Monday, October 29, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

President Warns of Legal Action For Loss of Public Funds

Posted: 29 Oct 2018 07:01 AM PDT

YANGON — President U Win Myint repeatedly warned that legal action would be taken against anyone responsible for the misappropriation and loss of public funds during his visit to Irrawaddy Region over the weekend.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Shwethaungyan Bridge on Sunday, the president said cooperation was needed from local people and relevant authorities to prevent the waste of public funds in the construction of roads and bridges and other government projects.

He urged authorities to strictly adhere to tender rules and regulation laid out by the President’s Office when awarding contracts.

"I would like to emphasize here that if there is any misuse of public funds, the government will take legal action as per the law without discrimination," U Win Myint said.

He also stressed the importance of quality control in the construction of roads and bridges while warning that those responsible for a project will be liable in cases of avoidable failures that hurt the public.

In April, the Myaungmya suspension bridge linking Irrawaddy’s Myaungmya and Labutta townships with the regional capital, Pathein, collapsed and killed two people who were in a truck crossing it at the time. The Ministry of Construction released a statement a few days later saying that the bridge, inaugurated in 1996, collapsed because of a design flaw.

"If there is no waste in the budget, the surplus can be used to build more bridges. I'd like to urge the people and lawmakers to keep a watch out for waste," the president said on Saturday at the launch of the Ngawun Bridge No. 2 project in Pathein.

"If there are complaints from the local community, we won't discriminate [in favor of government officials]. We won't cover them up," he said.

A recent report by the Yangon auditor general revealed that the local government lost out on billions of kyats in revenue over recent years, drawing heavy criticism from the public. The Anti-Corruption Commission was asked to investigate the losses revealed by the audit. Local lawmakers and lawyers have also called accountability from the responsible government officials.

Daw Thandar, a Lower House lawmaker representing Irrawaddy’s Eainme Township, told The Irrawaddy that she welcomed the president's warnings over the weekend.

She said there was a great deal of opacity in the awarding of public projects in the region despite tender rules requiring transparency and insisted that those rules now had to be put to practice.

U Soe Win, a member in the Irrawaddy Region Parliament representing Pathein, said the president’s call for vigilance from lawmakers had encouraged him to keep a closer watch over government agencies.

During his weekend trip, U Win Myint also reminded the regional government that ministerial posts were not meant to enrich the office holder but to serve the people.

"You are appointed to this position to demonstrate your capacity, not to enjoy and indulge in the entitlements and emoluments that accompany it and do nothing else. You are appointed to display your caliber. You must bear this in mind," he said.

Additional reporting by Salai Thant Zin from Irrawaddy Region.

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Yangon Gov’t Must Answer Auditor General’s Claims: President’s Office

Posted: 29 Oct 2018 06:19 AM PDT

YANGON—The Yangon Regional Government must respond to claims in a report by the auditor general that irregularities in spending by the city administration cost the public billions of kyats, the President's Office spokesperson said on Monday.

The alleged irregularities involved development activities and arranging private bank loans for the purchase of school buses without parliament's approval, among other things.

At a press conference Monday, The Irrawaddy asked spokesman U Zaw Htay whether the Union government had pressed the Yangon authorities to take responsibility for the report's findings, which have attracted much public criticism. The report prompted calls for an investigation into the losses, which were exposed during an audit of the region's fiscal 2016-17 budget.

The report, submitted to the Yangon Parliament in September, has sparked heated debate among local lawmakers. More than two dozen of them went through the findings in Parliament, raising questions about the irregularities and the billions of kyats in public funds the activities reportedly cost the government.

Not a single government minister agreed to attend Parliament to discuss the findings, however.

"According to the procedures, the Yangon government has to respond to the complaints. That has yet to be done. They are required to report back to the auditor general," the spokesperson said.

According to Union Auditor General's Office regulations, the Yangon government is required to respond to its audit findings within a "reasonable" period of time—to be set by the auditor general—and to take immediate steps to stop any fraud, misappropriation, waste or losses brought to light by an audit, including any appropriate legal action.

"If their responses don't satisfy the auditor general, there will be legal penalties," U Zaw Htay said, adding that this was standard procedure.

In the second week of this month, a former lawmaker filed a complaint with the country's anti-graft commission calling for an investigation into the losses revealed by the audit.

However, the commission said there was no need for it to investigate the losses yet because the government and auditor general are still working through the procedures that must follow the release of any audit report.

The commission also said it had learned that the Yangon auditor general was closely monitoring the regional government's adherence to the procedures.

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Labor Groups Implore Visiting EU Officials Not to Withdraw Trade Preferences

Posted: 29 Oct 2018 05:49 AM PDT

YANGON—Myanmar's trade union and labor organizations voiced strong disagreement with Brussels' move to consider withdrawing trade preferences at a meeting with EU officials on Monday.

Representatives of the Myanmar Confederation of Trade Unions and the Myanmar Infrastructure, Craft and Service (MICS) organization met with members of an EU delegation looking into the human rights situation in the country at the bloc's Myanmar office in Yangon.

"We told them we don't agree with the EU's [possible] withdrawal of trade preferences," U Maung Maung, president of the Myanmar Confederation of Trade Unions, said after the meeting.

During the meeting, U Maung Maung stressed that Myanmar's reforms are making progress, saying, "Myanmar needs the EU's support for further reforms in the country."

The joint mission between the European Commission's trade arm and the EU's diplomatic service on Monday started their work examining the situation on the ground. The mission's findings will help the EU decide whether to withdraw Myanmar's "Everything but Arms" (EBA) status, which allows it to export any goods except weapons to the EU tariff-free.

The EU monitoring mission follows a statement by EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom on Oct. 5 warning that Myanmar could lose its EBA trade privileges over the "violation of human rights" cited in a UN fact-finding mission's report. Malmstrom said the EU would send an emergency, high-level mission to the country to assess the human rights situation on the ground.

Myanmar Confederation of Trade Unions and Myanmar Infrastructure, Craft and Service representatives hold a press conference after a meeting with EU officials in Yangon on Oct. 29, 2018. / CTUM / Facebook

In a recent interview with The Irrawaddy, lawmakers, labor policy makers, Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA) members and rights groups warned that the loss of duty-free export trade preferences could put more than 400,000 jobs at risk and badly damage the country's economy by depriving it of its largest source of foreign exchange income.

Lawmakers said withdrawal of trade preferences is not the right way to apply pressure over human rights violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, as the action would also disrupt the government's major economic reforms, which have seen the country open up after more than six decades of isolation under military dictatorship.

The EBA scheme is a part of the EU's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which allows full duty-free and quota-free access to the EU's single market for all products except arms and armaments.

Since 2013, the EU has lifted duties on goods from Myanmar under the EBA's zero-tariff import regime. Nearly 70 percent of Myanmar's exports go to EU countries, and more than half of these are garments.

According to the MGMA, the EU has become Myanmar's largest trade partner for garments, purchasing more than 47 percent of the products, while Japan, the second-largest, purchased just 27 percent of garment products in 2017.

The value of Myanmar's garment exports to the EU has significantly increased from $1.2 billion in 2013 to $1.5 billion in 2014, $1.7 billion in 2015, $2.1 billion in 2016 and $2.7 billion in 2017, according to the MGMA.

As a result of the opening of the EU market, the number of factory workers in Myanmar has grown from 240,000 in 2012 to 450,000, and the garment sector is the most labor intensive of the country's major industries.

As of Sept. 30, 2018, according to the MGMA's records, there were 518 factories in Yangon, Thilawa, Pathein, Hpa-An and Mandalay, supplying European and other international brands like H&M, Inditex, Next, Adidas, Primark and Gap. Yangon is home to about 200 garment factories.

"If they withdraw the trade preferences, production will decline, and so will foreign investment. So, the laborers will become jobless; I told them the EU would bear full responsibility for this outcome," U Maung Maung said.

In early October, CTUM published an open letter to the EU strongly opposing the withdrawal of trade preferences and pointing out that the move would only harm the country's social development as it undergoes a transition to democracy.

The EU officials told the trade union and labor organization representatives on Monday that the decision-making process would take months, and promised they would carefully investigate human rights violations, and whether Myanmar had committed labor rights violations and followed international law and regulations.

EBA preferences can be withdrawn "in … exceptional circumstances, [and] in case of serious and systematic violation of principles laid down in fundamental human rights and labor rights conventions," according to the conditions of the scheme.

During the meeting, MICS vice president U Naw Aung told EU mission officials that Myanmar's workers had faced rights violations for many years. However, conditions had improved in recent years, he said. "We don't want to see the current conditions devastated. If the EU withdraws trade preferences, its support for our country's democratic reform would be fruitless," he said.

U Naw Aung said he asked the EU officials, "Do you think withdrawal of the trade preferences is the only way to solve the problems in Rakhine and Kachin states?"

According to Myanmar government officials, the EU monitoring mission was to meet at various times on Monday and Tuesday with the minister of commerce; the minister of labor, immigration and population; and the minister of international cooperation, as well as other high-level officials in Naypyitaw.

In June, the EU imposed sanctions against seven senior military, border guard and police officials it said were responsible for or associated with serious human rights violations against the Rohingya population in 2017. The sanctions include an asset freeze and a travel ban.

Last week, Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin held a separate meeting with EU officials during the ASEM leaders' summit in Brussels. He told them the EU trade preferences provided job opportunities for some 500,000 workers, most of them women.

He stressed that if the workers lost their jobs, more than 1 million people would be negatively affected, including family members who rely on the workers.

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Police Constable Charged in Shooting Death of Detainee

Posted: 29 Oct 2018 04:14 AM PDT

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — A detainee died of what authorities said was an accidental gunshot in the central police station of Bogale, Pyapon District, Irrawaddy Region, on Sunday afternoon.

An on-duty police constable accidentally fired his gun while watching two detainees fight each other inside their cell at about 4 p.m. The bullet went through the mouth of Tun Min, 19, killing him on the spot, the spokesman of the Irrawaddy Region police force, Lieutenant Colonel Tun Shwe, told The Irrawaddy.

Tun Min was accused of mugging and assaulting a teacher in Bogale and facing a charge under Section 394 of the Penal Code, which carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison with labor.

Bogale police station Sub-Lieutenant Zaw Min Tun has charged the constable, Aung Thu, with the death of the detainee.

"We have opened a case under Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code for negligence with a weapon. We will try him in a police court," said Lt. Col. Tun Shwe.

Section 304 (a), which covers culpable homicide not amounting to murder, carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.

Three detainees escaped from their cell at the Bogale police station on Sept. 18, though all were re-arrested within 24 hours. Eight police officers including Sub-Lieutenant Hla Soe have been suspended from their duties, detained and put on trial for negligence.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Landmines Injure 7 Civilians in Northern Shan in October

Posted: 29 Oct 2018 03:45 AM PDT

At least seven people have been wounded by landmines in northern Shan State in October, according to local residents, who said the devices posed a serious threat to their livelihoods, as well as their lives.

The incidents followed the deaths of three people and the wounding of seven in landmine blasts in the area in September, according to the Lashio-based Halo Trust.

Lway Ai Aww, a Halo Trust manager based in Lashio, told The Irrawaddy today that the seven landmine victims were from Namsan, Namkham, and Kyaukme townships.

The latest blasts occurred in areas where her organization's members could not travel to educate locals about landmines due to a lack of security, she said.

Halo Trust is a U.K.-based non-governmental organization that helps landmine victims in Kachin, Shan, and Karen states.

Four landmine blasts occurred in Namsan Township this month, local people said. According to the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), all of the mines were planted by the Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, on public routes.

In the first incident, U Aike Nome and his wife were walking to his job on a tea plantation when he stepped on a landmine and injured his leg in Namsan Township on Oct. 18; in the second incident, a man from Namkham Township suffered serious injuries to both legs and one hand when he stepped on a mine while walking to a farm. He was treated at Namkham Hospital, according to local people; in the third blast, a couple were traveling in Namsan Township by motorbike on Oct. 24 when a landmine exploded, injuring the woman's  right leg; in the fourth,  U Aike Lawy, 65, suffered injuries to his leg and hand when he struck a landmine in Namsan Township while on his way home after taking a girl to school at 8 a.m. on Oct. 27.

Recently, northern Shan State has seen frequent clashes between the Myanmar Army and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) including the TNLA, the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). However, clashes frequently erupt between the EAOs themselves, often between the TNLA, SSPP and Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), especially in Namtu Township.

Determining who planted particular landmines can be difficult due the number of armed groups based in northern Shan. The Myanmar Army and ethnic rebel groups use landmines to target their enemies, but always deny it when accused by local people.

Landmines threaten the livelihoods of local people in northern Shan State, according to Lower House lawmaker Mai Win Htoo of the Ta’ang National Party.

"Many people are too afraid of landmines to go and work on the tea plantations," said Mai Win Htoo, whose constituency is in Namsan Township.

He said the landmines that exploded recently were planted on public roads, not in areas considered conflict zones.

The government failed to educate local people about landmines, and NGOs were the only ones doing so, he said.

"It is the dry season, and many local people in Namsan go to harvest tea on the plantations," said Mai Win Htoo. "They are afraid of landmines, but they have no food to eat, so they have to go and work at the plantations despite the danger."

With more and more local people being wounded from landmines, the TNLA issued a statement on Oct. 26 alerting ethnic Ta'ang to be careful while traveling, as many Myanmar Army troops have been deployed to TNLA-controlled areas.

In the statement, the TNLA accused the Myanmar Army of deliberately targeting local travelers with landmines in order to create mistrust between local ethnic Ta'ang and the TNLA.

The Myanmar Army recently launched a military offensive in TNLA-controlled areas. According to the TNLA statement, the Tatmadaw has deployed not only battalions, but whole infantry divisions including Nos. 11, 66, 77,88 and 99. The Tatmadaw has even deployed some battalions from its Mandalay-based Central Command in the areas, the EAO said.

The Myanmar Army has shelled villages in an effort to drive residents out of the area, and targeted civilians with landmines, according to the TNLA.

The statement advised all people to be careful when traveling, warning that the Myanmar Army typically planted landmines near its bases and areas through which it traveled.

There were 119 landmine explosions in Myanmar last year, killing 52 people and injuring 124, according to Halo Trust. Of the 119 explosions, 45 occurred in Shan State, killing 22 people and injuring 54.

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

The post Landmines Injure 7 Civilians in Northern Shan in October appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Hundreds More Flee Intra-Ethnic Fighting in Northern Shan

Posted: 29 Oct 2018 03:36 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Some 650 more residents of northern Shan State have fled their villages to escape fighting between the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army South (RCSS/SSAS) and the Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army North (SSPP/SSAN).

Residents of Pan Pone, Kalar, Nang Har and Ei-Naing villages, about a dozen kilometers from the town of Lashio, have abandoned their homes to take refuge at a monastery and a church.

"The fighting started Saturday and the shells fell into our village, so we were afraid and had to flee," said Pan Pone villager U Sai Aike Paung.

He said he was one of about 500 people from Pan Pone, Kalar and Nang Har taking refuge at a monastery in Nang Har.

"If the fighting continues, we will not be able to go back home. We hope the situation will be stable very soon," he said.

Another 150 people who fled Ei-Naing are taking refuge at a church a few kilometers from the village.

"Armed men entered our village and fought each other and even dragged away some men. So we did not dare to stay at home and came to the church,” said Ma Khun Nu.

Residents of Ei-Naing said two men were taken away by the fighters on Saturday but were released that evening.

"If the fighting goes on for long, we will have a hard time getting food and water. And if the fighting gets fiercer, we will have to move to Lashio. Hopefully we can go back home safely very soon," said Ma Khun Nu.

Last week, fighting for territory between the RCSS/SSAS, SSPP/SSAN and Ta'ang Nationalities Liberation Army broke out in northern Shan’s Namtu Township, displacing about 750 people from eight villages. All but about 200 of them have since returned home, according to Sai Ba Nyan, vice chairman of Namtu Township's relief team for displaced people.

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Analysis: Why Did the KNU Temporarily Leave Peace Talks?

Posted: 28 Oct 2018 10:31 PM PDT

YANGON — The Karen National Union said it would temporarily suspend its participation in all ongoing peace negotiations in a letter to State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairperson of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center, on Saturday.

The KNU said in its letter that the suspension is necessary "in order to create meaningful participation of the organization in the peace process and to seek enough time for the creation of the unified participation of the whole organization."

A KNU leader who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Irrawaddy on Sunday the group decided to suspend the talks because "the peace process is not going as well as expected."

He said thorough discussions will continue within the KNU and that the group will still remain a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), following KNU chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe's commitment to continue on the NCA path.

The KNU will hold a central committee member meeting next month where the situation will be discussed, according to KNU sources.

In addition, the KNU sent a separate letter to the Peace Process Steering Team of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) that are signatories to the NCA. The PPST is led by KNU chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe. The letter stated that the KNU would not be joining the upcoming PPST meeting scheduled for the second week of November.

The KNU said it would have to review, discuss and negotiate agreements reached during a high-level summit between government and ethnic armed organizations in Naypyitaw on Oct. 15-16.

"In particular, consensus was required to reach new peace process implementation mechanisms, a framework and decision-making process," read the letter, which the group will continue to discuss,

The KNU will not join the upcoming political dialogue framework review meeting, slated for Nov. 1-3 in Yangon. This meeting of government representatives, EAOs and political parties had been  initially planned since July but delayed for various reasons.

Immense Loss of Trust

In regards to the political situation and peace negotiations, U Hla Maung Shwe, the adviser to the Peace Commission described the current conditions as "bad." He has been involved in peace negotiations since the inception of the peace process in 2011.

"I do not mean that the peace process is over, but that trust among the sides has been lost," he said.

"The government and Tatmadaw leaders will have to act wisely," he added.

Achieving mutual trust among the peace partners has been a key issue since the process began. It has been unsuccessful to date. The EAOs and government forces have been fighting for seven decades and the treatment of the Tatmadaw and the government toward each EAO affects trust. The Tatmadaw has active military engagement against both signatories and non-signatories to the NCA.

The KNU and the Tatmadaw also recently hit a rough patch over a road that the Tatmadaw wanted to reconstruct in the KNU's Brigade 5 area in Papun District, Karen State last March.

U Maung Maung Soe, a political and ethnic affairs analyst, said no understanding had been reached on the issue, as the KNU thinks the reconstruction is related to military intentions and not regional development because the Tatmadaw closed roads in Kengtung and Mongla, which were in good condition in Shan State.

"If the Tatmadaw increased military pressure following the KNU's decision to temporarily cease peace talks, it would be a very bad situation," he added.

With a lack of trust, stumbling blocks have left peace negotiations at a standstill. One of the biggest blocks emerged at the second Panglong Peace Conference in May 2017 when the Tatmadaw stated that if there were not a pledge of non-secession from EAOs, then talks of drafting state Constitutions, which would grant increased autonomy and self-determination, would not be heard.

This discussion point was left off of the agenda of the third session of the Panglong Peace Conference.

Tensions Mount 

"As the time to make a political decision nears, challenges rise," noted U Maung Maung Soe.

Tensions were high within both the KNU and the PPST prior to high-level talks with the government, Tatmadaw, Parliament and EAOs, as the KNU wanted to delay the talks.

Within the KNU, the "hardliners" urged that the talks be delayed, citing the need for additional preparation time. But Saw Mutu Say Poe and Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win of the KNU moved forward and sought the "collective approval" of the PPST. Many members of the PPST wanted to go ahead, as they had initiated calling the summit with the state counselor and army chief due to the deadlock in the peace process.

Anxieties mounted, as the PPST agreed in early October to attend the summit, which did not bring about any concrete agreement and led the Tatmadaw continued to push its non-secession agreement.

On Friday, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) clarified its position that it would neither consider integrating its forces into the Myanmar military nor disavow its right to secede from the Union without consulting the Shan community.

EAOs agreed in principle to a single army but highlighted the need for further discussions on integrating various armed forces into one.

Observers question whether the peace process will move forward, as the KNU and RCSS – two of the larger ethnic armed organizations involved in the process – have been disappointed.

"Peace negotiations will continue with heated debates and setbacks until 2020," speculated U Maung Maung Soe, the political and ethnic affair analyst, citing the army chief's pledge to achieve peace in the country by 2020.

The post Analysis: Why Did the KNU Temporarily Leave Peace Talks? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Indonesian Plane with 189 Aboard Crashes into Sea Near Jakarta, Wreckage Found

Posted: 28 Oct 2018 10:26 PM PDT

JAKARTA — An aircraft with 189 people on board is believed to have sunk after crashing into the sea off Indonesia’s island of Java on Monday, shortly after takeoff from the capital on its way to the country’s tin-mining hub, officials said.

A spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said the Lion Air flight, JT610, lost contact 13 minutes after takeoff, adding that a tugboat leaving the capital’s port had seen the craft falling.

“It has been confirmed that it has crashed,” the spokesman, Yusuf Latif, said by text message, when asked about the fate of the plane, which air tracking service Flightradar 24 identified as a Boeing 737 MAX 8.

Debris thought to be from the plane, including aircraft seats, was found near an offshore refining facility in the Java Sea, an official of state energy firm Pertamina said.

Wreckage had been found near where the plane lost contact with air traffic officials on the ground, said Muhmmad Syaugi, the head of the search and rescue agency.

“We don’t know yet whether there are any survivors,” Syaugi told a news conference, adding that no distress signal had been received from the aircraft’s emergency locator transmitter.

“We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm.”

An official of Indonesia’s safety transport committee said he could not confirm the cause of the crash, which would have to wait until the recovery of the plane’s black boxes, as the cockpit voice recorder and data flight recorder are known.

“We will collect all data from the control tower,” said Soerjanto Tjahjono. “The plane is so modern, it transmits data from the plane and that we will review too. But the most important is the blackbox.”

Australia had not received signals from the plane’s emergency locator either, it told Indonesia in a reply to a query, agency chief Syaugi said.

The effort to locate the wreckage and retrieve the black bloxes will represent the second major deep sea recovery challenge for Indonesian investigators after an AirAsia Airbus jet crashed into the Java Sea in December 2015.

Under international rules, the US National Transporation Safety Board will automatically assist with the inquiry into Monday’s crash, backed up by technical advisers from Boeing and US-French engine maker CFM International, co-owned by General Electric and Safran.

Boeing is aware of the airplane accident reports and is “closely monitoring” the situation, a company spokesman told Reuters.

The flight took off from Jakarta around 6.20 a.m. and was due to have landed in the capital of the Bangka-Belitung tin mining region at 7.20 a.m., the Flightradar 24 website showed.

“We cannot give any comment at this moment,” Edward Sirait, chief executive of Lion Air Group, told Reuters, adding that a news conference was planned for later on Monday. “We are trying to collect all the information and data.”

Preliminary flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft climbed to around 5,000 feet (1,524 m) before losing, and then regaining, height, before finally falling towards the sea.

It was last recorded at 3,650 feet (1,113 m) and its speed had risen to 345 knots, according to raw data captured by the respected tracking website, which could not immediately be confirmed.

Its last recorded position was about 15 km (9 miles) north of the Indonesian coastline, according to a Google Maps reference of the last coordinates reported by Flightradar24.

The accident is the first to be reported that involves the widely-sold Boeing 737 MAX, an updated, more fuel-efficient version of the manufacturer’s workhorse single-aisle jet. The first Boeing 737 MAX jets were introduced into service in 2017.

The very first global delivery went to Lion Air’s Malaysian subsidiary, Malindo Air.

Indonesia is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, but its safety record is patchy.

Founded in 1999, Lion Air’s only fatal accident to date was in 2004, when an MD-82 crashed upon landing at Solo City, killing 25 of the 163 people on board, the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network says.

However, six other Lion Air jets, including one that crash-landed in the water short of the runway at the Indonesian resort island of Bali in 2013, were damaged beyond repair in various accidents, according to Aviation Safety Network.

Lion Air was removed from the European Union’s air safety blacklist in June 2016.

The privately owned airline in April announced a firm order to buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 10 narrow body jets with a list price of $6.24 billion. It is one of the US plane maker’s largest customers globally.

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For Taiwan Youth, Military Service Is a Hard Sell Despite China Tension

Posted: 28 Oct 2018 09:39 PM PDT

TAIPEI — Taiwan Air Force Staff Sergeant Jiang Pin-shiuan’s pitch to freshmen at Taipei’s Tamkang University seemed compelling: join the island’s armed forces and get a state-sponsored degree, 110 days of leave each year and annual savings of T$312,500 ($10,200).

But many listening students showed little interest, arguing national service was a “waste of time” and prospects of the self-ruled island standing up economically or militarily to an increasingly aggressive China were slim.

“China could simply crush Taiwan with its economic power. There’s no need for a war, which wastes money,” said 18-year-old Chen Fang-yi, an engineering major. “I do not have much confidence and expectation for the national army.”

From lectures in universities and high schools across the island, life-size dancing dolls to a flash mob performance by a special forces unit, Taiwan’s military is working hard to recruit soldiers as it moves to a fully volunteer force after decades of conscription.

Taiwan vowed in 2011 to phase out conscription to cut costs and boost the professionalism of its forces as it tries to better deter the Chinese threat through enhanced cyber warfare capabilities and other high-tech weapons.

The island’s defense ministry said it will be able to reach a target of enlisting 81 percent of the estimated 188,000 volunteer troops needed to defend against any attack by Beijing by year-end. It hopes to raise that to 90 percent by 2020.

Beijing sees self-ruled Taiwan as a wayward province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it to heel.

But military experts and government auditors say recruitment is proving challenging and the growth in voluntary recruitment isn’t fast enough to catch up with a worsening military imbalance across the strait.

China, whose official defense budget grew to roughly 15 times that of Taiwan’s last year, has alarmed Taipei by flying bombers around the island and luring away members of its dwindling band of diplomatic allies.

In a report from December, three government auditors warned the growth of voluntary recruits had been slow, raising concerns about Taiwan’s combat power.

“The government needs to think whether it’s necessary to bring conscription back if they think national security matters,” said Lin Yu-fang, a convener for the Taipei-based National Policy Foundation and former head of Taiwan’s congressional defense and foreign committee.

“We will pay a heavy price for the move…We won’t be able to find enough soldiers.”

The island’s defense ministry told Reuters it will continue to raise the quantity and quality of its armed forces and has made all necessary plans for possible military actions from China. It also urged the public to give “support and encouragement” to the transition.

Dodging Training

Convincing more young people to join the armed forces is made more difficult by Taiwan’s past as a military dictatorship. The death of a young conscript in 2013 after being punished for misconduct, which triggered large protests, also dealt a blow to the army.

The service is so unpopular that more than 1,000 reservists were charged in the last three years for dodging mandatory retraining.

“It raises a very difficult question about national morale. If there ever is a conflict, what are people going to do?” said William Stanton, professor at National Taiwan University and former head of the de facto US embassy in Taipei.

Taiwan last year spent nearly 47 percent of its defense budget of T$319.3 billion on manpower-related costs. Military experts said that squeezed the budget for weapon acquisitions.

The island’s goal to move to an all volunteer force by 2019 will be “costlier than anticipated”, diverting funds from defense acquisition and readiness, the US Defense Department said in a report to Congress in May.

Taiwan has shortened its mandatory service to a four-month training, from three years, a move analysts said was made to placate young voters who prioritize personal liberty over civil obligations.

But for some, even the reduced training is seen as an exercise in futility.

“We won’t win a war with China anyway,” said 20-year-old graduate Hsu Kai-wen, a reluctant conscript who was recently assigned a four-month service in the navy after drawing lots. “Why do I need to waste my time in the army?”

The post For Taiwan Youth, Military Service Is a Hard Sell Despite China Tension appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Thai Charmer Who Made a Fortune and Won Soccer’s Biggest League

Posted: 28 Oct 2018 09:24 PM PDT

BANGKOK — Beer, pies and Buddhist prayers helped endear Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha to Leicester City fans even before the team owned by the Thai duty free billionaire became the Premier League’s most unlikely champions.

He rose from obscurity as a printer and leather goods trader to become a polo-playing buddy of royalty and then the improbable hero of a city in England’s Midlands. But he was hit by tragedy when his helicopter crashed in a fireball outside Leicester’s stadium.

A source close to the club said he was among five people on board.

Vichai, 60, showed a knack for winning people over with charm and largesse. He navigated Thai political turmoil and secured the King Power duty free concession that gave him a fortune estimated at nearly $5 billion.

“I do what I love, so I put love into everything I do,” Vichai said in 2016 as he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Leicester.

Weeks later, Leicester City won the title in the world’s most valuable soccer league led by Italian manager Claudio Ranieri.

The achievement was stunning, given that the team had started the season with odds of 5,000 to one – and far greater chances of relegation.

More than other foreign Premier League owners, he forged a close personal connection to the club he had bought in 2010 when Leicester were in English soccer’s second tier Championship.

Vichai was a devoted Buddhist and flew orange-robed monks to Leicester for blessings and to provide spiritual amulets to help the team.

He used his fortune to secure better players and to boost wages for his team, giving them a platform to become champions. He also bought beer and pastries to reward the loyalty of fans at the King Power stadium that was named for his company.

It was just outside the stadium that Vichai crashed in the helicopter he used to take off from the pitch and fly back to London after games. Four other people were on board.

“It is with the deepest regret and a collective broken heart that we confirm our chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was among those to have tragically lost their lives on Saturday evening when a helicopter carrying him and four other people crashed outside King Power Stadium,” a club statement said on Sunday.

The aircraft came down shortly after 19:30 GMT, about an hour after the end of Leicester City’s game against West Ham United, police said.

The other victims were believed to be two members of his staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz, Leicestershire Police said.

No one on the ground was believed to have been injured, they said.

According to witnesses, the helicopter had barely cleared the top of the stadium before it started to spin. It then plummeted to the ground and burst into flames.

A descendant of Chinese immigrants, Vichai founded what became the King Power empire in 1989 with a store in Bangkok selling duty free goods and souvenirs.

His down-to-earth approach and ready smile helped win over the right allies at the right time. He secured a near monopoly on duty free goods as tourism in Thailand boomed.

The latest Forbes list names him as Thailand’s fifth richest man. In April, Vichai bought Bangkok’s tallest building for $423 million, renaming it King Power Mahanakorn.

King Power really took off in 2006, when it was granted the monopoly at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport under the government of then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a former telecoms tycoon and Manchester City owner.

Although populist leader Thaksin was overthrown soon after by strongly royalist officers, it didn’t stop Vichai’s ascendancy.

King's Power

By that time, Vichai had also brought himself closer to the royal family: King Power’s name was in honor of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

To commemorate the late King Bhumibol’s 60 years on the throne in 2006, King Power sold 1 million yellow silicone wristbands imprinted with “We Love the King” and “Long Live the King,” donating over $3 million to the revered monarch.

They became a national sensation.

Born Vichai Raksriaksorn, he was bestowed the last name Srivaddhanaprabha by the king as an honor to his family in 2012. The name means “glowing light of prosperity."

The wedding of Vichai’s daughter Voramas Srivaddhanaprabha in 2017 was attended by current King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s daughter as well as generals of the junta that seized power in 2014.

Vichai didn’t only court the friendship of Thai royalty.

His other big sporting passion was polo and that brought him close to British royals. Pictures show him meeting Queen Elizabeth at a tournament and laughing with heirs to the throne Prince Charles and Prince William.

Vichai introduced his son Aiyawatt to those circles.

Aiyawatt, nicknamed “Top," was recently appointed King Power’s chief executive and serves as a vice chairman of Leicester City. His father had long made clear he was grooming him to continue the empire.

British media said Aiyawatt had not been at Saturday’s match.

In Thailand there was disbelief at news of the crash, while in Leicester fans brought flowers and blue and white scarves bearing the club’s emblem of a fox to lay at the stadium some 9,700 km (6,000 miles) from Vichai’s homeland.

“Ask any Leicester fan and they’ll tell you the same thing … We idolize Vichai,” wrote one Leicester fan on Twitter. “Believe us when we say he’s the best. He let us dream.”

The post The Thai Charmer Who Made a Fortune and Won Soccer’s Biggest League appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Sri Lanka Crisis Turns Violent as One Killed at Ex-Minister’s Office

Posted: 28 Oct 2018 09:16 PM PDT

COLOMBO — A political crisis in Sri Lanka took a deadly turn on Sunday, with one person killed when a sacked cabinet minister tried to re-enter his office, days after the president removed the prime minister and installed a powerful ally of China in his place.

Sri Lanka has been plunged into crisis since Friday, when President Maithripala Sirisena abruptly sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and swore in ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister to replace him.

Sirisena said the move was motivated by a plot to kill him, and by economic collapse. Wickremesinghe says it was illegal and he is still prime minister.

Rajapaksa ruled as president from 2005-2015. In a statement released late on Sunday, he pledged to “eschew the politics of hate and set up an interim government that will protect the human rights of all citizens, that will protect the independence of the judiciary and establish law and order.”

He called on lawmakers to support his new government.

On Saturday, Sirisena suspended Parliament until Nov. 16, a move the ousted prime minister’s supporters say was intended to prevent lawmakers from showing support for Wickremesinghe.

The standoff has important geopolitical implications in a country long influenced by its neighbor India, and which became massively indebted to China to finance huge infrastructure projects during Rajapaksa’s decade as president.

Most of Sri Lanka’s foreign allies including India, the European Union and the United States, have urged Sirisena to abide by the constitution. But China, long seen as a supporter of Rajapaksa, congratulated him on becoming prime minister, drawing accusations from Wickremesinghe’s supporters that Beijing was behind the attempt to change the government. Chinese officials deny interfering in Sri Lanka’s affairs.

The US State Department on Sunday urged all sides to refrain from violence and called on Sirisena to immediately reconvene Parliament and “allow the democratically elected representatives of the Sri Lankan people to fulfill their responsibility to affirm who will lead their government.”

Since Rajapaksa was sworn in, trade unions allied to him have blocked government buildings to prevent members of the former cabinet from reaching their offices.

Sunday’s violence took place at the headquarters of state oil company Ceylon Petroleum Corp, where Arjuna Ranatunga, petroleum minister in the ousted cabinet, tried to re-enter his office. Police said one of Ranatunga’s security guards opened fire. One person was killed and two wounded.

The guard had been arrested and an investigation launched, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. Ranatunga was safe and the security guard’s motive was not immediately clear, he added.

Local media said Ranatunga had briefly been held hostage in the office. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm details of the incident.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on the Sri Lankan government to respect democratic values and constitutional provisions and process, uphold the rule of law and ensure the safety and security of all Sri Lankans.

“International Conspiracy"

So far, a majority of lawmakers has not endorsed Rajapaksa. In a letter sent on Sunday, Parliament speaker Karu Jayasuriya urged the president to protect Wickremesinghe’s rights and privileges “until any other person emerges from within the Parliament as having secure confidence of the Parliament."

In an address to the nation, Sirisena said his action to change the government was “totally in accordance with the Constitution and on the advice of legal experts."

The Rajapaksa faction has sought to win over lawmakers to back it in Parliament. Two Wickremesinghe loyalists have pledged support to Rajapaksa and sources close to Rajapaksa have said there will be more crossovers.

Ranjan Ramanayake, a legislator from Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), said some lawmakers had been offered up to 800 million rupees ($4.6 million) each to switch sides and support Rajapaksa. Reuters was unable to confirm this.

“This is an international conspiracy,” Ramanayake told reporters at Wickremesinghe’s official residence, accusing China of “spending money to buy over members."

A Chinese embassy official in Colombo denied the allegation and said Beijing maintained good relations with all Sri Lankan parties, including the UNP.

“China never interferes in other countries’ internal affairs,” the official told Reuters. “We’re against all this interference from any foreign country.”

Cheng Xueyuan, China’s envoy to Sri Lanka, met Rajapaksa with a congratulatory message on Saturday. The embassy official said the ambassador had also met Wickremesinghe and speaker Jayasuriya.

India and Western countries have concerns about Rajapaksa’s ties to China, after he ushered in billions of dollars of investment from Beijing to rebuild the country following the end of a 26-year war against Tamil separatists in 2009.

That investment has since put the tiny nation deep in debt and forced it to hand over control of a strategic port to China.

“As a democracy and a close friendly neighbor, we hope that democratic values and the constitutional process will be respected,” said Raveesh Kumar, spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “We will continue to extend our developmental assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lanka.”

The post Sri Lanka Crisis Turns Violent as One Killed at Ex-Minister’s Office appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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