Thursday, September 20, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Lawmakers Call for End to Disciplinary Transfers of Corrupt, Incompetent Officials

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 08:50 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW—Lawmakers have criticized the unofficial but long-standing practice of transferring civil servants to border and ethnic areas of the country as a disciplinary measure.

Such disciplinary action should no longer be practiced in a country that is preparing to establish a federal Union system, lawmakers from underdeveloped areas told reporters in Naypyitaw on Thursday.

Disciplinary transfers of civil servants for corruption or poor performance have a negative impact on the development of ethnic regions, said Lower House lawmaker Dr. Khin Sithu of Karenni State's Loikaw Township.

"I was quite upset when a police colonel said at a recent meeting of the bill committee that he had consigned some policemen to Chin State because they hadn't performed their duties properly," the lawmaker said.

Whenever a newly transferred civil servant arrives in Karenni State, his colleagues ask him what he did wrong to be transferred there, the lawmaker said.

It had become a cliché among officials to speak of punitive transfers to ethnic states like Kachin, Karenni, Chin and Rakhine, whose development lags behind other parts of the country, she said.

The practice showed a disregard for ethnic regions that belied the rhetoric of a federal Union, democracy and equality, she said.

Karenni State is not a prison, said Dr. Khin Sithu, who is a former chairperson of the Karenni State chapter of the ruling National League for Democracy.

Ni Shwe Lan, a Lower House lawmaker from Chin State's Htantalan Township, said, "We are unhappy that civil servants are transferred to our areas as a punishment. There are not many educated persons [civil servants] in Chin State. Most of the people here are inexperienced. So we want to receive those who can educate and mentor our staff and enhance their capacity."

Transferring civil servants to less-developed parts of the country not only ends their career but also impedes the development of the region, she said, adding that civil servants who are punished in that way lose all enthusiasm for their work.

Lower House lawmaker U Ar Moe Si of Kachin State's Khaung Lam Pu said the current township and assistant township education officers in his constituency had been transferred there as a form of disciplinary action.

"The Union education minister said in the Union Parliament that the two were transferred to Khaung Lam Pu as a punishment," he said.

No one has passed the matriculation examination in Khaung Lam Pu for the past nine years, so assigning such officials to the township education office discourages the existing staff, who have been working in very poor conditions and bad weather, the lawmaker said.

The lawmaker said he had raised questions about the practice in Parliament, and suggested that officials who break the code of conduct for civil servants be assigned to offices in Naypyitaw instead.

Deputy Education Minister Dr. Win Maw Tun said there is no official policy of punishing civil servants by transferring them to ethnic regions. Official punishments range from verbal and written warnings, to suspension, demotion and dismissal, he said.

"In the Khaung Lam Pu case, I only intended to improve their performance. No law prescribes the punishment of transferring someone to remote areas," the deputy education minister told The Irrawaddy.

In fact, the unofficial practice of transferring civil servants to remote areas as a punishment has been around since the monarchical period.

"I found that some civil servants in Buthidaung were taking bribes. They had in fact been transferred from non-ethnic areas as a punishment for corruption," said Lower House lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe of Rakhine State's Buthidaung Township.

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U.K. Says Myanmar May Need to Be Referred to ICC over Rohingya

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 07:00 AM PDT

LONDON—British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday that the international community should consider referring the treatment of Rohingya in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) unless those responsible are tried and held accountable in the country.

"If there is not going to be accountability and justice in Burma, then the international community needs to look at all options including ICC referral," Hunt said on Twitter, posting during his visit to Myanmar.

"The latter would need the support of the Security Council, which it may not get, so we need to look at other options too."

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UWSA Cracks Down on Church Construction, Recruitment by ‘Extremist’ Christians

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 06:56 AM PDT

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) is cracking down on the unauthorized construction of Christian churches in Pangsang, the capital of Wa Region, according to local sources.

Several video clips posted on Facebook and other social media platforms show members of the UWSA using tools to tear down an unauthorized church. Christian religious leaders have also been detained by authorities, according to reports on social media.

Nyi Rang, a UWSA spokesperson based in Lashio, told The Irrawaddy that the action was intended to prevent extremist religious leaders from destabilizing the region.  A UWSA Central Committee meeting held early this month decided not to allow the teaching of religion in schools, to limit the number of churches in the region and to demolish churches built after 1992 that had not received approval from officials.

He said his organization's police had detained several people for questioning on suspicion of engaging in illegal construction.

"The laws in our region do not allow people to build churches without permission," Nyi Rang said.

He described those who had been detained as religious extremists who acted unlawfully.

According to a Burmese-language translation of a UWSA statement issued in the Wa language on Sept. 13, all churches built after 1992 would be destroyed as they had been built illegally. Only churches built between 1989 and 1992 were legal, it said.

Authorities would also check on the number of Christian schoolteachers and students in the region, according to the statement.

"We will not allow the building of new churches here anymore. Nor will we allow [Christian] organizations to accept new members," said the statement.

The authority will also monitor the activities of organizations that support churches in the region. Evangelical Christians will not be allowed to proselytize at schools, the statement added.

Only ethnic Wa would be allowed to train as religious leaders, and they would be under the authority of the UWSA central government, according to the statement.

Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) chairman Rev. Samson, whose church has been conducting baptisms in Wa Region for more than 30 years, said the ban was prompted by the activities of extremist missionaries.

"You can't call them typical Christians. They are just people who want to attack established churches. They are against what we Christians believe," he told The Irrawaddy.

Some Christian groups had been confining new converts to churches and not allowing them to go home, he said. Additionally, UWSA leaders were angered when Christian groups posted a video on social media that condemned the local practice among ethnic Wa of worshipping "nats"(spirits), Rev. Samson said. Nats are spirits worshipped by local people in conjunction with Buddhism.

The UWSA has temporarily shut down all churches, but will allow some to reopen after it completes its investigation of Christian leaders, he said.

The UWSA has full authority in the Wa Region, where the Myanmar government has no presence.

The region is home to various ethnic groups including Wa, Kachin, Ta'ang, Lahu, Lisu, Kokang, Shan, Chinese, Burmese and Muslim groups. They observe various religious beliefs including Christianity, Buddhism, animism, nat worship, and Islam. The largest religious group is Christian.

Based in northern Shan State, the UWSA is the largest ethnic armed force in Myanmar, with an estimated 40,000 personnel. Most leaders of the group have communist views, a reflection of their long proximity to the Chinese border. The UWSA split from the Burmese Communist Party in 1989 and later entered a ceasefire agreement with the military government that ruled Myanmar at the time. The UWSA has not yet signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, but is party to the ongoing bilateral peace deal with the Myanmar government.

The Irrawaddy reporter Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint contributed to this story.

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Analysis: Why the Rohingya Teaching Assistants Project is Facing Opposition

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 06:33 AM PDT

YANGON—In order to alleviate language barriers in schools in Rohingya-dominant northern Rakhine State’s Maungdaw District, the National League for Democracy (NLD) government began recruiting Rohingya teachers last week and the district education department has already received more than 1,000 applicants as of Wednesday.

Government schoolteachers across Myanmar use Burmese language and materials in their classrooms but this proves tough for Rohingya children who most commonly speak a Chittagonian dialect. Sometimes they cannot interact with teachers even in simple conversations. In the Maungdaw area, there are a very limited number of Rohingya with civil servant jobs and this rare offer from the Ministry of Education has drawn the attention of the Rohingya community.

The head of Maugdaw District's education department, U Khin Aung told The Irrawaddy that they have already received more than 1,000 applications from Rohingya as of Wednesday— within one week of the call for applications.  He said 400 applications from Maungdaw and 600 from Buthidaung townships respectively were submitted. The education official used the term “teaching assistant” rather than “schoolteacher.”

68% of Rohingya students now in Bangladeshi camps

It’s unclear as of yet how much funding the Ministry of Education will allocate to this pilot project and whether the government has plans to hire more applicants in the future or not, as final decision is in the hands of the higher authorities. U Khin Aung said that the ministry will pay the teaching assistants salaries of 50,000 to 150,000 kyats in cash per month.

According to him, more than 130 Muslims are currently serving in the education department of Maungdaw District and a small number of them retired last year.  It’s unclear whether the qualified candidates will have opportunities in the future to be promoted to schoolteacher positions when they have sufficient experience for the position.

Approximately 500 government schools—including primary, middle and high schools—were serving more than 140,000 Muslim students and some non-Muslim students before the violence broke out in August 2017 and ultimately resulted in 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh.

Most of the schools are now empty as ninety percent of the Rohingya population were ejected by the violence and more than 200 Rohingya villages were reduced to ashes. The Bangladesh and Myanmar governments have been working out a repatriation process since this early year but not a single refugee has returned through official channels as of today.

U Khin Aung acknowledged that more than 80,000 students in Maungdaw and more than 60,000 students in Buthidaung Township were studying at government schools in early 2017.  Today, the size of the population of Muslim students in the entire Maungdaw District has declined to 60,000—approximately 20,000 in Maungdaw Township and 40,000 in Buthidaung Township.

Rohingya children tending cattle in northern Maungdaw’s Maung Hnama Village in 2016. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

These numbers indicate that at least 68 percent of the Muslim students of Maungdaw District—a number of about 80,000—have been sheltering in neighboring Bangladesh in muddy refugee camps without any access to education. The figure for displaced students does not include deaths and the missing.

A rare career for Rohingya    

Some of the Rohingya who did not join the exodus, like Abdul Wahid from Rathedaung Township who is currently sheltering with his relatives in Buthidaung Township, told The Irrawaddy that job opportunities are an incentive for the displaced people as they have been in financial hardship for months.

He said that five people from his village applied for the positions via the Nyaung Chaung village superintendent.

“They are happy with the [call for] recruitments as it can become a professional career for them. At the same time, it can [provide for] their daily life,” said Abdul Wahid.

However, the fate of their applications are uncertain as local authorities have announced that Rohingya applicants from Buthidaung and Maungdaw are preferable for the posts.

“The applicants were unhappy when they heard about the government’s preferences but they are still hopeful”, said Abdul Wahid.

Objections from nationalists

Although the education department says this is just the initial stage of a pilot project, more challenges are imminent as serious objections have already been voiced to the government from Myanmar's nationalists.

Nearly 200 representatives from Buddhist religious orders, Rakhine political parties and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) as well as civil society groups held an urgent meeting in Rakhine’s capital of Sittwe this week which focused on objecting offering the positions to Muslims from Maugdaw District who are high school graduates. Anti-Muslim activists have said they will send a letter of objection to the president's office.

Arakanese nationalist U Than Tun, who joined the meeting told The Irrawaddy that the previous government under U Thein Sein had made the same offer to Muslims in 2013 but the positions was clearly labelled “volunteer teacher” positions at the time. The current NLD-led government officially stated “teacher assistant” and “educational staff” in its recruitment letter. He argued that current Myanmar laws only grant civil servant positions to citizens, not non-citizens.

As for the nationalists drumming-up objections, U Khin Aung said “There is no discriminative policy in the government education system. We civil servants are implementing what the ministry instructed on the ground.”

Yangon-based organization Gender Equality's founder U Aung Myo Min, remarked that education is essential for every single child. Making this change to the school teaching system could significantly improve the students' learning potential. Educational opportunities should be offered to kids regardless of racial or religious backgrounds, he said.

“People should simply acknowledge that a kid is a kid,” he said.

U Aung Myo Min recommended that educators who know about sensitive and regional situations would be appropriate teaching assistants or teachers and they should educate students on sensitive issues through the school curriculum.  He emphasized that promoting education in strife-torn regions is a necessity, especially; children should be taught proper education at school.

"Conflicts happen more easily in regions with lower education levels,” said U Aung Myo Min.

U Khaing Kaung San, founder of Sittwe-based Wunlurk Development Foundation, recalled that since armed conflicts erupted in Maugdaw last year, schoolteachers from other areas who had been working in Maungdaw, returned to their hometowns and have yet to go back to Maungdaw as they feel it is still unsafe there. Local authorities quickly filled the gap with temporary schoolteachers. Thus, he agreed that this government approach is realistic and reasonable.

A burnt-out market in a Rohingya village of Myo Thu Gyi in August 2017 which was later reconstructed as a border police regiment. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

Why do Arakanese disrespect other groups’ rights?

Some Arakanese civil society groups have claimed that the majority of Arakanese are not familiar with the concept of basic human rights and sometimes have no idea even about their own basic rights. They do not know the necessity of respecting other groups’ basic rights, and so block or demand a revoke of rights for other groups. Similarly, narrow-minded reactions will only result in negative impressions of Rakhine being relayed to the international community.

U Khaing Kaung San criticized the response saying it indicates how the community is not well informed about basic human rights. He said that people should not connect job opportunities and citizenship matters citing the example of neighboring Thailand allowing job opportunities for Myanmar immigrants though they are obviously not Thai citizens.

Despite some members of the Arakanese community being troubled with longstanding human rights abuses, the number of institutionalized human rights watchdogs or organization focusing on Arakanese are extremely limited. The Irrawaddy asked several social activists from Rakhine State, including members of Kyaukphyu Rural Development Assocaition (KRDA) and Wunlark Development Foundation, whether any human rights institution or watchdogs are monitoring rights abuses among the Arakanese and all of them answered that they have no knowledge of such activities.

The Arakan Human Rights and Development Organisation (AHRDO), established by exiled Rakhine citizens in 2011, was made up mostly of members of the All Arakan Students and Youths Congress (AASYC). The group’s mission was to promote human rights and improve economic and social conditions as well as sustainable development in the state. They jointly conducted some training sessions with USAID in Sittwe in 2013.  Since then it has been no longer active.

KRDA’s coordinator U Tun Kyi said that the Arakanese have lack of knowledge of basic human rights concepts and very a few people are familiar with human rights articles like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He agreed that Arakanese society needs rights-watch organizations.

When it comes to human rights, the Arakanese community often accuse organizations of helping only the Rohingya community, of receiving funding from the international community and of working for foreign governments. Sometimes rights activists are closely watched by the government and for these reasons, even motivated, flexible Arakanese activists are hesitant to establish human rights institutions.

“We refrain from putting our professional work status on our Facebook profile,” said U Khaing Kaung San.

Mindset change necessary for peace

U Tun Kyi claimed there is always criticism no matter what an organization professionally works on.  For the community's mindset to change, CSOs and rights advocates should regularly hold rights awareness campaigns and knowledge-sharing activities across the state.

Arkanese activists have suggested that rights lobbyists should convince prominent Arakanese politicians, activists, well-respected community leaders and religious leaders to install a new ideology. They suggested for politicians not to further politicize the wounds of the Muslim and Rakhine community.

To improve trust-building between two communities, relevant organization should organize cultural exchange programs by inviting Rakhine and Muslims to come together for community-level dialogue events. In addition, international relief organizations should carry out not only food distribution campaigns for the Rohingya but also encourage a change of mindset towards the displaced Rohingya who have been living in camps for years.

A border police guard near the fence where thousands of displaced Rohingya have lived in encampments since 2017. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

Gender Equality’s U Aung Myo Min agreed that mindset change is crucial for social cohesion and a harmonious society and added that a society should be broad and made up of diverse communities which can offer different perspectives in finding solutions. He said if a community refuses to accept diversity, it could lead to self-isolation and a disconnect from the outside world.

“A child is like a blank white page. As they are observing and learning from their environment, they should be properly educated with truthfulness and guidance. Once children are misguided by their community, it can become an infectious disease or cancer,” he said.

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NLD Urges China to Respect Local Laws, Concerns on Beijing Trip

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 06:00 AM PDT

YANGON — China must respect local concerns when implementing projects in Myanmar, the vice chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) told his hosts during a recent goodwill visit to Beijing, according to a press release from the party.

The release, issued today, said U Zaw Myint Maung also urged Beijing to respect Myanmar’s laws, create local jobs and to focus on peace when planning and carrying out projects in the country in a meeting on Monday with Song Tao, chief international liaison officer for the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The CPC invited U Zaw Myint Maung and other top NLD officials to Beijing for the nine-day visit starting Sept. 11 to strengthen relations between the two ruling parties.

The delegation included 18 NLD central committee members, including two chief ministers — from Mandalay and Magway regions — six central executive committee members, four auxiliary central executive committee members, two central economic committee members and one central information committee member. Five of the delegates have no additional senior party roles.

China is Myanmar’s largest investor, though many of its investments are controversial, perhaps none more so than the Myitsone hydropower dam in Kachin State, which was suspended in 2011 in the face of widespread public concern about the project’s potential social and environmental impacts.

The delegation also met with Huang Kunming, head of the CPC’s Propaganda Department and a member of the party’s politburo.

"Each side shared the party's constitution and discipline," NLD spokesman U Myo Nyunt, who joined the trip, told The Irrawaddy.

The CPC arranged for the delegates to visit the Three Gorges hydroelectric dam, the world's largest power station with an installed capacity of 22,500 MW, which spans the Yangtze River.

Although the dam displaced 1.3 million people and caused significant ecological change including an increased risk of landslides, and remains controversial both at home and abroad, China considers it a social and economic success.

"Chinese official explained their challenges while they were constructing the dam, how they addressed the local objections," U Myo Nyunt said.

Beijing and Naypyitaw recently signed a memorandum of understanding on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to build a network of roads, rail lines and shipping lanes linking China and Europe via at least 70 countries in Asia and the Middle East to foster trade and investment.

China and Myanmar also recently renegotiated the terms for the Kyaukphyu deep-water port in Rakhine State, which gives China access to the Indian Ocean and allows its oil imports to bypass the Strait of Malacca.

Meanwhile, the Chinese company behind the Myitsone dam has resumed lobbying residents and authorities in Kachin to support its plans to restart the project. Some locals and environmentalists are worried that the company may succeed in striking a new deal with Myanmar by year’s end.

CPC officials briefed the NLD delegation on China’s major investment projects and plans for Myanmar but did not mention the Myitsone dam.

"We didn't comment on their ongoing projects or on the Myitsone dam. Our visit was to represent the party, not the government." U Myo Nyunt said.

He added that the delegates were also briefed on China’s tax system and international relations and on its policies on rural development, agriculture and the environment.

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President Tells State, Regional Officials to Wrap Up Land-Grab Probes

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 04:53 AM PDT

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — President U Win Myint has instructed state and regional chief ministers to complete their investigations into land confiscation cases by the end of the year.

"The president has ordered that all land-grab investigations be completed by Dec. 31. He issued the instruction to the whole country, not only to the Irrawaddy regional government," Irrawaddy Region Chief Minister U Hla Moe Aung said at a press conference in Pathein on Tuesday.

The regional Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands is working to comply with the president's order, said U Hla Moe Aung, who is also the chairman of the committee.

"I've instructed the chairpersons and secretaries of land committees at the township and district levels to get the job done by Dec. 31," he said.

The Central Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands, chaired by Vice President U Henry Van Thio, is tasked with investigating land-grab cases and has counterparts at all administrative levels.

Earlier this month the central committee issued a 52-point set of guidelines to be followed in investigating land-grab cases.

The Irrawaddy regional committee was assigned to investigate 600 cases. So far, it has investigated 102 cases. Investigations are ongoing in 256 cases and the rest have yet to be investigated, said U Tin Win, director of the Department of Agriculture Land Management and Statistics.

The committee only investigates cases that arose after 1988, said U Tin Win, who is also the secretary of the regional committee. Nor does it handle cases already under investigation by farmland management committees, or disputes over land seized from farmers by lenders for failure to repay debts, he added.

The Irrawaddy Region Farmers Union has complained that the investigation will not be fair because many of the chairpersons and secretaries of the village- and ward-level committees, respectively, are administrators from the Land Records Department, whose officials have been involved in land-grab cases in the past.

"Most of the past land-grab cases involved chairmen and secretaries of the ward- and village-level committees. Though lawmakers are involved in the committees, they don't have much authority," the chairman of the regional farmers union, U Myo Chit, told The Irrawaddy.

"Regardless of the instructions from lawmakers, they [the chairpersons and secretaries of the committees] may write the reports as they like and present them to the higher authorities," he added.

"Unless and until civil society organizations representing farmers are included in the land rescrutinizing committees, it will be impossible to learn the truth, and farmers will continue to suffer."

According to statistics from the Central Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands, over 200,000 acres of farmland and vacant, fallow land have been seized in Irrawaddy Region for industrial and hotel zone projects, railroad projects, mineral extraction, departmental offices and expansion of cantonments by cronies of officials, companies, government departments and the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw).

Of the total land seized in Irrawaddy Region, which has six districts, over 170,000 acres were seized in Maubin District alone, according to the committee.

Since 2016, the National League for Democracy-led government has identified 63,417 acres of confiscated farmland to be returned. Farmers have received 13,091 acres; the remaining 50,326 acres have yet to be handed back to the original owners by the responsible departments and regional governments in line with the proper procedures, according to a report on the overall situation in the country regarding land grabs.

State Counselor's Office Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe submitted the report to the Union Parliament on Thursday.

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Artist Turns Medium Into Message to Challenge Stigma of Women’s Sarongs

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 03:34 AM PDT

YANGON — During his time in jail from 1998 and 2004, prominent artist Htein Lin used white prison uniforms as a canvas and turned soap and cigarette lighters into other works of art. He has made plaster molds of the arms of former political prisoners like himself to tell their stories.

Now, for his latest project, the artist is taking on the controversial subject of “htamein,” or women’s sarongs.

In Myanmar, there is a longstanding superstition that the clothes covering a woman’s lower half are “unclean” and cannot mix with men’s garments. The belief holds that women’s clothes, htamein in particular, should never be washed with the clothes of men or be hung in front of the house or higher than men’s garments. Men should never pass under a laundry line of women’s clothes.

Should any of these things come to pass, the thinking goes, the men will lose their "hpone," their spiritual power or strength. A wife is considered a bad spouse if she washes her clothes together with her husband’s.

Since last month, Htein Lin has been inviting women to take part in his new project by asking them to donate their old sarongs, on which he paints their portraits and the women write down their thoughts on the superstitions surrounding women’s clothes.

A painting by Htein Lin. The quote from the woman in the painting says: “I wash my husband’s clothes together with mine when he is away.” / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Htein Lin said he wanted to find out how prevalent these superstitions still were and whether they were more common among men or women after seeing some of his friends land in trouble with their in-laws and one even be divorced by her husband for breaking the taboos.

The superstitions surrounds htamein are believed to stem from ancient legends in which the male heroes are assassinated after losing their powers because they unwittingly passed under a woman’s sarong.

The country’s most powerful institution appears to be under their spell even today. Htein Lin said the military still takes htamein seriously. He cited the 2015 case of a young woman who was convicted of criminal defamation and sentenced to six months in jail for sharing a Facebook post comparing the color of new military uniforms to the htamein of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

"If it were compared with a shawl or some cloth, it wouldn’t have been a problem for them," the artist said.

Htein Lin looks at one of his paintings in his Yangon studio. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Htein Lin doesn't believe in the superstitions himself. He does not wash his clothes separately from his wife’s or use a different laundry basket.

He cited the comments on the subject of prominent monk Ashin Nandamalabhivamsa, who said that a man who walks under a laundry line of women’s clothes will lose his strength not because the sarongs wield genuine power but because of his obsession with the fear that they do.

He claimed that the aim of his project, titled “Skirting the Issue,” was not to end the taboo but to stimulate discussion about it.

"It is not a revolutionary idea. It is not a feminist movement. It's just an art movement. I just want people, through this project, to reconsider" he said.

Since he started work, men and women alike have shared their thoughts on the project on the artist’s Facebook. Some of the women said they don’t believe in the superstitions; others said they do and fear a misstep could put their husband and sons in danger.

A painting by Htein Lin. The quote from the woman in the painting says: “All of us from our village wash htamein at a separate spot in the village.” / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

A woman from Tanintharyi Region who took part in the project wrote on her sarong that all the women in her village still wash their htamein in a separate, designated spot.

Yangon-based filmmaker Shin Daewe, who also took part, said the project was a chance for her to speak out against the superstitions, something she found hard to do day to day in the face of so much persistent belief. She said her husband shared her thoughts on the issue.

"Htamein is just some cloth to me,” she wrote on her sarong. “It's ok to wash it together with my husband's clothes.”

But Shin Daewe said she has received little support from friends and that the project has also made her realize just how prevalent the superstitions remain.

"I hope this project will get people to start rethinking their beliefs,” she said.

As part of the project, Htein Lin also plans to construct a tunnel-like sculpture made from women’s old sarongs, to exhibit along with the paintings. It will be up to the audience — the men especially — whether to pass through.

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Activist Receives 15-Day Sentence for Peace Protest

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 03:19 AM PDT

MANDALAY — The Kyauktada Township Court in Yangon convicted three peace protesters under the Peaceful Assembly Law on Wednesday, giving them a choice of paying a fine of 20,000 kyats each or a sentence of 15 days' imprisonment.

Peace activist Ko Zeyar Lwin and poets Ko Khant Min Htet and Ko Ye Wint Aung participated in a protest at Mahabandoola Park on May 14, calling for an end to the wars in Kachin State, at which they gave speeches and recited poems.

The two poets agreed to pay the 20,000 kyats fine, however Ko Zeyar Lwin choose imprisonment.

"Suing and sentencing us under the Peaceful Assembly Law for participating in a movement for the peace of the country is limiting our freedom of expression and insulting peace," said Ko Zeyar Lwin.

"Our trial shows the devastation of the judicial system of the country and that is why I decided to take 15 days' imprisonment," he added.

Ko Zeyar Lwin is also facing trial under the Peaceful Assembly Law in Bahan Township where the peace rally passed through on the way to the larger gathering in Mahabandoola Park on the same day.

Protests urging government authorities to rescue locals trapped in the war-torn region of Kachin State and calling for a stop to the conflict, took place in Yangon and Mandalay in May, followed by the opening of a protest camp in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.

Thousands of locals remain displaced by outbreaks of fighting between the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) and Kachin ethnic armed groups, which took place in Kachin State in April and May.

Four protesters from Mandalay and 17 protesters from Yangon have been sued under Article 19 of Peaceful Assembly Law over the protests in May.

The Mandalay protesters have already served prison sentences of two months behind bars.

The post Activist Receives 15-Day Sentence for Peace Protest appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ethnic Armed Groups Discuss Peace Process Participation

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 02:08 AM PDT

Ethnic armed groups held a two-day meeting in Laiza, Kachin State, at the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to discuss how they could cooperate for participation in the country's peace process, according to a KIA spokesperson.

At least 12 ethnic armed groups participated including 10 signatories to the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) and other non-signatories including the KIA and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).

Two main topics were discussed at the meeting, according to Col Naw Bu, a spokesperson from the KIA/KIO (Kachin Independence Organization).

First, NCA signatories explained the latest peace negotiations with the government. Then, the discussion moved to how all ethnic armed groups could participate in the peace deal, he said.

"It was just a preliminary meeting. No agreements were made. We just discussed how we could all participate," Col Naw Bu added.

Previously, NCA signatories released a statement that said they would try to bring non-signatories into the peace deal. The meeting in Laiza is one of the first steps in trying to achieve that aim.

Ethnic armed organizations recently asked Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to hold a meeting with the government, army and parliament soon, in order to discuss two issues that have created a deadlock in negotiations.

The first issue is that the Myanmar Army has asked ethnic leaders to promise that their groups would not secede from the Union. The second issue is the idea that Myanmar should have only one army, placing ethnic armed groups under the command of the Myanmar Army.

Nai Hong Sar, vice chairman of the New Mon State Party, said that ethnic armed leaders will not make these concessions to the army at this point, as the country does not have a real democracy and ethnic people still lack rights. Ethnic leaders will accept one national army when Myanmar has a true democracy and ethnic people are granted self-determination, he added.

The post Ethnic Armed Groups Discuss Peace Process Participation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

At Least 21 Dead, Dozens Ill in Malaysia from Bootleg Liquor

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 09:50 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR — Police in Malaysia are investigating a case of alcohol poisoning that killed at least 21 people, with dozens more hospitalized, most of them citizens of Asian nations, officials said on Wednesday.

Cheap, homemade liquor is popular among poor, migrant workers in Muslim-majority Malaysia, which has high taxes on alcohol.

A total of 57 cases of methanol poisoning had been reported in Kuala Lumpur, the capital, and its surrounding state of Selangor, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said.

“The number of cases is expected to increase as more patients come in for treatment,” he told a news conference in the administrative capital of Putrajaya.

Methanol, an alcohol compound used in making spurious liquor, is harmless in tiny amounts but lethal in larger concentrations.

Five Malaysians were among those affected, while the rest were foreigners from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal, Dzulkefly added.

Authorities had tested several types of alcoholic drinks to find some samples contained methanol in higher proportions than authorized, he said.

“We are very concerned because it comes in batches… people are resorting to cheap, compounded hard liquor,” Dzulkefly said.

Police arrested seven people in raids on 12 sites where they seized nearly 3,000 bottles and cans of whisky and beer, in a bid to identify the contaminated drinks and curb the outbreak, Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor said in a statement.

Police are investigating the deaths as culpable homicide, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine, or both.

In neighboring Indonesia, also a Muslim-majority country, more than 50 people died in April after consuming homemade alcohol tainted with ingredients such as mosquito repellent.

The post At Least 21 Dead, Dozens Ill in Malaysia from Bootleg Liquor appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Malaysian Police Say Former PM Najib to Face 21 More Money Laundering Charges

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 09:43 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR — A total of 21 money laundering charges will be laid against former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over a $681 million dollar transfer into his bank account, police said on Thursday, money that allegedly came from scandal-linked state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The money laundering charges include nine counts of receiving illegal proceeds, five counts of using illegal proceeds and seven counts of transferring the proceeds to other entities, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim said in a statement.

Najib, who denies any wrongdoing, was expected to be charged in court later on Thursday over the transfer of funds into his personal bank account. The case is linked to the disappearance of billions of dollars from the heavily indebted 1MDB.

Najib, who founded 1MDB in 2009, has faced intense scrutiny since unexpectedly losing a general election in May to Mahathir Mohamad, who reopened investigations into allegations that billions of dollars were stolen from the fund.

Noor did not say whether the 21 money laundering charges related to 1MDB, but lawsuits filed by the United States Department of Justice allege that $681 million made its way into Najib’s account from the fund.

Najib will face additional charges for offenses involving the use of one’s office or position for gratification, officials said earlier.

Thursday’s charges will be the second batch leveled against the former premier for alleged crimes linked to 1MDB.

Najib was charged with money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power in July and August relating to funds of about 42 million ringgit ($10.14 million) that allegedly flowed from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit, into his personal bank account.

Najib has pleaded not guilty to all charges so far and has consistently denied wrongdoing. The SRC trial will begin in February.

1MDB is being investigated by at least six countries, including Singapore, Switzerland and the United States, over alleged money laundering and graft.

SRC had been the initial focus of Malaysian investigators because all the suspicious transactions involving it went through Malaysian entities.

The post Malaysian Police Say Former PM Najib to Face 21 More Money Laundering Charges appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China’s Xi Says Places ‘High Premium’ on Pakistan Ties, as Army Chief Visits

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 09:37 PM PDT

BEIJING — China places a “high premium” on its relations with Pakistan and believes a key economic project will be successful, President Xi Jinping told Pakistan’s army chief, days after a Pakistani minister stirred unease about Chinese Silk Road schemes.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa is the most senior Pakistani figure to visit ally China since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan took office in August, and his trip comes a week or so after a senior Chinese diplomat visited Islamabad.

Pakistan has deepened ties with China in recent years as relations with the United States have frayed.

Bajwa may be hoping to smooth out any Chinese alarm at comments last week by Pakistan’s commerce minister, Abdul Razak Dawood, who suggested suspending for a year projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Pakistan leg of China’s Belt and Road Initiative that includes recreating the old Silk Road trading route.

Meeting Bajwa on Wednesday, Xi said the two countries were “iron friends," China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

“China always places a high premium on China-Pakistan relations,” the report cited Xi as saying.

Xi expressed his appreciation for the support and security safeguards provided by Pakistan for the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor construction, Xinhua added.

“As long as high-degree mutual trust and concrete measures are in place, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor construction will succeed and deliver benefits to people of the two countries,” Xi said.

Beijing has pledged to invest about $60 billion in Pakistan for infrastructure for the Belt and Road project.

The post China’s Xi Says Places 'High Premium' on Pakistan Ties, as Army Chief Visits appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dream Comes True for S. Korea’s Moon: Trekking Mt. Paektu with Kim Jong Un

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 09:27 PM PDT

SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-in will clear a top item off his bucket list on Thursday: Climbing Mount Paektu in North Korea with its leader Kim Jong Un.

After the two leaders pledged new steps aimed at salvaging nuclear talks, South Korea made a surprise announcement that Moon and Kim will use the final day of their three-day summit to go up the symbolic mountain together.

Moon is known for his love of mountain climbing and has trekked in the Himalayas at least twice. The president has long stated that he would love to one day visit Mount Paektu, which is also sometimes spelled Baekdu.

As the highest mountain on the Korean peninsula at about 2,750 meters (9,000 ft) above sea level, Mount Paektu is the mythical origin of the Korean people, featuring in South Korea’s national anthem and various North Korean propaganda.

Although Mount Paektu straddles the North Korea-China border and can be reached from China, where it is known as Changbai Mountain, Moon has never visited.

That is because when he goes up Mount Paektu, he wants to go “stepping on our soil,” Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for the presidential Blue House, told reporters on Wednesday.

An active volcano, Mount Paektu is dotted with secret camps and historical sites from Korea’s guerrilla war against the occupying Japanese in the 1940s. A funicular railway takes tourists up the mountain, which also holds a huge crater lake.

“I have a dream that I have not been able to fulfill for a long time, which is trekking Mount Paektu and the Kaema Plateau (in North Korea),” Moon said during a banquet after his first summit with Kim in April, which took place at the demilitarized zone separating the two neighbors.

“I believe Chairman Kim will make that dream come true for sure.”

North Korea says Kim’s grandfather and father were born at Mount Paektu, a centerpiece of the North’s idolization and propaganda campaign to highlight the ruling family’s sacred bloodline.

Kim has previously visited the mountain around major developments in North Korea, such as visiting in late 2013 before he executed top officials including his uncle Jang Song-thaek, and after North Korea’s fifth nuclear test in 2016, North Korea watchers say.

Moon was born in South Korea in 1953 during the Korean War. His parents had fled from the North during the war, sailing for three days on the deck of a US ship packed with refugees.

A former human rights lawyer, he said in a 2017 book published months before his election as president that he wanted to “finish his life” in his mother’s North Korean hometown doing pro-bono service.

“When peaceful reunification comes, the first thing I want to do is to take my 90-year-old mother and go to her hometown,” Moon wrote in the book.

The post Dream Comes True for S. Korea’s Moon: Trekking Mt. Paektu with Kim Jong Un appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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