Wednesday, October 31, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Veteran Artist Shares Vision of ‘Splendid’ Yangon

Posted: 31 Oct 2018 08:28 AM PDT

YANGON — Among the 7 million residents of Yangon, how many can truly appreciate the city's beauty and its age? Artist Ko Ko Naing is surely one.

"Yangon is splendid. Its buildings look like those in London. I am interested in them," said Ko Ko Naing, who has spent more than three decades in Yangon's art circle.

The artist usually enjoys the beauty of Yangon on its streets and among its high-rise buildings. He sometimes stops in a crowd to gaze at a building or take its photo. He is now showcasing his paintings from those experiences in "Urban Atmosphere, Far and Near" at the Panthuriya Art Gallery in Bogalay market, his sixth solo exhibition.

"It can also be called 'Ages, Far and Near' or ' Times, Far and Near,'" he said.

A painting from artist Ko Ko Naing's latest solo show at the Panthuriya Art Gallery in Yangon, "Urban Atmosphere, Far and Near."

A government printing factory. The Secretariat building and telegraph office. Independence Monument. The Evangelical church on Bandoola Road and the telephone towers above it. Satellite dishes on rooftops. A new building on Bogyoke Aung San Road. To Ko Ko Naing, they not only calm the heart but make him aware of the rivalry between new and old. For the buildings demolished since he painted them, his works are also a historical record.

"Things have been changing since 1988. Some of the scenes of Yangon have disappeared. Lower parts of buildings have been covered with shop signs. These are the things of the past," he said while putting the finishing touches on a painting of the government printing factory, which is more than a century old.

Fifteen of his paintings will be on display in the exhibition, which runs from Nov. 2 to 6.

A native of Moulmein, in Mon State, Ko Ko Naing learned to paint from his grandfather and father. With the help of Maung Maung Thike, a famous artist, he stared working as an artist himself and became known for his portraits of urban scenes. He has joined many group exhibitions and teamed up for shows with British artists Kate Bowen and Dutch artist Ietje Preel.

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EU Delegates Encounter Broad Show of Opposition to Ending Trade Preferences

Posted: 31 Oct 2018 08:08 AM PDT

YANGON—A visiting EU delegation has encountered vocal opposition to the possible withdrawal of trade preferences in numerous meetings with a wide range of government officials, union leaders, businesspeople and garment workers as it starts its mission to examine human rights and labor conditions in Myanmar.

From Monday to Wednesday, the joint mission of the European Commission's trade arm and the EU's diplomatic service met with numerous officials from government ministries and labor organizations as part of its investigation of the crisis in Rakhine State, as well as labor rights and workplace conditions.

In Naypyitaw on Tuesday, EU delegation members met with high-level officials from 10 ministries: Home Affairs; Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of the State Counselor's Office; Information; the Ministry of the Office of the Union Government; Labor, Immigration and Population; Industry; Commerce; Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement; and Union Attorney General's Office.

According to a government statement, Myanmar officials made a strong appeal to the delegation to consider the impact on ordinary working people if the EU were to withdraw Myanmar's tariff-free import status, a move they said would leave more than 400,000 people jobless, mostly women working in the garment sector.

The arrival of the EU monitoring mission follows a statement by EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom on Oct. 5 warning that Myanmar could lose its Everything but Arms (EBA) status over human rights violations alleged in a UN fact-finding mission's report. Part of the EU's Generalized System of Preferences, the EBA scheme allows participating countries to export any goods except weapons to the EU tariff-free.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Information, U Thaung Tun, the minister of the Office of the Union Government, and Helena Konig, deputy director general of the EU's Directorate General of Trade, held a separate meeting in Naypyitaw on Tuesday. They had an "open" discussion about the EBA scheme, the ministry statement said.

In separate meetings with the EU delegates, Myanmar government officials, lawmakers, labor policy experts, academic scholars and members of the business community have voiced strong disagreement with the idea of the EU withdrawing trade preferences.

According to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA), the EU is Myanmar's largest partner in the garment sector. Brussels lifted duties on goods from Myanmar in 2013, and the EU now purchases more than 47 percent of the country's garment products. The second-largest buyer is Japan, which purchased 27 percent of Myanmar's garments in 2017.

The garment sector accounts for 71 percent of overall exports to the EU and employs more than 450,000 people, according to the MGMA. It is the most labor intensive of the country's major industries.

Historian U Thant Myint-U attended a private meeting with the EU delegates in Yangon on Monday. U Thant Myint-U did not disclose to the media what was discussed at the meeting, but told The Irrawaddy the meeting was "a very open and engaging discussion on many aspects of the situation in Myanmar."

"Revoking Myanmar's GSP privileges would be an unmitigated disaster that must be avoided," he said.

"Myanmar's had its fair share of tragedies these past years; one of the few really good stories has been the growth of the garment sector, providing jobs to hundreds of thousands of otherwise impoverished young women," he said.

EU monitoring mission delegates meet with high-level government officials in Naypyitaw on Tuesday. / Ministry of Information / Facebook

"The EU has been a good friend of Myanmar and I understand why they are reviewing their relationship. But revoking the GSP would be a kind of collective punishment against some of the most vulnerable people in Myanmar society; young women who are finally able to help themselves and help their families," he added.

EU delegates also met with representatives of the Myanmar Confederation of Trade Unions and the Myanmar Infrastructure, Craft and Service (MICS) organization at the EU's office in Yangon on Monday. During the meeting, representatives of both organizations said targeting ordinary Myanmar people is not the right way to apply pressure over alleged human rights violations in the country.

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 recently, 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?"

On the same day, the delegations held a meeting with garment factory owners and major exporters to the EU at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI). The meeting was also attended by 22 garment workers, who were asked about their incomes and working and living conditions.

UMFCCI vice president U Mg Mg Lay told The Irrawaddy the federation opposes the EU's possible withdrawal of trade preferences. He said, "I also object personally. It doesn't support Myanmar's transition to democracy."

"The move will badly hurt ordinary women and also dent the confidence of foreign investors," U Mg Mg Lay said.

"If the EU decides to withdraw trade preferences, it would be hard to believe that the EU supports Myanmar's democratic transition in a positive way," U Mg Mg Lay added.

Prominent lawmakers also warned that a halt to EU trade preferences would cause widespread harm by throwing Myanmar's civilian government into another crisis as it attempts to implement economic reforms after more than six decades of international isolation under military dictatorship.

The EU officials told Myanmar 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.

In Naypyitaw, EU delegates also discussed accountability for human rights violations, promotion of collaboration with UN organizations, humanitarian aid to Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states, the repatriation process for Rohingya in Rakhine State, press freedom and the improvement of labor rights and protections, according to the Ministry of Information.

UMFICC joint secretary Daw Khine Khine Nwe said the organization welcomed the EU delegation's visit, but added that, "After meeting with stakeholders here, I hope they will report back their findings with proper consideration."

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Two Rural Development Dept Officials Charged with Taking Bribes

Posted: 31 Oct 2018 07:46 AM PDT

YANGON—Corruption charges have been filed against a deputy director and a clerk of the Rural Development Department who allegedly abused their positions to demand more than 10 million kyats (USD6,200) in bribes, Myanmar's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said.

The anti-graft body announced Wednesday that U Aung Myint Kyaw, the department's deputy director in Mandalay, and clerk Daw Thuzar demanded more than 10.278 million kyats in "office expenses" from six companies that won tenders to build roads in rural areas.

Cases were opened against the men under Articles 56 and 63 of the country's Anti-Corruption Law. If convicted, the deputy director faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. The clerk is accused of being an accomplice to the alleged graft.

Founded in 2013, the ACC has stepped up its activities since U Win Myint was sworn in as president in March. He has vowed to fight the country's chronic corruption.

Last month, the ACC filed cases against the attorney general of Yangon Region and five other officials including a judge, law officers and a police officer for accepting more than 70 million kyats (nearly USD46,300) to drop cases against three suspects in the murder of Facebook comedian Aung Yell Htwe.

The six accused are currently facing trial in Yangon.

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Bangladesh, Myanmar Set Date For Start of Rohingya Repatriation

Posted: 31 Oct 2018 06:51 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — The first 2,000 mainly Rohingya refugees sheltering in Bangladesh will start returning to Rakhine State on Nov. 15, Myanmar’s social welfare, relief and resettlement minister, U Win Myat, told reporters in Naypyitaw on Wednesday.

He said U Myint Thu, permanent secretary of Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, settled on the date during a meeting in Dhaka on Tuesday with Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary M. Shahidul Haque.

"Both governments agreed at yesterday’s meeting that the Myanmar government will receive 150 people per week and they would come through the Ngakura entry point,” U Win Myat said.

Ngakura is located along Bangladesh’s border with Rakhine State’s Maungdaw Township.

The social welfare minister said Myanmar assured its neighbor that after many delays it was now safe for the refugees to return, nearly a year after they agreed in principle to repatriate the 700,000 mostly Rohingya who have fled Rakhine since late August, 2017, to escape a military crackdown.

Bangladesh has to date given Myanmar a list of just over 8,000 refugees it says have volunteered to return.

On a visit to the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday, U Myint Thu said Myanmar has so far vetted and verified 5,000 of them as former residents of Rakhine.

During the secretary’s visit to the camps, a Rohingya community leader, Abdul Rahim, said Myanmar should grant the returning refugees equal rights and issue them national ID cards, not national verification cards, which the Rohingya say block their path to citizenship. He also urged the international media to monitor the repatriations and resettlements carefully.

U Tun Kyi, a Muslim and former political prisoner who lives in Yangon, said Rohingya who fled Myanmar deserve full citizenship rights on their return.

"When you listen to the voices of the refugees from the camps, they have made demands. If they truly lived in those places [in Myanmar], they have the right to become citizens. If they are eligible to become citizens, they must be entitled to the full rights of a citizen," he said.

And while some have argued that the Rohingya crisis is isolated to northern Rakhine, U Tun Kyi said the international pressure the military’s alleged human rights violations have brought to bear on Myanmar was affecting the entire country.

"Only when the refugees know that they can come back safely and shape their futures will the international pressure subside," he said.

U Pe Than, an Arakan National Party central committee member, said the government had to make sure that any refugees involved in the militant attacks on security posts in Rakhine State that triggered the military crackdown are not allowed to return.

"Accepting the refugees alone won't help to decrease the international pressure, because it [the international community] is ambitious,” he added. “There will be more pressure to ensuring their citizenship and related rights and to accept the term Rohingya."

The government of Myanmar does not consider the Rohingya an ethnic group. It refers to them as Bengali, implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

Myanmar has agreed to accept the UN’s help in speeding up the repatriation process and formed an ad hoc commission to investigate alleged human rights violations in northern Rakhine following the August 2017 militant attacks.

The UN says there are now 887,661 refugees from Myanmar living in the Cox’s Bazar camps, driven out of Rakhine by the violence late last year and by earlier bouts of communal violence. Bangladesh puts the number at 1,118,578.

Additional reporting from Dhaka by Muktadir Rashid.

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Thousands of Refugees Arrive in Lashio After Fleeing Clashes in Northern Shan

Posted: 31 Oct 2018 05:53 AM PDT

MANDALAY—About 2,000 villagers from northern Shan State arrived in Lashio on Tuesday after fleeing armed clashes 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 Ei-Naing, Pan Pone, Kalar and Nang Har villages—located just 13 miles from Lashio—and Man Pyein, Namt Taung and Maing Taung villages in Namtu Township arrived in the state capital amid intensifying fighting.

"There are 1,402 refugees currently taking shelter at Mansu Monastery in Lashio. More than 500 others are taking shelter at Kachin Baptist and Roman Catholic churches," said Ma Kaythi, a member of the Lashio Charity group, which is helping the refugees.

Local charities, civil society groups and local authorities were supplying the refugees with food, water, sanitary products and clothing.

"There is no need for [additional] aid yet, but we are worried that if the fighting continues, the children's schooling will be disrupted," Ma Kaythi said.

According to the groups helping the refugees, among the refugees are dozens of children whose schools have been closed by the fighting.

The refugees initially took shelter at monasteries and churches located in villages neighboring their own. However, as the fighting between the RCSS/SSA and SSPP/SSA become more severe in recent days, they decided to flee to Lashio.

"The SSPP soldiers frequently entered the church and monastery where we sheltered in recent days, so we no longer felt safe staying there. Our village chiefs suggested we go to Lashio, so we all moved out here," said Ma Khun Nu, a resident of Ei-Naing who initially took refuge at a church in her village.

"We hope the fighting will end very soon so that we can go back home," she said.

Fighting over territory between the RCSS/SSAS and SSPP/SSAN near Lashio erupted last weekend, displacing more than 500 people from five villages.

Additional clashes over territory near Namtu Township between the RCSS/SSAS, SSPP/SSAN and Ta'ang Nationalities Liberation Army (TNLA) that broke out last week have displaced about 750 people from eight villages.

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Analysis: Muse-Mandalay Railway Agreement with China Raises Debt, Conflict Fears

Posted: 31 Oct 2018 05:08 AM PDT

YANGON—Even as Laos's planned railway connecting southern China with northeast Thailand comes under scrutiny due to its huge cost and uncertain benefits, Naypyitaw has agreed to conduct a feasibility study on a high-speed railway project that would link two economic centers in Myanmar as part of Beijing's grand infrastructure plan for the region.

Critics of the rail project warn that it could saddle Myanmar with unsustainable debts, and point out that the route passes through conflict zones. By approving the feasibility study despite these concerns, the government has again signaled its willingness to cooperate with China in its bid for economic supremacy in the region.

Two state-owned companies, China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group (China Railway Group Ltd) and Myanmar Railways signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last week to begin studying a proposed railway line from Muse, in northern Shan State, to Mandalay.

The rail link would form part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which is itself a part of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy unveiled in 2013. The BRI would create a trade network of more than 70 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. Muse and Mandalay are envisioned as key hubs in a plan to improve connectivity in Southeast Asia, so the proposed railway is viewed as economically and strategically important for both sides.

Muse sits on Myanmar's border with Yunnan province in southwestern China, and is the largest trade portal between the two nations, while Mandalay is central Myanmar's commercial center and the country's second largest city, so the railway could become a lifeline for China-Myanmar trade.

Another component of the BRI announced by Beijing is the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC). Encompassing the CMEC—which the two countries formally committed themselves to developing in an MoU signed in September—this route from Kunming, China to Kolkata, India would follow the ancient Southern Silk Road trading route through Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Beijing plans to build a parallel expressway and railway from Ruili to Kyaukphyu with a separate road running through northern Myanmar, the northeast states of India and Bangladesh.

The 1,700km CMEC runs from Kunming to Mandalay, then east to Yangon and west to the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in western Rakhine State. China has already succeeded in renegotiating its stake in the SEZ, where it plans to build a deep seaport and which already serves as the terminus for twin cross-border oil and gas pipelines between the two countries.

A map showing the route of China's planned Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor. / "China's Asian Dream" by Tom Miller

Longtime Myanmar observer U Maung Maung Soe told The Irrawaddy, "After the government agrees to move forward the Kyaukphyu SEZ, the railway project is unavoidable. Rail is the fastest way to transport goods. But mostly it will benefit China." He added that, "The important thing is who will take control of the railway; it is important that Myanmar establish control of railways in its own territory."

The proposed railway link is not the first between the two countries. In 2011, Beijing and Naypyitaw signed an MoU to build a railway between Muse and Kyaukphyu. According to Chinese media reports, China Railway Group was to be in charge of building the rail line from Ruili in southwestern Yunnan Province to Kyaukphyu via Muse. The entire rail line was to run 810km. Under the terms of the MoU, the project was to have been completed at a total estimated cost of $20 billion in less than three years. However, the government of then-President U Thein Sein suspended the project following strong local objections. In 2014, the agreement expired and the railway project remains in limbo. China has since completed a stretch of line from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, to Ruili, to be connect with Myanmar in the future.

China later approached the government led by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, asking it to consider building a railway from Muse to Mandalay as the initial part of China's strategic railway link from Ruili to Kyaukphyu.

China Railway Group proposed the feasibility study for the line from Muse to Mandalay in May 2017, according to the Myanmar Transport Ministry. To assist the study, the ministry asked for recommendations from the Shan and Mandalay chief ministers, and related ministers. In June, both sides worked on the MoU draft. On Oct. 2, a government economic committee gave the Ministry of Transportation and Communications the green light to sign the MoU.

Under the agreement, China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group will cover the full cost of the study, which will assess the environmental and social impacts of the proposed railway line. While the agreement calls for a study period of two years, Union Minister of Transport and Communications U Thant Zin Maung said Myanmar expects to finish it within one year.

Though the MoU only commits the two sides to begin a feasibility study, the minister said the railway is a priority project and part of Myanmar's national transport master plan.

Myanmar and China sign an MoU agreeing to conduct a feasibility study on the development of a high-speed railway between Muse and Mandalay. / Chinese Embassy / Facebook

The minister said Myanmar is in the process of implementing five priority transportation corridors. The Muse-Mandalay railway would be part of the South Transportation Corridor section of the Trans Asian Railway Network (TAR), a project implemented by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Myanmar and China expect to link with the eastern states of India via this route.

The Mandalay-Muse railway project will be 431km (268 miles) long, with trains running at speeds of 160 km per hour, the ministry said. The journey from Mandalay to Muse would take roughly three hours. Currently, Mandalay is connected to Muse via Lashio by the national highway. The drive normally takes more than eight hours.

There is an existing 313 km meter-gauge railway from Mandalay to Lashio. Since 2017, as a key project of the China-Myanmar railway, a standard gauge line has been under construction from Ruili, in western Yunnan Province, across the border from Muse and around 140 km from Lashio, according to the New China TV.

New China TV reported in August 2017 that Chinese engineers are drilling one of the world's longest rail tunnels—the 34.5-km Gaoligong Mountain Tunnel in southwest China's Yunnan province. It will be part of a railway that will eventually connect China and Myanmar.

According to the ministry statement, the proposed route will connect the Ruili East Railway and run to Muse, Lashio, Kyaukme, Pyin Oo Lwin and end in Mandalay.

Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang said the project would support the BRI and CMEC while promoting peace and stability in northern Myanmar.

In June, U Thaung Tun, the Union government minister and national security adviser, told the South China Morning Post that a railway project linking Ruili and Mandalay "would start quite soon". He said it had potential to extend to Yangon and Kyaukphyu.

Although both sides have voiced confidence in the project, regional experts warned that it will face many challenges, particularly the armed conflicts in project areas and resistance from local people who have negative sentiment toward China based on past impressions of the country's investment in the country.

"It could easily provoke more fighting in those areas, not necessarily because of the construction of the railway itself but because troops will be brought in to provide security for the project, so it is almost inevitable that there will be fighting when the Myanmar Army engages 'clearance operations' along the railway route," longtime Myanmar observer Bertil Lintner told The Irrawaddy.

"And who will the workers be? Will China, as usual, bring in their own labor, or employ local people? If they bring in Chinese labor, there is bound to be resentment among local people along the railway route," he said.

It is also likely that land will be confiscated to make way for the railway, and people are not going to like that, he added.

Experts point to broad pushback against China's BRI projects from Malaysia and Sri Lanka to Zambia. The NLD-led government should bear this global pushback against China in mind and use it as leverage when dealing with China, they say. Some of the BRI projects have been slow to get off the ground, while others have been criticized for creating unsustainable debts for the host countries.

According to a March 2018 report by the Washington-based Center for Global Development, China is putting many countries involved in the BRI at financial risk through a series of "aid" activities and huge amounts of lending.

Amid increased pressure on Myanmar from the West due to the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine State, the government has grown more agreeable to involvement in the BRI.

"The Rohingya crisis, and the West's condemnation of what has happened in Rakhine State, have pushed Myanmar back into the hands of the Chinese, and the Chinese are taking full advantage of the situation to advance [their] own interests," Lintner said.

In recent months, Naypyitaw has signed an MoU committing itself to the USD2-billion CMEC, but key questions remain over ownership, operation, project terms and financing, and whether Myanmar can afford the BRI infrastructure projects.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, associate professor at the Institute of Security and International Studies in the Faculty of Political Science at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, told The Irrawaddy, "Myanmar has time on its side. It can study and review other similar projects and maximize its own national interests. There is no need to rush, and China's bargaining power now appears less than it used to be in view of being pushed back in many countries."

The head of the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation has warned that the BRI was creating a debt trap for many poor nations.

According to Thitinan, "Debt avoidance and public benefit for Myanmar should be the key criteria."

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Ex-Child Soldier Aung Ko Htwe Acquitted of Latest Charge

Posted: 31 Oct 2018 02:44 AM PDT

YANGON — Aung Ko Htwe, a former child soldier in the Myanmar Army, was acquitted of violating the Union Seal Law by a court in Yangon’s Botahtaung Township on Tuesday, according to his lawyer.

Aung Ko Htwe, who is serving a two-year prison sentence for incitement handed down in March, was facing another three years in jail after police charged him under Section 7 of the Union Seal Law for allegedly standing on a copy of the Constitution during a protest.

"The court did not find that he stepped on the Constitution and the prosecutor could not even prove that he stepped on the book. Therefore, he was acquitted of the second charge," Robert San Aung, Aung Ko Htwe’s lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. "We welcome the court’s decision."

The lawyer said he would write to President U Win Myint to ask that his client be absolved of his standing conviction.

Both local and international rights groups have condemned the incitement case against Aung Ko Htwe and urged the government to secure his release.

In 2005, at the age of 14, Aung Ko Htwe was abducted at Yangon's central railway station and forced into military service, according to his family. After two years he escaped with two other men. While making their getaway, however, the owner of a motorbike they were stealing was strangled to death. Aung Ko Htwe denied responsibility.

All three were charged with murder, convicted and sentenced to death. In 2013, however, Aung Ko Htwe had his sentence commuted to life in prison and was released in July 2017, after 10 years in jail.

He was rearrested late last year after the military charged him with incitement for an interview he gave Radio Free Asia in which he claimed he was abused by authorities during his first trial.

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Analysis : Only a ‘Peace Approach’ Can End the Cycle of Conflict in Myanmar

Posted: 31 Oct 2018 01:05 AM PDT

Historically, the peace process in Myanmar has been dominated by men. Peace talks have focused on "security" as the main factor in ending conflict.

In the past, negotiations between the military government and insurgent groups including the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) followed a familiar pattern: Insurgent groups demanded autonomy for their states and recognition of their ethnic armies; the military government rejected those demands and the peace talks broke down.

In The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Burma, Swedish journalist Bertil Lintner writes about the failures of peace talks in 1963 and 1980s. He observes that in 1981, "Kachin rebel leader Brang Seng declared that his troops were willing to lay down arms if the government granted autonomy to Kachin State, stressing that separation was no longer an issue. But the rebels were offered 'rehabilitation' only—no political concessions were forthcoming, and the talks eventually broke down."

The cessation of armed conflict was the focus of the negotiations, but this was not sufficient to achieve genuine conflict resolution. The root causes of the conflict, such as historical context, ideological divide and political will, were not given priority in the peace process between male-dominated armed groups.

In their book Equal Opportunity Peacekeeping, Sabrina Karim and Kyle Beardsley discuss three different "masculinities"—warrior masculinity, protective masculinity, and militarized masculinity—as the main obstacles to negotiating peace.

These masculinities are frequently on display in speeches by Myanmar military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. In his opening speech to the Third Session of the 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference earlier this year, he stated that "We, the government and the Tatmadaw [Myanmar's military], are actively leading the peace process—[but] not because we are weak." Drawing attention to the power imbalance between the Myanmar military and EAOs doesn't help the peace process; it only creates more doubt in the minds of EAO leaders about the military's desire for peace.

And in the most recent peace talks involving the government, the Tatmadaw and EAOs that are signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), the military chief again warned EAOs not to abuse the NCA.

"The NCA shouldn't be misappropriated. If there is a misappropriation, the Tatmadaw, which is responsible for protecting the lives and property of ethnic people, will not just stand by and do nothing." His statement clearly showed the protective norms of the military with regard to ethnic people. Yet dozens of EAOs operate under a similar protective norm vis-a-vis their own people and territory.

Furthermore, the Tatmadaw holds firm to the principle of "non-secession," based on one of the three main national causes, the "non-disintegration of the Union". The concept originated from a security point of view in regards to "perpetuation of sovereignty".

"A guarantee of non-secession is a one-sided demand of the Tatmadaw," General Yawd Serk, the chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS/SSA), said during a recent interview with The Irrawaddy.

Turning this demand back on the military, Gen. Yawd Serk commented that "We also have a question for the Tatmadaw: Will they promise not to stage another military coup if they are [sincere about] building a federal democratic nation?"

Gen. Yawd Serk's question demonstrates the EAOs' concern with security, and illustrates the degree to which the Tatmadaw's willingness to grant autonomy to the ethnic states influences to issue of non-secession.

The Tatmadaw's concerns are of a similar nature. The 2008 Constitution was drafted to protect the military and gives it "the right to independently administer and adjudicate all affairs of the armed forces."

Negotiations based on security concerns alone lead to deadlock in peace talks. "We have no areas of compromise, which is why there is no mutual trust. We are acting based on our own principles," Gen. Yawd Serk.

The masculinity-influenced security approach is a key obstacle to the success of peace talks among these groups of "warriors". After 70 years of shooting at one another, they are still fighting a war of words with no room for compromise. And the peace talks are only getting more complicated.  In 1963 there were only four guerrilla groups. Today, there are many. In the space of five decades, four main guerrilla groups mushroomed into 24, including breakaway ethnic armed groups and newfangled militias across the country.

The NCA's political roadmap, drafted under the Thein Sein government, is also based on a security approach. It contains three main steps: signing the NCA, holding a national political dialogue, and negotiating "security reintegration matters".

If we look at peace talks from 1963 to 2015, we can see that both the Tatmadaw and the EAOs have held fast to the security approach, leaving them trapped in a cycle of conflict.

Women can play a leading role

After the National League for Democracy (NLD) won the 2015 election by a landslide, its leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi became the state counselor and, for the first time in Myanmar's history, a woman took a leading role in the country's peace process.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's administration has tried to change the peace process from a "security approach" espoused by armed men to the "peace approach." As a woman, and therefore perceived as a natural peacemaker, she has tried to kill two birds with one stone: the peace process and constitutional amendment. The NLD's roadmap for national reconciliation and the Union peace process is not based on "security matters" but rather cites "constitutional amendment" and "building a democratic federal union," both of which can lead to multi-party general elections. It sounds promising, but in fact it is rather vague and unrealistic.

But it is not a new concept. It is based on sub-para (d) of Paragraph 22 of the NCA, which holds that "all decisions adopted by the Union Peace Conference shall be the basis for amending, repealing and adding provisions to the Constitution and laws, in line with established procedures."

During the constitutional amendment campaign in 2014, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her fellow party members said that the "undemocratic" 2008 Constitution creates inequality between the military and people, and called for it to be amended. "The basic principle of unity is equality. This country can become a genuine federal union only if we have equality. Where can equality be started? We have to start from the Constitution, as it is a foundation of the country," she said.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government maintains that "peace" is the best approach to "security" and "conflict transformation". But for the groups who are mainly concerned with security, this approach is fraught with complications and requires time. Moreover, many people involved in the peace process think it is unrealistic to expect that it will be concluded by 2020.

Johan Galtung, founder of the Oslo, Norway-based International Peace Research Institute, asserts that "the peace argument against the security approach is strong: It works like a bandage over a festering wound. The conflict formation of parties with goals with too many incompatibilities has to be transformed into a peace formation by bridging the legitimate goals non-violently, empathically, creatively. An untransformed conflict will reproduce violence sooner or later."

Because of the divergent approaches taken by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Tatmadaw, some EAOs are confused about whether they should sign the NCA.

The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) is one of the EAOs that remain undecided as to whether to sign the NCA. "The Tatmadaw's principle is to lay down arms after a national political dialogue. Then we have to take part in the elections. The Tatmadaw wants us to abandon armed struggle. But the NLD wants us to work together to amend the Constitution. As the Tatmadaw's principle is to protect this Constitution with its life, their principles are different. So no matter which side we take, we will face one problem or another," KNPP second secretary Khu Daniel told the author during an interview.

The Tatmadaw seems unhappy with the NLD's actions, and with the dual process of constitutional amendment and peacebuilding. In his speech, Sen-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing voiced displeasure at the notion of amending the Constitution. "We agree in principle with amending and supplementing the really necessary provisions of the Constitution with the aim of achieving lasting peace. But it would be difficult for us to agree to amending and supplementing the Constitution and other laws with the intent of serving [specific groups'] self-interest and abusing the NCA," the military chief said.

Nonetheless, the Tatmadaw still has to follow the political framework of the NCA drafted by Thein Sein's government, because the international community is involved in Myanmar's peace process and has recognized the agreement.

Before 2016, the NLD led the discussion on the constitutional amendment issue, but now ethnic people and EAOs have started talking about amending the Constitution and putting the military under the civilian government's control.

Amend the undemocratic 2008 Constitution and drafting federal principles should be done in parallel, not sequentially, because they are equally important. The DDR (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration) and SSR (security sector reform) approaches failed because of a lack of specific principles or an appropriate Constitution.

During the transition from the "security approach" to the "peace approach", the peace process got stuck and made no progress. Somehow, we have reached the third anniversary of the NCA signing ceremony, making it the longest peace process in Myanmar's history. In mid-October, senior leaders of the government, the Tatmadaw and 10 NCA signatory EAOs attended the first round of special peace talks focusing on deadlock issues such as non-secession and the integration of military forces.

In his interview with The Irrawaddy, Gen. Yawd Serk of the Shan State Army accused the Tatmadaw of stalling the peace process: "This deadlock happened because of these two issues brought up by the Tatmadaw. If the Tatmadaw wants peace, they do not need to bring up these two issues. Whether there is any will to make peace depends on the Tatmadaw."

Peace approach based on conflict resolution

Galtung discusses six peace tasks: three "absences" and three "presences". "A ceasefire is only one-sixth of a complete peace process, yet often mistaken for the real thing," he says.

The three "absences" he discusses are the absence of direct violence such as civil war and conflict, the absence of structural violence and the absence of cultural violence. The three "presences" are those of cooperation; equality and equity; and a culture of peace and dialogue.

Myanmar's peace process is still in the beginning stage. After the first step, a ceasefire agreement, there are other steps that must be taken. To take these steps, a Constitution that guarantees equality must be drafted along the way. A democratic federal constitution should guarantee the absence of structural violence and absence of cultural violence in order to prevent "massive suffering by economic, political and cultural structures," according to Galtung.

It is impossible for the Tatmadaw, the government or any particular EAO to implement the peace process alone. To stop the cycle of conflict which has been going on for more than 70 years, all parties must participate.

For the time being, the gradual development of a political dialogue proves that all parties are on common ground, and agree that there is a need to stop the cycle of conflict.

Although people might think that the peace approach based on conflict resolution is unachievable, it has the potential to end the conflict cycle if everyone steadfastly steps forward.

Not only Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but anyone involved in the peace process who has the spirit of a natural peacemaker can carry on the "peace approach."  Crucially, we need to recognize that the "security approach," despite many years of attempts, has failed. We need to recognize and adopt the "peace approach" as the best chance for a long-lasting peace.

Mon Mon Myat is a freelance writer/journalist and a graduate student in the Ph.D. program in peacebuilding at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The post Analysis : Only a 'Peace Approach' Can End the Cycle of Conflict in Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Kitchen Building Material Could Cut Urban Flooding by Half: Scientists

Posted: 30 Oct 2018 09:32 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR — Cities could reduce flooding by constructing sidewalks from an absorbent building material commonly used in household kitchens, scientists have discovered.

Sidewalks made from travertine — a form of limestone used for tiles and kitchen bench tops — can cut flooding by up to 50 percent, according to a study by researchers at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, southeast China.

As well as helping water escape into the ground, travertine removes a number of pollutants that occur when rainwater mixes with dirt, rendering it suitable for agriculture, they said.

“We have more evidence to show that flooding is happening more often all over the world due to climate change,” said Xiaonan Tang, a co-author of the study and associate professor at the university’s department of civil engineering.

“This new material helps reduce urban surface flow to reduce flooding,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Tuesday.

Over the past four decades, natural disasters have cost the Asia-Pacific region about $1.3 trillion, according to UN estimates, with China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan worst-hit by typhoons.

As the region’s population becomes more urban and the effects of climate change cause more extreme weather conditions, exposure to flooding is increasing, UN experts say.

Flood-prone cities such as Wuhan, in China, are increasingly testing new innovations to reduce risks. The metropolis has dubbed itself a “sponge city” and turned to water-absorbing asphalt, among other measures.

Travertine is cheaper than both water-absorbing asphalt and concrete, and is found in volcanic areas around the world, but it has yet to be tested to determine whether it is strong enough to be used for roads, the researchers said.

Traditional materials like concrete are not very absorbent, which exacerbates flooding, they said.

“Travertine is a porous material with kind of sponge texture. It has many tiny holes in it, and those holes actually decrease its economic value in the current market,” said Hamidreza Rahimi, the report’s lead author.

“In its holey form, it’s considered waste material as it needs to be smooth and hole-free when used in domestic building projects,” he said in a statement.

The post Kitchen Building Material Could Cut Urban Flooding by Half: Scientists appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China Factory Growth Weakest in Over 2 Yrs, Slump in Export Orders Deepens

Posted: 30 Oct 2018 09:05 PM PDT

BEIJING — China’s manufacturing sector barely expanded in October and missed expectations, as both domestic and external demand ebbed, in a sign of deepening cracks in the economy from an intensifying trade war with the United States.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), released on Wednesday, fell to 50.2 in October, the lowest since July 2016 and down from 50.8 in September. It was a touch above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction for a 27th straight month.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast the official gauge, which gives global investors their first look at business conditions in China at the start of the last quarter of the year, would dip slightly to 50.6 for the month.

The latest reading suggests a further slowing in the world’s second-biggest economy and could prompt more policy support from Beijing on top of a raft of recent initiatives.

A production sub-index fell to 52 in October from 53.0 in September, while a new orders sub-index declined to 50.8 from 52.0.

New export orders, an indicator of future activity, contracted for a fifth straight month and at the fastest pace in at least a year. The sub-index fell to 46.9 from 48.0 in September.

China’s exports unexpectedly kicked into higher gear in September, largely as firms front-loaded shipments to dodge stiffer US duties, though analysts see pressure building in coming months. The continued slump in export orders may be bearing that scenario out.

October is the first full month after the latest US tariffs went into effect. Washington and Beijing slapped additional tariffs on each other’s goods on Sept. 24, and US President Donald Trump has threatened to hit China with more duties.

China’s economy grew at its weakest pace since the global financial crisis in the third quarter, as manufacturing output and infrastructure investment slowed. Analysts believe business conditions will get worse before getting better.

Firms are already facing pressure on earnings. A survey over the weekend showed profit growth at the country’s industrial powerhouses cooled for the fifth consecutive month in September on the back of a greater slowdown in production and sales.

China’s manufacturing sector has been squeezed by a reduction in sources of credit amid Beijing’s multi-year crackdown on corporate debt and risky lending practices, with smaller firms especially under strain.

Premier Li Keqiang said last month that the country’s economy faces increasing downward pressure, and pledged to take targeted measures to prevent large fluctuations in growth.

Policymakers have already shifted their priorities to reducing risks to growth. Earlier this month China’s central bank announced the fourth reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cut for this year, and is expected to ease monetary policy further.

It is also stepping up moves to lower financing costs and pledged more support to private firms, a key source of jobs. On the fiscal side the government is also stepping up stimulus through infrastructure projects, and has also pledged more tax cuts next year to support growth.

Another sister survey released by the NBS on Wednesday showed growth in China’s service sector moderated in September, with the official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dipping to 53.9 from 54.2 the previous month.

The post China Factory Growth Weakest in Over 2 Yrs, Slump in Export Orders Deepens appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

From ‘Cardboard Nannies’ to ‘Fruit Money’: Fast-Paced Hong Kong Slow to Adapt to Its Elderly

Posted: 30 Oct 2018 09:03 PM PDT

HONG KONG — At the Tanner Hill apartments in Hong Kong, the residents – all aged 60-plus – are enjoying the ancient Chinese tile game of mahjong along with some bite-sized delicacies, dimsum, at one of the on-site restaurants.

Each of the 588 units comes with wheelchair-height kitchen countertops, an emergency button and a motion sensor that will alert the nurses in the building if it does not detect movement for a prolonged period.

“I feel independent living here. I don’t need a helper to look after me – I feel safe,” said Chun Man-lin, 75, who moved two years ago to Tanner Hill, just a stone’s throw from the shopping hub of Causeway Bay.

However, gerontology experts say, complexes like this are the exception in Hong Kong, not the norm. They warn that the fast-paced, business-focused city is lagging in its efforts to make life easier for its growing army of elderly residents.

From Japan to Britain and Portugal, cities around the world are aging rapidly as authorities struggle to boost birth rates.

One-third of Hong Kong’s population will be 65 or older in two decades, official data shows – up from one-fifth now. Observers say not enough is being done to prepare for this demographic shift.

“Aging in Hong Kong … is still an issue that people put in the background – it’s not mainstream at all,” said Jean Woo, the director of the Jockey Club Institute of Aging at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“Right now the aging issue is still invisible to a lot of people. It is there but they don’t see it – not like other countries,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

‘Cardboard Nannies'

In the shadows of Hong Kong’s famous skyscrapers, a common sight is the grey-haired women – so-called “cardboard nannies” – pushing carts filled with old paper and card that they send to be recycled as they eke out a living.

With sky-high property prices and rising living costs, about of third of those aged above 65 – some 340,000 people – are trapped in poverty, a government report released in 2017 shows.

Authorities provide a monthly living allowance of up to about HK$3,400 ($430) for senior citizens, but that buys so little in this expensive city that it is dubbed “fruit money."

The elderly are most unhappy about housing, community support, health services and employment, a survey of over 9,500 people led by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust found this year.

Still, there are some bright spots. Hong Kong scored well in areas like transportation – for HK$2, senior citizens can take most public transport to any part of the city.

Its compactness also allows the elderly easy access to shops, clinics, banks and transport networks, with most places located within walking distance.

Woo, who was one of the survey’s researchers, said the biggest barriers to making the Asian financial hub more senior-friendly were a lack of awareness and public debate on the consequences if agiing issues were not addressed.

“Suicides are high among the elderly, including double suicides when the spouse can’t cope by living by themselves,” she said.

People aged over 65 have the highest suicide rates in Hong Kong, with nearly 300 cases in 2016, according to the Center for Suicide Research and Prevention.

Other developed parts of the world have already ramped up efforts to deal with aging, with the global population of people over 60 expected to outnumber children under five for the first time by 2020, according to the World Health Organization.

In Britain, the government this year created a new ministerial post on loneliness, and allocated £20 million ($26 million) to fund efforts to tackle the isolation felt by more than one in 10 people there.

Efficiency over Decency

In her annual policy address this month, Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam vowed to boost community care services for the elderly, although her speech largely did not address other challenges as the city ages rapidly.

One government adviser said the authorities had been making adjustments, including ensuring barrier-free access on public walkways and putting wider corridors and non-slip floors in new public rental housing.

“These measures are just a start … The government can only do so much,” Bernard Chan, who sits on Hong Kong’s Executive Council which advises the government on policy, wrote in the South China Morning Post newspaper in June.

“Meeting our aging society’s day-to-day needs will largely come down to innovators and entrepreneurs,” he said.

Projects like Tanner Hill, which was built by the non-governmental Hong Kong Housing Society, is one example where charity groups try to address the need for elderly housing.

It offers a lifelong lease where residents pay a flat fee that is determined by age. For a two-bedroom unit for example, an 85-year-old resident would pay HK$2.94 million and a 60-year-old would pay HK$6.51 million.

“Aging is an indisputable fact and the demand for elderly housing is emerging,” said Daniel Lau from the Hong Kong Housing Society, which also works with the government to improve housing conditions for the city’s poorer seniors.

Making Hong Kong more accepting of its elderly residents, said aging expert Terry Lum, is not only about improving the facilities, and it is not just a job for government.

Changing people’s mindset and how they treat older people are also important, said the professor at the University of Hong Kong.

After living in the United States for 18 years, Lum moved home to Hong Kong in 2011. The first thing he noticed was how Hongkongers quickly became impatient when an older person walked slowly in front of them.

“We are focusing so much on efficiency that sometimes we lose basic decency – everything is being rushed through at a very fast pace,” he said.

“Hong Kong definitely needs to slow down.” 

The post From ‘Cardboard Nannies’ to ‘Fruit Money’: Fast-Paced Hong Kong Slow to Adapt to Its Elderly appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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