Wednesday, December 12, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Activists Demand Release of Two Reuters Reporters on Anniversary of Arrests

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 05:57 AM PST

YANGON—Freedom of expression activists and civil society organizations on Wednesday called for the unconditional release of two local Reuters journalists who were arrested by the government one year ago Wednesday.

Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested on Dec. 12, 2017 for possession of security-related classified documents. The pair were eventually sentenced to seven years in prison for breaching the Official State Secrets Act. At the time of their arrests, they were investigating a massacre of Rohingya in northern Rakhine State. Despite the testimony of a police witness that the journalists were arrested as punishment for their reporting of the mass killing, the court found them guilty.

The sentence prompted an international outcry and was widely condemned as evidence that press freedom remains under threat in Myanmar despite the fact that it is now ruled by a democratically elected government led by a Nobel Peace laureate, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

This week, Time magazine included the duo among the slain and imprisoned journalists it collectively named its "Person of the Year" for 2018. Among the other journalists named were murdered Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi; the staff of the Capital Gazette newspaper in the U.S. state of Maryland, five of whom were shot dead in June; and Maria Ressa, the founder of Rappler, a Philippine news start-up under attack by that country's authoritarian president.

On Wednesday, Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement that his two journalists were arrested in a set-up by police that was intended to interfere with their reporting on the massacre. He also questioned Myanmar's commitment to democracy, freedom of expression and rule of law, as the pair remain in prison for a crime they did not commit.

"The people of Myanmar deserve the freedoms and democracy they have long been promised, and Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo deserve to be returned to their families and colleagues immediately," he said.

To mark the anniversary of their arrests, more than a dozen activists gathered in downtown Yangon on Wednesday afternoon to hold a candlelight vigil and pray for the release of the journalists. Participants, including journalists covering the event, wore white "Free Wa Lone & Kyaw Soe Oo" T-shirts emblazoned with portrait sketches of the two journalists. Some held printouts of a Time cover featuring the jailed reporters' wives holding pictures of them.

Maung Saung Kha, the founder of freedom of expression advocacy group Athan, told the audience that both journalists were unjustly punished and called for their unconditional release. He urged that they be released by the court, and not through a presidential pardon.

"If they are released by the court [as opposed to receiving a pardon], their innocence will be affirmed," he said.

Peace activist Ko Moe Thway called the case a "national disgrace" and condemned the government for its failure to release the reporters.

Lawyers for Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo submitted appeals on their behalf last month. The Yangon High Court agreed to accept the appeals and a hearing is scheduled for Dec. 24.

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Shan Armed Group Kills At Least Four Ethnic Pa-O in Shooting

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 04:44 AM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) shot dead at least four ethnic Pa-O in southern Shan State on Tuesday in what the armed group said was self-defense.

RCSS spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sai Meng said the four were shot dead after they attacked the armed group’s fighters with knives and tried to steal their firearms in Loilem Township.

"The dead were from a Pa-O militia led by Koyin based in Htam Sam cave,” he told The Irrawaddy.

The spokesman said Koyin was a Pa-O monk who has been in command of another armed group in the area for the past 20 years or so.

Lt. Col. Sai Meng said the RCSS fighters had initially stopped the group because they suspected one of them was a spy for the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw.

"We saw photos that showed that our troops were chopped. So in self-defense they killed those four people near Seng Ngun village,” he said.

The RCSS spokesman blamed the deaths ultimately on what he described as the military’s efforts to sow discord among the area’s ethnic groups.

"We think the Tatmadaw is creating this misunderstanding between the Shan and Pa-O and it needs to be solved. It should not happen," he said.

The Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), yet another armed group in the area, gave a different account.

According to a PNLO statement and spokesperson, four Pa-O villagers were out searching for a new water source for Seng Ngun Village (also known as Namp Hu) when they were detained by a combined force of RCSS fighters and other militia members. They said the RCSS fighters and militia members shot dead a total of five people and injured three others when more Pa-O confronted them to demand that the four people they had detained be released.

In its statement, the PNLO said it "condemned the RCSS for this incident because it committed murderous crimes by arbitrarily arresting, killing and injuring people."

It said one of the injured was being treated at a hospital in Loilem and that the other two were taken to a hospital in Taunggyi, the state capital.

Khun Nay Htoo, acting director of the Pa-O Health Working Committee, said one of the injured men taken to Taunggyi was an employee of Seng Ngun’s village administration office.

The RCSS denied that its fighters were accompanied by any militia members when the confrontation occurred.

The Pa-O in southern Shan State say they come under frequent threat from the RCSS and often fall victim to its landmines.

The PNLO accused the RCSS of setting a fire at a monastery in Mong Pan Township that killed two novice monks on Nov. 7, which the RCSS denied.

The two armed groups briefly fought with one another in Mong Pan the month before. The PNLO said it had recently sent its fighters into the area at the request of a local village that said the RCSS as conscripting its residents.

Pa-O community leaders say such incidents are severely deteriorated trust between the local Shan and Pa-O.

"We would like to ask the leaders of our country if they will do anything while innocent civilians are being brutally killed," Khun Nay Htoo said. “There must be an investigation and effective actions must be taken against those who are responsible."

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Anti-Corruption Commission to Open Branches in Yangon, Mandalay Next Year

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 04:32 AM PST

YANGON—The Anti-Corruption Commission will open its first branch offices—in Yangon and Mandalay—next year, according to its secretary.

Replying to a lawmaker's request for updates on the opening of branch offices, U San Win told lawmakers the agency plans to open offices in states and divisions each year depending on the available budget.

It currently has only one office, in Naypyitaw. A new Anti-Corruption Law enacted in June 2018 expanded the commission's authority, allowing it to open offices in other states and divisions with the approval of the Union government, in order to be more effective and faster in handling complaints.

U San Win said the commission had submitted a restructuring proposal that would see the agency comprise two departments and include the two branch offices in Yangon and Mandalay regions. The Union government approved the plan in August.

The original Anti-Corruption Law was enacted in 2013 under the previous U Thein Sein government. It was amended three times—in 2014, 2016 and 2017—but the changes were insignificant. The new commission chaired by U Aung Kyi, a retired major-general and former minister of information, was formed in November 2017.

On International Anti-Corruption Day on Dec. 7, President U Win Myint announced he had approved the setting up of Corruption Prevention Units within government departments to oversee the anti-graft effort at the department level.

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Parliamentary Committee Endorses Suspension of French Loan Plans

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 04:22 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — The Joint Public Accounts Committee of the Union Parliament has urged the legislature to suspend plans to accept loans from the French Development Agency (AFD) for projects in Yangon.

The committee said some of the projects in the feasibility study report need an in-depth review and that the report fails to provide detailed cost and profit estimates or financial assessments of the projects.

"Suppose we give the proposal a nod while we are not very sure about the projects and Parliament approves it. Then who will take responsibility for it if people voice opposition and delays occur in the implementation process?" U Aung Min, the committee’s vice chairman, told reporters in Naypyitaw on Monday.

Plans to accept loans worth 70 million euros ($79.3 million) from the AFD were suspended in November after lawmakers raised concerns. The Yangon Region government and mayor of Yangon then discussed the plans with the Joint Public Accounts Committee, which endorsed the suspension.

According to the Yangon Region government, the loans would be used to upgrade parks and markets, build car parking facilities, develop riverfront areas, conserve cultural heritage sites and dredge the Nga Moe Yeik Creek, an undeveloped waterway in Yangon that the regional government believes could be used for public transport.

"To take a foreign loan, it must be clear exactly how much of it will be used for which project. The feasibility study should be clear, as should the costs. But now I doubt that money would be enough for so many projects," U Tin Tun Naing, a Lower House lawmaker representing Yangon’s Seikkyi Kanaungto Township, told reporters.

According to Deputy Finance and Planning Minister U Maung Maung Win, the interest on the loans would be 0.77 percent. He said the EU would provide an addition grant of 9.5 million euros ($10.8 million) toward the projects and that Myanmar will also benefit from them via technology transfers.

The Union Parliament is schedule to decide whether or not to approve the loans on Thursday.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Inle-based Tourism Victorious at Responsible Tourism Awards Night

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 04:13 AM PST

YANGON—The awarding ceremony of the second Myanmar Responsible Tourism Awards was held at Chatrium Hotel in Yangon on Tuesday evening. The awards aim to raise awareness of the tourism industry's potential to generate meaningful social, economic, and environmental benefits for Myanmar and its people and this year, nominees from the Inle Lake area took home three of the seven awards on offer.

The event was organized by the non-profit organization Myanmar Responsible Tourism Institute (MRTI) and their ambition is to use tourism to make places better for people to live and to encourage change in the industry, said U Nyunt Win Naing, chairman of MRTI.

"We want to encourage change in the industry and to single out for recognition those who are taking responsibility and can show evidence that they are having a positive impact towards responsible and sustainable tourism in Myanmar," he said.

"These awards recognize those who are working to help Myanmar's tourism industry develop in a way that promotes our unique environment, our culture and our people."

Award winners at the Responsible Tourism Awards event held on Tuesday at Chatrium Hotel. / Myanmar Responsible Tourism Awards / Facebook

This year, MRTI awarded seven awards in six different categories and each application went through a shortlisting process. The winners were chosen by a group of seven judges who are experts from the travel and tourism sector. They chose a winner and runner up for each category.

Inle Princess Resort took home the prize for Best Responsible Tourism Accommodation, Inle Horse Club won Best Tourism Business Innovation and Inle Canoe Lady won Best Tourism Product for Empowerment. Ayeyarwady Dolphin Conservation and Ecotourism won Best Community Involvement in Tourism and Green Hill Valley Elephant Care Camp won and Best Responsible Tourism Awareness-Raising Project.

There were two prizes awarded for the Best Responsible Tourism Operator category: Sampan Travel won the award and Myanmar Adventure Outfitters won the newcomer prize for same category.

"Since 2014, we started running Inle Horse Club as our family business, because my wife loves to ride horses so much. She used to go to the local horse gate to ride whenever she had time and learned the struggles of horse cart drivers. We wanted to enhance employment opportunities for the local horse trainers and to make a different kind of tourism for Nyaung Shwe so we launched Inle Horse Club," said U Yae Aye, an owner of Inle Horse Club.

He added that, "We are also supporting children's education and tree-planting. The guests have to plant a tree when they visit our horse club. We have rules that are 'one person, one horse, one tree.' We made those because we want to support and help our environment."

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Myanmar on US List of Worst Religious Freedom Violators

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 04:02 AM PST

YANGON—U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called out Myanmar for severe violations of religious freedoms over its treatment of religious and ethnic communities in a statement on Tuesday.

Myanmar is among 10 nations designated "Countries of Particular Concern" under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998 due to mass violence against the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State and against other religious communities, as well as the persecution of ethnic Kachin and Karen during the ongoing civil war, according to the statement.

Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel D. Brownback said during a teleconference that nine other countries—China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan—were also on the list of designated countries released by Pompeo on Nov. 28 under IRFA.

The list Pompeo released in December 2017 featured nine of the same countries, but included Uzbekistan rather than Pakistan.

Brownback said the 10 nations on this year's list have "allowed or conducted severe, ongoing, egregious, systematic violations of religious freedom."

"In far too many places across the globe, individuals continue to face harassment, arrest or even death for simply living their lives in accordance with their beliefs. The United States will not stand by as spectators in the face of such oppression," Pompeo said in the statement.

The State Department notifies the U.S. Congress of the list annually, and in some cases imposes sanctions on the countries. Brownback said such sanctions are known as "double-hatted", meaning the countries are sanctioned in other areas but are also considered sanctioned as Countries of Particular Concern.

During the teleconference, one reporter asked whether the U.S. administration would rule out legal action against Naypyitaw over the violence against the Rohingya. Brownback said he did not have details on what further action would be taken. He pointed out, however, that the administration had already taken a strong stance over the issue, with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary Pompeo and Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley all speaking out against Naypyitaw's actions.

He said the U.S. had already sanctioned five Myanmar generals and two military units. Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described the military's actions in Rakhine as ethnic cleansing, Brownback noted, adding that Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya and other religious communities continues to be closely watched and a "very keen area of interest".

"The Kachin and Karen are also ones that are being persecuted in [Myanmar], and all those together are reasons we obviously put [it] as a Country of Particular Concern on the list," he added.

According to a recent report in the Christian Post citing U.S. pastor and interfaith dialog advocate Bob Roberts, the Myanmar military has bombed or burned at least 60 churches in the past 18 months in Kachin State during clashes with the Kachin Independence Army.

Myanmar is also among the violators of religious freedom listed in the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)'s 2018 report.

On Dec. 3, USCIRF called on the U.S. government and the international community to hold accountable members of Myanmar's military, security forces and some non-state actors for severe human rights and religious freedom violations against Rohingya Muslims and other religious and ethnic communities including Buddhists, Hindus and Christians, as well as ethnic Kachin, Shan and Karen.

At home, top leaders recently 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 a respected ethnic Karen Buddhist monk in Karen State's Hpa-an in November, the minister told monks in attendance that Buddhism in Myanmar was in danger from the followers of an unspecified "extreme" faith.

Numerous organizations in the county raised objections to his statement, which they took as a reference to Islam. At an education seminar in Naypyitaw on Dec. 4, the minister clarified his remarks, saying they did not refer to all Muslims but only to "Bengalis." Myanmar government officials often use the term "Bengali" to refer to Rohingya, whom they do not consider an indigenous ethnic group, but rather as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

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Commission Invites Victims of Violence in Rakhine State to Submit Evidence

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 03:49 AM PST

NAYPYITAW—The commission formed by the Myanmar government with the purpose of investigating allegations of human rights violations against the Rohingya community in Rakhine State said that they welcome victims of the alleged abuses to submit their evidence to them.

At a press conference in Naypyitaw on Wednesday, the commission said it had found no evidence so far to prove the widespread allegations that government security forces committed mass human rights abuses in northern parts of the state.

After months of pressure from international rights groups to allow an impartial investigation of allegations of arson, rape and murder by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State which followed attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on military and security outposts in northern Rakhine State in August last year, the Myanmar government in July formed a four-member commission to investigate the allegations.

The commission is led by Rosario Manalo, former deputy foreign minister of the Philippines and includes Kenzo Oshima, former permanent representative to the UN for Japan.

The two local members are U Mya Thein, former chair of Myanmar's Constitutional Tribunal, and former senior official at UNICEF, U Aung Tun Thet, who is now chief coordinator of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine, which was formed in October last year.

In response to questions from The Irrawaddy at the press conference on Wednesday in Naypyitaw, Rosario Manalo said the commission has so far found no evidence in support of allegations.

"We will clarify how we collected the evidence later. But for the time being, allegations are still allegations. There is no conclusive evidence," she said.

The commission launched their investigation on Aug. 15, and is to submit its findings to the President's Office by August next year.

At the press conference, the commission urged victims to submit strong evidence with photos and video clips.

"They can submit the evidence in Myanmar, English, Arakanese or Bengali language. But evidence has to be submitted by January 31 at the latest," said U Aung Tun Thet, a member of the commission.

The commission will hold a private interview with those submitting evidence in order to verify their authenticity.

The Myanmar government's plans to form several committees and commissions to resolve the Rakhine issue did not work, said former political prisoner U Tun Kyi.

He also criticized the government's lack of cooperation with the international community, saying that its outright denials do not solve the refugee crisis.

"The commission says evidence can be submitted by mail, e-mail and so on. The most important thing is how to reduce international pressure and help the refugees on the other side. [What the commission is doing] is not an answer," he told The Irrawaddy.

The commission has met Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Vice Snr-Gen Soe Win, home affairs minister Maj-Gen Kyaw Swe and other senior military officers, all of whom cooperated with the commission, said Rosario Manalo.

"We accepted the job because we think we can find the truth. The commission is responsible for investigating all the allegations of human rights violations that happened after August 2017," she said.

At its first press conference in August, the commission said that it would carry out the investigation based on the Myanmar Investigation Committees Act 1950, international human rights and humanitarian laws.

"We can do nothing without evidence. We have to find out if allegations of human rights abuses and crimes are true so we have opened a way for victims and witnesses to submit evidence. We will do what is necessary depending on the evidence," said U Mya Thein, a member of the commission.

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Credit Bureau to Be Up and Running Next Year

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 03:29 AM PST

YANGON—Myanmar's first credit bureau will launch its services next year, its chairman U Zaw Lin Aung said.

On Monday, Myanmar Credit Bureau Ltd signed an agreement to purchase a credit bureau software license from Equifax New Zealand Services and Solutions Ltd, a unit of the U.S.-based credit-reporting firm.

"This is our first step. Before this, we observed the way local banks maintain their credit files. We have studied the technical aspects. So we believe we will be able to provide services within nine to 12 months," U Zaw Lin Aung said.

In May, the Central Bank of Myanmar issued Myanmar Credit Bureau Ltd a license to collect the credit records of individuals and businesses and provide them to lenders.

"The Credit Bureau will be the first agency in Myanmar to report information about loans and credit," said Central Bank of Myanmar vice governor U Soe Thein.

The bureau will assign credit ratings to individuals and businesses based on their credit histories, and lenders will be able to use these to calculate their bad-debt risk, according to the Central Bank of Myanmar.

The bureau will help companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), get easier access to bank loans, U Toe Aung Myint, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, earlier told The Irrawaddy.

While SMEs are said to constitute some 90 percent of the businesses in Myanmar, and it is generally agreed that SME development is instrumental to national economic growth, SMEs' access to bank loans are restricted as they have to put up collateral.

"The credit bureau will collect information about the overall performance of individual companies, so [those that perform well] may not need to put up collateral to get loans," U Toe Aung Myint said.

The bureau will also assist the central bank by providing credit information about the whole banking sector, said U Yu Lwin, vice chairman of the Myanmar Banks Association and managing director of Myawaddy Bank.

"The [establishment of the] Credit Bureau is an improvement not only for the domestic banking sector but for all financial organizations," he said.

The Central Bank of Myanmar will be able to better regulate local banks and adopt necessary policies in time thanks to real-time information provided by the bureau about the performance of local businesses, he added.

Myanmar Credit Bureau Ltd is a 60:40 joint venture between the Myanmar Banks Association (MBA) and Singapore-based Asian Credit Bureau Holdings.

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Identity and Transformation–International Ceramics Artist Comes Home

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 02:43 AM PST

YANGON—"I want to strike a balance where [my work] is so beautiful that you can't look away but also terrifying at the same time," said ceramics artist Soe Yu Nwe, "but that's difficult to achieve—when it's too dark it pushes people away and when it's too clean people think that it's flat, it doesn't have meaning, it's not interesting."

Soe Yu Nwe, an ethnic Chinese artist, grew up in Yangon and is perhaps the only Myanmar artist to make a name for herself across the international ceramic art scene. Her work is currently exhibiting at Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art and she has previously shown her work in Bangladesh, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and the US and participated in artist residency programs across the globe. She was recently listed on Forbes 30 Under 30: Art & Style 2019.

"In my work, I explore different ways of expressing my experience of alienation, confusion and pain as a cultural outsider by creating narrative spaces that explore the lines between insides and outsides," Soe Yu Nwe wrote in her artist's statement on her portfolio.

Artist Soe Yu Nwe combines human forms with botanical features in her work. / Supplied

Caught in an act of transformation

Much of Soe Yu Nwe's work is a surreal connection between humans and nature: torsos, hands and feet appear to be caught in the act of transformation with vegetative growth emerging and intertwined with vines, greenery, flowers and blossoms, often from sensitive parts of the body. The viewer may be repulsed by and drawn by the figure simultaneously.

"Combining them together and creating this dissociation is unsettling," and this, she said, prompts the viewer to think something deeper. She sees her art as a juxtaposition of imagery and meanings, mixing human and botanical forms and connecting them with deeper ideas of identity and the inescapability of change.

An encounter with change and her Chinese heritage sticks out to her among her other childhood memories. When she was a young girl, during a visit to Lashio, her father's hometown in northern Shan State, her family believe she had become possessed by a spirit, and decided to change her name in order to reconfigure her luck. This theme of change followed her around in her personal life and now manifests itself in her art.

"Change is something that's inevitable—however you feel you just have to adapt to it—in my work I always try to make something very fluid to express that fluidity in terms of your own identity."

The artist, the serpentine

She was first drawn to ceramics while studying for her undergrad in biology at Albion College, Michigan. She had just moved to the US where she "knew nothing" and the idea of identity, culture and heritage took on new meaning for her. Feelings of anxiety and alienation grew within her but she found that she could soothe them through art.

"Being away from home and being in a place that's totally different and new, it's stressful. I was drawn to ceramics, to the process, because when you're making something with your hands, it alleviates that kind of anxiety."

While occasionally dabbling in glass art, Soe Yu Nwe prefers working with clay, ceramics, glaze and porcelain. Art forms like painting or drawing require a medium, like a pen or brush, which distances the artist from the work somewhat, she said. With the soft clay in her hands, she feels more directly connected to her art and her expression. When her desired shape has been sculpted or molded, she fires it in a kiln before applying a glaze with the desired coloring and firing the piece again.

Naga Maedaw appears in her work as a "hybridized being between anthropomorphic creature and the serpentine.” / Supplied

Initially she worked with images of the hand, the limb that contains each person's unique biological identity and "the tool we use to brings our thoughts and ideas to the world." More recently a mythical queen from the Buddhist Jataka Tales, Naga Maedaw, appears in her work as a "hybridized being between anthropomorphic creature and the serpentine."

Today, serpentine imagery features strongly in her portfolio. Sometimes the snake is dissected to reveal colorful innards and growth sprawling through bones and out of skin, sometimes hiding behind a perfect outer layer, the brightly speckled or golden skin hiding the secrets of the inner serpentine—much like the human. It connects to the artist's own identity too, as the snake is her Chinese zodiac sign.

Serpents are a prominent theme of Soe Yu Nwe’s work. / Supplied

Ceramic wares have been crafted in Myanmar for centuries but as an art form, it's not yet popular here. The 29-year-old artist says her biggest achievement to date has been having her artwork chosen to be part of the 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art which is currently running at Australia's most prominent contemporary art establishment, Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art. She is the youngest Myanmar artist ever to be chosen for the exhibition which runs until April next year.

Her second solo show “Serpentine” opens at Myanm/art this weekend. / Supplied

Her upcoming exhibition in Yangon, her second solo show, will feature a variety of work including "snakes" and sculptures as well as a collection of collaborative pieces which she worked on with the students of Yangon International School. "Serpentine" opens at Myanm/art on Bogalayzay Street on Saturday Dec. 15 with an opening party at 6 p.m. and will run until Dec. 29.

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Crisis Group says No Word from China on Detained Canadian Employee

Posted: 12 Dec 2018 12:41 AM PST

SHANGHAI—The International Crisis Group (ICG) on Wednesday said it had received no information from Chinese officials about the detention of its employee, former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, and that it was seeking consular access to him.

The ICG, a think-tank focused on conflict resolution, said in a statement to Reuters Kovrig was detained by state security officials in Beijing on Monday night.

His detention, first reported by Reuters, came after police in Canada arrested the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on Dec. 1 at the request of US authorities, which infuriated Beijing.

The Canadian government said it saw no explicit link to the Huawei case.

Diplomats in China said the apparent involvement of the secretive state security ministry, which engages in domestic counter-espionage work, among other things, suggests the government could be looking at levelling spying accusations.

However, ICG President and Chief Executive Robert Malley said the group did not engage in such activity.

“I don’t want to speculate as to what’s behind it but I am prepared to be categorical about what’s not behind it, and what’s not behind it is any illegal activity or endangering of Chinese national security,” Malley told Reuters.

“Everything we do is transparent, it’s on our website. We don’t engage in secretive work, in confidential work.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he had nothing he could say on the details of the case. He added the ICG was not registered in China as a non-government organization (NGO) and Kovrig could have broken Chinese law.

“If they are not registered and their workers are in China undertaking activities, then that’s already outside of, and breaking, the law, revised just last year, on the management of overseas non-governmental organisations operating in China,” Lu told reporters.

The ICG must make clear the relevant situation, he said.

“With regards to the group, I must make it clear, that they are not legally registered in China, so if they engaged in that kind of activities, then that’s outside Chinese law.”

The Ministry of Public Security, which has oversight over foreign NGOs, did not respond to a request for comment. China’s Ministry of State Security has no publicly available contact details.

The foreign NGO law, which took effect in January, is part of a raft of new national security measures introduced under President Xi Jinping.

“All foreigners that come to China, so long as they respect the law, have nothing to worry about,” Lu added.

"No coincidences"

William Nee, China Researcher for Amnesty International’s East Asia Regional Office in Hong Kong, said Kovrig’s detention was alarming, especially as it appeared to be the first time the law has been used to detain a foreign NGO worker.

“We need to wait for the official explanation from the Chinese side, but this detention could have a chilling effect on the foreign NGO and business communities in terms of their feeling safe while travelling in China,” he told Reuters.

“This comes in the context in which the procedural safeguards in cases deemed to be political by the Chinese authorities are routinely ignored.”

Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s former ambassador to China, was asked by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp on Tuesday whether the Kovrig detention was a coincidence after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

“In China there are no coincidences … If they want to send you a message, they will send you a message,” he said.

A Western diplomat in China, who asked not to be identified, was even more blunt: “This is a political kidnapping.”

China had threatened severe consequences unless Canada released Meng immediately and analysts have said retaliation for the arrest was likely.

Meng was granted bail by a Canadian court late on Tuesday, 10 days after her arrest in Vancouver on US claims that she misled multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions sparked a diplomatic dispute.

Malley said Kovrig, who was based in Hong Kong, had been working on issues related to Chinese foreign policy in Asia and Africa.

“I’m just going to hope that whatever process is under way is going to be a fair one and one that will quickly show that there’s nothing against him,” he said.

The US State Department was considering issuing a travel warning for its citizens, two sources said on Tuesday.

The Canadian government was considering issuing a similar warning, Canada’s CTV network said. Reuters was not able to confirm the report.

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Canada Frees CFO of China’s Huawei on Bail; Trump Might Intervene

Posted: 11 Dec 2018 08:44 PM PST

VANCOUVER, Canada—A top executive of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. was granted bail by a Canadian court on Tuesday, 10 days after her arrest in Vancouver at the request of US authorities sparked a diplomatic dispute.

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of its founder, faces US claims that she misled multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions, putting the banks at risk of violating US sanctions.

In a court hearing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Justice William Ehrcke granted C$10 million ($7.5 million) bail to Meng, who has been jailed since her arrest on Dec. 1. The courtroom erupted in applause when the decision was announced. Meng cried and hugged her lawyers.

Among conditions of her bail, the 46-year-old executive must wear an ankle monitor and stay at home from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Five friends pledged equity in their homes and other money as a guarantee she will not flee.

If a Canadian judge rules the case against Meng is strong enough, Canada’s justice minister must next decide whether to extradite her to the United States. If so, Meng would face US charges of conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions, with a maximum sentence of 30 years for each charge.

The arrest of Meng has put a further dampener on Chinese relations with the United States and Canada at a time when tensions were already high over an ongoing trade war and US accusations of Chinese spying.

US President Donald Trump told Reuters on Tuesday he would intervene in the US Justice Department’s case against Meng if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal with China.

China had threatened severe consequences unless Canada released Meng immediately, and analysts have said retaliation from Beijing over the arrest was likely.

The US State Department is considering issuing a travel warning for its citizens, two sources said on Tuesday.

The Canadian government was considering issuing a similar warning, Canada’s CTV network reported. Reuters was not able to confirm the report.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Canadian government said that one of its citizens in China had been detained.

Two sources told Reuters the person detained was former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig. The Canadian government said it saw no explicit link to the Huawei case.

However, Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s former ambassador to China, asked by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp whether the Kovrig detention was a coincidence, said: “In China there are no coincidences … If they want to send you a message they will send you a message.”

The Chinese embassy did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Electronic monitoring

Meng, who was arrested as she was changing planes in Vancouver, has said she is innocent and will contest the allegations in the United States if she is extradited.

Tuesday was the third day of bail hearings. Meng’s defense had argued that she was not a flight risk, citing her longstanding ties to Canada, properties she owns in Vancouver and fears for her health while incarcerated.

Her family assured the court she would remain in Vancouver at one of her family houses in an affluent neighborhood. Her husband said he plans to bring the couple’s daughter to Vancouver to attend school, and Meng had said she would be grateful for the chance to read a novel after years of working hard.

“I am satisfied that on the particular facts of this case … the risk of her non-attendance in court can be reduced to an acceptable level by imposing bail conditions,” said the judge, adding that he was also persuaded by the fact that Meng was a well-educated businesswoman with no criminal record.

She must remain in Canada and be accompanied by security guards when she leaves her residence. Meng will pay a cash deposit of C$7 million, with five guarantors liable for a remaining C$3 million if she absconds.

Meng was ordered to reappear in court on Feb. 6 to make plans for further appearances.

Huawei, which makes smartphones and network equipment, said in a statement it looked forward to a “timely resolution” of the case.

“We have every confidence that the Canadian and US legal systems will reach a just conclusion,” it said, adding that it complied with all laws and regulations where it operates.

The case against Meng stems from a 2013 Reuters report about Huawei’s close ties to Hong Kong-based Skycom Tech Co. Ltd., which attempted to sell US equipment to Iran despite US and European Union bans.

Huawei is the world’s largest supplier of telecommunications network equipment and the second-biggest maker of smartphones, with revenue of about $92 billion last year. Unlike other big Chinese technology firms, it does much of its business overseas.

The post Canada Frees CFO of China’s Huawei on Bail; Trump Might Intervene appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Freed From Jail, Cambodian Surrogate Mothers Raise Chinese Children

Posted: 11 Dec 2018 08:37 PM PST

OUDONG, Cambodia — Sophea was eight months pregnant when Cambodian police told her she would have to keep the baby that was never meant to be hers — and forfeit the $10,000 she was promised for acting as a surrogate for a Chinese couple.

Cambodia banned commercial surrogacy in 2016, and police in June raided two apartments where Sophea and 31 other surrogate mothers were being cared for in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.

They were charged the following month with violating human trafficking laws, but authorities released them on bail last week, under the condition they raise the children themselves.

Campaigners say Cambodia’s surrogacy crackdown is unlikely to end the trade as poverty means many women will continue to risk arrest for the chance to earn life-changing sums of money.

For some of the newly freed women, keeping their baby is a burden as they struggle to get by. For others, it is a relief.

Despite the financial loss, 24-year-old Sophea told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that she was happy the authorities intervened, and that her family had welcomed her baby boy.

“If not for the crackdown and my arrest, I would have been left in deep regret,” said Sophea, who did not give her real name for fear of backlash from the authorities and members of her community.

“I would have given away my baby,” she said just two days after being released from police custody, settling back into village life at the end of a sandy track that winds through rice fields in Oudong, a 90-minute drive north of Phnom Penh.

Mixed blessing

Members of the other families said the babies are a mixed blessing.

Instead of receiving $10,000, the women went home with another mouth to feed, in a country where the average annual income is $1,490, according to the International Monetary Fund.

“It is a very difficult situation. I worry that my income will not support the whole family,” said Pich, a motorcycle-taxi driver whose wife is carrying what will be their third child.

The 40-year-old, who also requested that his real name not be used, said he never supported his wife’s decision to be a surrogate and that he was ashamed she had gone through with it.

Another surrogate, a 24-year-old woman, went behind her husband’s back to take part in the scheme.

The $10,000 would have allowed the couple and their two children to move out of the shack they share with 12 members of their extended family, said the woman on condition of anonymity.

“I agreed to give birth at the provincial hospital and look after the baby, but I don’t know how we will get the money to support and raise another child,” she said.

Ros Sopheap, director of the charity Gender and Development for Cambodia, said poverty will likely drive more women to engage in surrogacy — and that few know the practice is illegal.

“Very few people are aware of what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s against the law,” she said.

“The reality is that these women do this because they are living in poverty. So as long as there is a demand for surrogate mothers, they will continue.”

More arrests

Southeast Asia has long been a top destination for couples seeking surrogate mothers. Thailand banned the practice in 2015 after several high-profile cases, followed by Cambodia in 2016.

In 2017, an Australian nurse and two Cambodians were jailed for 18 months for operating an illegal surrogacy clinic.

In the country’s most recent surrogacy raid — just last month — 11 pregnant women and four facilitators were arrested.

Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the Interior Ministry, said the 32 women were released on humanitarian grounds last week, but that the fate of the latest 11 surrogates was unclear.

Each case will be judged independently and “law enforcement will become stricter” in the future, according to the official.

It would be difficult, she added, for authorities to track down those who organized surrogacy rings, or the Chinese couples who paid for Cambodian women to bear their children.

“Even surrogate mothers did not know nor [have] contact with the one who wanted the babies,” said Chou Bun Eng.

Sophea said she preferred not to know who the biological parents were.

“I will not tell my son what happened in the past,” she said. “I won’t tell him about his actual Chinese parents.”

She said her priority upon returning home was to invite a Buddhist monk to conduct a cleansing ceremony — in order to rid the family of any bad karma incurred during the ordeal.

Her four-year-old daughter and extended family have also welcomed the baby, she said after the ceremony, which was attended by a dozen relatives and several village elders.

“The whole family loves him,” Sophea said. “My husband told me: ‘Your son is my son.'”

The post Freed From Jail, Cambodian Surrogate Mothers Raise Chinese Children appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Time’s ‘Person of Year’ Goes to Journalists, Including Reuters Pair

Posted: 11 Dec 2018 08:22 PM PST

NEW YORK—Time on Tuesday named a group of journalists, including a slain Saudi Arabian writer and two Reuters reporters imprisoned by Myanmar’s government, as “Person of the Year” and warned the idea of truth as critical to democracy is under assault.

The publication also honored the founder of a Philippines news website critical of that country’s authoritarian government and a Maryland newspaper that was the target of a mass shooting, the first time in the magazine’s 95-year history that Time has bestowed the distinction on its own profession.

A cover story highlighted the role of journalists, including Reuters’ Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who Myanmar imprisoned for violating a state secrets act, and Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi writer and critic of the nation’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was slain two months ago inside a Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey.

“I hope that this is received by the public at large far, far beyond the United States as a reminder of the importance of defending free expression and the pursuit of truth and facts,” Ben Goldberger, Time magazine’s assistant managing editor, said during an interview. “That is the baseline for all free societies. Democracy certainly cannot function without a shared understanding of the facts.”

The annual distinction is intended to recognize the person, group or idea that had the greatest influence on world events that year. It has been given to a wide range of influencers, from US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and Queen Elizabeth to Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, who was honored before the start of World War Two.

Wednesday marks one year since Reuters journalists Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were imprisoned for their work investigating the killing of villagers from Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority by the country’s security forces and civilian mobs. They were convicted on Sept. 3 under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act in a case seen as a test of democratic freedoms in Myanmar.

“We hope this recognition will draw continued awareness to their unjust arrest and imprisonment in Myanmar, and reaffirm the essential role of a free press around the world. Every day that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo remain in prison is an assault on press freedom,” said Reg Chua, the chief operating officer for Reuters editorial.

Khashoggi was killed two months ago at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul when he went there to collect documents for his forthcoming marriage. He was the first person to be named a Time Person of the Year after his death.

US senators briefed by the Central Intelligence Agency have said they are certain that the Saudi crown prince was responsible for Khashoggi’s killing, a view US President Donald Trump has said he is skeptical of. The crown prince has denied knowledge of the operation that killed Khashoggi.

Time also honored Maria Ressa, the founder of the Philippine news site Rappler, which has been a frequent critic of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, and the staff of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, where a gunman shot and killed five people in June.

Ressa and her site were charged with tax evasion by the Philippines’ justice department in November.

The four groups were highlighted on four separate covers of the magazine, one of which features the wives of the imprisoned Reuters reporters embracing one another as they hold photos of their husbands.

“Whether they have been denied their freedom or been brutally murdered, honoring their work speaking truth to power is essential at this critical time where reporters are under unprecedented threat across the globe,” said Margaux Ewen, the North America director for Reporters Sans Frontieres, or Reporters Without Borders.

The post Time’s ‘Person of Year’ Goes to Journalists, Including Reuters Pair appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘Aware of Atrocities’: Twitter CEO Responds to Critics of Myanmar Tweets

Posted: 11 Dec 2018 08:11 PM PST

YANGON — Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Wednesday said he was “aware of the human rights atrocities and suffering in Myanmar,” responding to criticism over his tweets about his meditation retreat in the country that did not mention the plight of Rohingya Muslims.

More than 730,000 Rohingya fled a sweeping army crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017, the United Nations and aid agencies say. The crackdown was launched in response to insurgent Rohingya attacks on security forces.

U.N.-mandated investigators have accused Myanmar’s army of “genocidal intent.” Myanmar has denied the accusations, saying its forces engaged in a counter-insurgency operation against “terrorists.”

On Wednesday, Dorsey said his visit was “purely personal” and he did not “intend to diminish by not raising the issue, but could have acknowledged that I don't know enough and need to learn more.”

In his initial messages on the social network, Dorsey said, “Myanmar is an absolutely beautiful country. The people are full of joy and the food is amazing.”

They included pictures of the barren monastery room in which he stayed during the retreat, as well as an analysis of his heart rate while meditating. There was no reference to the Rohingya.

The comments drew critical comments from human rights observers and users of Twitter.

In August, Reuters described how hate speech spread on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook at the peak of Myanmar’s military crackdown.

Dorsey said Twitter was a way for people to share news and information about events in Myanmar, as well as “bear witness to the plight of the Rohingya and other peoples and communities.”

He added, “We're actively working to address emerging issues. This includes violent extremism and hateful conduct.”

Last month, Dorsey triggered a social media storm in India after a picture of him with a placard reading “Smash Brahminical patriarchy,” referring to the highest Hindu caste, went viral.

Twitter later apologized for the photo.

The post ‘Aware of Atrocities’: Twitter CEO Responds to Critics of Myanmar Tweets appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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