Monday, November 26, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Rohingya Refugee Leaders in Bangladesh Call Work Strike Over ID Cards

Posted: 26 Nov 2018 04:06 AM PST

DHAKA — The leaders of Rohingya refugee camps in the Ukhia region of Cox’s Bazar District in Bangladesh called a three-day work strike on Monday to pressure the UN’s refugee agency to include “Rohingya” on the ID cards it has been issuing them.

In a statement, they said it was crucial that they be identified as ethnic Rohingya on the cards because they were being persecuted in Myanmar precisely because of their ethnicity.

Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as an ethnic group and calls them Bengali, implying they are illegal migrants.

"This named [sic] is banned in Myanmar, but it should not be banned here.” the statement says.

“We are very worried about the bio-data that UNHCR wants to collect (finger prints, iris scans, properly documents). We believe UNHCR can share this data for repatriation with Myanmar government and the Myanmar government can use it for label us as ARSA member or as 'Bengali foreigners' like in the past, or to make trouble for our families," it adds.

ARSA, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a militant armed group, launched a coordinated attack on several police posts and a military base in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in August 2017. The military crackdown that followed has driven some 700,000 mostly Rohingya to Bangladesh, many with reports of arson, rape and murder at the hands of Myanmar police and soldiers.

"Rohingya will stay at home for three days and stop working in our many different jobs and positions as Majhis, INGOs and UN staff and volunteers, fixers for international people, teachers, health workers, mullah, builders and labour men, and shop keepers," the statement says.

They say they also want the UNHCR to stop forcing Rohingya refugees to take the cards, to stop barricading refugees inside Camp 21 for refusing to take the cards, to stop collecting their biometric data for the cards, and to not share the biometric data they have already collected with Myanmar.

"We want to discuss with UNHCR and Authorities to address our demands," the statement says. “We are tired of hearing members of international community and UN say that the Rohingya refugees do not have any leaders. We want to be consulted."

Bangladeshi Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam said the cards were intended to help the refugees receive and access services and that they had no reason to protest because recent plans to start sending them back to Myanmar were postponed.

A senior Bangladesh government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said officials planned to meet with the camp leaders soon to resolve the dispute.

Firas al-Khateeb, a spokesperson for the UNHCR in Cox's Bazar, told The Irrawaddy that agency staff were on the ground to find out if the strike was being observed.

Ukhia Police Station Sub-Inspector Milton Dey said there has been no violence in the camps since the strike was called.

Syed Alom, a Rohingya refugee and community leader, said the strike was only being observed in parts of Ukhia where the cards have been handed out so far, including Thayngkhali. He said Rohingya volunteers were still at work in camps in Kutupalang.

The post Rohingya Refugee Leaders in Bangladesh Call Work Strike Over ID Cards appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Three Civilian Deaths as Fighting Flares in Northern Shan

Posted: 26 Nov 2018 02:58 AM PST

YANGON—Three civilians have died and two others were injured during a clash between the Shan State Army-North and the Shan State Army-South in a village in Shan State's Hsipaw Township on Friday morning, according to a civil society organization helping the victims.

The Shan State Army-North, the armed wing of the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) clashed with the Shan State Army-South, the armed wing of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), at around 6 a.m. on Friday near Nar Low Village in Hsipaw Township.

One of the wounded was a three-year-old child, said Ko Myo of the Philanthropists without Borders Association based in Hsipaw.

The spokesperson for the RCSS, Lt-Col Sai Oo, confirmed the clash but said he did not know details about the situation on the ground.

Lt-Col Sai Su of the SSPP put the blame on the RCSS for the civilian casualties.  RCSS troops opened fire on a location where they thought SSPP troops were staying overnight near Nar Low Village on Thursday, he said.

"They thought we were in the village. They dared not come into the village, so from outside, they opened fire into the village. Villagers fled in panic on tractors, and [RCSS troops] opened fire on them.  Some were injured and some died," said Lt-Col Sai Su.

Only after the RCSS shot at the tractor which had civilians on board, the SSPP troops returned fire on the RCSS troops, he added.

"We have no communication with them at the frontline. There were negotiations at upper levels [of the organizations] but they failed. Problems arose because they came to northern Shan State, leaving their base in southern Shan State. We have asked them to retreat, but they refused," he said.

Nar Low Village lies between the towns of Hsipaw and Lai-Hka in Loilem District, and as well as the SSPP and the RCSS, the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army are also active in the area.

On Nov.15, a clash between the Tatmadaw and the SSPP forced over 500 people from their homes in Nar Low and Meng Kai villages.

The RCSS has had frequent clashes separately with the SSPP and the TNLA in northern Shan State and it also clashes frequently with the troops of the combined TNLA-SSPP group over territorial disputes in Kyaukme, Lashio and Namtu townships in northern Shan State.

The RCSS clashed with the TNLA on Nov. 21 and 22 in Namtu Township and military tensions are still high in the area.

The RCSS is a signatory of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and has participated in meetings of the Union Peace Conference-21st Century Panglong. The SSPP and the TNLA, however, have opted out of signing the NCA.

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U Wirathu Accuses Govt of Stalling ‘Nationalist’ High School Plans

Posted: 26 Nov 2018 02:04 AM PST

MANDALAY — Firebrand monk U Wirathu accused the government of stalling permission for a private high school in Mandalay Region’s Patheingyi Township because avowed nationalists were behind the project.

"The regional government says it is illegal to have a school compound on this land. But their refusal to let the school open is not based on that," he told reporters at a press conference at the site on Sunday.

"It is based only on the work of the nationalists, me, U Wirathu, and members of Ma Ba Tha. If this school was going to be operated by Muslims, the government would surely allow it and even cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony."

In March 2017 the government banned U Wirathu from delivering public sermons for a year over his strident anti-Muslim rhetoric, and Facebook blocked his account in February for hate speech. The government has also outlawed the ultra-nationalist group Ma Ba Tha, which has since rebranded itself to skirt the ban.

U Wirathu said on Sunday that he and his supporters have been asking for permission to build Mahawthadar Nationalist Private High School for more than a year but were yet to receive it.

Women hold signs urging the government to let supporters of U Wirathu build a school in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Region, in front of the already-erected gate for the planned school on Sunday. / Zarni Mann / The Irrawaddy

"This school has nothing to do with politics and has no anti-government intentions. It is only to give free education to poor children. The government is trying to oppress everything the nationalists are doing — this is not democracy," he said.

"We cannot wait any longer, so we will begin construction regardless what happens. If the government does not follow democracy, abuses the rule of law and wants to oppress us, I will make sure to let them know who Wirathu is," he added.

The monk said he had also written to Mandalay Region Chief Minister U Zaw Myint Maung in July to ask for permission for the school.

The letter, distributed to reporters on Sunday, says the committee set up to establish the school includes former government officials, including the personal secretary of the prior regional chief minister.

“Don’t look on these committee members and think there will be any politics or nationalism. Every one of them is focused only on education and is not thinking of politics or nationalism,” the letter says.

"If members of the NLD or the government wants to join us, you are warmly welcome, but you should keep nationalism in your minds," it adds.

Mandalay Region government officials could not be reached for comment.

Project backers said they applied for permission to build a four-story school in Kyauk Chaw Village in mid-2017 and had hoped to open it for the 2017-2018 academic year.

They said the regional government has asked for several required documents and rejected a request to hold a groundbreaking ceremony in February.

"Since then there has been silence. We've sent a complaint letters to the President’s Office as well, but the President’s Office is also ignoring our complaint," said U Myo Chit, vice president of the school’s founding committee.

He said two Mahawthadar high schools have been operating since last year, one in Yangon and another in Rakhine State.

"We believe the [Mandalay] regional government does not want to give us permission because the word "nationalist" is in the school’s name. We will not take it out to get permission, because nationalism is as important as education for children," U Myo Chit said.

"However, we are not going to emphasize nationalism, which the government is worried about. We are only going to provide the children with free education. We will begin construction no matter what, and we will make sure the school can open in time for the 2018-2019 academic year," he added.

Those behind the school project have already built a gate and fence around the site and a classroom where about 200 students from surrounding high schools are receiving free after-school tutoring.

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Taungup Police Chief’s Fatal Plunge down Well Was an Accident: Officials

Posted: 26 Nov 2018 12:28 AM PST

SITTWE—The head of Taungup Township Police Station in Rakhine State died after accidentally falling down a well inside the compound of the police station on Sunday, police officials said, denying rumors that the officer took his own life.

Police Captain Thein Tun Naing's death was entirely accidental, according to Police Sub-Lieutenant Toe Zaw Aung, who is based at the station. "He accidentally fell down the well. He was not wearing his uniform at the time of the accident. He was in plain clothes. We sent his body to the hospital," he told The Irrawaddy.

Pol Capt. Thein Tun Naing was transferred to Taungup Police Station some eight months ago. Police officials denied rumors among the local population that the late police captain was undergoing an internal investigation.

"We hadn't seen him, so we searched for him at around 7 a.m. [on Sunday]. We found his slippers near the well. So we went down the well and found his body, which was sent to the hospital. The hospital confirmed that he drowned. The rumors are not true," said Police Lieutenant Chit Tun, the deputy head of the station.

Police have opened an investigation into Pol Capt. Thein Tun Naing's death.

Rakhine State Police commander Police Colonel Kyi Lin visited Taungup Township recently. But the visit was a routine trip to inspect operations at the police station, Taungup police officials said.

On Oct. 11, a police constable committed suicide by shooting himself at the hostel of Pauktaw Police Station in Rakhine State.

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New Strategies Needed as EAOs Adapt to Changes in Drug Demand

Posted: 26 Nov 2018 12:20 AM PST

There is both good news and bad news for Myanmar on the drug front: a sharp decline in opium cultivation and a shift toward synthetic drugs, especially methamphetamine.

In the past 20 years, opium cultivation has declined to 41,000 hectares, a 75 percent drop from 163,000 hectares in 1996, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)'s statistics.

However, the main concern today for regional governments and the UNODC is methamphetamine, mainly manufactured in the Mekong sub-region of East and Southeast Asia. According to the UN agency, "Myanmar is perceived to be the main country of origin."

An anti-drug operation launched in June 2018 by the Myanmar President's Office seized US$132 million (211.1 billion kyats) worth of methamphetamine tablets and "ice" (crystal methamphetamine) within four months. Most of the drugs, along with opium, heroin, and other amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), were found in conflict areas in Shan, Kachin and Rakhine states. Precursor chemicals used in ATS production were also found, mainly in conflict areas in Shan State.

According to UNODC regional representative Jeremy Douglas, the synthetic drug trade is worth billions of dollars and involves some of the larger transnational organized crime groups.

Once known as a center of the opium trade, the Golden Triangle area, where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet, has re-emerged as a center for synthetic drug production and trafficking. Transnational organized crime groups utilize Myanmar's internal conflicts for their own interests, as lawless conflict zones are the best place to produce man-made drugs, which unlike opium crops don't require labor-intensive cultivation and are not dependent on the weather.

High-purity crystal methamphetamine from Myanmar has been found on New Zealand's streets. The New Zealand Herald wrote about the world-class chemists involved in drug production in Myanmar. "Aided by state-backed militias, high-tech meth laboratories and factories employing world-class chemists are fueling a US$40-billion regional drug economy," it reported.

Since early 2018, seizures of Myanmar-produced drugs in neighboring countries including China, Thailand, Bangladesh and India have grown. Narcotics control officials from Bangladesh said various Myanmar separatist groups produce yaba at 37 factories in Shan state—which borders China, Laos and Thailand—and smuggle them to different countries to raise funds. The Myanmar military discovered drug labs during a raid in a conflict area in northern Shan State in February this year. Vast amount of drug precursors and lab equipment were found during the raid.

As mentioned in the national drug control policy paper, Myanmar is involved in a "two-way trade of precursors and drugs", importing precursors from neighboring countries and producing synthetic drugs to be trafficked around the region.

A trade born of conflict

Myanmar's drug trade emerged along with the internal armed conflicts in the 1940s. Duan Xiwen, a general with China's nationalist Kuomintang forces, was famously quoted as saying, "We have to continue to fight the evil of communism, and to fight you must have an army, and an army must have guns, and to buy guns you must have money. In these mountains, the only money is opium."

Not all ethnic armed group leaders who seek political power or territorial control will agree with Duan's statement, but the reality is that the longer an armed conflict lasts, the more resources the armed groups involved need in order to survive. Participating in the drug trade and collecting tax from drug traffickers are ways for armed groups to fund their existence.

Under military rule in the 1990s, the government granted a certain level of protection to insurgent groups involved in the drug trade in exchange for signing ceasefire agreements. As author Patrick Meehan from SOAS at the University of London observes in Drugs, Insurgency and State-Building in Myanmar, "Over the past 20 years the state has created a system of rents within the drug economy through numerous mechanisms. Most obvious has been the state's willingness to offer legal impunity to groups involved in the drugs trade following their signing of ceasefire agreements."

Among 20 drug kingpins listed in the 2009 book Merchants of Madness by Bertil Lintner and Michael Black, many are still active armed group leaders who took part in ceasefire agreements from 1989 onwards.

Of course a ceasefire doesn't mean the end of conflict. Rather, it can inflame the drug trade in the region. If we study UNODC's data on annual drug seizures in Myanmar from the 1990s to the 2000s, there is no data related to methamphetamine seizures before 1996. Statistics on the drug first show up a few years after the Myanmar military and several armed groups signed ceasefire agreements and began sharing control of territory and business interests. Conflict was absent in the so-called special region areas along the border with China, Laos and Thailand, but statistics show the drug trade has been on the rise since then.

The cross-border drug trade has a long history in the area. In the mid-1800s, opium was used to promote international trade when the West, led by Britain, forced China to open its market after the Opium Wars of 1839-60. The French also brought opium to China from Afghanistan, India and Hanoi. In the 1950s, a joint operation by the Kuomintang and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency against the Chinese communists was at the forefront of the opium trade in the Golden Triangle. In the 21st century, Asian methamphetamine has begun to replace opium in the world market. In fact, drug money could be said to make the world go round.

In Myanmar, production of ATS drugs has increased almost 10-fold since 1996. It has reached alarming levels in the region as a major transnational organized crime activity.

Complaint mechanism established

The Drug Activity Special Complaint Department of the President's Office was formed in June 2018 with the aim—as stated in the state media—"to prevent and eradicate the dangers of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances". The complaint mechanism works in two ways: The department receives complaints from the public and relays the information to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and then the Tatmadaw and Myanmar Police Force carry out separate investigations on drug complaints, search and arrests at border gates, and searches of vehicles, acting upon tip-offs.

The move by the President's Office seems to have encouraged civilian participation in drug eradication and increased scrutiny of security officials' involvement in the drug trade. Some military and police officials have been arrested for their involvement in drug trafficking. Significant amounts of drugs and precursor chemicals have been seized. It turns out that the country is facing a serious drug problem on many levels, not only as a distribution country but also as a major consumer.

However, the anti-drug operation has reached only limited areas controlled by the government. Certain areas along the border are the scenes of ongoing conflict and are still controlled by armed groups. The president's anti-drug operations are tantamount to cutting down a bush without digging up its roots.

Women in the drug trade

Whether it's insurgent groups or drug organizations, men usually run the drug trade because of its high-risk nature. As in Afghanistan, Myanmar women's involvement has mostly been limited to opium cultivation, but recent statistics show that women are increasingly being exploited to facilitate the drug trade.

More than 1,200 women were arrested during the recent anti-drug operations launched by the President's Office. That's equivalent to 14 percent of total arrests for drug trafficking. These women get involved in drug trafficking for a range of reasons, from being drug abusers or victims of human trafficking to the desire to escape poverty.

According to UNODC data, of 98 countries that provided sex-disaggregated drug-related crime data for the period 2012–2016, some 10 per cent of those arrested for drug-related offenses were women. The ratio of women arrested in the drug supply chain in Myanmar is higher, but women in this country have very limited access to resources to treat drug-related harms.

According to official statistics, the government has set up 26 major and 47 minor drug-treatment centers, as well as 51 methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) sites, but very few of them have facilities catering especially for women.

Furthermore, these services do not yet cater to meth users. "These services need to be expanded to address methamphetamine use and other drugs-related harms," the official national drug control policy document states.

Man-made drugs, man-made conflict

Although demand is shifting from opium to synthetic drugs, the conflict situation in the country remains unchanged. A shift toward man-made drugs is a serious threat not only to Myanmar but also to the whole region.

Conflict reduction is as important as drug supply, demand and harm reduction in Myanmar. In the national drug control policy paper, one of the priorities is listed as "strengthening cooperation mechanisms on drug control and rule of law with ethnic armed groups".

Offering legal impunity to armed groups involved in the drug trade should no longer be viewed as a solution; the evidence shows it has failed. The question now becomes: What do we offer the drug lords, whose only law is the law of the jungle?

Mon Mon Myat is a freelance journalist and graduate student in the Ph.D program in peace-building at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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INGOs Discourage Repatriation for their Own Interests: Gov’t Spokesperson

Posted: 25 Nov 2018 11:00 PM PST

NAYPYITAW—The Myanmar government's spokesperson U Zaw Htay has accused international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) of deliberately discouraging refugees in Bangladesh from returning to Myanmar due to their own business interests.

Speaking at the government's press conference on Friday, U Zaw Htay, also director-general of the President's Office, said that INGOs share the blame for refugees' reluctance to come back to Myanmar.

"There are a lot of food imports and supplies. There is a big market there. INGOs do not want [refugees] to go back to Myanmar so that they can implement projects for a long time—health care, children, women, and so on. My point is that, as it is a really big business, INGOs are telling the refugees not to go back. That is where the problem exists," said U Zaw Htay.

NGOs and INGOs became institutionalized after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in 2008, thereby paving the way for thriving NGO businesses. Normally, the victims receive only around 30 percent of the contributions made by donors, claimed U Zaw Htay.

People have different views on the role of NGOs and INGOs in the repatriation of refugees. NGOs and INGOs also have different views about repatriation, said executive director of Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, U Min Zaw Oo.

"Some human rights NGOs say [refugees] should not go back to Myanmar without a guarantee that they will have their human rights and citizenship. Some said that they should not go back until they are allowed to travel freely across the country. There are different views among NGOs," said U Min Zaw Oo.

He declined to comment on the financial matters of NGOs or their business interests, but claimed that some of the refugees might have considered coming back to Myanmar.

Lower House lawmaker U Pe Than of the Arakan National Party shared the same view as U Zaw Htay, saying that Rakhine State has experienced growing instability over the past ten years since INGOs and NGOs came to operate there.

"Not even half of the money given by donors reaches the people. They just make up invoices and documentary photos to convince the donors. They receive benefits from one project after another. And they have more opportunities regarding the Bengali issue because there are many international donors who want to support them," said the lawmaker, using the government's term for the Rohingya, implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

He said there are also other reasons that make Rohingya refugees reluctant to come back to Myanmar.

"They want to take advantage of the pressures from the international community. There are ten demands including their recognition as Rohingya and granting of their citizenship. They said they would not return unless those demands are fulfilled. And ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) has also threatened them," said U Pe Than.

Myanmar's government has said that it has been ready for refugee repatriation since Jan. 23 this year but that the Bangladeshi government has not been able to fulfill its part of their bilateral agreement with Myanmar.

The Myanmar government has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the repatriation of refugees.

The government has put off the repatriation plan until January as no one has opted to return, said U Zaw Htay.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Famed Dome-Shaped Pagoda Repainting Project to Start This Week

Posted: 25 Nov 2018 10:02 PM PST

MANDALAY – The repainting of Sagaing’s Kaunghmudaw Pagoda will begin on Dec. 1, the pagoda’s trustee committee said on Sunday.

The famed dome-shape pagoda was painted gold on the instruction of a former military general and locals of Sagaing and the pagoda's trustee committee have been seeking permission to repaint it in its original white color for some time.

After permission was finally granted by the regional government in September this year, the pagoda trustee committee held discussions with one of the Myanmar's most influential abbot, Sitagu Sayadaw, and tenders for the project were called for early this month.

“We will begin the repainting process on December 1, and plan to finish it by the full moon day of Tabaung, which is the birthday of Sitagu Sayadaw,” said U Tin Myo Lwin, chairperson of Pagoda Trustee Committee.

The full moon of Tabaung falls in March, and the trustee committee said they will make sure to finish the painting project in time to celebrate the birthday of Sitagu Sayadaw.

According to the trustee committee, the paint is to be imported from Italy and will cost about $71,000. The full project, including the cleaning and removal of the gold paint from the pagoda, is expected to cost around 130 million kyats ($81,000).

“There will be a lot of processes which we will do including scraping off the gold paint, cleaning, reinforcing, applying a protective coating and painting it white, which are time-consuming and costly. However, we will make sure to finish the whole process on time,” said U Tin Myo Lwin.

He said that the pagoda, in its original white color, will be revealed during a Buddhist ceremony in celebration of the birthday of Sitagu Sayadaw.

Kaunghmudaw Pagoda, more than 380 years old, was originally painted white. In December 2010, after a visit by former Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the pagoda was painted gold. Rumors spread during that time that the senior-general ordered it painted gold according to an astrologist's suggestion in order to bring prosperity.

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China Heaps Pressure on Taiwan President after Election Defeat

Posted: 25 Nov 2018 09:04 PM PST

TAIPEI/SHANGHAI—Chinese state media heaped pressure on Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday after her ruling pro-independence party suffered heavy defeats at local elections at the weekend, saying Beijing would seek cooperation with newly elected officials.

Tsai resigned on Saturday as chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after losing key battleground cities in mayoral polls to the China-friendly Kuomintang. The DPP now only controls six cities and counties to the Kuomintang’s 15.

Han Kuo-yu, the Kuomintang’s mayor-elect in the southern port city of Kaohsiung and the most high profile of the party’s winners, said he would open the door to contacts with China.

Beijing has refused to deal with Tsai’s administration since she took office in 2016, accusing her of pushing for the island’s formal independence. That is a red line for China, which considers the proudly democratic island sacred Chinese territory.

Tsai has said she wants to maintain the status quo with China but will defend Taiwan’s security and democracy.

The official China Daily said in an editorial Tsai had ignored Beijing’s “cooperative stance” and forced relations into a deadlock, and that “her separatist stance has lost her the support of the people on the island.”

“Cross-Straits communication and cooperation between local governments are expected to be strengthened as a result of the election, which will bring more opportunities and help deepen mutual understanding,” it wrote.

The Kuomintang has sent delegations to China since Tsai took office, where they have been warmly received, and that contact is now likely to increase.

Another state-run Chinese paper, the widely read tabloid the Global Times, said in its editorial that the DPP’s “radical thinking” had led them astray.

“The party needs to reflect on this failure and make an about-face on its stance in the cross-Straits ties,” it said.

Taiwan’s government has warned China not to interfere in its elections and reacted swiftly on Sunday to denounce China’s welcoming of the DPP’s poor showing as being a reflection of people’s desire for better ties across the Taiwan Strait.

“Communications and exchanges that do not have political preconditions are the only correct way to resolve disputes and increase the well-being of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said, warning China not to try to contact newly elected local officials.

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Pakistani Woman Police Commander Led Defense of Chinese Mission

Posted: 25 Nov 2018 08:49 PM PST

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani policewoman Suhai Aziz Talpur heard of the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi while driving to work. She rushed to the scene to find two of her colleagues dead, and a trio of insurgents attempting to blow their way into the building.

Her fast response and actions during the nearly two-hour assault on the diplomatic mission in the southern port city have been praised for saving countless lives, turning 30-year-old Talpur into an instant celebrity — and potential feminist icon — in Pakistan, where female police officers remain rare.

“The moment I arrived, an exchange of fire was taking place, blasts had been heard, smoke was emanating,” Talpur, an assistant superintendent, told Reuters.

Right away, she took up a position to fire at the attackers and began calling for reinforcements.

“We started to advance inside the consulate and gradually neutralized the situation,” she said.

Since the attack a picture of Talpur holding her pistol, flanked by commandos, has gone viral on social media in Pakistan. Her bravery has also earned her a nomination for the country’s highest award for police officers.

Friday’s attack, claimed by separatist insurgents from the impoverished southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan, killed four people, including two police officers who Talpur said were the real heroes.

“The real credit goes to Assistant Sub-Inspector Ashraf [Dawood] and Constable Amir [Khan], who kept the attackers engaged and sacrificed their lives,” she said.

Once the attack ended, Talpur was among the first police officers to enter the mission and began reassuring the staff.

“When I entered there was a Chinese lady and three or four Pakistani men,” she recalled. “The Chinese lady hugged me and I told her ‘You are in safe hands, things are under control,'”

Talpur, who is scheduled to be promoted soon, will be one of only two female officers above the rank of assistant superintendent in the Sindh Province police force. But she believes women have a big role to play in law enforcement.

“A woman can be a better detective than a man, we see each and every thing and memorize it better,” she said.

Pakistan was recently ranked as the fourth worst country for women in a study conducted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. But the police and military have recently been running programs to encourage more women in law enforcement roles and in the armed forces.

Police officers are on the front lines of Pakistan’s battle against militancy, often targeted by Islamist and insurgent groups. In 2016, 59 cadets were killed when militants stormed a police academy in the southwestern city of Quetta. The attack was claimed by Islamic State, but Pakistani authorities blamed it on local militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

In Karachi, officers have been targeted by Taliban militants and scores have been killed in a wave of urban violence that engulfed the city for two decades from the 1990s.

Talpur, who hails from a small, conservative village in the southern Sindh Province, was studying to be a chartered accountant when she decided her chosen profession was too “dull” and joined the police instead.

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Malaysia Bets on Durian as China Goes Bananas For World’s Smelliest Fruit

Posted: 25 Nov 2018 08:25 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR — The stinky, spiky durian is set to become Malaysia’s next major export as the Southeast Asian nation rushes to develop thousands of acres to cash in on unprecedented demand for the fruit from China.

Once planted in family orchards and small-scale farms, the durian, described by some as smelling like an open sewer or turpentine when ripe, is attracting investments like never before. Even property tycoons and companies in palm oil, Malaysia’s biggest agricultural export, are making forays into the durian business.

The Malaysian government is encouraging large-scale farming of durian, counting on a 50 percent jump in exports by 2030.

“The durian industry is transforming from local to global, large-scale farming due to the great demand from China,” said Lim Chin Khee, a durian industry consultant. “Before the boom, a durian farm in Malaysia would be a leisure farm … Now they are hundreds of acres and bigger, and many more will come.”

Durian may be banned in some airports, public transport and hotels in Southeast Asia for its pungent smell, but the Chinese are huge fans. Durian-flavored foods sold in China include pizza, butter, salad dressing and milk.

“At first, I also hated durians because I thought they have a weird smell,” said Helen Li, 26, eating at a shop specializing in durian pizza in Shanghai, where nearly every customer ordered the 60 yuan ($8.50) dish during a recent lunch hour rush. “But when you taste it, it’s really quite delicious. I think those who hate durian are scared by its smell. But once you try it, I think their opinion will change.”

At another Shanghai restaurant selling durian chicken hotpot — a type of sizzling broth — for around 148 yuan ($21), owner Chen Weihao said the store could sell around 20 to 25 kg of imported Thai durian every month.

“When you taste it, it has a kind of fresh and sweet flavor, as if you have arrived in the tropics,” said 27-year-old customer Yang Yang.

Top dollar

Chinese pay top dollar for Malaysia’s “Musang King” variety of durian because of its creamy texture and bittersweet taste. Prices of the variety, now planted all over the country, have nearly quadrupled in the last five years.

China’s durian imports rose 15 percent last year to nearly 350,000 tons worth $510 million, according to the United Nations’ trade database. Nearly 40 percent was from Thailand, the world’s top producer and exporter.

Malaysia accounted for less than 1 percent but expects sales to China to jump to 22,061 tons by 2030 from this year’s likely 14,600 tons as trade is widened to include whole fruit from the current restriction to durian pulp and paste.

Lim, the consultant, said palm oil giant IOI Corp and property-to-resorts conglomerate Berjaya Corp have approached him about making ventures into durian farming.

IOI did not respond to Reuters’ queries, but a source with direct knowledge of the matter said the company was looking to plant durian on a small scale.

Berjaya, headed by one of Malaysia’s richest businessmen, Vincent Tan, did not respond to a request for comment.

State-owned palm oil company Felda said the Agricultural Ministry began planting durian on its land this year. PLS Plantations, a construction and palm plantation firm which counts property tycoon Lim Kang Hoo as a director, last month said it will buy a $5 million stake in a durian exporter.

M7 Plantation Bhd, a private company established last year, is developing a 10,000-acre durian estate in Gua Musang, home to the Musang King in the eastern state of Kelantan, and is selling durian trees for 5,000 ringgit ($1,200) each.

“We founded the company because we see potential in the industry, the primary target being China,” Chief Executive Ng Lee Chin said, adding that most of her buyers were from China.

Agriculture “gold”

“Planting durians is not just a hobby today as durians are considered as ‘gold’ in the agriculture industry,” the Agriculture Department said in e-mailed comments to Reuters.

Malaysia’s durian plantations covered 72,000 hectares last year but the area under cultivation is growing, the department said, and in some areas plantations growing palm oil are switching to durian because it is seen as more lucrative.

In March, Malaysia’s then-agriculture minister was quoted as saying one hectare of Musang King could yield nearly nine times more revenue than a hectare of palm plantation.

In Sabah State, some of the land for durian farming will come from converting palm estates, its Agriculture Ministry said, adding it was planning expansion over 5,000 hectares.

The increase in durian farming, however, has raised concerns it could take an environmentally destructive path similar to palm oil.

The palm oil industry has been held responsible for large-scale deforestation and destruction of species-rich rainforests in Malaysia.

The Star, a local newspaper, reported last month that around 1,200 hectares of land near a forest reserve in the state of Pahang that is home to the critically endangered Malayan tiger would be razed for Musang King plantations.

Pahang officials did not respond to request for comments.

“In a matter of time, the durian boom will run the way of palm oil,” said Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil, president of the environmental non-government organization Peka Malaysia.

The post Malaysia Bets on Durian as China Goes Bananas For World’s Smelliest Fruit appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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