Monday, December 10, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Myanmar Advocates Paint Grim Picture on Anniversary of Human Rights Day

Posted: 10 Dec 2018 05:57 AM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — On the 70th anniversary of International Human Rights Day, advocates said Myanmar’s rights record was deteriorating given the growing number of arrests and court cases against journalists and peace advocates.

Equality Myanmar and the Human Rights Educators Network organized celebrations to mark the occasion across the country on Sunday and Monday.

Addressing a related event on Monday, President U Win Myint said the rights situation in Myanmar had been improved and urged the government and civil society to work with the country’s national human rights commission on improving conditions further.

But not all agreed with the president’s assessment.

"We have seen some development of the human rights situation because the civilian government took the initiative to repeal and amend repressive laws and because of President U Win Myint's instructions to implement protections against human rights violations. But many challenges remain to fully enjoy basic human rights," said U Aung Myo Win, director of Equality Myanmar. 

He said the government had not enacted enough laws to protect human rights and that Chapter 8 of the Constitution, which guarantees basic human rights for all, had to be fully respected and implemented.

"In additions, there needs to be collaboration between the government departments that respect human rights in every part of the country, not only in Naypyitaw," U Aung Myo Win said. "Neither the president nor the state counselor can make change for the good alone."

He said the human rights defenders currently being detained and sued for speaking up for peace and freedom in Myanmar should also have the chance to participate in the anniversary and should not be forgotten.

On Friday, three Kachin activists were sentenced to six months in jail under Article 500 of the Penal Code for protesting in April for the rescue of villagers trapped in the jungle by fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar military.

Daw May Sabe Phyu, director of the Gender Equality Network (GEN) and chair of the Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process (AGIPP), said the government was increasingly targeting journalists and people advocating for an end to the country’s decades-long civil war.

Ko Ye Wai Phyo Aung, co-founder and research manager of Athan, a local group that promotes freedom of expression, highlighted the repressive laws still being used to arrest and charge them.

"Therefore there is still widespread violation of human rights in our country," he said.

Ko Ye Wai Phyo Aung said 31 cases have been filed using the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law that have led to charges so far this year, far more than in 2017 or 2016. Since April 2016, he said, more than 150 people have been charged for breaking the law in 43 cases.

"We have to first ask whether we can freely express our opinions, which is a fundamental thing,” said Maung Saung Kha, a poet and co-cofounder of Athan who received The Netherlands’ 2018 Haman Rights Tulip award, which honors inspiring and courageous human rights defenders.

"What I am sure of is that access to our rights at this moment is getting worse," he said. "There are more cases of people being charged under Article 66 (d) of the Telecommunication Law and the Peaceful Assembly Law, of restriction on protestors, of journalists being sued and the continuous human rights violations in the ethnic [minority] areas, including Kachin and Rakhine states."

Daw May Sabe Phyu said there were some positives, including a recent legal amendment stiffening the prison sentence for the sexual abuse of girls and women.

But she said it was also getting harder to reach people in need of aid in Myanmar’s war-torn regions, especially in Kachin State — where fighting between the military and KIA since 2011 has displaced more than 120,000 people — and especially in the last two years.

The military again told aid groups this year not to visit some of the displacement camps and warned that they could be charged under the Unlawful Associations Act if they did, said Reverend Hkalam Sam Sun, chairman of the Kachin Baptist Convention.

Local authorities have regularly used the act to charge people suspected of communicating or associating with the KIA.

"Travelling to the [camps] to provide aid and food is getting more difficult,” Rev. Hkalam Sam Sun said.

He said the Kachin, who are predominantly Christian, were also still facing religious persecution and extra hurdles when applying for permission to build churches, all while the arrival of more Myanmar military soldiers has brought with it a wave of new Buddhist stupas and pagodas.

The post Myanmar Advocates Paint Grim Picture on Anniversary of Human Rights Day appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Twitter Chief Attacked, Praised for Endorsing Travel to Myanmar

Posted: 10 Dec 2018 05:03 AM PST

YANGON—Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, one of Silicon Valley's most prominent tech billionaires, found himself caught up in Western criticism of Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis on the weekend after tweeting about a powerful meditation experience he underwent in Mandalay Division last month. Dorsey spent 10 days in isolation in a cave and on a concrete floor undergoing a course of meditation so strict that even eye contact with others was forbidden. His account of the profound nature of the experience and his endorsement of Myanmar as a travel destination were quickly slammed as insensitive to the Rohingya's plight, however.

On Sunday, Dorsey shared a series of 17 tweets with his 4 million followers about a birthday trip he took to Myanmar in November. The Twitter founder visited the Dhamma Mahimã Vipassana Center in Pyin Oo Lwin, where he took part in a silent retreat to "hack the deepest layer of the mind and reprogram it". His visit to Myanmar took him to Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan.

Sharing details of his meditation journey, Dorsey wrote that, "Myanmar is an absolutely beautiful country. The people are full of joy and the food is amazing."

"If you're willing to travel a bit, go to Myanmar," he tweeted.

Not everyone in the Twittersphere was impressed, however. After Dorsey's interactions with followers who shared their own meditation stories, critics rushed to accuse him of being "tone-deaf" for failing to describe the plight of the Muslim Rohingya minority in northern Rakhine state.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh since August 2017 as a result of clearance operations by the Myanmar military in the wake of attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on military and security outposts in northern Rakhine State. The UN has described the operation as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

Dorsey's promotion of Myanmar as a tourist destination drew over 2,000 critical comments. Andrew Stroehlein, Human Rights Watch's European Media Director, tweeted, "I'm no expert on meditation, but is it supposed to make you so self-obsessed that you forget to mention you're in a country where the military has committed mass killings & mass rape, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee, in one of today's biggest humanitarian disasters?"

"This is an extremely irresponsible recommendation," one follower said in response to Dorsey's travel endorsement.

Dorsey shared a picture of his charity-provided room at the meditation center, where he slept on a plain bed with no mattress.

Twitter user Andrew Bingham said, "Maybe you should spend 10 days in some of the #Rohingya villages and refugee camps, seeing the result of the lies and hate spread on your wonderful US-based technology platform."

One even said, "Personally, I avoid vacations [to] nations where there is an active genocide underway."

Dorsey encouraged his followers to try the physically and mentally demanding form of silent meditation known as Vipassana, saying it is particularly helpful for those trying to manage chronic pain. He shared a picture of himself meditating in a cave, where he said he was "bit 117 times by mosquitoes" in the first 10 minutes.

He told his followers of the bitter cold he endured waking up at 4 a.m. every day and meditating until 9 p.m. He uploaded pictures of a pavement on which he practiced walking meditation for 45 minutes every day, saying, "There were breaks for breakfast, lunch, and walking. No dinner."

One follower questioned Dorsey about the importance of peace in Buddhism, saying mosquito bites and cold were nothing compared to what the Rohingya had suffered.

In another tweet, Dorsey said the highlight of the trip was "serving monks and nuns food, and donating sandals and umbrellas," uploading a picture and saying that, "This group of young nuns in Mandalay and their chanting was breathtaking and chilling."

Many of Dorsey's followers in Myanmar and some in the West praised his account of the country and his meditation experience, however, dismissing the aggressive criticism as utter nonsense.

Myanmar Lawmaker Daw Zin Mar Aung told The Irrawaddy, "He has his own right to choose where he visits. It's his individual right. The attention given to his trip is so simplistic. Now, people are just politicizing his individual view and experiences of Myanmar. It is a totally different topic [than the Rohingya issue] and ill judged."

Myanmar Twitter user Crystal Kee said, "Thank you for seeing my country as it is Jack. It's indeed a beautiful country. To those who think that our country encourages genocide, not everything you hear and read from internet is true. Open your heart and eyes. And come visit to Myanmar."

One Myanmar follower said, "He just described what he saw. Is there any connection between his trip and the case that the attackers highlighted on his thread?"

Twitter user Davidson said, "Jack is talking about meditation and the beauty of country. You guys are talking about refugees. What is wrong with you guys?"

Another, Kevin, tweeted, "He wants you to know how about his powerful experiences with Vipassana meditation techniques, not about the Rohingya. Keep on his track."

Myanmar follower Khine Lynn tweeted, "You wrote what you saw. Fighting Jack! We stand with you. Just keep your inner peace."

Dorsey did not respond to the criticism until Monday. His most recent tweet about Myanmar said, "Thanks for reading! Always happy to answer any questions about my experience. Will track responses to this thread. I'll continue to do this every year, and hopefully do longer and longer each time. The time I take away to do this gives so much back to me and my work."

The post Twitter Chief Attacked, Praised for Endorsing Travel to Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

A Human Rights Day When Myanmar’s Junta Lived Up to its Reputation

Posted: 10 Dec 2018 04:52 AM PST

Twenty-seven years ago today, Myanmar saw its first large-scale student demonstration since the 1988 Uprising. The demonstration, inspired by international celebrations of Human Rights Day, which falls annually on Dec. 10, took place on the campus of Yangon University and called for the junta to stepdown, recognition of the election results, freedom of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and the release of all students detained for their participation in previous demonstrations, and it goes down in modern Myanmar political history as 10-D. Unsurprisingly, the demonstration was quickly quashed by a brutal crackdown by the then-junta.

Few people outside the country of Burma can understand the images and memories that are rolled into the simple expression "10-D." For some democracy and student activists involved, it signifies their beliefs, sacrifices made, risks taken as well as the lost lives of their compatriots who died fighting for a cause they deeply believed in.

10-D is a concept rich in symbolism and at the same time difficult to express in words. Those who truly understand the meaning of it will never forget it, especially those who have languished inside the walls of Burma's prisons.

After the Burmese military crushed the 1988 calls for democracy by massacring thousands of peaceful demonstrators throughout Burma, peaceful demonstrations and political rallies of any sort ceased to exist in Burma and universities around the country have also been closed. However, one request of the democracy activists that was granted by the ruling military regime was the promise of a democratic election in Burma. In 1990 the military regime held that election. The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, won a landslide victory.

Governments around the world recognized the results and Burmese citizens were exuberant over the outcome. Regardless of the celebration, the ruling junta, then known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) did not recognize these elections in any way.

A year passed with the election continuing to go unrecognized and it had been three years since the massacre of 1988. The regime had almost, so they thought, totally extinguished the flame of democracy in Burma. To those in the movement it was a flame that would continuously burn for the sake of the country and to those that had already given their lives to the cause. Therefore, it became essential to re-ignite the fire at all costs.

Early in 1991 the government had reopened the universities after a three-year closure. Towards the end of 1991 the students had begun to mobilize again. Then on human rights day, Dec. 10, as NLD-leader Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia for her efforts to restore democracy in Burma, the students chose to re-light the democracy flame.

During the morning of Dec. 10, 1991 some university students lit a fire during a peaceful demonstration at Rangoon University to show their support for Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and to show their disapproval of the ruling junta, now renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).  Soon, hundreds of students joined them and were actively taking part in the Dec. 10 demonstration. The students were demanding that the junta step down and recognize the election results, free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and release all students being detained for their participation in previous demonstrations. The students marched up and down the famous main avenue of the campus, Adipati Avenue, chanting slogans and denouncing the injustices of their government. The desire to demonstrate appeared to be contagious as students the following day at the Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) instigated similar movements on their campus and students at Mandalay University attempted the same.

Before these demonstrations even began the students realized the magnitude of resistance they would face for attempting to reinvigorate the democracy movement. The military regime's reputation for handling situations of this nature was one of violence and hate. The regime's attitude is to retain power at all cost whether that means the use of simple intimidation or the outright slaughtering of innocent people. But the students were convinced that it was their civil duty to candidly express their will and desire to live in a fair and free society as well as to bring to light the atrocities committed by their government. Although the students were too young to shoulder the burden of a country in such dire straits, it was their belief that they had to at least try.

On this day the junta, once again, lived up to its barbaric and violent reputation. When they finally descended upon the demonstrators, hundreds of students were forcibly rounded up, beaten and thrown in jail ending yet another peaceful protest in utter violence. At that time the military regime again shut down all universities and colleges in Burma, fearing that the small fire of democracy lit in Rangoon may burst into flames throughout the country. The students who were arrested that day were severely beaten and tortured in the interrogation centers of the Military Intelligence (MI). After three months of mental and physical abuse, the military tribunals, organized solely for political activists after the 1988 Uprising, handed down sentences from ten-to-twenty years to all of the 136 students arrested that day, including a number of female students. This was the first large-scale student demonstration since the 1988 Uprising, where thousands of innocent Burmese were killed.

Ironically, these same students who fought so hard for freedom and democracy and struggled to bring it to the citizens of their homeland, entirely lost their own personal freedom that day. They were plucked from the warm net of their family and friends and thrown into a totally unfamiliar and uninviting environment. They were now to enter a place with lifeless gray walls, cold-iron bars, heavy shackles and bone-crushing bludgeons. Just three months before they were thumbing through text-books, and enjoying the campus life and the education that was deemed so necessary by them. Once inside the walls of prison, the warden and guards dictated their every move and any remaining memories of a student's life came to a bitter end. Since these students were incarcerated for participating in the Dec. 10 movement, once in prison they became known as the "10-D" group.

At this point not only was a formal education out of the question but any reading and writing was totally prohibited and punishment for breaking these rules was extreme. Any political prisoner found in possession of the tiniest piece of blank-paper or any written document was to be housed in solitary confinement in iron shackles for two-to-three months. If any paper was found concerning politics another seven years was to be added to their sentence. Sanctioned education of any sort for political prisoners in Burma is not only against the law but looked at as subversive and unnecessary. This may surprise some, but for Burma's 2,000 political prisoners this is a part of everyday life.

These individuals, after facing such arduous and inescapable obstacles, were robbed of the youthful opportunities they so deserved. Although many have been released they still battle incurable diseases and they still battle incurable diseases and mental illnesses that were contracted during their long-term imprisonment. Even now, almost ten years after the 10-D group still languish in the notorious gulags of Burma despite completing their sentences. Regardless of their immutable pasts their fight continues as they are still struggling to bring democracy, freedom and justice to the country they love, totally heedless of their own personal freedom.

The article first appeared in "Spirit for Survival," a collection of true stories about life under military rule, published by Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) in 2001.

The post A Human Rights Day When Myanmar's Junta Lived Up to its Reputation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Auspicious Pyit Taing Htaung Toy Named Yangon Region’s Mascot

Posted: 10 Dec 2018 04:19 AM PST

YANGON—The Yangon Region government has announced that they have chosen a traditional toy, the pyit taing htaung (also known as the tumbling Kelly), as their mascot which is to be used as a symbol of Yangon Region and a point of interest for visitors to Yangon and in promotion of the tourism industry.

At a press conference held on Dec. 7 at Sky Star Hotel in Yangon, Naw Pan Thinzar Myo, the minister of Kayin ethnic affairs, announced the launch of a design contest through which a winning design will be chosen for the pyit taing htaung which will be use at government events, tourism exhibitions and displayed at different focal points around Yangon.

The contest is organized by the Yangon Region Government Office, Myanmar Tourism Federation and Myanmar Tourism Marketing.  

"The pyit taing htaung is a traditional Myanmar toy and people believe that having a pyit taing htaung toy at home is good and [the household] will have more good luck in business. The toy is famous for always getting up by itself when thrown down, so the toy has a lot of good meanings. That's why we chose pyit taing htaung as Yangon Region's mascot," said Naw Pan Thinzar Myo.

She added, "Every country has their own mascot so we should have one too. If we have a mascot, we can give it as a travel gift and people can take photos with the mascot which will be placed in public areas. Then other people can know he or she was in Yangon, Myanmar."

Daw May Myat Mon Win, chairperson of Myanmar Tourist Marketing said, "Yangon is the heart of Myanmar and has a lot of tourism attractions like historic buildings, pagodas, parks, city nightlife and so on. Tourists come to Yangon first and then continue other regional trip plans. So we think Yangon should have its own mascot to be recognized by the tourists."  

In order to find the most creative design for the pyit taing htaung mascot, they decided to host a design contest. The winner will receive 20 million kyats ($12,850) and the design will be used at events held by the government in the future.

The deadline for applications is Dec. 25 and the organizers will announce a shortlist of designs to the public on Dec. 26 for public voting. They will announce the winner on Jan. 4, 2019.

More details of the contest, rules and the timetable can be found on the Yangon Region government's website.

The post Auspicious Pyit Taing Htaung Toy Named Yangon Region's Mascot appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

More Kachin Youths Charged Under Peaceful Assembly Law

Posted: 10 Dec 2018 03:11 AM PST

Three more Kachin youths have been charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act for holding a protest without permission from the authorities, in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, according to local sources.

The two men Brang Mai and Seng Hkum Awng and one woman Sut Seng Htoi, appeared in court today for the first day of their trial.

"We wanted justice, therefore we held a protest. We did not intend to get benefits from someone. We just wanted justice. We did protest, but they told us they are charging us for not asking permission," said Brang Mai at the courthouse today.

"From [the police's] point of view, we were not satisfied with the court sentencing our friends and we protested about it. But our point of view is that we want to get justice, therefore we protested for it," he said.

When the judge asked the three youths today whether they were guilty or not, according to Brang Mai, they all said they were not guilty.

All three activists were granted bail and will continue to fight for justice from outside the court.

The youths were charged on Friday for holding a protest, alongside many other protestors, which started at the courthouse in Myitkyina and moved to Manau Park.

They were protesting the sentencing and fining on the same day of three Kachin activists who were convicted for holding demonstrations earlier in the year calling on the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) to release Kachin refugees who were trapped in the jungle during fighting in Tanai Township between the Tatmadaw and the KIO. The court sentenced them to six months' imprisonment and fines of 500,000 kyats ($320) each.

Sut Seng Htoi, a women's rights activist and one of the three charged on Friday, told reporters in front of the court today, "The court's sentencing [of the three activists on Friday] was a big punishment. We did not expect they would do that. It was unacceptable for us. We all know our three friends did nothing wrong, therefore we protested about the injustice."

The authorities use the law to suppress rights activists in order to silence the voice of the people, she said.

"We know their law is unfair, therefore we have to fight it. We will keep fighting until we have our rights in our hands," said Brang Mai.

According to Brang Mai, U Myint Moe, the police officer who is pressing charges against them, said at the court today that his police will arrest as many of those who protest without permission as possible.

When The Irrawaddy tried to call U Myint Moe for comment, a police officer at the station said he was unavailable.

The next court hearing for the three youths will take place on Dec. 13 when witnesses will testify against claims that the rights activists violated the law.

The post More Kachin Youths Charged Under Peaceful Assembly Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Top Leaders Warn Minister over ‘Extreme Faith’ Comments

Posted: 10 Dec 2018 02:26 AM PST

NAYPYITAW—Top leaders have warned Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture Thura U Aung Ko to choose his words carefully when referring to Rohingya refugees taking shelter in Bangladesh.

While addressing the funeral of Myaing Gyi Ngu Sayadaw, a respected ethnic Karen Buddhist monk, in Karen State's Hpa-an on Nov. 27, the minister told monks in attendance that Buddhism in Myanmar was in danger from the followers of an unspecified "extreme" faith.

Believing the minister was referring to Islam, numerous Muslim organizations in the country raised objections to his statement.

At an education seminar in Naypyitaw on Dec. 4, the minister attempted to clarify his remarks, saying he was referring specifically to the Rohingya community in Bangladesh.

"We have issued a statement about what he said. And the [senior] leaders have spoken to him about it," President's Office spokesman U Zaw Htay said at a fortnightly press conference on Friday.

Thura U Aung Ko was asked to bear official policy in mind while speaking to the media, said U Zaw Htay, adding that the minister's comment reflected his personal views, and not those of the government.

Political analyst and former political prisoner U Tun Kyi called for appropriate action to be taken against U Aung Ko, saying a warning was not sufficient.

The government should release a statement clarifying that the minister's comments do not reflect its policies, U Tun Kyi added.

On Nov. 30, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture released a public announcement claiming that the minister's use of the term "extreme" did not target any particular faith.

"It simply refers to 'religious extremists' from every faith in the country," it said.

The post Top Leaders Warn Minister over 'Extreme Faith' Comments appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD Dedicates Team to Monitor Party’s Local Ministers, Lawmakers

Posted: 10 Dec 2018 02:17 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) said it will form a team tasked with monitoring the performance of the ministers and fellow party lawmakers of the country’s states and regions.

U Zaw Myint Maung, the NLD’s vice-chairman, revealed the plan following a meeting of the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) in Naypyitaw on Sunday.

He said the team will monitor the local chief ministers, other ministers and NLD lawmakers in order to improve the party’s performance ahead of the 2020 general elections.

"It will see if the chief ministers and ministers are really working and if the lawmakers visit their constituents. This will make us better prepared” for the elections, he said.

U Zaw Myint Maung did not say what measures the party would take against ministers and lawmakers found wanting.

While the regional ministers already have to submit monthly reports to the President's Office about their activities, the new team will submit a monthly report of its own to the CEC.

"It is a good move, but it is important that the team is brave and speaks the truth about its peers," said Daw Sandar Min, a NLD lawmaker in the Yangon Region Parliament.

The team will include one member each from the party’s CEC, Central Youth Committee, Central Women’s Committee and Regional Chapters Executive Committee.

NLD spokesperson U Myo Nyunt said there will also be a six-member team for each region and state to monitor the performance of other party members.

"The teams will assess the performance of the regional party chapters and submit a monthly report to the party CEC," he said.

"I think it is good and necessary. But it is important that the assessments are fair and balanced and not biased by personal judgments," U Myint Kyi, the municipal minister of Sagaing Region, told The Irrawaddy.

The move comes after the NLD lost some seats in by-elections last month that it had won in the 2015 general elections.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Military Officers Need Apt Experience For Civilian Posts, Govt Says

Posted: 10 Dec 2018 12:31 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — The President's Office has ordered that unqualified military officers may no longer be transferred to ministries under the control of the civilian government.

The order appears to be the first of its kind since the "parachute policy" was introduced by late dictator General Ne Win for his Burma Socialist Program Party in the 1970s. The practice gets it popular name from the way high-ranking military officers are dropped into positions at ministries and other administrative departments.

Over the past several decades, the practice has seen active and retired military officials appointed to various positions of power, from low-ranking bureaucrats on up to ministers. Critics say it has contributed to the mismanagement that has plagued the executive branch.

From now on, active or retired military personnel are barred from being transferred to civilian ministries unless they are “professionals” with related experience, President’s Office spokesman U Zaw Htay said at a press conference in Naypyitaw on Friday.

When asked why all the directors-general appointed to the President’s Office, State Counselor’s Office and Foreign Affairs Ministry were retired military, U Zaw Htay said the military and government were naturally linked after so many years of military rule. But he added that the practice has been waning since democratic reforms began in 2010 and that the recent directors-general appointees had relevant qualifications.

"Today the younger generations have a greater chance to build their capacity. They study abroad and get MPAs [Master in Public Administration] and MBAs [Masters in Business Administration]. There will be more youths in administration," the spokesman said.

"In the future, there will be no need to criticize. But for the time being we should be aware that we are in a democratic transition," he added.

U Zaw Htay said military personnel would still be allowed to be transferred to the police force, which is overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs, one of three controlled by the military along with the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Border Affairs.

"Some [civilian] officers hope they will get promotions. But then military officers come from above and take the positions. So their hopes are dashed and other staff are also discouraged," U Aung Thu Nein, director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy, told The Irrawaddy.

U Myo Myint Maung, however, permanent secretary at the Information Ministry and a former lieutenant colonel in the military, defended the practice.

"We are transferred based on our experiences. While civilian staff are working, we are also working [in the military]. But the view of the civilian side is that we get high positions at once," he said.

He conceded that some military personnel are transferred to civilian posts because of their ailing health or because they violated the military’s code of conduct.

U Zaw Htay said there was also still a need to use experienced ex-military officers because the civilian government was short on administrative experience.

"The perspectives, assessments and performance of those working at the state level and those working at the Union level are different. Similarly, even at the Union level the perspectives of those working at ministries and those at the President's Office and State Counselor's Office are different. Because of their unique nature, there is a need to continue with it,” he said.

The Union Civil Service Board, a government body responsible for recruiting civil servants, said at a press conference last year that it would not accept military officers for civilian ministry jobs unless they were rendered disabled while serving.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Myanmar Rubbing Salt into its Own Wounds

Posted: 10 Dec 2018 12:17 AM PST

The recent verdict in the trial of three Kachin activists, namely Lum Zawng, Nang Pu and Zau Jat, only serves to increase international pressure on Myanmar. On Friday, the Myitkyina courts sentenced the three activists to six months' imprisonment and handed them a 500,000-kyat fine each.

Earlier this year, when fighting raged between the Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIO), thousands of ethnic Kachin were trapped in the jungle after fleeing their homes. In a bid to have the trapped men, women and children rescued, Christian leaders, hundreds of civil society organizations and displaced individuals sent letters of appeal to President U Win Myint, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the army commander-in-chief and other leaders.

In response to these letters, the country's leadership did nothing. This inaction led to a mass demonstration held by Kachin youths in Myitkyina on April 30. The protest spilled over into other states, regions and even foreign countries such as the US and Japan.

Not only were the appeals for help shunned, but the authorities also launched a crackdown against the demonstrators, arresting many and charging them as having committed unlawful acts. According to data collected by the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar, 45 demonstrators were sued by the police and Tatmadaw on the grounds of violating the country's peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and defamation laws.

These three Kachin activists were sued by Lt-Col Myo Min Oo of the Northern Reginal Command under section 500 of the Penal Code on May 8. On Friday, after seven months of trial the court finally sentenced the three activists to six months in prison and fined them 500,000 kyats. They will each have to serve an additional six months if they fail to pay the fine.

Responding to the court's verdict, later the same day a group of Kachin youth gathered outside the courthouse and marched towards Manau Park, demanding justice for the three. Surprisingly, Myitkyina Township police arrested and charged three leaders of this demonstration, namely Sut Seng Htoi, Seng Hkum Awng, and Brang Mai.

Many people were disillusioned by not only the appalling verdict against three peaceful activists, but also by the suing of three more activists. In response, hundreds of civil society organizations, rights groups, political parties, embassies and international organizations, including Amnesty International and the EU Delegation to Myanmar, have decried the court's verdict and called on the government to quash the decision.

Myanmar now stands at a critical juncture where the government and the Tatmadaw need to face the international pressure that has arisen from both the plight of the Rohingya and the severe human rights violations that have occurred across Kachin and Shan states.

On top of the stalemated peace process, weak rule of law, corruption, land confiscations, an economic downturn and the decay of freedom of assembly, international pressure has become an onerous burden for the government and the Tatmadaw. The imprisonment of these three Kachin activists now adds further international pressure on Myanmar.

But the Kachin won't back down: thousands are expected to join a rally planned in Myitkyina on Tuesday to demand the release of the three activists.

Thus, the government and the Tatmadaw should show magnanimity and morality by accepting the people's demands and quashing the convictions of the three activists and by dropping charges against who demonstrated on Friday. The failure to do so will only result in the government itself rubbing salt into its own wounds.

Joe Kumbun is the pseudonym of a Kachin State-based analyst.

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Turning Bombs Into Bracelets, as Laos Villagers Wait For Safe Land

Posted: 09 Dec 2018 08:59 PM PST

BAN NAPIA, Laos — With a long-stemmed ladle, Vanthon pulls shiny, molten metal from a kiln and deftly pours it into a mold carved in a wooden block.

Seconds later, she prizes out a silver-colored dove that was once shrapnel from a bomb dropped in Ban Napia village in the northeastern province of Xieng Khouang in Laos, the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world.

Vanthon, who goes by one name, grows rice on a small plot of land a short distance away. But the ornaments and jewelry made from scrap metal in the small kiln at home provide her husband with an income.

For the dozen families in the village who fashion jewelry from shrapnel for the New York-based company Article 22, it is a curious twist to the devastating war — one that helps them make a living from bombs, as they wait for their land to be cleared.

“Our field has not yet been cleared of bombs, so this is our main source of income for now,” said Vanthon, gesturing to a pile of finished doves.

“We have to be careful while farming, and hope that a bomb does not go off. When the land is cleared, we can farm more.”

The United States dropped more than two million tons of cluster bombs on Laos during the second Indochina War from 1964 to 1973, to disrupt supply routes to North Vietnam.

About 30 percent of those bombs did not detonate, and still pose the risk of death or injury to villagers as they go about their daily routines, according to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a British charity that clears unexploded ordnance (UXO).

MAG estimates that about 1,600 square km of land — roughly the size of Greater London — still needs clearing in Laos, one of the world’s poorest countries.

Meanwhile, UXO contamination prevents Lao communities from “fully utilizing their land” and earning better incomes, according to MAG.

“People have been living with the contamination for 40 years, and they have no choice but to live with the daily risk and fear of death or injury from unexploded bombs,” said Greg Crowther, MAG’s Southeast Asia director.

UXO-impacted communities are “predominantly the poorest members of society,” and the risk of bombs forces them to adopt different farming practices that often reduce the productivity of their crops, he said.

“A-ha moment”

More than of two-thirds of the population in the landlocked Southeast Asian country depends on the land for a living, according to government data.

Many farm small plots of land that they do not legally own.

The government aims to title all land by 2025 and introduce a new law that officials say will expedite modernization of records and give greater tenure security.

The country is also luring more foreign investment to build much-needed infrastructure and generate jobs. But most villagers have few livelihood options, particularly in Xieng Khouang, where much of the land is still off-limits because of the bombs.

Elizabeth Suda, founder of Article 22, first visited the province about a decade ago while exploring a sustainable weaving venture with local women.

It was there that Suda, who had previously worked with a luxury brand in New York, came across villagers melting bomb shrapnel into spoons that they would use and sell in the local market.

She said she had an “a-ha moment.”

“I thought, why not take a weapon of destruction and turn it into a symbol of love that has a positive impact on the community?” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“These are subsistence farmers; having their land cleared makes a big difference. But until then, they can earn a living making jewelry from shrapnel they find.”

Suda founded Article 22 in 2009, named for the clause in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that says every individual is entitled to the realization of “economic, social and cultural rights” indispensable for his or her dignity and personality.

After partnering with Swiss non-profit Helvetas, Suda set out on her own, selling online and through a few retail outlets, including one in Luang Prabang, Laos’ former royal capital that the U.N. cultural agency considers a world heritage site.

Suda works with about a dozen families in Xieng Khouang, sending designs for earrings, pendants and ornaments that the villagers fashion in their kilns. They are finished in the capital, Vientiane, then shipped to New York.

Article 22 only works with shrapnel, or bombs that have already exploded, so the villagers are not at risk, Suda said. The metal has been tested for toxicity and found to be safe.

Some of the profits are donated to MAG to clear UXOs.

War tourism

Unlike neighboring Vietnam, which draws millions of tourists each year keen to visit sites related to the war with the United States, Laos has few Instagram-ready war attractions.

In villages in Xieng Khouang, remnants of the “secret war” are largely articles of everyday use — mugs and buckets fashioned from shell casings, ladles from shrapnel.

Article 22 received a huge boost when actor Emma Watson wore a pair of its earrings at a red carpet event in 2017.

There is little glamour in Ban Napia, whose sign declares it to be the “war spoon village.”

Simple wood and concrete homes sit on either side of a mud road. Some have a hand-painted sign that says “making spoon,” with a name and a phone number.

Demining is a slow and expensive process, and at the current pace, experts say it could be more than 100 years before Laos is safe.

While waiting for their land to be cleared, villagers in Ban Napia and elsewhere in Xieng Khouang will probably continue to supplement their income with articles made from shrapnel, said Nouds Phedrasy, a tourist guide.

“In the years after the war, they had nothing and had to make do with whatever they could find — including shell casings and shrapnel,” he said.

“Now it’s a business, and they are aware of the irony. But it is just a way to make some money.”

The post Turning Bombs Into Bracelets, as Laos Villagers Wait For Safe Land appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UK Investigates After Labor Rights Expose at World’s Top Glove Maker

Posted: 09 Dec 2018 08:13 PM PST

LONDON/KUALA LUMPUR—Britain is launching an investigation into medical gloves used by its health service after a Thomson Reuters Foundation expose found stocks from Malaysia could be tainted by the mistreatment of migrant workers at the world’s biggest glove maker.

The health ministry said it would investigate standards at Top Glove Corp. Bhd—which makes rubber gloves sold to Britain’s National Health Service (NHS)—after the expose found some migrants working illegal overtime to pay off debts.

Top Glove last week vowed to do more to tackle excessive overtime after the Thomson Reuters Foundation found some workers clocked more than the amount permitted by law, and to cut ties with agents charging migrant workers huge fees to get them jobs.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation has discovered that at least one Top Glove product is supplied to the NHS via a British firm, raising doubts about Britain’s capacity to ensure its medical supply chain is free of labor abuses and unethical practices.

Labor experts, doctors and diplomats have voiced concerns to both the British and Malaysian governments about Malaysia’s rubber glove industry, which is also facing scrutiny globally from US activists to public procurement officials in Sweden.

“In line with the government’s policy and leadership on modern slavery, we take any allegations of this kind incredibly seriously,” said a spokeswoman for Britain’s health department.

“We are working with NHS Supply Chain (an organization formed by the government to supply goods to the NHS) to ensure that these issues are investigated as a matter of urgency.”

Top Glove, which accounts for more than a quarter of all rubber gloves produced worldwide and exports to 195 countries, employs at least 11,000 migrant workers, from countries including Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and India.

Top Glove was not immediately available to comment on the investigation launched by Britain’s health ministry.

But Top Glove’s managing director Lee Kim Meow told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Thursday that they would want to stop dealing with any suppliers found to be unscrupulous.

“It’s our duty to do that, we will never condone it,” he said, defending the conditions in the company’s 40 factories—35 of which are in Malaysia.

Campaigners said this case showed Britain was struggling to monitor and manage its medical supply chain, despite the country’s claim to be a world leader in tackling modern slavery.

Britain’s landmark 2015 Modern Slavery Act requires large companies to outline the actions they have taken to combat modern slavery in their operations, but the first-of-its kind law does not apply to public procurement—or NHS Supply Chain.

“It is glaringly obvious that Britain has taken modern slavery seriously in legislative terms but that is not translating into public procurement,” said Cindy Berman, head of modern slavery strategy at the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).

“Britain is well behind at the European level when it comes to health procurement,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

U-Turn

A production list from one Top Glove factory in Malaysia showed "Handsafe" gloves were shipped to UK company and NHS approved supplier HPC Healthline—now Polyco Healthline after a 2016 merger between Polyco Group and HPC Group.

The list could not be verified by the Thomson Reuters Foundation but Polyco confirmed one of their "Handsafe" products which is sold to hospitals via the NHS Supply Chain’s online catalogue comes from a Top Glove factory.

“Polyco Healthline does source from factories in Malaysia and owing to past policies and practices it is recognized as a country with risks associated with migrant labor and labor rights issues,” said Nigel Watson of Polyco’s supply chain team.

“We have a detailed process for supplier selection and work closely with those that are approved, supporting them to continually improve their practices and instill a transparent approach to work-life balance and social responsibility.”

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Polyco but medical experts have questioned NHS Supply Chain’s oversight and the effectiveness of a labor standards system it introduced in 2012 requiring suppliers to assess conditions in their supply chains.

“NHS Supply Chain has tried to … ensure its goods are sourced in an ethical and transparent way,” said Mahmood Bhutta, an NHS surgeon and founder of the Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group at the British Medical Association (BMA), a trade union.

“But it is clear that the system isn’t working—there is a lack of transparency and ownership on the issue,” said the BMA member, who has previously raised alarm about the manufacturing of gloves and surgical instruments destined for use in the NHS.

NHS Supply Chain said last month that it did not “knowingly procure” from a supplier using Top Glove as its manufacturer and pledged to investigate after being presented with the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s reporting on Top Glove and Polyco.

“We have a range of contractual arrangements and initiatives in place to try and prevent [labor abuses] arising,” a spokeswoman for NHS Supply Chain said in light of the findings.

Government concerns

Malaysian labor activists over the weekend demanded action from their government into the findings and urged Top Glove to commit to further investigate their working conditions.

A spokesman for the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, said it had been made aware of concerns about Top Glove’s treatment of migrant workers and was “raising our concerns to the Malaysian Ministry of Human Resources.”

Pauline Gothberg, national coordinator of the Swedish County Council Network on Sustainable Public Procurement, said her office planned to audit several government suppliers of rubber gloves which had confirmed they sourced from Malaysia

Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran told the Thomson Reuters Foundation last week that major companies in the country must take the lead to ensure there are no labor abuses.

Several Top Glove workers said they worked a lot of overtime to pay off debts to recruitment agents in their home countries.

Some clocked 90-120 hours of overtime a month, according to documents seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, above the 104-hour overtime limit stipulated by Malaysia’s labor laws.

One worker said he had borrowed $1,100 from a moneylender with a 3 percent monthly interest rate to pay back an agent in Nepal who got him a job at Top Glove in Malaysia.

“If I don’t work these extra hours, how could I possibly earn enough?” he said, requesting anonymity to protect his job. 

The post UK Investigates After Labor Rights Expose at World’s Top Glove Maker appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Huawei CFO Seeks Bail on Health Concerns; Canada Wants Her in Jail

Posted: 09 Dec 2018 08:10 PM PST

TORONTO/BEIJING — The CFO of China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd argued that she should be released on bail while awaiting an extradition hearing, citing her longstanding ties to Canada, properties she owns in Vancouver and fears for her health while incarcerated, court documents showed on Sunday.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou is fighting to be released on bail after she was arrested on Dec. 1 in Vancouver at the request of the United States. She is also fighting the extradition request, and China has protested her arrest to U.S. and Canadian officials.

Meng, 46, faces U.S. accusations that she misled multinational banks about Huawei’s control of a company operating in Iran. This deception put the banks at risk of violating U.S. sanctions and incurring severe penalties, according to court documents seen by Reuters. U.S. officials allege that Huawei was trying to use the banks to move money out of Iran.

China has demanded her immediate release. The arrest has roiled global markets as investors worried it could torpedo attempts to thaw trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

U.S. stock futures fell 0.71 percent in early Asia trading, extending their negative tone from Friday.

In a sworn affidavit, Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, said she is innocent and will contest the allegations at trial in the United States if she is surrendered there.

Meng said she was taken to a hospital for treatment for hypertension after being detained. She cited hypertension in a bail application seeking her release pending an extradition hearing. She also noted that she owns two homes in Vancouver worth millions of dollars each.

Back in the court

Her family assured the court she would remain in Vancouver if she was granted bail, according to the court documents. Her husband said he plans to bring the couple’s daughter to Vancouver to attend school during the proceedings. Meng will be back in the court for a bail hearing on Monday.

Huawei, the world’s biggest supplier of telecoms network equipment and second biggest smartphone seller, did not offer an immediate comment on the court documents. The company, a market leader across many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, previously said it has complied with all applicable rules.

Earlier on Sunday, China’s foreign ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador to lodge a “strong protest” over the arrest and said the United States should withdraw its arrest warrant.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng told U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad the United States had made an “unreasonable demand” on Canada to detain Meng while she was passing through Vancouver, China’s Foreign Ministry said.

“The actions of the U.S. seriously violated the lawful and legitimate rights of the Chinese citizen, and by their nature were extremely nasty,” Le told Branstad.

China urged the United States to withdraw the arrest warrant, Le added. “China will respond further depending on U.S. actions,” he said, without elaborating. On Saturday, Le warned the Canadian ambassador there would be severe consequences if it did not immediately release Meng. There was no immediate reaction from Canada. On Friday, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters Canada’s relationship with China was important, and the country’s ambassador in Beijing has assured the Chinese consular access will be provided to Meng.

The case

The United States has been looking since at least 2016 into whether Huawei shipped U.S.-origin products to Iran and other countries in violation of U.S. export and sanctions laws, Reuters reported in April.

The U.S. case against Meng involves Skycom Tech Co. Ltd, which Huawei has described as one of its “major local partners" in Iran. Huawei used Skycom's Tehran office to provide mobile network equipment to several major telecommunications companies in Iran, people familiar with the company's operations have told Reuters.

In December 2012, Reuters reported that documents showed Skycom had tried to sell embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment in 2010 to Iran’s largest mobile-phone operator. Reuters later reported that Skycom had much closer ties to Huawei and Meng than previously known.

In Canadian court papers made public on Friday, an investigation by U.S. authorities found Huawei operated Skycom as an “unofficial subsidiary” to conduct business in Iran.

Huawei said its Iran operations were “in strict compliance with applicable laws, regulations and sanctions” of the United Nations, United States and European Union, according to Canadian court documents released on Sunday.

U.S. officials allege that Meng and other Huawei representatives misled financial institutions about Huawei’s control of Skycom so the Chinese company could gain access to the international banking system. As a result, an unidentified financial institution cleared more than $100 million worth of transactions related to Skycom through the U.S. between 2010 and 2014, the court papers said.

On Thursday, Reuters identified HSBC Holdings Plc as one of the banks involved in the Meng case and, citing sources, reported that the probe included possible bank fraud.

Companies are barred from using the U.S. financial system to funnel goods and services to sanctioned entities.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio said on Sunday he would “100 percent absolutely” introduce a measure in the new Congress that would ban Chinese telecom companies from doing business in the United States.

“We have to understand Chinese companies are not like American companies. OK. We can’t even get Apple to crack an iPhone for us in a terrorist investigation,” he told CBS “Face the Nation.”

“When the Chinese ask a telecom company, we want you to turn over all the data you’ve gathered in the country you’re operating in, they will do it. No court order. Nothing like that. They will just do it. They have to. We need to understand that.”

Rubio was a strong critic of China’s ZTE Corp, which pleaded guilty in 2017 to violating U.S. laws that restrict the sale of American-made technology to Iran.

The post Huawei CFO Seeks Bail on Health Concerns; Canada Wants Her in Jail appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The NLD and the Media: A Once Cozy Relationship Turns Icy

Posted: 07 Dec 2018 09:07 PM PST

Ye Ni: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! Members of the newly elected Myanmar Press Council recently took their oaths before President U Win Myint. [State Counselor] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi hosted a dinner for them. The event has magnified some concerns among journalists, who doubt whether Daw Aung San Suu Kyi still values press freedom as she once did. U Zaw Thet Htwe, chairman of the Myanmar Journalists Union and publisher of Tomorrow Journal, joins me to discuss this issue. I'm The Irrawaddy Burmese editor Ye Ni.

As you know, since the dinner there has been much discussion on social media about the relationship between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar Press Council. While press freedom is already under threat in Myanmar, concerns have arisen that she will renege on her pledges in this area. After [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] won the 2015 election, she hosted a dinner in honor of journalists. It appears that this warm relation is getting icy. Why do you think this has happened?

Zaw Thet Htwe: Looking back at the recent past, in the period after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest but before the [2015] election, local media played an important role. Before she became state counselor, the media could preach the message to the whole world that she was a democracy icon. The media and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were closely connected. The media and the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been inextricably linked since the party re-registered and contested the 2012 by-election. Some people criticized journalists for this, saying they lacked journalistic ethics, and that they used [their positions] to lobby for a political party. The promotion of the NLD by the media was so effective that the party won a landslide victory in the 2015 election. As you said, the party hosted a dinner to thank journalists. But since the NLD took office, the media's responsibility has been to monitor the performance of individual ministers and assess whether lawmakers were actually delivering in Parliament what the people asked of them. There is greater freedom now compared to previous eras in which journalists were only allowed to praise the government, so journalists have analyzed the ruling party, but the party has resisted this. Cracks started to appear in the relationship between the ruling party and the media as the latter dug up inside stories about the party, and [published the] resultant leaks—and also because the party often made headlines due to its newsmaker [NLD spokesperson] Uncle U Win Htein. The term of the Myanmar Press Council is three years. A new council emerged while President U Htin Kyaw was in office. So, they took their oaths before him. But taking a look back at those three years, the council didn't play any noticeable role. Journalists even asked what the council was doing, as it failed to build capacity [of journalists], handle citizen journalists outside Yangon, [respond to] propaganda about media ethics, or lobby NLD lawmakers to amend the Media Law. Some claim that the council has been ignored [by the government] over the past three years. At the same time, journalists were detained or arrested, and the ruling party has confronted the media over its criticisms. So, we can conclude that the relationship between the media and the NLD is icy.

YN: I agree that the government and the media are always at odds. This is natural.

ZTH: It has always been thus, throughout history.

YN: We don't see it as a problem, rather as something that strengthens democracy. At the dinner for the newly elected Press Council, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi compared the mainstream media with social media. Some journalists asked why she compared the two, which are different in nature. We live in the age of social media. Anyone can be a "journalist". Today, anyone who witnesses an incident can take a picture or video of it and post it on social media without needing an editor. What is the role of mainstream media and journalism in the age of social media? Daw Aung San Suu Kyi asked this at the dinner. What is your answer?

ZTH: As a journalist who has long worked in the print media, it was disappointing to hear Daw Aung San Suu Kyi say she is interested to see competition between social media and mainstream media. The explosive growth of social media has had a serious impact on the mainstream media, and it hurts us to accept it before we are ready. We have to follow media ethics, rules and regulations, and must show responsibility and accountability. Our understanding was that we would institutionalize the media [as a strong Fourth Estate] based on those values. We underestimated the impact of social media. In 2015, we print media had wide circulations, and advertisers queued up to place advertisements for a whole year, six months or three months. Again, in the case of my journal, the day after it was published, people would phone us and talk about a particular article. The reception desk was always busy replying to their questions. If the receptionist could not answer, one of the editors had to reply. But today, within a very short span of three years, the circulation of print media—journals and newspapers—has declined by 50 percent. This means readership has declined by half. Now, big advertisers only spend a small amount of their ad budgets on us, and spend a large amount on social media platforms. So, our ad revenue has declined too. And no matter how hot the issues we cover—protests or strikes—there are no longer complaints. Nobody bothers to phone us and complain about this or that report or article. This shows that readers have changed the way they respond—from reading a publication and complaining over the phone to reading them on their mobile devices and responding via digital platforms. So, rather than saying it is interesting to see competition between social and mainstream media, we can say that we are already in a defensive position.

YN: There is no way to stop the rapid advance of information technology. Despite this, the public service ethic that journalists adhere to will never change. To what extent do you think the overall mainstream media—print and broadcast—have been able to reform under new Information Minister U Pe Myint?

ZTH: Within a few days of the NLD government taking office, the background color of the [government-run] Kyemon Daily was changed to red. We were hopeful, assuming that [it was a sign that] U Pe Myint was launching reforms. We expected that a state-run newspaper would transform into a newspaper that reports on the feelings and the heartbeat of the people. But three years later, the newspaper is almost the same as the one published under [former President] U Thein Sein's administration. It propagandizes the message of the government and discreetly covers up the shortcomings and weak points of the government. Frankly speaking, there has been no newspaper reform. On the other hand, there have been some changes. As U Pe Myint is a former writer, he is keen on one thing—he has organized children's literature festivals in major towns in the regions and states. So, there has been an impact on children's literature, and on literature in general. Such festivals send a message to students who attend and browse the books that they can find valuable knowledge not only on mobile phone screens, but also in books. Previously, only writers who praised the ruling elite were given national literature awards. There was a policy not to give such awards to anti-government writers, no matter how aesthetically pleasing their works. This is no longer the case. Now, award-winners are chosen by the board [formed by the Information Ministry], based solely on their aesthetic merits. These two are significant improvements.

YN: Thank you for your contributions!

The post The NLD and the Media: A Once Cozy Relationship Turns Icy appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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