohingya communities in 2012, some Kaman were subjected to violence and dozens of their houses were burned to the ground as members of the Rakhine community thought Kaman were assisting members of the Rohingya community in getting the pink identification cards. Hundreds of Kaman were also forcibly displaced and kept in camps for years with authorities citing the segregation was a precaution against further clashes.

As of today, none of those displaced have been allowed to return to their original homes and many Kaman from Ramree and Kyaukphyu townships have sought new lives in Myanmar’s commercial city Yangon and some in Mandalay. MP Htoot May corroborated Kaman social media and Kaman Party claims that by the end of 2017, there were less than one hundred Kaman in her constituency of Ramree.

“Over IDs 3,00o being issued for Ramree Kaman is unrealistic. If they, the Napyidaw officials, are strictly maintaining their stance, this issue will certainly affect the Union in a matter of time. They should review [this case] before it is too late,” said the MP.

She suggested that the government be transparent and collaborate with Kaman society groups and parties as well as Rakhine residents for a re-examination process on this issue.

Kaman Social Network's, U Tun Ngwe, explained that most Kyauk Ni Maw residents received tri-fold cards during the military regime which gave them full citizenship rights as Muslims. However, the immigration department used the term “Rakhine/Islam” in the application, with "Rakhine" referring to the place where the applicant lives in rather than their racial background. When the military government revoked the tri-fold cards in order to replace them with pink cards, Muslim residents from rural areas in Ramree were unable to return them.

U Tun Ngwe said the government should resolve the issue with transparency rather than hiding its wrongdoings. He said Kaman society and the Kaman National Progressive Party don't recognize the new ID recipients as Kaman. He recalled that in 2017, some Kyauk Ni Maw Muslims went to Naypyidaw to discuss citizenship rights and requested to be scrutinized in line with the 1982 citizenship law.

He suggested the possibility that the immigration officials might have avoided using the controversial term “Rakhine/ Muslim” in the ID card, replacing it with “Kaman” for new applicants.

“The government should announce this case to the public with transparency. We Kaman don’t want to see a black spot in our history. As you know we have previously been asserted by the Arakanese community who said that the Kaman represent a doorway for Bengalis. We don’t officially recognize the ethnic Kaman but they should be granted citizenship in my opinion,” said U Tun Ngwe.

He urged the government to seek a pragmatic, rigorous approach to create a win-win situation for every group.

The Kaman minority is one of the 135 officially recognized ethnic groups and one of the seven ethnic subgroups of Rakhine State. Unlike the Buddhist Arakanese, the Kaman are Muslim. They have been residing in Rakhine for centuries. During the Arakan Kingdom, the Kaman served as royal archers, but this profession vanished when the kingdom fell to the Burmese Konbaung Dynasty in 1784. Nowadays, there are about 45,000 ethnic Kaman Muslims across the country.

The post Parliament Blocks Request for Review of 3,000 Kaman ID Cards appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Importance of Reading Between the Lines

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 07:21 AM PDT

Without the ability to read between the lines of a country's political rhetoric, grasping the nuances of its politics is virtually impossible. Myanmar is in a very complex situation indeed, one that requires more "reading between the lines" than most.

Lacking this ability, many would-be analysts of Myanmar fall victim to a tendency to badly misread the situation here.

The most recent example can be found in the international reaction to a reply that Myanmar's de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, gave when she was asked about the likelihood of another military coup in the country. Speaking after delivering a lecture in Singapore in late August, she said she wasn't worried about the matter, adding with a laugh that all three of the generals in her cabinet are "rather sweet". The audience, most of whom were Singaporeans or people from other Asian countries, reacted with laughter.

I think many people in the audience got it right, and that the many others in Myanmar who watched it online understood clearly what she meant. That is, they were well aware that in her description of the generals, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi didn't really mean that they were "sweet".

But many foreign observers, especially Westerners, didn't get it at all. They were provoked to outrage by her words. Some analysts for Western media, including those participating in a discussion on CNN, interpreted it that way; they believe she really likes the generals and enjoys having them as ministers in her cabinet. That's simply wrong. In fact, the State Counselor's comment was a humorous one, delivered with a laugh and a witty look—and her audience understood this. As she said it, the audience laughed along with her. And the moderator responded laughingly with a comment about her "very charming reply".

Similarly, I am sure many people in Myanmar watching online fully grasped that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi chose the words "rather sweet" because she is unable to offer an opinion such as "rather bad", given the country's hybrid political situation and the military's constitutionally privileged position of power. Another important fact is that she knows she cannot control the military.

Some viewers may also have misinterpreted a comment the State Counselor made while addressing the likelihood of another military coup, when she said, "Our relationship with the Army is not that bad, you know." Her tone was clearly ironic. Reading between the lines, one can see that she views the relationship between the military and her government as "not good"—or even that "it's terrible."

Such faulty interpretations are understandable. Myanmar's politics are more complicated than most. But without being able to read between the lines on some key issues, it becomes very difficult to make sense of the situation. If we can grasp such nuances, we can understand the reality.

The intelligence information we've gathered backs up the assessment of sour relations between the military and the National League for Democracy-led government.

Even those comments made by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Singapore left the military unhappy, because the State Counselor said her government was trying to amend the undemocratic articles of the Constitution that guarantee the military's political power, such as the rules stating that 25 percent of seats in Parliament are occupied by unelected military appointees and that three key Cabinet positions are filled by military officers—the very same officers she described as "rather sweet."

One former high-ranking Army official who is close to the commander-in-chief confided that the top military leaders feel that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi chose the wrong time and place to talk about amending the Constitution, given the many problems the country faces.

In fact, when the NLD was in opposition in Parliament under the previous government from 2011 to 2016 and discussed amending the Constitution, the military never showed the slightest interest in the idea. It has always firmly taken the position that its job is to safeguard the Constitution. And in the absence of a political miracle in the country, this stand is highly unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

On Aug. 27, when social media platform Facebook announced that it had removed the account of military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, along with 17 other military-related accounts and 52 Facebook pages associated with the military, the military leaders suspected the government of involvement in the closure. That might not be the case.

But such deep suspicion of the NLD-led government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by the military has created an atmosphere in which she must choose her words carefully, and comment indirectly, in order not to offend the military leadership.

So, to truly understand Myanmar's politics, please try to read between the lines.

The post The Importance of Reading Between the Lines appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Yangon Gov’t Loses $2.3m in Bus Services: Auditor General

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 05:54 AM PDT

YANGON—Yangon Auditor General Daw Khin Than Hla said the two public-private partnership bus companies — majority owned by the Yangon Region government—made 3.5 billion kyats ($2.3 million) in losses during the 2017-18 fiscal year.

In 2017, the regional government's 70-billion-kyat ($45 million) investment in the two companies Yangon Bus Public Co. Ltd. (YBPC) and Yangon Urban Public Transport Co. Ltd. (YUPT), was met with some skepticism among lawmakers. In May this year, MPs requested that the auditor general examine the government's spending.

The auditor general Daw Khin Than Hla said the companies haven't made any profit yet, using the report for the 2016-17 fiscal year to prove her point in parliament on Friday.

She said a total of 3.5 billion kyats was made in losses during the 2017-18 fiscal year. The YBPC made a loss of nearly 3 billion kyats ($1.9 million) while the YUPT made 603 million kyats ($390,000) in losses.

In the 2016-17 fiscal year, the YBPC made 1.1 billion kyats ($710,000) in losses, while YUPT gained 25.5 million kyats ($16,500) in profits.

Daw Khin Than Hla suggested that it is necessary to ask for more realistic bus fares based on the distance of a passenger's journey in order to earn a profit.

The regular maintenance of buses, enforcing rules and regulations along bus lines and expanding bus routes are also needed in order to make the service for more convenient for commuters, she added.

Yangon regional lawmaker U Kyaw Zay Ya said the MPs will ask for accountability and responsibility from the government for losing billions of public budget in the upcoming session.

"We can't just allow this loss of public budget. We need to find ways to reduce the losses," he said.

Currently, there are 25 bus companies including YBPC and YUPT operating 119 bus lines in Yangon with more than 6,000 buses.

The lawmakers are set to discuss the auditor general's report in an upcoming session of parliament.

The post Yangon Gov't Loses $2.3m in Bus Services: Auditor General appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Anti-Corruption Commission Lands Some Big Fish at Last

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 05:29 AM PDT

The decision by Myanmar's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to take action against the attorney general of Yangon Region and five other officials for taking bribes in exchange for withdrawing a murder case is a landmark move in a country plagued by rampant, chronic corruption in every sector of the government, including the judicial system.

The commission announced on Thursday that the attorney general, a judge, three law officers and a police officer have had cases filed against them under the Anti-Corruption Law that would, if the accused are found guilty, earn them maximum sentences of 10 to 15 years in prison. The senior positions of the officials involved make this the most high-profile case in which the anti-graft body, which was established two years ago, has been able to open cases.

In an indication of the public's disdain for corrupt officials and the practice of taking bribes—which has long been an open secret among Myanmar citizens—the commission's move has received strong public approval. Much to the people's elation, the graft body has been able to catch some "big fish" this time, ensnaring high-ranking officials occupying such senior positions as attorney general, deputy district judge and Yangon regional law officer. This is not simply the joy of watching high officials fall from grace—the people know that targeting senior officials is one of the best ways to stem the tide of corruption.

Moreover, by sending a signal that the administration takes seriously its pledge to implement the rule of law, the move goes some way toward assuaging the concerns of the Myanmar people, who are coping with the effects of economic mismanagement by the government they voted for. Let's not forget that the previous administration under former president U Thein Sein failed to tackle corruption despite enacting the Anti-Corruption Law in 2013.

The ACC must keep doing its job, as there are many, many more big fish out there and the law states that the fight against corruption is a national cause. At the same time, we must wait and see to what extent the commission takes action against the accused. In May, despite receiving complaints and conducting an investigation, it declined to take legal action against the country's former finance minister, saying there were insufficient grounds to bring charges under the Anti-Corruption Law. It should be remembered that the cases against the regional attorney general and others involved in the withdrawal of the murder case were only filed by the ACC after a public outcry prompted the president to intervene and call for a review of the case.

For now, however, kudos to the commission chairman and his team. The ACC has achieved a tangible outcome. It has a presidential mandate to take action against anyone, whoever they may be, and report back to him if it faces any intervention from "someone upstairs" during its investigations. Let's hope that in future it will be more pro-active, and independent, in excising the cancer of corruption from the body of the nation.

The post The Anti-Corruption Commission Lands Some Big Fish at Last appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lawmaker Asks Govt to Let Minority Language Teachers Don Traditional Dress

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 03:58 AM PDT

Mon State — An ethnic Karen lawmaker is asking the Education Ministry to let ethnic language teachers in government schools wear their traditional dress.

Nang Moe Moe Htwe, who represents Karen State’s Hlaingbwe Township in the Upper House of the national Parliament, sent a letter to Education Minister U Myo Thein Gyi on Thursday on behalf of some of the ethnic Karen teachers in her constituency.

She said the intent was to encourage Karen youth to appreciate and know how to wear their traditional garb.

"Some people do not wear their traditional dress at our traditional festivals. But it is a problem not only among the Karen community. Many of our ethnic people have the same problem,” she told The Irrawaddy.

In her letter, she asks the Education Ministry to let all ethnic Karen teachers in Karen State wear traditional dress.

"It was not only ethnic Karen teachers from my township who wanted to wear their traditional dress. Other ethnic Karen teachers in Karen State also wanted to wear their traditional dress for sure," the letter says.

During the previous military regime, Myanmar’s many ethnic minorities were not allowed to study their own languages. With the start of democratic reforms earlier this decade, however, the government began hiring ethnic minority teachers to teach their native tongue in government schools but requires them to wear the standard white and green uniform.

Nang Moe Moe Htwe’s letter is the first time the union government has been asked to let teachers wear their traditional dress.

Since she posted the request on Facebook, other ethnic minorities have expressed support and suggested that other minority language teachers be allowed to wear their traditional dress as well.

Nai Rot Ga Kao, program coordinator for research and advocacy from the Mon National Education Department, said it was important for the government to recognize ethnic minority teachers. He suggested the government let them wear their traditional dress at least once a week if not every day.

Nai Rot Ga Kao said Mon language teachers in Mon State started wearing traditional dress when the democratic reforms began but had to stop last year, when the government introduced a minority language teaching curriculum, made the teachers civil servants and required them to adhere to the standard uniform.

"The government should even allow ethnic [minority] students to wear their traditional dress as in Thailand, where students are allowed to wear their own traditional ethnic dress one day a week,” he said.

The post Lawmaker Asks Govt to Let Minority Language Teachers Don Traditional Dress appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rani Cuisine Offers a Taste of Northern India

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 02:33 AM PDT

YANGON — When an Indian friend recommended an Indian restaurant in town, it didn't take me long to make a plan to go to the restaurant and try the foods. Going there, I had a lot of expectations but when I arrived in front of the shop all I saw was a small restaurant empty of customers and I started having major doubts about my friend's advice.

The restaurant, called 'Rani Indian Cuisine', is located on the ground floor of the new Golden View Tower, near Kandawgyi Park's Karaweik entrance.

The staff warmly welcomed my friend and I into the shop where we were also greeted by the owner. The restaurant is small and clean with just a few tables. Some framed photos decorating the walls seemed a bit out of context for the style of this restaurant.

Honestly, I don't know much about Indian cuisine as this city doesn't have a lot of upscale Indian restaurants compared to others like European, Italian, Chinese and Thai restaurants.

Jeera Rice and curries at Rani Cuisine. (Photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

My friend and I decided to choose a variety of dishes and also asked for recommendations from the staff. The owner, a friendly young lady, recommended the plain roti (1,000 kyats), jeera rice (2,500 kyats), chicken masala (5,000 kyats), dal tadka (3,500 kyats) and mutton rogan josh (6,000 kyats) after discussing our preferences with us.

While waiting for the food, we had a short conversation with the owner who explained that Rani Cuisine focuses on north Indian cuisine. She emphasized that they use traditional north Indian cooking methods, introducing dishes such as tandoori chicken and palak paneer to Yangon's foodies.

"The food styles of northern and southern India are different. Most of the people from northern India eat a lot of bread like naan and roti with their curries. Only a few people eat rice with curry and our shop is focusing more on a northern Indian style of cuisine," said Ma Zarchi Mon, the owner of Rani Cuisine who has a mix of Myanmar and Nepali heritage.

She added, "Customers can get a real experience of northern-style Indian food at our shop, but we do serve rice for some general curries."

Most of their customers are expats from India who live in Myanmar for business matters. Hotel guests from nearby areas also come to the restaurant a lot.

"We don't use a lot of masala, dried herbs or color powder. We prepare the food like it's homemade because our foreign customers also miss their home and homemade curries," she said.

After 20 minutes, the dishes were served one by one. The strong smell of Indian cooking came to my nose.

Dal tadka, a northern Indian version served at Rani Cuisine.(Photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy

The plain baked roti includes three rolls and is made with wholegrain, the chicken masala and mutton rogan josh dishes are a red color, and the dal tadka is yellowish. The dishes are served in small portions and come with mint chutney.

It was a kind of Indian food tour starting with roti eaten with dal tadka and rogan josh. Spoons and forks were provided but the roti is supposed to scoop up the curry and be eaten with your fingers.

The rogan josh was thick, a little salty and sour with a tomato flavor. It was an aromatic dish and the mutton meat was really tender.

The chicken masala is a common curry for Indian people and the meat was soft while the taste was a bit sour and spicy. If you don't like masala flavors, it is recommended not to try this one because the smell is strong and my friend couldn't eat it.

The dal tadka was my favorite dish at the restaurant. It is effectively a bean soup cooked with Indian flare. Pigeon beans are used in this dish and it is thick with a good smell. It tastes perfect with roti as well as rice.

After having the meals, I regretted my negative first impression. Though the restaurant is not huge, nor very pretty and was rather empty when we visited, the taste of the food was really good and reasonably priced.

The post Rani Cuisine Offers a Taste of Northern India appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Human Traffickers Finding New Ways to Avoid Arrest

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 02:21 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — New challenges face the human trafficking squad of Myanmar's police force in the fight against cross-border trafficking of Myanmar women into China, said the police.

"The number of human trafficking cases has not declined over the past years," said, Police Colonel Thet Naung, "and a new form of trafficking has emerged."

Chinese men now legally marry Myanmar women before selling them back in China and in some cases even force them to be surrogate mothers, said the police colonel during the event held to mark Anti-Human Trafficking Day in Naypyitaw on Thursday.

According to existing laws in Myanmar, Buddhist women are allowed to tie the knot with foreigners who are also Buddhists.

In most of the trafficking cases they have investigated, said the police, Myanmar women married not because they fell in love with Chinese men, but because the Chinese men gave a large dowry to their parents.

Though the nuptial laws in China prohibit arranged marriage and marriage for dowry, those laws do not prescribe penalties for violation, said the police colonel.

"Chinese men marry them officially and take them [to China] with official passports. As it is legal, it is difficult for us to control," he said.

"There are other situations." For example, Myanmar women who are convinced by middlemen that they will get jobs in China cannot bring about arrest the arrest of traffickers by the squad.

"Victims are brought through the border into China. We stop them on the way, but then they say we can't prohibit a Myanmar citizen holding a citizenship identity card from going freely inside the country," said the police colonel.

There were 1,609 cases of human trafficking involving 3,850 victims from 2006 through 2017, and 4,556 perpetrators were arrested. Most of the cases involved China.

The number of cases that went unreported is likely to be more than that of reported cases in Myanmar, as is the case with human trafficking across the world.

According to the police, some victims have reported that they have been forced to live with as many as five Chinese men and have given birth at least three times. They also reported being forced to marry men with mental and physical disabilities.

"There are many of such cases," said police colonel Thet Naung.

Last year, around 74 percent of victims were trafficked to China, four percent to Thailand, 0.29 percent to Malaysia, and 21.28 percent within the country itself, said Vice-President Henry Van Thio at the event on Thursday.

Most of the cases involved forced labor, forced marriage, the sex trade and forced adoption, said the police.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Human Traffickers Finding New Ways to Avoid Arrest appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bangladesh Police Say NGOs Discourage Rohingya Repatriation

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 12:16 AM PDT

DHAKA — Bangladeshi police in Cox's Bazar district stated in an internal report that local and international non-governmental organizations and UN agencies were discouraging Rohingya Muslim refugees from being repatriated to Myanmar.

The internal report, prepared at the end of June by district special branch officials, stated that there was no concrete evidence of this allegation.

It also mentioned that few NGOs were willing to share information regarding funding and suggested that the Bangladesh government confer with the district special branch before allowing foreign funding to be given to NGOs operating in the area.

The report was prepared under former Cox's Bazar police superintendent AKM Iqbal Hossain, who was transferred on Sept. 9 and was unable to be reached for comment. The newly appointed ABM Masud Hossain will soon assume the post.

Cox's Bazar deputy commissioner Kamal Hossain, however, contradicted the report and said on Sept. 10 that development partners were being monitored but that no specific allegations had been made in regards to the repatriation of the Rohingya. Some 700,000 Rohingya fled northern Rakhine State in Myanmar beginning in August 2016 after attacks on security posts prompted Myanmar Army “security clearance operations.”

An official at the Inter-Sector Coordination Group, which is coordinating the humanitarian response to the Rohingya refugee crisis, in Cox's Bazar seeking anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue told The Irrawaddy the group had heard about the allegations in the police report.

"The police officials who prepared the report were already transferred. We explained the matter to the concerned authorities. The RRRC [refugee relief and repatriation commission] office is inquiring about the issue," said the official.

"We are working closely with our partners," said refugee relief and repatriation commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam, the lead officer coordinating refugee and Rohingya issues in Cox's Bazar, when asked about the allegation that Rohingya are being discouraged from repatriation.

Help Cox's Bazar executive director Abul Kashem explained why he thought the police would have made such an allegation.

"Basically, most of us are talking about the dignified and protected repatriation of the Rohingya to their homeland. People could misinterpret this as discouragement," said Kashem.

Rohingya Repatriation Movement convener Hamidul Hoque Chowdhury, in Cox's Bazar, defended the police report.

"Although we do not have specific evidence, the nature of the development activity and the delay in repatriation give us the sense that these groups are interested in extending the crisis," he said.

"NGOs and even UN agencies want them [the Rohingya] here. It creates jobs with handsome salaries. And this has happened year after year. They don't want the Rohginya to be repatriated," he said.

"Not a single Rohingya was repatriated in the last year," he added.

Mia Seppo, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Bangladesh, told The Irrawaddy: "The UN does not consider the conditions in NRS [Northern Rakhine State in Myanmar] conducive for return. That said, the UN will not stand in the way of anyone who wants to return voluntarily."

Currently, 86 local and 36 international NGOs are implementing various projects along with 11 UN agencies at various Rohingya camps in Bangladesh.

Over 50 non-governmental organizations working in Rohingya camps were named recently in various dailies since Aug. 17, stating that their operations in Ukhiya and Teknaf were "banned."

On March 6, the NGO Affairs Bureau set a framework for the local and international aid organizations to bring "transparency and accountabilities" to their activities.

In the framework, the NGOs were asked to provide all information to the Cox's Bazar district administration and the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission regarding development activities, project implementation, funding, and employees.

The post Bangladesh Police Say NGOs Discourage Rohingya Repatriation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US Sanctions Russian, Chinese Tech Firms over Funds for N. Korea

Posted: 13 Sep 2018 10:39 PM PDT

WASHINGTON/SEOUL — The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a China-based tech firm, its North Korean CEO and a Russian subsidiary, accusing them of moving illicit funding to North Korea in violation of US sanctions.

The new sanctions target China-based Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology Co, its North Korean chief executive Jong Song Hwa, and a Russian-based sister company, Volasys Silver Star, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

“These actions are intended to stop the flow of illicit revenue to North Korea from overseas information technology workers disguising their true identities and hiding behind front companies, aliases, and third-party nationals,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

Mnuchin warned companies across the globe “to take precautions to ensure that they are not unwittingly employing North Korean workers for technology projects.”

South Korea’s foreign ministry said the move was in line with the United States’ resolve to keep up sanctions to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula while carrying out dialogue.

A manager at Yanbian Silverstar, who would only give his family name Jin, said the allegations were “impossible”.

“I’ve never heard of Jong Song Hwa,” he told Reuters.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has maintained sanctions pressure on Pyongyang in an effort to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, which are a threat to the United States.

Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June at a summit in Singapore where Kim agreed in broad terms to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. North Korea has however given no indication it is willing to give up its weapons unilaterally, as the Trump administration has demanded.

Washington has also accused Russia of violating UN sanctions on North Korea by granting work permits to North Korean laborers despite Russia’s denial of any such actions.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley accused Moscow on Thursday of seeking to cover up breaches of UN sanctions on North Korea by Russians.

“Vicious Slander"

North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said US accusations that it was responsible for cyber attacks in 2014 and 2017 were a “smear campaign” and a man sanctioned by Washington earlier this month did not exist.

Washington charged and sanctioned Pak Jin Hyok and a Chinese-based front company he worked for, Chosun Expo, over the 2017 global WannaCry ransomware cyberattack and the 2014 cyberassault on Sony Corp.

Park worked as part of a team of hackers, known as the Lazarus Group, to try to breach multiple US businesses, including defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp, US officials said, though there was no evidence the company was breached.

KCNA said Pak was “non-existent” and the act of cyber crimes mentioned by Washington “has nothing to do with us.”

“The US farce of prosecution is none other than a vicious slander and another smear campaign full of falsehood and fabrication designed to undermine the DPRK,” KCNA said, referring to the country’s official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“In reality, the US is the chief culprit responsible for posing security threats in cyberspace.”

The post US Sanctions Russian, Chinese Tech Firms over Funds for N. Korea appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Indian Nuns Demand Justice for Sister Allegedly Assaulted by Bishop

Posted: 13 Sep 2018 09:58 PM PDT

NEW DELHI — A group of Indian Catholic nuns are staging a rare street protest in the southern state of Kerala demanding justice after an alleged sexual assault of a nun by a bishop.

Police have called the bishop named in the complaint for a second round of questioning next week. The bishop has denied wrongdoing.

The case comes at a time when the Christian community, which accounts for 19 percent of the state’s population, is reeling under an erosion of trust as sexual abuse cases involving the clergy pile up.

Five priests were arrested last month in two different sexual assault cases, while last year, a Catholic priest who was trying to flee the country was arrested after a minor he is accused of having sex with gave birth.

The nun in a letter said she wanted the Vatican to intervene. She said she was forced to make matters public after several attempts to seek justice from within the church failed.

The protest, now in its sixth day in Kochi, Kerala’s financial hub, is gathering momentum as the locals, activists, writers and politicians come out in support.

A man, who is on an indefinite hunger strike, lay in front of the stage where the protesting nuns sat. A nun coordinating the protest dismissed allegations that they were trying to disgrace the church.

“Our fight is for the truth. We will not back out unless the truth is established and the nun is given justice,” she told Reuters.

The Catholic Church in Germany acknowledged a “depressing and shameful” legacy of sexual abuse on Wednesday after a leaked study said clerics had abused thousands of children over 70 years.

The leaked study was published on the day that Pope Francis, who has made several attempts to tackle a spreading sexual abuse crisis that has badly tarnished the Church’s image worldwide, summoned senior bishops from around the world to the Vatican to discuss the protection of minors.

The post Indian Nuns Demand Justice for Sister Allegedly Assaulted by Bishop appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Malaysian Police Question Those Paid Out of $972M in Najib’s Account

Posted: 13 Sep 2018 09:52 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian police investigating a scandal at state fund 1MDB are questioning more than 50 individuals who received payments from a sum of $972 million that entered the personal bank account of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, an official said on Thursday.

A total of $4.5 billion was misappropriated by high-level officials of the fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and their associates, the US Justice department has said.

The fund, founded by Najib, is at the center of money-laundering probes in at least six countries, including Singapore Switzerland and the United States.

Police are recording statements of those who received funds from Najib’s personal account, among them some with political affiliations and foreigners, said deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim.

“We are in the process of taking their statements,” Noor Rashid told a news conference. Asked if any of the 50 would be charged in the investigation, he replied, “There is a possibility.”

Reuters could not immediately reach a spokesman for Najib to seek comment.

A total of 132 money laundering transactions have been identified and further investigations are being pursued, the police said in a statement later.

Police added that statements have been taken from 64 people, including Najib and his daughter Nooryana Najwa Najib, with more to come, as they track down those involved, or persons of interest, in the scandal.

Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, have been barred from leaving Malaysia after his decade in power ended in a shock election defeat in May, and the new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, relaunched an investigation into the troubled fund.

The scandal erupted in 2015 after media reports that about $681 million was deposited into Najib’s bank account.

Najib has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining the funds were donations from a Saudi royal and the bulk handed back.

Noor Rashid said a total of $972 million went into Najib’s account, however, after moving through accounts linked to several companies, some of which he named as Good Star Limited, Aabar and Tanore.

Malaysian and global investigations, including chargesheets filed by the US DoJ, have identified these firms as among those used to allegedly siphon off billions of dollars from 1MDB.

Many of the transactions happened overseas and the police have sought the help of foreign agencies, Noor Rashid added.

Najib has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges against him this year in connection with a former 1MDB unit.

His lawyer was also charged with money laundering on Thursday.

The post Malaysian Police Question Those Paid Out of $972M in Najib’s Account appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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