Monday, October 15, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Analysis: Yangon Public Losing Patience With Mercurial Chief Minister

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 07:26 AM PDT

YANGON—Of Myanmar's 14 state and regional chief ministers, few have seen such highs and lows in terms of their public approval as Yangon's U Phyo Min Thein.

In 2016, the country's biggest nationalist group, Ma Ba Tha, threatened to target him with a nationwide protest after he vowed to wipe the group out. In response, Myanmar people at home and abroad turned out to show solidarity with him. In January last year he experienced the kind of surge in popularity his counterparts elsewhere in Myanmar could only dream of when he hastily introduced a new public bus system. Thousands of volunteers manned some 2,000 bus stops across the city for five days to help commuters negotiate the transition to the new system, distributing flyers with new bus route information and helping them install the YBS (Yangon Bus Service) mobile application.

Recently, however, his reluctance to cooperate with Parliament and his penchant for expensive, poorly planned development projects—some of them worth billions of kyats—have earned him mounting criticism not only from the public but also from lawmakers in his own party.

The latest blow to his popularity came last week, when his administration's lawsuit against three local journalists for publishing "incorrect information" about the Yangon government drew a sharp public backlash. Many viewed the action as a threat to freedom of expression and inappropriately harsh for a democratic government, while others simply saw it as a "distortion of democracy", as lawmaker Daw Kyi Pya of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) put it.

U Phyo Min Thein became the chief minister of Yangon in 2016 after the NLD's victory in the previous year's general election. After nearly three years in office, his initial popularity is waning. Most people in Yangon would be hard-pressed to name any genuine landmark accomplishments that have emerged from the many initiatives he has introduced, be they difficult tasks like launching the Yangon Bus Service and his resettlement plan for squatters, or seemingly less challenging issues such as opening a night market.

"He dreams a lot, but [the dreams] rarely come true," said U Kyaw Zay Ya, an NLD lawmaker in the Yangon regional parliament.

The lawmaker said it would be different if the chief minister consulted with the parliamentary committees established to handle regional development in various sectors.

U Kyaw Zay Ya said the committees have submitted their findings and suggestions to the chief minister but have yet to receive any feedback from him.

Newly arrived YBS buses are seen in 2017. / The Irrawaddy

"I doubt if he reads them. We have never been invited for discussions [about the reports]," said U Kyaw Zay Ya, who is the secretary of the parliamentary Finance, Planning and Economic Committee.

The Yangon government was recently the subject of a public outcry after the auditor general submitted an explosive report to the regional parliament on the government's fiscal 2016-17 budget. Lawmakers found irregularities including the government's arranging of a 13.5-million-kyat loan from two private banks to its own companies without parliament's approval. More than two dozen lawmakers painstakingly went through the report's findings in parliament, raising questions such as whether the companies had received presidential permission—a requirement under the Special Company Act for any enterprise receiving capital investment from the government. Not a single government minister agreed to debate the findings in parliament.

NLD lawmakers U Nay Phone Latt and Daw Kyi Pya both said U Phyo Min Thein's government had made little effort to collaborate with parliament over the course of more than two years.

"They rarely take our questions seriously. They have dragged their feet on implementing proposals approved by parliament. And they have carried out some development projects without letting parliament know in advance," U Nay Phone Latt said.

Daw Kyi Pya said Yangon has many problems to tackle—including economic issues and the handing over of public land to private companies under secretive deals made by the previous government.

The lawmaker said she understood that solving such problems isn't easy. But she suggested that consulting or collaboration with parliament on the issues could make it easier for the chief minister.

"But there has been very, very little collaboration," she said.

On the business front, Yangon's chief minister has not fared well. In 2016, he drew the ire of the city's construction sector when he halted construction of more than 200 buildings to check if they had followed construction regulations. The move had serious consequences: labor issues, complaints from buyers of unfinished apartments, delays on repaying bank loans, cash flow problems and a lack of business for construction suppliers.

U Kyaw Kyaw Hlaing of the Smart Group of Companies said he had attended several meetings with U Phyo Min Thein.

"He rarely pays attention to what other people say," said the chairman of Smart, a business group specializing in technical services and electronic trading.

U Phyo Min Thein's relationship with the media has deteriorated steadily as well.

Journalists from Eleven Media leave court last week. / The Irrawaddy

In late 2016, he sued Eleven Media's CEO, accusing him of corruption over his Patek Philippe watch. At a press conference in 2017, rather than answering questions, the chief minister lectured reporters and took credit for the (increasingly questionable) freedom of the press that exists today, saying, "We are the ones who went to prison so that you can enjoy a strong press today," referring to his 14 years as a political prisoner. The latest episode involves his government's controversial lawsuit against three journalists from Eleven Media for "committing offenses against the State."

The lawsuit attracted serious criticism as an inappropriately harsh reaction for a democratic government, as the Eleven Media story was based on lawmakers' budget discussions in the Yangon parliament. Even the country's deputy information minister said the move had harmed not only the government, but also the state.

The NLD parliamentarian U Nay Phone Latt said the lawsuit was a threat to anyone who pointed out irregularities in the government's activities, and to freedom of expression in general.

"If the story is wrong, the government can respond with a press conference. If the criticism is true, all they have to do is fix the problem. I totally disagree with the lawsuit," he said.

Daw Aye Aye Win, a former Myanmar correspondent for The Associated Press, said the government had acted in an extreme way, opting to suppress the media rather than open a discussion.

"The way they responded is negative and disappointing. As a democratic government, they can file a complaint if the story is wrong," she said.

Yangon resident Ko Moe Thway described the chief minister as someone who comes up with good ideas but rarely follows through, citing the Yangon Bus Service, the night market plan and traffic congestion as examples.

"He rarely follows through and maintains momentum," he said.

Asked to score the chief minister's performance on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best), Ko Moe Thway said, "I would give him a 1 or 2."

He added that the latest issue involving the lawsuit against journalists over their coverage of the government's budget could damage the chief minister's popularity, as even NLD members had criticized him and questioned the lawsuit.

"I would like to see him show respect for democracy and human rights while dedicating himself to improving the lives of Yangon residents," Ko Moe Thway said.

Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein was not available for comment on Monday.

The post Analysis: Yangon Public Losing Patience With Mercurial Chief Minister appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Anti-Corruption Commission Asked to Probe Kachin State Highway Project

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 07:06 AM PDT

MANDALAY—A lawyer from Myitkyina, Kachin State, filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Saturday asking it to investigate the regional government's implementation of a highway improvement project.

U Tin Tun Thein told The Irrawaddy that the regional government failed to seek approval from the regional Parliament for the 11-billion-kyat project, claiming there is no record of it having called for bids to be tendered.

"I filed a complaint asking the ACC to investigate whether the 11 billion kyats were used in accordance with the law, and whether the government followed the proper tender procedure," U Tin Tun Thein said.

"When the regional government creates a budget for a project like this, it must consult Parliament and abide by its decision. Under the law, it needs to initiate a call for bids. In this case, the regional government did not follow the above procedures and local residents are unsure where the money came from and how the construction will be handled," he added.

The project was reportedly initiated by the regional government to upgrade a 23-mile-long section of the highway connecting Bhamo and Myitkyina in Moemauk Township. The project was awarded to the Power Five Star construction company.

"If the regional government has no respect for Parliament, it will be very difficult to establish rule of law in the region. Additionally, the budget for the project lacks transparency, which is why I filed a complaint to the ACC to investigate the regional government team [responsible]," he added.

The lawyer said the complaint was filed with the ACC online on Saturday. He said the committee acknowledged receipt of the complaint, adding that he will submit a hard copy of the complaint through the mail this week.

"The commission replied online that they received the complaint. But I don't know how or when they will begin the investigation. I will send hard copies of the complaint and required evidence and supporting documents through the post," he said.

Regional Planning and Finance Minister U Wai Lin told The Irrawaddy that the budget for the project was obtained during the September-October 2017 session of Parliament, in accordance with the law and parliamentary procedures.

"The budget and the project for the upgrade to that sector of road received parliamentary approval. The budget was transferred from other road improvement and expansion projects under the Road Transportation Department that could not be completed due to regional security issues and other reasons," he said.

U Wai Lin said the ministry is using the budget in accordance with the law and that there had been no misuse or unauthorized use of funds.

"Since there are many rumors in the region concerning that project and the budget, the inspection team from Naypyitaw is here to check the quality of the road-improvement process. We have all the necessary documentation regarding the budget; anyone can check it at any time," he said.

The post Anti-Corruption Commission Asked to Probe Kachin State Highway Project appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Anti-Corruption Commission to Review Complaint Calling for Investigation of Losses of Public Funds

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 06:47 AM PDT

YANGON—The Anti-Corruption Commission said it will act on a request for an investigation into state losses of billions of kyats of public funds which was revealed in a recent report by Yangon Region's auditor general.

The findings of the auditor general's report on the Yangon government's budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year—submitted to the parliament in September—has not only stoked heated discussions among lawmakers in the parliament, but also attracted much public attention to the huge loss of public funds, including through the leasing of state land and buildings to private companies at rates well below standard commercial rents.

Former Yangon regional lawmaker Daw Nyo Nyo Thinn, who is also a founder of Yangon Watch, an independent governance-monitoring group, filed the complaint to the Anti-Corruption Commission calling for an investigation into the losses of public funds stated in the report.

In the complaint filed to the commission, she listed five cases including a loss of 41.97 billion kyats ($26.3 million) of public funds through the granting of one thousand acres of land to some private businessmen; a loss of 9.2 billion kyats ($5.8 million) in a project on 45th Street in Botahtaung Township; a loss of one billion kyats ($626,000) per month in leasing land in People's Park to a private company at a very low rate and losses of two billion kyats ($1.3 million) per year in leasing land in Kandawgyi, Kandawmin and Myainghaywun parks in Yangon.

Daw Nyo Nyo Thin said she picked these five as solid cases for investigation among many other controversies in the report.

The former lawmaker said the auditor general's reports of losses of public funds, during both the current government and the previous government, have been discussed in parliament but no actions were ever taken nor investigations instigated.

"For a long time, the state has been losing huge public funds which could be used in projects including providing health services as well as building affordable housing," she said.

The five cases listed in the complaint included those which were initiated by the previous government and renewed under the current government.

"I want the commission to investigate those who are responsible for [the mismanagement of public funds] and take action against them," she said.

U Kyaw Soe, spokesperson of the commission, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that they will scrutinize whether the complaint complies with anti-corruption laws first and then decide whether to carry out an investigation into the complaint.

However, the spokesperson said he couldn't give the exact timeframe for when they intend to make a decision on whether to conduct the investigation.

"We are receiving at least 70 complaints per day. We need to scrutinize all of those, so it could take more than one week," he said.

The post Anti-Corruption Commission to Review Complaint Calling for Investigation of Losses of Public Funds appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Military Chief Says National Peace Deal Must Guarantee ‘Non-Separation’

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 06:32 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW/YANGON — Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Monday insisted that the “non-separation” of ethnic minority states and regions had to be part of any future peace deal with the country’s ethnic armed groups as the Constitution demanded it.

Myanmar’s military chief made the remarks on the first of a three-day “peace summit” in Naypyitaw that has brought him together with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the leaders of 10 ethnic armed groups to break the deadlock in the country’s stalled peace process.

Among the main points of contention is the military’s demand that the armed groups promise ahead of any peace deal never to secede from the union, a proposal the armed groups have balked at.

"It is not that we don't believe our ethnic brothers, as some groups have said. Adding ‘non-separation’ is for a long-term guarantee. We need to join hands together on the peace path with trust and without doubt," Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said.

He noted that Article 10 of the military-drafted Constitution states that: "No part of the territory constituted in the union such as regions, states, union territories and self-administered areas shall ever secede from the union."

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said the government has repeatedly vowed to adhere to the democratic and federal principles the country’s ethnic minorities have long demanded.

"I want to say that it's very important to collaborate for a union where stakeholders neither wish nor need to secede,” she said.

Last year the military said that if ethnic armed groups do not promise to not secede, there would be no further discussion of self-determination, autonomy or minority rights. As a result, peace negotiations have largely ground to a halt since the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference in May 2017. The so-called package deal was left off the agenda of the third session of the conference in July.

"There are contradicting perspectives among the government, Tatmadaw [military] and us on self-determination and non-separation, which are the key hurdles to moving forward in every stage of the political negotiations," Saw Mutu Say Poe, chairman of the Karen National Union, said in his speech at Monday’s summit.

He said the ultimate goal of establishing a federal system of government should not be boiled down to the issue of secession alone.

"Our demand for self-determination must apply to the respective states and regions of the union," he said. "Our demand to draft state constitutions has to align with the union Constitution, and at the same time it will have a mechanism to solve any constitutional disputes."

The armed groups feel that the military’s insistence on “non-separation” is "dictatorial” because the integrity of the union is already mentioned in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement they have singed, said U Ye Tun, a former Lower House lawmaker in the union Parliament and an ethnic Shan.

"One side should not push for adding ‘non-separation,’ and the other side should no longer demand the right to secede if it wants to,” he said. “This matter will not be overcome as long as the union government is seen as the government of the [majority] ethnic Bamar."

The government plans to hold three more sessions of the Union Peace Conference by the end of next year to finalize the basic principles of a peace deal, or Union Accord. To date, 51 basic principles have been agreed covering politics, economics, social issues, land, the environment and security.

The post Military Chief Says National Peace Deal Must Guarantee ‘Non-Separation’ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Death of the Controversial Myaing Gyi Ngu Monk

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 05:56 AM PDT

The Myaing Gyi Ngu Sayadaw, a respected ethnic Karen Buddhist monk known locally as U Thuzana, passed away on Saturday at the age of 71 in a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand according to sources from Karen State.

U Thuzana's remains were flown to Mae Sot at the Thai-Myanmar border and then transported to his monastery in the town of Myaing Gyi Ngu in Karen State where he lived as an abbot. Many of his followers expressed grief when they visited his monastery to pay their last respects on Sunday.

A number of Karen Buddhist monks and supporters of the deceased abbot held a meeting on Monday in Myaing Gyi Ngu to discuss how long they will keep his dead body, deciding to have it cremated it on Nov 27.

"The meeting was held today as a working committee and we all decided to keep the body for 45 days," Min Tin Win, Karen State's minister for religious affairs who attended the meeting told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

He said that though the state government donated some money on Monday, the monk's supporters will independently arrange the funeral.

"[The monk's supporters] did not ask for help from the government. They will do it for themselves," said Min Tin Win.

Towards the end of his life, U Thuzana suffered from a lung problem and had breathing difficulties for several years before his death, carrying an oxygen tank wherever he traveled. He had spent 10 months in hospital before he passed away.

U Thuzana was a patron of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), an ethnic armed group founded in 1994 when a Buddhist faction split from the Christian-dominated Karen National Union (KNU). Until his death, he wielded considerable influence over the DKBA as well as the Border Guard Force (BGF).

He was responsible for inflaming religious tensions in Karen State in 2016 and 2017 by ordering his followers to build Buddhist pagodas in the compounds of Muslim and Christian places of worship.

According to Col. Saw San Aung, a leader of the splinter group DKBA who is now based in Kokang, northern Shan State, many people believed that U Thuzana was involved in politics during his lifetime as well as working in his religious role.

Col. Saw San Aung described U Thuzana as a good person who helped thousands of ethnic Karen who fled from fighting, comparing him to a tree where 10,000 birds could take shelter.

U Thuzana always told Col. Saw San Aung that issues of ethnicity and politics were concerns for all Karen people. As he was a monk, he said, his job was to work for his religion.

According to Col. Saw San Aung, he did not influence the ethnic armed revolution but rather worked on local development, building roads, pagodas and monasteries. He also helped Karen internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled from fighting. His established an IDP camp at his monastery, accommodating Karen IDPs there.

According to Col. Saw San Aung, U Thuzana denounced the clashes which broke out between the BGF and the DKBA in Mae Tha Waw Village near Myaing Gyi Ngu in 2016, saying he didn't want to see any blood spilled.

He owned a large piece of land in the Myaing Gyi Ngu area and offered it to the IDPs to build houses there. Myaing Gyi Ngu started out with a small IDP village but later expanded to become a town.

U Thuzana was deeply respected in Myaing Gyi Ngu where, following his example, the consuming of meat is banned and all villagers have adopted a vegetarian diet. His photo can be seen hanging in many houses in the town and his painted portrait at some pagodas which he had built.

He is responsible for the construction of hundreds of small pagodas along the roads between Myaing Gyi Ngu and the nearby Thai-Myanmar border. He even built some pagodas on the banks of the Salween River at the border. In his mission to spread Buddhism to all people living in mountainous areas, he also built a monastery in Kayah State.

Before the split of the KNU, U Thuzana had a pagoda built on the Manerplaw Mountain on the site of the former KNU headquarters. However, Gen. Bo Mya, who was the head of KNU at that time, warned him against painting it white as it could provide a target for the enemy, the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army). This turned out to be the first internal conflict in the KNU which fanned the flames for the split later.

It was also said that some Buddhist members of the KNU felt there was unequal treatment between Christian and Buddhist KNU troops. When he inspired the defection of troops from the KNU and the formation of the DKBA splinter group, rumors spread that he had connections with the Tatmadaw.

Gen. Bo Mya and a number of other KNU leaders had suspicions about the DKBA having Tatmadaw connections and they were proven right when the two groups joined forces in a 1995 attack on Manerplaw, the KNU headquarters. Manerplaw had previously been a meeting point for Myanmar's ethnic rebels to gather and plan attacks against the Tatmadaw.

The post Death of the Controversial Myaing Gyi Ngu Monk appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ta’ang Armed Group Says Shan Woman it Detained in August Freed

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 03:45 AM PDT

YANGON — The Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) says it has released an ethnic Shan woman it detained nearly two months ago for allegedly informing on two of its fighters who were extorting money from business owners in Shan State.

TNLA spokesman Mai Aik Kyaw told The Irrawaddy that Nang Mo Hom was released on Monday.

Nang Mo Hom, a mother of three, was abducted at gunpoint by TNLA fighters from her home in Namhkam Township in northern Shan on Aug. 17.

The ethnic armed group accused her of obstructing its fighters from collecting customs duties and claimed that information she provided the Myanmar military resulted in the death of one of the fighters in July 2017. It put her on trial in its own court and sentenced her to three years in prison on Oct. 5.

Nang Mo Hom’s relatives denied that she was an informant.

In a statement on Monday signed by the TNLA chairman, the group said it agreed to release Nang Mo Hom at the request of the Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) for the sake of maintaining good relations between the Shan and Ta’ang communities. It said negotiations were mediated by the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee, an alliance of seven ethnic armed groups that both are members of.

"Her family members came when she was released. We have handed her over to her family," Mai Aik Kyaw said.

On its official Facebook page, the TNLA said it handed Nang Mo Hom over to a SSPP/SSA liaison officer at 12 p.m. and that her brother-in-law, uncle and aunt were there.

Sai Thein Shwe, a member of the Namkham Youth Network, which had been lobbying for Nang Mo Hom’s release, said he had yet to confirm the handover.

"[The TNLA] said it would hand her over to the SSPP so it could hand her over to her family, but I still can’t get in contact with the SSPP. I heard that a press conference will be held when she arrives at the SSPP headquarters tomorrow, but I don't know the details," he said.

Several groups had been calling for Nang Mo Hom’s release since she was abducted, including the government's National Reconciliation and Peace Center, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, and the Namkham Youth Network.

On Sept. 17, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Namkham to demand her freedom.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Ta’ang Armed Group Says Shan Woman it Detained in August Freed appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Military Returns Land It Seized in Rakhine State

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 01:52 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW—The Myanmar Army, also known as the Tatmadaw, has returned over 300 acres of land it previously confiscated on the grounds of the food security of Tatmadaw troops in Rakhine State's Ann Township.

"The Tatmadaw has left 300.18 acres of land and handed it over to the government. The government gave temporary permits [for farming] to its original owners. So far, the Tatmadaw has returned over 500 acres of lands for which temporary permits were issued," Ann Township lawmaker of Rakhine State Parliament U Khin Maung Htay told The Irrawaddy.

According to Myanmar's farmland laws, when confiscated lands are returned, the original owners do not immediately get Form 7, which is the ownership certificate. Instead, they get Form 3, which is a temporary permit for farming. They get Form 7 only if they can present documents in support of their ownership.

The Tatmadaw's handing back of land was marked by a ceremony held in Ann Township on Thursday which was attended by Vice-President Henry Van Thio, who is also the chairman of the Central Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands, alongside permanent secretary of the defense ministry Brig-Gen Aung Kyaw Hoe.

Temporary farming permits for 300.18 acres of land were handed to 41 original owners. The lands had been confiscated by No. 373 Light Infantry Battalion of the Western Command.

The land cannot be used for farming immediately—embankments need to be repaired and farmland reestablished as the battalion used the land for breeding fish and prawns, said lawmaker U Khin Maung Htay.

"The confiscated lands are not close to the battalion. They are at the border of Ann and Kyaukphyu townships. It seems a lot has to be done to reestablish those lands for farming," he said.

He declined to comment when asked if he thought the Tatmadaw returned those lands because they could no longer be used for farming.

Thursday's event marks the first time the Tatmadaw has returned confiscated lands in a ceremony. However, there are many land-grab cases involving the Tatmadaw which have yet to be resolved, said Upper House lawmaker Daw Htoot May.

"The number of acres abandoned is very small [compared to the amount that has not yet been returned]. Lands were grabbed either by individuals or groups. I think the amount of land confiscated by the Tamadaw in Rakhine State is highest in Ann Township," she said.

Since 2016, the Lower House Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development Committee of Myanmar's Parliament has received over 301 complaints regarding land grab issues in Rakhine State, said committee member Daw Ni Ni May Myint, who is also a Lower House lawmaker representing Rakhine State's Taungup Township.

President U Win Myint has instructed state and regional chief ministers to wrap up land grab probes by the end of the year, according to Ayeyawady Region Chief Minister U Hla Moe Aung.

Committees at different levels will only investigate cases that arose after 1988, and will not handle cases already under investigation by farmland management committees, or disputes over land seized from farmers by lenders for failure to repay debts.

The post Military Returns Land It Seized in Rakhine State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Nationalist Monk Condemns Foreign Intervention, Says He Will ‘Take Up Arms’

Posted: 14 Oct 2018 10:51 PM PDT

YANGON — Myanmar's ultranationalist firebrand Buddhist monk U Wirathu said he would take up arms if Myanmar's military leadership is charged at the International Criminal Court (ICC), showing his solidarity with the country's armed forces, which have been internationally blamed for their alleged atrocities against the Rohingya.

Human rights groups abroad and the international community have been lobbying to refer military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and his subordinates to the ICC for their troops' actions against Muslims in northern Rakhine State. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh last year after security clearance operations in the area following the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army's attacks on police outposts. The Myanmar government denounced ARSA as a terrorist organization. The majority of those who fled the area recounted extrajudicial killing, rape and arson carried out by the security forces. The military has rejected all accusations.

In response to international pressure, nationalists staged a pro-military demonstration called 'The Obloquy to Condemn Foreign Countries and Organizations Which Abuse and Interfere the State and Tatmadaw' (military) in downtown Yangon. On Sunday, waving miniature flags of the armed forces, at least 1,000 supporters—ex-servicemen and their family members, Buddhist monks holding portraits of the military chief, some members of the opposition Union Solidarity and Development party and their allies and nationalists—marched through the downtown before ending at the event venue opposite City Hall for a public talk.

The center of the show was U Wirathu, the monk who is internationally infamous for his fiery sermons against Muslims that encouraged Buddhist women to marry opium addicts, drunks, monks, and even dogs rather than Muslim men.

Early this year, Facebook wiped his account, as he used the social media site as a hate-mongering platform. Since then, the 50-year-old monk virtually vanished from public sight. The Sunday pro-military rally was his first reappearance.

During the talk, he said he was against the international pressure, not protecting Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing but Myanmar's sovereignty, while also stating that there would be a recognized Rohingya ethnicity in Myanmar only when "rabbits get horns and tortoises get hair," implying when hell freezes over.

Regarding the international pressure put on Rakhine issue, the monk said Myanmar did not need to worry so long as China and Russia were at the United Nations, referring to the two countries stance and veto power thanks to being permanent members of the UN Security Council.

"If there is an ICC charge (against the military leadership) or (decision for) R2P (responsibility to protest), that is the day I will pick up a gun," he said. But he did not state whom he would be taking up arms against.

"Come here and meet me ICC!" he said to the cheering crowd.

Another speaker was U Win Ko Ko Latt, a hardline nationalist recently released from prison for being found guilty of committing offenses against the State for a protest outside the US Embassy in Rangoon in 2016 against the embassy's use of the word "Rohingya."

He said it was Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing who had denied the existence of Rohingya in the country and that the army protected the races and religion of the indigenous ethnic people of Rakhine State.

"That's the same cause that the nationalists are fighting for. That's why we have to support the Tatmadaw," he said.

On Monday, the military-run Myawady Daily reported that the rally was joined by more than 5,000 supporters.

The paper added that pro-military campaigns have been underway across the country since 2016.

"As of yesterday, 80 rallies have been carried out and joined by more than 600,000 people. There will be more in the pipeline."

The post Myanmar Nationalist Monk Condemns Foreign Intervention, Says He Will 'Take Up Arms' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

At IMF Meetings, China’s Globalization Agenda Left Behind in Trade Debate

Posted: 14 Oct 2018 10:21 PM PDT

NUSA DUA, Indonesia — Three days before US President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping portrayed Beijing as the champion and defender of globalization at the Davos World Economic Forum amid rising fears of trade protectionism.

A few months later, as Xi launched a forum on China’s vast Belt and Road effort, promising to spread Chinese investment and soft power through the world, it appeared his country’s global stature was rising.

But now the luster on Beijing’s trade and investment story has dulled amid rising US tariffs, higher interest rates and capital flight from emerging markets, all of which threaten to erode global growth.

At the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, some of that sentiment spilled into the open.

“I think there is a broad view growing in the West that China has in some ways taken advantage of the system,” said Charles Dallara, former head of the Institute of International Finance, who attended the meetings. “It reminds me of the view in the West of Japan in the 1980s, very much so.”

Calls to fix global trading rules are tellingly coming not just from the Trump administration. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde this week laid out what needed to be done.

“This means looking at the distortionary effects of state subsidies, improving the enforcement of intellectual property rights, and taking steps to ensure effective competition — to avoid the excesses of market-dominant positions,” she said at a trade conference during the Bali meetings.

Lagarde did not mention China, but all those issues are charges frequently leveled by the Trump administration. Others were less restrained.

“We absolutely need to address the issue of overcapacities in China. Nobody can say that this is not a problem. This has to be dealt with,” European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici said at the same event.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin struck a more confident tone at the Bali meetings compared with similar gatherings over the last year, when he was the target of near-universal criticism over Trump’s tariff plans.

Fresh off a deal to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, and with trade talks coming soon with the European Union and Japan, the US administration is trying to build a coalition of allies to revamp global trade rules to combat technology transfer and other trade policies it associates with China.

Mnuchin said US allies first viewed Trump’s trade views as simply protectionist but now have a better understanding of his desire for “free, fair and reciprocal trade.”

“This is not a coalition to pressure China. This is a coalition of like-minded people who have very similar issues as it relates to China,” Mnuchin said.

Belt and Road

China is still a major political and economic power, but Chinese officials appeared more on the defensive this week, with the tone of debate at some IMF forums shifting more quickly than Beijing may have expected.

Vice finance minister Zou Jiayi, on a World Bank panel on Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative, found herself fielding questions from other panelists and the audience over debt sustainability, how effectively small countries could negotiate with Beijing, and whether the effort was viable in the midst of a protracted trade war.

The debt burdens from the Belt and Road Initiative came into sharper focus as Pakistan, a major recipient of Chinese-financed port, rail and road projects, formally sought an IMF bailout program during the Bali meetings.

Zou said China was using risk analysis methods from bodies such as the IMF and World Bank, and would supervise the projects’ debt more vigorously.

But she also said that they are essentially commercial projects and that countries should exercise caution and make their own evaluations of their commercial viability.

And she said some of the risks came from a drastic change in the external environment, giving an example of an unnamed African country with sound debt levels that sank into crisis after oil prices tanked and its currency fell.

David Dollar, a former US Treasury official and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who spoke on the panel, said that Belt and Road could reduce trade costs, but that more work needed to be done.

“For low-income countries, there is really this risk of taking on too much debt even if the projects are very, very good,” Dollar said.

Ineffective institutions

Some delegates from China at the Bali IMF and World Bank meetings expressed frustration that Beijing’s agenda was being bypassed while international institutions had largely been ineffective in deterring Trump’s tariff actions.

“Personally I think unfortunately the G20 hasn’t contributed much to reconciliation and coordination of macroeconomic policies across the world,” said Xiang Songzuo, deputy director of the International Monetary Institute at Renmin University of China, who was a speaker at a sideline event during the meetings in Bali.

“We wish all these forums including G20, UN, World Bank, IMF, WTO, would become stronger, stronger and more productive in containing all these wrong things — protectionism, unilateralism,” Xiang added.

The current leaders of the G20, which bills itself as a leading forum that seeks to develop global policies and address the most pressing challenges, conceded that it is effectively sidelined on trade.

“The G20 can play a role in providing the platform for discussions,” said Argentine Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne, chairman of this year’s G20 finance leaders’ meeting. “But the differences that still persist should be resolved by the members that are directly involved in the tensions.”

Although there are reports that Xi and Trump will meet at the G20 leaders’ summit on November, Mnuchin told Reuters that currency issues would be part of trade talks, and that the onus was squarely on China to take concrete steps before trade talks could resume.

“This can’t just be talk; there have to be meaningful commitments to create a rebalanced trading relationship,” Mnuchin told reporters on Saturday, adding that structural changes were needed to balance the relationship.

“This is not about buying more soybeans and buying more LNG,” he said.

The post At IMF Meetings, China’s Globalization Agenda Left Behind in Trade Debate appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Full Steam Ahead: India’s First Women-Run Train Station Blazes a Trail

Posted: 14 Oct 2018 10:10 PM PDT

JAIPUR, India — As Chandra Kala heard the blaring horns of a train, she quickened her pace, zig-zagged and elbowed across a teeming platform while hauling a sack of wheat, a suitcase and a backpack.

She placed the luggage inside a carriage just as the train began to chug out of Gandhi Nagar railway station, which in February became India’s only major terminal where women run the show.

Kala is a rare female porter in the conservative, desert state of Rajasthan in western India, and one of about 40 women holding positions traditionally held by men.

"Earlier, I used to feel very shy," said Kala, a widow with two children. "How should I speak to passengers? How can I lift luggage? It all felt very weird."

She had taken over her husband’s porter job when he passed away last year, and she now supports her children from her earnings of about 3,000 rupees ($40) a week.

"It does not feel weird anymore," said Kala. "It feels really good."

From ticket sellers and conductors, to station managers and cleaners, these trailblazers are upending sexist views and providing hope in a country where women are slowly vanishing from the workplace.

India is one of the world’s fastest growing major economies but the rate of female employment is startlingly low, in large part due to social prejudices and general disapproval of working women.

At least 20 million women—the combined population of New York, London and Paris—have left the workforce of Asia’s third-largest economy since 2005, World Bank data shows, with only 27 percent now employed.

The Gandhi Nagar initiative is part of efforts by the state-run railway—India’s biggest employer—to empower women in its workforce of 1.3 million people.

Indian Railways officials are planning to replicate the all-women staff model in other stations, according to Tarun Jain, a spokesman for the railways ministry.

The experiment has also created a financial windfall, according to Jain, who said Nagar station has experienced "record earnings" since women took over.

"The revenues have grown substantially as far as the ticket checking is concerned," he said. "They have caught a lot of people without tickets."

In April, the women caught 520 people attempting to ride trains or access platforms without tickets, according to data Jain provided. The station earned 133,595 rupees ($1,805) from the tickets those people then had to purchase.

In contrast, men apprehended 64 people without tickets during the same month in 2017, netting the station 11,645 rupees ($158), according to the data.

Aya Matsuura, a gender specialist at the UN’s International Labor Organization, said such initiatives are important in fighting gender stereotypes and to help "women find the confidence to enter traditionally male-dominated sectors."

"This also sends out a positive message to the younger generation when they consider career options," she said.

Happy Passengers

Each year, millions of tourists flock to ancient fortresses and camel-back desert safaris in Rajasthan, which is also home to some of India’s poorest villages where age-old customs like purdah, or veiling, often dictate a woman’s life.

At Gandhi Nagar station in the state capital of Jaipur, 25 trains pass through every day with about 7,000 commuters—mostly from conservative rural and tribal areas—witnessing women carrying out jobs many have only seen men do before.

Bewildered, surprised and even upset, many gawked at the women when they first took over the station and often undermined their authority, asking for a "male manager," according to Neelam Sharma, a reservation supervisor.

"Some people reacted quite angrily," said Sharma, adding that passengers would say things like, "We do not know how any work will get done here."

However, as the months rolled by, Sharma said commuters were pleased to see improvements at the station, including faster service, smaller queues, better information and cleanliness.

"Now those same people come to us and really appreciate us and say things like, 'Madam, we really like coming here, our work gets done quicker,' and, 'The men did not explain things to us properly,'" Sharma said.

"Passengers are quite happy now."

Satya Narayan, a 61-year-old man who has been regular at the station since he was a little boy, agreed.

"There is a difference of night and day here," he said. "When the men were working here, there used to be a lot of hooliganism. But now the women are taking care of everything."

Doubts and Fears

Members of the team credit this success to their motivation to prove themselves in what is commonly considered a male bastion.

"[We] are giving our 100 percent efforts," said station master Angel Stella, sitting behind a control panel with color-coded track lines and buttons that send signals to incoming trains in order to prevent accidents.

But it was not easy getting to this point, she said.

The women, who were mostly transferred from stations in smaller towns, had to overcome their own doubts and fears of running a station by themselves.

They had to get comfortable working night shifts and working in positions of responsibility traditionally held by men, said Stella.

"We were scared and we thought, 'How will we do this?'"

It was also a challenge for those who lived with their children or in-laws to strike the balance between work and family, Stella added.

To ensure their comfort and safety, authorities equipped the station with CCTV cameras, deployed an all-women police force, installed sanitary pad vending machines, and created a temporary daycare.

Female employees said they hope to inspire young girls passing through the station, and trigger a change among people who think a woman’s place is at home.

"All women should come forward and stand shoulder to shoulder with men—especially in jobs that are usually seen as theirs," said Usha Mathur, a chief reservation supervisor and mother of two.

The post Full Steam Ahead: India’s First Women-Run Train Station Blazes a Trail appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Indian Minister Calls Allegations of Sexual Misconduct Against Him ‘Baseless’

Posted: 14 Oct 2018 09:31 PM PDT

MUMBAI — Indian minister M.J. Akbar described multiple allegations of sexual harassment against him as “wild and baseless” on Sunday and added he plans to take legal action against the women who have made the accusations.

The comments by Akbar, 67, follow widespread calls on social media for his resignation from his post as the minister of state for external affairs in the Indian government, after at least 10 women came forward to accuse him of harassment in recent days.

“The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice,” said Akbar in a one-page statement given to Reuters partner ANI in India.

The veteran editor, who founded several publications, has been accused of a range of inappropriate behavior by female journalists who previously worked as his subordinates.

Many journalists have called for Akbar to be sacked and have threatened to boycott events he is attending until he resigns.

The government has remained silent on the issue for days, while Akbar was attending a conference in Nigeria. He returned to New Delhi on Sunday morning to find a crowd of reporters waiting outside his residence.

Akbar said he plans to fight the allegations and questioned if they were politically motivated.

“Why has this storm risen a few months before a general election? Is there an agenda? You be the judge,” he said.

Harinder Baweja, one of the women who has accused Akbar, criticized his response.

“All the women who tried to deal with the trauma for two to three decades and were now encouraged to share their pain, had the general election in mind. How absurd,” said Baweja, a senior journalist with the daily Hindustan Times, on Twitter on Sunday.

#MeToo in India

Akbar is one of the highest profile figures so far to face accusations in India’s burgeoning #MeToo movement.

The movement that began in the United States in response to accusations of sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in media and entertainment over a year ago, has picked up pace in India in the last few weeks after a Bollywood actress accused a colleague of inappropriate behavior on the sets of a film they were shooting in 2008.

Since then, over a dozen men from media, entertainment and the art world have been accused of offences ranging from sexual harassment to rape. Several media organizations have sacked or sent employees on leave in recent days after a string of similar allegations.

In the latest allegation to surface against Akbar, Majlie de Puy Kamp, a New York-based journalist, said Akbar molested her when she was an 18-year-old intern at his newspaper Asian Age in New Delhi in 2007.

“What he did was disgusting, he violated my boundaries, betrayed my trust,” de Puy Kamp told the news website Huffington Post India.

The other journalists who have accused Akbar, which include some of the country’s leading journalists and authors, were not immediately reachable on Sunday, or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

India’s main opposition party Congress has demanded Akbar’s resignation, while Maneka Gandhi, the minister for women and child development, has called for an investigation into the allegations against Akbar.

The post Indian Minister Calls Allegations of Sexual Misconduct Against Him 'Baseless' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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