Wednesday, December 26, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Christians, Buddhists Brawl in Southern Rakhine on Christmas Eve

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 04:34 AM PST

YANGON — At least two ethnic Chin preparing for a Christmas Day event were injured in a mob attack led by Buddhist monks on Monday in southern Rakhine State’s Ann Township, according to a local priest.

Rev. Thing Be, who heads the township’s Christian mission, said their pavilion was also vandalized.

He said the dozen or so Chin families of Sappie Village, who make up the small community’s Christian community, were erecting a modest pavilion just outside the village to celebrate their first Christmas Day in the area when about 40 locals led by three monks showed up at about noon and ordered them to stop, at which point a fight broke out.

Rev. Thing Be said he had asked the village administrator for permission ahead to time but decided to proceed with construction of the pavilion before it arrived.

He said Vicar Aung Lan was being treated at the township hospital for wounds he sustained in the attack to his head, and that another member of the Christian community, U Soe Thein, was also injured. He said they were preparing to file a complaint with police.

“As far as I know, an abbot of the Sappie monastery led the attackers. I have video evidence and will use it if the case proceeds to court,” the priest said.

Village administrator U Soe Thu confirmed that there was a fight between local Buddhists and Christians but claimed that no one was seriously injured because township police intervened in time and dispersed the crowd. He said the organizers had failed to heed his advice to apply for permission from him and township authorities in a timely manner.

“They came to me to get approval after the confrontation began and I gave it to them. That’s too late,” he told The Irrawaddy.

U Soe Thu said three abbots from Kan Oo, Sappie and Mae La Maung villages had ordered the event organizers to raised their pavilion somewhere else because the predominantly Buddhist community had never had a Christmas Day celebration before. He also said that the abbots did not have the legal authority to give such an order.

U San Gyi, a member of Sappie’s Christian community who said he witnessed the attack, said monks led the mob and ignored pleas to mediate.

“They told us there was no X-mas celebration in this village before. They would not allow a Christian event on Buddhist land,” he said. “We are very upset about losing our religious freedom and about the restriction of our religious beliefs. We want to celebrate happily like other people.”

U San Gyi said the monks should have tried the mediate the dispute but instead stepped aside when the fighting began.

Numbering only a few families, he said, the local Christian community had no church in the area and has been gathering for prayers in their homes with visits from a priest from neighboring Chin State.

“We can’t afford to buy land for a church, and even if we had land it would be very tough to get approval for construction,” he said.

Last week, people in Magwe Region’s Gangaw Township stoned and broke into a home while local Christians were gathered inside for a religious event. Local police have opened a case under articles of the Penal Code covering trespassing and property damage.

The post Christians, Buddhists Brawl in Southern Rakhine on Christmas Eve appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

More Villagers Flee Fighting Between Rival Armed Groups in Northern Shan

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 03:12 AM PST

Mon State — More than 600 people have fled their homes in northern Shan State’s Hsipaw Township since Monday to escape fighting between rival ethnic armed groups, according to a volunteer aid worker.

The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) were fighting on Monday and Tuesday in Twan Kyaing Village, about 32 km from the town of Hsipaw, said Sai Tun Aye, a volunteer aid workers helping families taking shelter at a Buddhist monastery in Namakhar Village. He said residents from three other villages have also fled their homes.

"The first group of about 10 IDPs [internally displaced persons] arrived at the monastery on Dec. 24. Then more and more people arrived yesterday, and there are now a total 686 people," Sai Tun Aye said.

The volunteer said the first 10 were all tending their farms when the fighting broke out in their village and could not gather any supplies from their homes before fleeing. He said the villagers had no reports of fighting there on Wednesday morning but were not sure it was safe to return yet.

Sai Kham Maung, a lawmaker who represents Hsipaw in the state legislature, said the fighting was interrupting the seasonal rice harvest.

"They should stop fighting each other because it only hurts the local people," he said.

The SSPP says it is trying to prevent the RCSS from establishing a foothold in northern Shan State because it has no right to operate in the area. The RCSS, which is based in southern Shan, claims the right to operate across the state.

Colonel Sai Oo, a spokesman for the RCSS, told The Irrawaddy that some SSPP fighters have defected since Monday and that some were captured.

The Irrawaddy could not reach the SSPP for comment.

The two groups, erstwhile allies in their fight against the Myanmar military, have been fighting each other regularly since October in Namtu, Kyaukme, Hsipaw and Lashio townships, with the SSPP sometimes joining forces with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army against the RCSS.

The SSPP withdrew the troops it had in Namtu, Kyaukme, Hsipaw, and Lashio townships in 2015 before moving them back later that year to fight off a Myanmar military offensive on its headquarters. The RCSS has been moving into the area since signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, also in 2015.

The post More Villagers Flee Fighting Between Rival Armed Groups in Northern Shan appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Arakan League for Democracy Founder Murdered

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 02:00 AM PST

SITTWE—A member on the central executive committee of the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) was murdered at his residence in Kyar Inn Taung village in Rakhine State's Myebon Township on Monday.

U Khin Than Maung, who was also a founder of the party, was shot dead while watching television alone at his house, said ALD general secretary U Myo Kyaw.

"His family members went to a donation ceremony at their village. He was left alone at his house. They found him dead from gunshots when they came back home around 9 p.m.," U Myo Kyaw told The Irrawaddy.

U Myo Kyaw condemned the assassination of U Khin Than Maung and called for the arrest of the culprit.

Police have opened a case under Section 302 of Penal Code for murder, Myebon Township police chief Capt. San Lwin told The Irrawaddy.

"We don't know yet who shot him. We are hunting the killer," he told The Irrawaddy.

The ALD announced its founding member's assassination on Tuesday and strongly condemned those behind the violence.

Some senior ALD members are concerned about further political assassinations among Rakhine political circles, frightened by the fate of U Khin Than Maung who was murdered even though he always tried to avoid getting involved in issues relating to armed conflict in the state. Some locals told The Irrawaddy that many residents from Kyar Inn Taung Village were once rebels and smugglers who also still own firearms nowadays.

Accusations have been flying on social media despite no information being found yet on who is responsible for the crime. A number of controversial Facebook posts have pointed the blame at the Arakan Army (AA) as, several weeks before the murder, a number of AA supporters used Facebook to share accusations that U Khin Than Maung is "leaking the information to the army."

After the death of the senior ALD member, some AA supporters shared opinions on social media like, "this is the reward of traitors."

On the other hand, some AA supporters have accused the Myanmar Army's intelligence officials of the killing by linking them to the murder through the nine-millimeter pistol with one empty round which was left at the scene, saying that this firearm is most commonly used by army-related personnel.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had yet to release any updates on the case as of Wednesday.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Arakan League for Democracy Founder Murdered appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

DKBA Chief Shares Views on Peace Process and Development

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 01:48 AM PST

YANGON—The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), an ethnic armed group which broke away from the Karen National Union (KNU) in 1994, is currently a stakeholder and signatory of Myanmar's Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). Originally known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, following further splinters in the group in 2010, the group officially changed its name swapping "Buddhist" with "Benevolent" in 2015.

The DKBA has more than 10 battalions with troops based in Myawaddy and Kawkareik townships and the area of Three Pagodas Pass in Karen State, Kyain Seikgyi and Kyaikto in Mon State.

The DKBA is currently lead by Commander-in-Chief Gen. Saw Mo Shay, who took up the post three years ago after the death of the late Gen. Saw La Bwe. He has been part of the Karen revolutionary movement since 1987, and was a KNU soldier until 2003.

During events organized to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the formation of the DKBA, Gen. Saw Mo Shay said that negotiations are the only means of solving Myanmar's long-running civil wars as the people of Myanmar have many differing perspectives.

The DKBA, along with the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC) went under the political leadership of the KNU after signing the NCA in October 2015. After the KNU's decision to step back from formal peace negotiations in November, these two smaller groups said they would move forward with the talks with or without the KNU.

In mid-December, The Irrawaddy's reporter Nyein Nyein spoke to Gen. Saw Mo Shay at the DKBA headquarters in Myawaddy about his views on the peace process and the DKBA's efforts in the development of their areas.

Thinking about the past 24 years of the DKBA, what are the changes the group needs to make now? 

[The DKBA's split from the Karen National Union] was based on a religious dispute, but it has changed and we are now a democratic movement. Following the split, we are able to connect better with people in the communities.

In 2010, while under the command of the [late] Gen. Saw La Bwe, we refused the government's order to become border guard force. He led us on the principle that we should move forward based on our national interests rather than religious beliefs because if we continued putting our faith first, there would be more splits. We, Karen, believe in different faiths. Thus we took the [new] name.

With further splits from the DKBA prompted by your taking part in negotiations with the government, how do the group's actions impact the DKBA?

As we shifted our principles from faith-based to the interest of our nationality, we changed the name of our organization [from Democratic Karen Buddhist Army to Democratic Karen Benevolent Army] but the initials are the same so it confused people. When there was fighting, people thought it was between the government forces and us so they questioned us on why we were fighting despite signing the NCA.

Despite the acronyms of the two groups being the same, we are not related to [the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army]. People are not able to distinguish between us. We haven't had any clashes with the KNU after changing the name too (as there were reports of clashes between the DKBA splinter group and KNU over the last couple of years).

Since the DKBA is under the political leadership of the KNU, what are your expectations for 2019 given the KNU's temporary postponement of formal peace negotiations which has brought the talks to a halt?

The DKBA and the KNU/KNLA-PC haven't had political leaders who can take up political affairs since we signed the NCA, so we followed the KNU leadership. We don't think the KNU has [permanently] stopped those talks, and they also said they haven't. The main problem is that the [KNU] was not able to share the results of their discussion with the people on the ground. They have halted the talks in order to bridge the information gap on the negotiation process.

Either way, we can only move forward when we are at opposition. When things are smooth, it does not get us anywhere. So the current postponement is a good move. We know that every successful peace process faces such rough times in every country that goes through peace negotiations. A simultaneous ceasefire [with the Myanmar military and all ethnic armed groups] may not work for the whole country; it would have to go group by group because each group's situation is different. If we all agree to a ceasefire, it would be excellent. Therefore, this delay is a good sign, because nobody wants to violate the NCA, which has national and international acknowledgement.

Has your policy to follow the KNU's political leadership changed?

The KNU statement [on the postponement of formal talks] is their own decision. They didn't consult with us, so if there are further talks [initiated by the government], we will go ahead.

How do you spread awareness about the NCA within your group? 

We distribute small booklets on the NCA to our officers and we hold training sessions and workshops on the NCA and its principles, ethics and dos and don'ts. We hold these trainings together with the Chin National Front. We also held a workshop related to the [Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee] and distributed booklets containing the code of conduct between troops and the ethics of dealing with the public.

This area, Karen State, is home to people of many different religions. How do you make sure people know your organization is not faith-based? 

We do not have that kind of specific message. During our reform, we changed our organization's name, insignias and symbols. We treat different religions equally: I think people understand that although we don't have any official policies on it.

Regarding the illicit drugs trade, because the news often doesn't distinguish which group is involved, what role does the DKBA play in it?

We do take part in anti-narcotics activities. Of the many non-state armed groups in Karen State—the KNU, the KNU/KNLA-PC, the DKBA and the DKBA-turned-BGF—we are the most cooperative organization with the government in their fight against illegal drugs. Since we signed the bilateral ceasefire with the Karen State government in 2011 we have even helped to uncover some of the drugs cases and assisted [the government] in catching drug-dealers.

We have two anti-drugs programs in our areas. We raise awareness among the community members that drugs are a danger to them. We need our children to be freed from drugs and they need to grow up with healthy brains so that we can have more educated people. We do public awareness-raising together with the township general administrative department as well as with healthcare providers.

We also create spaces for the young people to play sports. Previously, we had very few sports activities but now we have sports competitions and youth festivals. We prioritize physical development and have formed sports associations. When [young people] become interested in sport, they can develop physically and mentally. We also find job opportunities for them as unemployment can interrupt their minds [and lead them to become interested in dealing drug].

The other activity is punishments for drug users. If members [of the DKBA are suspected of] using drugs, they have to go through a drugs test. If they fail the test twice, they are detained and sent to a rehabilitation program. If they commit more offenses, we refer them to the police in accordance with the law as we don't have the authority to take legal action.

We used to hear that the DKBA collected money from people. Does that continue today?

We do not directly control taxation. There are some basic rules of the area though. We stand on our own feet in this area, but we would sometimes ask some people for help. It is not formal taxation. Since 2015 we only have security checkpoints which do not collect money.

In most of the ethnic areas, the use of ethnic language is encouraged. At the DKBA ceremony, however, most of the programs were conducted in Burmese. What do you do to maintain the mother tongue? 

We have an ethnic literature association and literature is taught at summer [courses]. We have one Karen language teacher at each school. We used Burmese language for this commemoration as we are a democratic force and we have troops of many ethnicities. Also, people in this area have different ethnic backgrounds. We Karen have many sub-tribes and different dialects, so we use Burmese as a common language. In that way, everyone from near and far can understand what the DKBA is.

The post DKBA Chief Shares Views on Peace Process and Development appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Tatmadaw Ceasefire Poses Risks For Armed Group Alliance

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 12:32 AM PST

The Federal Political Negotiation Consultative Committee (FPNCC), an alliance of the strongest ethnic armed groups in Kachin and Shan states, has won a truce with the Myanmar military.

The military, or Tatmadaw. has tried to split the FPNCC for a long time but so far failed. Whenever it offered to meet with members one-on-one, the alliance insisted on engaging as a group.

Divide-and-rule is a common Tatmadaw tactic. It hasn’t always worked, but on occasion it has. The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), the first alliance of armed groups, collapsed under just such pressure.

The Karen National Union (KNU) and some other members of the UNFC abandoned the alliance after signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), marking a victory for the Tatmadaw. KNU Chairman Mutu Say Poe subsequently held several meetings with Tatmadaw chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, but this October abruptly suspended his group’s participation in the peace process, reportedly to settle internal differences about how to proceed.

Ethnic Mon leaders had predicted that the KNU would eventually back away from the process after growing wary of the Tatmadaw’s tactics. Their prediction has now come true. And now that the KNU has indefinitely left the peace talks, the Tatmadaw’s tactics look to have failed.

The Tatmadaw was worried the KNU would rejoin the UNFC or try to form a new alliance in southern Myanmar. For now the KNU is trying to build unity among all ethnic Karen armed groups, including the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council and the Karen border guard force. Any alliance it builds would be with the New Mon State Party and the Karen National Progressive Party.

The four-month ceasefire the Tatmadaw called last week in northeast Myanmar looks like a Plan B for the military. Yet some FPNCC members are worried that the move might split their alliance yet.

The ceasefire notably excludes Rakhine State, where the Tatmadaw is currently fighting with the Arakan Army (AA), an FPNCC member.

The AA’s allies in the FPNCC now have to figure out how to stay united and enter peace talks with the Tatmadaw while one of its members is effectively being excluded. The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army have been fighting hard with the Tatmadaw since 2015; they may want to give negotiations a chance and let their soldiers rest.

TNLA Brigadier General Tar Phone Kyaw said the ceasefire poses many risks for the FPNCC.

"Since the Tatmadaw ceasefire covers a limited area for a limited time, we will wait and see how strongly we are united, to what extent the FPNCC can provide leadership and foster unity," he told The Irrawaddy.

"We will wait and see what comes of Min Aung Hlaing’s move. It could cause a great deal of confusion among us. So, in my opinion, what he has done is quite dangerous. But if the FPNCC can provide good leadership, and if it is united, the move will be good for us."

David Mathieson, an Independent analyst on conflict and peace issues in Myanmar, said “ceasefire” was too grand a term for the Tatmadaw’s move and called it more of an “operational pause,” cautioning the international community against investing it with too much credibility.

Mathieson said there were many reasons the Tatmadaw announced its ceasefire.

He said it follows the failure of the NCA’s ceasefire monitoring mechanism, which he blamed mostly on the Tatmadaw but also on the current administration for lacking an effective plan, meddling by foreign interests, and the fact that most of armed groups that signed the NCA are bit players.

He said the Tatmadaw and its top leaders may also be trying to divert attention from the war crimes allegations it is facing over their crackdown against Rohingya communities in Rakhine State.

Mathieson said he did not believe the Tatmadaw’s claim that it was excluding Rakhine from the ceasefire because of the persistent threat from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army as it wasn’t strong enough to warrant such a decision.

He said the international community should not endorse the ceasefire if it does not come with unfettered humanitarian access to all conflict zones, and that they would be complicit in any subsequent violence the Tatmadaw commits if they do otherwise.

Finally, he said, if the Tatmadaw were serious about peace, it should have also issued a call to respect human rights. If it wants to be taken seriously, he added, it should stop detaining people for violating the Unlawful Associations Act and free unconditionally those it has. Then, its gambit may start to look more genuine.

The post Tatmadaw Ceasefire Poses Risks For Armed Group Alliance appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chinese Police Lock Down Court For Trial of Prominent Rights Lawyer

Posted: 25 Dec 2018 08:40 PM PST

TIANJIN, China — Chinese police locked down a courthouse on Wednesday at the start of the trial of a prominent rights lawyer accused of inciting subversion of state power whose case has attracted widespread concern in Western capitals.

Wang Quanzhang, who took on sensitive cases of complaints of police torture and defended practitioners of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, went missing in August 2015 during a sweeping crackdown on rights activists.

Most cases from that summer, known as the 709 cases for the first day of detentions on July 9, 2015, have concluded. Wang, however, was incommunicado for more than 1,000 days.

An investigation said he had “for a long time been influenced by infiltrating anti-China forces” and had been trained by overseas groups and accepted their funding, according to a copy of the indictment seen by Reuters.

Police outside the court in the northern city of Tianjin told reporters they could not get near the building because it was a closed trial.

One supporter stood outside the courthouse shouting “Wang Quanzhang is a good person” and “I support Wang Quanzhang” before police forced him into a car and drove him away.

There were also several Western diplomats outside the courthouse who were likewise not allowed in.

The indictment says Wang worked with Peter Dahlin, a Swedish rights worker who was detained in China for three weeks before being deported in 2016, and others to “train hostile forces” and actively provide investigative reports overseas.

It also says Wang had hyped up and distorted the facts in his online statements about the case of a policeman who killed a petitioner in Heilongjiang in 2014 and of “cults” that he had defended.

Dahlin, now in Madrid, said on Twitter they had kept all documentation dating back to 2009 “and will release anything needed to dispel that it constitutes subverting state power.”

Calls to the court seeking comment went unanswered. The trial could last just a single day, although a verdict may not come immediately.

Wang’s wife, Li Wenzu, says she has been unable to visit her husband since he went missing. She said seven lawyers she appointed to try to represent Wang had also been unable to visit him.

Li said in a statement sent to Reuters that state security agents had followed her when she left her Beijing home and blocked off the six entrances to her compound.

She decided she would be unable to go to Tianjin after more than an hour spent trying to leave, she said.

It was not possible to reach the State Security Ministry for comment because it has no website or publicly available telephone number.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has strengthened efforts to quash dissent since coming to power six years ago, with hundreds of rights lawyers and activists detained and dozens jailed.

China routinely rejects foreign criticism of its human rights record, saying all Chinese are treated equally in accordance with the law and that foreign countries have no right to interfere.

The post Chinese Police Lock Down Court For Trial of Prominent Rights Lawyer appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand Approves Medical Marijuana in New Year’s ‘Gift’

Posted: 25 Dec 2018 08:18 PM PST

BANGKOK—Thailand approved marijuana for medical use and research on Tuesday, the first legalization of the drug in a region with some of the world’s strictest drug laws.

The junta-appointed parliament in Thailand, a country which until the 1930s had a tradition of using marijuana to relieve pain and fatigue, voted to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 in an extra parliamentary session handling a rush of bills before the New Year’s holidays.

“This is a New Year’s gift from the National Legislative Assembly to the government and the Thai people,” said Somchai Sawangkarn, chairman of the drafting committee, in a televised parliamentary session.

While countries from Colombia to Canada have legalized marijuana for medical or even recreational use, the drug remains illegal and taboo across much of Southeast Asia, which has some of the world’s harshest punishments for drug law violations.

Marijuana traffickers can be subject to the death penalty in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

But in Thailand, the main controversy with legalization involved patent requests by foreign firms that could allow them to dominate the market, making it harder for Thai patients to access medicines and for Thai researchers to access marijuana extracts.

“We’re going to demand that the government revoke all these requests before the law takes effect,” said Panthep Puapongpan, Dean of the Rangsit Institute of Integrative Medicine and Anti-Aging.

Some Thai advocates hope that Tuesday’s approval will pave the way for legalization for recreational use.

“This is the first baby step forward,” said Chokwan Chopaka, an activist with Highland Network, a cannabis legalization advocacy group in Thailand.

The post Thailand Approves Medical Marijuana in New Year’s ‘Gift’ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Masked Youths Attack Bangladeshi Journalists Covering Election Campaign

Posted: 25 Dec 2018 08:09 PM PST

DHAKA—Around two dozen masked youths attacked a group of Bangladeshi reporters with hockey sticks and batons, injuring about 10 of them, when they were resting at a hotel after covering an election rally, the journalists said on Tuesday.

The incident, which occurred late on Monday in the town of Nawabgonj about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital Dhaka, is the latest in a series of violent attacks that have marred campaigning for a national election on Dec. 30.

The youths, whose identity remains unclear, also smashed hotel windows and vandalized more than a dozen vehicles belonging to media outlets or privately owned, the journalists said.

“Some of us had to take shelter inside the toilet out of fear,” Abdullah Tuhin, a journalist with a local TV channel, told Reuters. “The attackers threatened our colleagues and asked us to leave the place immediately or face serious consequences.”

Dhaka Reporters Unity, a union body, said many of its members had been “seriously injured” in the assault. Reuters could not immediately confirm the nature of the injuries.

Dhaka district’s top police official, Shah Mizan, said a police team sent to the hotel after the incident had not been able to immediately determine who the attackers were. No arrests have so far been made in the case.

Opposition parties have complained of violent attacks against their workers by ruling party activists and the arrests of candidates on what they say are trumped-up charges during the election campaign.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, which is seeking a third straight term in power, has denied accusations of trying to intimidate opposition candidates and journalists.

One opposition lawmaker, Salma Islam, whose husband owns a leading newspaper and a TV channel, said she would file a police complaint soon over the hotel attack.

“It’s unfortunate and unwanted. They also tore off my banners. We will lodge a written complaint,” said Islam, who is contesting the election as an independent after quitting her Jatiya Party, which is part of the ruling coalition.

While Hasina’s administration has won plaudits globally for welcoming hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in neighboring Myanmar, critics accuse her of cracking down on free speech and adopting an increasingly authoritarian style.

In interviews Reuters conducted with 32 local journalists and editors in recent weeks, the vast majority said a recent strengthening of defamation laws had spread a climate of fear in Bangladesh’s media.

The government denies freedom of speech is under attack in the country of 165 million people.

The post Masked Youths Attack Bangladeshi Journalists Covering Election Campaign appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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