Wednesday, November 14, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Karen State Residents Urge Govt to Stop Factory’s Switch to Coal

Posted: 14 Nov 2018 06:21 AM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — People living near two military-run cement factories in the Karen State capital of Hpa-an are urging the government to stop the larger of them from switching to coal power.

The factory, which can churn out 4,000 tons of cement per day, has been operating in the town of Myaing Kalay for the past two decades under the Myanmar Economic Corporation, a business arm of the military. It is preparing the switch from natural gas to coal later this year; local say coal shipments started arriving a few weeks ago.

In a statement released Saturday, residents from 24 surrounding villages say they object to the switch because it was being done secretively and was harming the environment. They ask the government to stop the company from shipping coal to the site.

"If the coal is to be used to operate the cement factory, it will further damage our environment and our lives, including our health, so we absolutely object to it," the statement says.

"The locals are concerned because the transported coal is not properly stored and when it rains the runoff from the coal piles seeps into their farms,” said Saw Tha Poe, an environmentalist with the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network.

He said the company should have thoroughly consulted with and informed locals while it was planning the switch. When the company did inform locals about its plans to use coal at the factory back in 2016, he added, they objected.

"We have been living between these two cement factories and have suffered enough health problems from inhaling the cement dust for more than 20 years," said Daw Soe Soe Htay, a local resident.

"And now they are preparing to use coal, which could make the particle pollution even worse. How will we face the added risks? They don't care about us, the local people."

The company has also upset residents by mining a nearby mountain for raw material, and some locals claim that it confiscated parts of their farms back when the two cement factories were being built.

"They have taken every resource the locals own, the lands and the mountain,” said Daw Soe Soe Htay.

When some of them applied to the government in 2015 and 2016 for permission to use the land they say was stolen, the military sued them. The government recently agreed to return some of the plots to the locals.

The post Karen State Residents Urge Govt to Stop Factory’s Switch to Coal appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Special Guest Chef Presents Exciting Italian Food Week Menu at Olea

Posted: 14 Nov 2018 05:31 AM PST

YANGON—If you're craving some flavorful Italian food, in an exciting collaboration between Melia Yangon and the Embassy of Italy in Myanmar, an Italian Food Week is running from Nov. 10 to 18 at Olea in Melia Hotel.

As well as Olea's regular Mediterranean menu, Italian Food Week features a rare chance to experience guest chef Stefano Santo's select authentic Italian dishes—much more exciting than the usual pasta and pizza. Chef Santo qualified at ALMA, the International School of Italian Cuisine of Parma in Italy.

‘Grouper fish with burrata cheese sauce, ginger mayo and parsley’ (photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

On Nov. 9, along with representatives from the Italian embassy, members of the media were invited to attend a gala dinner to introduce the Italian Food Week.

Italian food is known to be one of the few truly global cuisines and it generally sticks to a concept of simplicity. Many dishes have only two to four main ingredients.

Chef Santo's scrumptious Italian food journey started with grouper fish served with burrata cheese sauce, ginger mayo and parsley. The presentation of this dish was artistic with a greenish color due to the parsley, combined with creamy burrata cheese sauce on small pieces of the marinated grouper fish. The cheese sauce didn't overpower the subtle fishy flavor and the smell of fresh parsley was a wonderful addition to the tasty dish. It was well-matched with a white Italian wine Gewurztraminer.

‘Risotto with beetroot, black mussels and green curry'(photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

Next, another Italian favorite arrived: risotto. The creamy rice dish was served with beetroot, black mussels and green curry for an eastern flavor kick. With a fun pink color owing to the beetroot the risotto was topped with fresh black mussels with shells already removed and dollops of green curry. The dish was really delicious and the whole combination was flavorful but by nature, risotto rice is a little hard so it could cause digestion problems and therefore I want to suggest readers eat just a little of it.

Then the main dish, beef sirloin served with Granny Smith apple, rocket dust and beluga lentils was in front of me. The steak was medium grilled with wine sauce poured over it and topped with beluga lentils. The dish also included mashed apple. The portion was not very big and the whole dish was a good balance of flavors. The flavorful sauce was perfect with the tender meat and the beluga lentils were a delightful addition. Perhaps surprisingly, the mashed Granny Smith apple was delicious too.

‘Dark Chocolate ganache with artemide rice, pumpkin and beer'(photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

As a person who likes sweet things, dessert time is full of excitement for me. For this meal, dessert was dark chocolate ganache with artemide rice, pumpkin and beer. Dark chocolate is my favorite kind of chocolate and the small dust sprinklings of artemide rice were perfect with the creamy pumpkin. The chef makes the beer into a jelly and it was a very different experience for me to taste it as jelly, but it worked. The whole dessert combination was a mixed flavor of sweet, creamy and bitter tastes.

Before this opportunity, I was only familiar with Italian foods like pasta, pizza and spaghetti so it is hard to say which was the best part of the night for me because all the dishes tasted truly amazing.

The Italian wine which served at Olea (photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

The Italian Food Week menu is only available for one week at Olea and the dish prices range from $7 to $21. Special wines are also on offer including Gewurztraminer, Masselina 147 Chardonnay, Fiulot Barbera D’asti and Tosti Pink Moscato Dolce.

The staffs are serving the guest at the ‘Italian Foods Week Gala Dinner at Olea. (photo: Htet Wai/ The Irrawaddy)

A multitude of popular and authentic Italian delicacies and dishes of sweet and savory flavors are awaiting your discovery at just a booking away at Melia Hotel.

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A Burmese Tycoon You Can’t Find Today

Posted: 14 Nov 2018 03:57 AM PST

Nar Auk became a hero of the Burmese people by using the wealth he amassed as a successful businessman to resist the British Empire’s powerful Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and help the poor evade exploitation by British and Indian merchants. Today, 115 years after his death, the temple he built in Mon State continued to draw admirers. The Irrawaddy revisits this profile of the revered patriot from May 2013.

As far as tycoons go, Nar Auk was one of a kind in Burma.

A cattle boy turned entrepreneur during British colonial days, he used his wealth to fight against Britain's powerful Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and to help the country's poor avoid exploitation by British and Indian businessmen. In the process, he became a hero to the Burmese people of the era by accomplishing what most of his contemporaries could not: slashing the profit margins of foreign businesses.

A prayer hall inside Nar Auk’s temple compound. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

Born in 1832 to farming parents, Nar Auk, ethnic Mon, got his entrepreneurial start by launching a timber business with the help of a local boss, and he later expanded to the paddy trade, the steamship industry and money lending. Nobody would have imagined that the boy from Khare village, about 10 miles from the Mon State capital Moulmein, would earn a reputation as a national patriot, but he moved quickly, with his fight against giant British companies earning him a spot in the history textbooks of government elementary schools.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Nar Auk's passing, but the temple he built in Kawhnat village still glows, and people there continue to sing praises to his efforts.

"U Nar Auk's goal was to liberate poor people from the exploitation of British and Indian businessmen," said Aye Cho, who oversees the temple, adding that the Burmese entrepreneur represented not only his village in Mon State, but also the entire country, as a patriot.

Years after accumulating wealth through his timber business in Burma and neighboring Thailand, Nar Auk entered the money-lending business and paddy trading. He knew that foreign businessmen charged excessive interest on loans to local people and paid low prices to purchase farm land, and he wanted to operate differently. He pulled many customers away from Chinese and Indian businessmen by offering low interest rates to farmers and buying paddy fields for higher prices. The money lending business was not profitable for Nar Auk, but given his family's background, he empathized with local farmers and wanted to help break their cycle of poverty.

A Buddhist monastery featuring British colonial architecture inside Nar Auk’s temple compound. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

In 1910, he pioneered a new business by establishing the Burmese Steam Navigation and Trading Company. He sent his educated shareholder, Shwe Hlay, to buy nine ships—eight double deckers and one single decker—from McKie & Baxter Company of Glasgow, Scotland. He also built a dock for the ships in the town of Mottama, opposite Moulmein.

Nar Auk's steamship company started plying the lower Thanlwin, Attaran and Gyaing rivers, routes previously used by the British-owned Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, which operated passenger and cargo ferries.

The Irrawaddy Flotilla was threatened by Nar Auk's new company. Nar Auk charged the same fare, but he allowed monks, nuns, the elderly and children to ride for free. As a devout Buddhist, it was merit for him. But for the British, it meant a huge loss of customers.

Nar Auk’s statue inside the temple compound. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

A sort of fare warfare then ensued. The Irrawaddy Flotilla cut its fare by half in a bid to win back passengers. In response, Nar Auk reduced his prices more, prompting the British company to slash its fares again, until both sides decided to let everyone ride for free.

Later, ferry customers were offered gifts, in addition to the free ride. The competition also affected other areas of business, with "dock warfare" developing as both sides went to court for rights to embark and disembark from the main jetties.

In the end, however, Nar Auk could not overpower the giant British company. After years of competition, he was forced to give way and sell his ships to the Irrawaddy Flotilla.

The interior of a prayer hall in Nar Auk’s temple. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

His biographer, Kalyana, wrote: "The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, with a capital of 200 million pounds, was able to exert tremendous and sustained pressure on U Nar Auk's company, which had limited resources (capital of 1 million rupees)."

Still, Nar Auk's intentions were clear. In a notice released to advertise his company in 1910, he wrote: "The present enterprise will, it is hoped, show to the world at large that in this direction and others, the Burman is quite capable of holding his own with other races."

Kalyana wrote in the biography that the Burmese businessman won his fame not because of his abundant wealth, but because of his benevolence and patriotic spirit. Now, his reputation may be spreading not only among the Burmese, but also among foreigners, as the biography was translated into English for the first time last year.

Nar Auk’s temple compound. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

Sitting inside Nar Auk's temple, Aye Cho said more foreign tourists had started to visit, although the site is not listed in tourist guidebooks. Local guides tend to bring foreigners as a bonus during more established tours, he said.

Looking at the temple's guest book, the ethnic Mon said that in January alone, about 400 tourists from Germany, Switzerland, France and other countries stopped by. Many tourists were so impressed, he said, that "some visited here twice."

The post A Burmese Tycoon You Can't Find Today appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD to Discipline Karenni Chief Minister over Land Grab

Posted: 14 Nov 2018 03:00 AM PST

YANGON—The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) will take action against Karenni State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho for breaking party discipline after he was accused of stealing land from a Catholic church compound in his constituency, a party spokesperson said.

"We [members of the NLD's Central Executive Committee] found that he violated the party's disciplinary rules," spokesperson and committee member U Myo Nyunt told The Irrawaddy.

U Myo Nyunt said an investigation by the Central Executive Committee (CEC) had turned up no evidence that the chief minister had broken the law in connection with the case. However, it had determined that he failed to follow party discipline, particularly as it applies to public relations and negotiation procedures.

The spokesman declined to say what action would be taken against the chief minister. "We have decided to keep that [information] among the CEC members. We can only say that he will have to take responsibility for his failures in dealing with the public," U Myo Nyunt said.

Father Richard Thura Tun, a leader of the Catholic church in Karenni State, alleged at a press conference in Yangon last week that the chief minister stole less than half an acre of land from the church in 2014 when he was a Mese Township assistant education officer. Last year, he secured a lease for the land, cleared it to build a home and began preparing to build a fence.

According to Father Richard Thura Tun, the 14-acre church compound has been recognized as a religious site by township authorities since 1994. The Department of Land Registration issued ownership documents for the property in 2006.

Church authorities sought help from the President's Office, and met with NLD leaders including U Myo Nyunt in September. However, the CEC postponed its investigation until after the Nov. 3 by-election.

Father Richard Thura Tun told The Irrawaddy last week that church authorities had met the chief minister to discuss the issue twice, but he refused to return the land.

CEC member Monywa Aung Shin told The Irrawaddy that NLD leaders arranged a meeting between L Phaung Sho and church authorities last week. The church has agreed to abide by any decisions the NLD makes in trying to settle the dispute.

Monywa Aung Shin said that under the NLD's disciplinary rules, violators are first issued a warning. If the behavior is not corrected, the offender is stripped of their duties. If the problem persists, the individual is expelled from the party.

The case is not the first in which L Phaung Sho has aroused the ire of the public. In July, Karenni youths took to the streets to object to a state government plan to put up a statue of independence hero General Aung San in the capital city, Loikaw. The demonstrations turned violent after security forces tried to halt the protesters.

L Phaung Sho's warning to demonstrators that he would send in troops to quell the disturbances drew a public outcry. Later, the military issued a statement saying that under the country's Constitution, chief ministers of states and regions have no authority to order military intervention in cases of emergency. In that case, the CEC told the media it had no plans to discipline L Phaung Sho.

L Phaung Sho was elected to the state legislature representing Mese's constituency No. 2 in the 2015 general election.

The post NLD to Discipline Karenni Chief Minister over Land Grab appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Foreign Investment in Myanmar on the Rise: Deputy Minister for Planning and Finance

Posted: 14 Nov 2018 02:38 AM PST

YANGON—Myanmar's deputy minister for planning and finance said foreign investment in Myanmar is on the rise, stating the country has so far attracted more than $12 billion in foreign investment since the National League for Democracy (NLD) government took office in 2016.

U Set Aung told the country's Lower House on Tuesday that from 2016 to 2018, the Southeast Asian country has seen 360 foreign investments totaling $12.37 billion in 10 sectors ranging from agriculture to industry to tourism.

Since the enactment of the 1988 Investment Law, Myanmar has accepted 1,110 investments valuing a total of $63.72 billion as of March 2016.

"We would say that there is an increase in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) because the amount of investment allowed by the new [NLD] government from April 2016 to March 2018 amounts to 16.25 percent of the total FDI from 1988 to 2018 March," he said.

Since the country opened up in 2012, Myanmar was considered by many to be one of the last economic frontiers and was the object of much investor interest with the resulting influx of FDI reaching its peak in 2014 at a total of over $8 billion in approved investments for the year. When the democratically-elected NLD government came to power in 2016, the country expected a further increase in FDI.

However, hope soon fizzled out when many multinational corporations decided to boycott the country after the exodus of nearly 700,000 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh last year following a spate of violence in northern Rakhine State which saw accusations of human rights abuses against Myanmar's security forces.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has been struggling on with its aim to become more investor-friendly, focusing on attracting investors from neighboring ASEAN and East Asian countries, by enacting the new Myanmar Investment Law. The law aims to create a fair and more level playing field for both foreign and domestic investors to do business with ease here through transparent, simplified and quick procedures and incentives like tax exemption.

As a result, the last six months saw $2 billion in foreign investment here, with more than $700 million coming from Singapore alone in manufacturing, real estate, transportation, energy and tourism.

Beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year, the government is currently carrying out a 20-year plan to attract more FDI with a target of $221 billion, according to the government's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.

Earlier this week, the government proposed in parliament the formation of a new cabinet in order to boost local and international investment.

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Pence Decries Violence Against Rohingya in Open Remarks to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Posted: 14 Nov 2018 12:27 AM PST

SINGAPORE — US Vice President Mike Pence criticized Myanmar’s military for the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in a meeting with the country’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, on Wednesday and said he was keen to hear that those responsible for the violence would be held accountable.

“The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in driving 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh is without excuse,” he told Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a brief meeting with the media before they went into private talks on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore.

“I am anxious to hear the progress that you are making of holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands and created such suffering, including the loss of life,” he added.

He said Washington was also keen to hear about progress in making it possible for the Rohingya to voluntarily return to the western Myanmar state of Rakhine from vast refugees camps in southern Bangladesh where they now live.

The United States has accused the military of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are widely reviled in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. UN-mandated investigators have accused the military of unleashing a campaign of killings, rape and arson with “genocidal intent.”

Arrest of journalists

Myanmar says its operations in Rakhine were a legitimate response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents in August last year.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, responding to Pence, said: “Of course people have different points of view, but the point is that you should exchange these views and try to understand each other better.”

“In a way we can say that we understand our country better than any other country does and I’m sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your country better than anybody else,” she added.

Amnesty International this week withdrew its most prestigious human rights prize from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya.

Once hailed as a champion in the fight for democracy, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has been stripped of a series of international honors over the Rohingya exodus.

Pence also said that Washington wanted to see a free and democratic press in Myanmar, and the jailing of two journalists last year was “deeply troubling” for millions of Americans.

“In America, we believe in our democratic institutions and ideals, including a free and independent press,” he said.

He did not mention by name Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters journalists who were arrested in Yangon in December. They were found guilty in September of breaching the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.

On Nov. 5, lawyers for the two Reuters reporters lodged an appeal against their conviction.

At the time of their arrest in December, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim villagers during an army crackdown in Rakhine State. Reuters published its investigation into the massacre on Feb. 8.

The post Pence Decries Violence Against Rohingya in Open Remarks to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Arakan Front Party Rallies for 2020

Posted: 14 Nov 2018 12:18 AM PST

SITTWE, Rakhine State — The Arakan Front Party will work to forge alliances with other political parties to form a coalition government in the 2020 general elections, said party leader Dr. Aye Maung after his trial at Sittwe District Court on Monday.

The Union Election Commission approved Dr. Aye Maung's proposal to form the Arakan Front Party on Oct. 11.

"We will ally with parties like those led by U Ko Ko Gyi [of the People's Party] that will mobilize support from Bamars in seven regions. It is important that they don't compete in ethnic regions because we will also ally with ethnic parties," he said.

"What will happen in Myanmar politics if a third party emerges after we form alliances? The vote in seven regions of the country will be split among three parties. If we win in a state we will form a coalition government in 2020," he said.

The coalition government in 2020 would include ethnic minorities and Bamars, he said. The party will include people from all professions including retired military and police officers, lawyers, and engineers so that they can be assigned to different tasks for the better performance of the party, he said.

U Tin Maung Win, the son of Dr. Aye Maung won the Nov. 3 by-election for a seat in the Rakhine State Parliament for Rathedaung Township. Dr. Aye Maung earlier said that he would leave politics if his son did not win the by-election.

"My son's victory is my victory and is also the initial victory of my party. We aim to lead all of Rakhine State by 2020 and our party has a lean structure," he told the media.

U Tin Maung Win won the by-election in Rathedaung Constituency, defeating the National League for Democracy (NLD) and Arakan National Party (ANP), which Dr. Aye Maung chaired previously.

"We have learned a lot from the loss. We urgently need to rally public support with loyal party members who have faith in the party and will reform accordingly," general secretary of the ANP U Tun Aung Kyaw told The Irrawaddy.

Regarding the NLD's loss in ethnic constituencies in the Nov. 3 by-election, Dr. Aye Maung remarked: "Why did the NLD lose in the by-election? Its strategy regarding ethnic regions is wrong. It needs to review this."

Dr. Aye Maung, who is also a lawmaker in the Upper House, was arrested in the second week of January in Sittwe, the state capital, for remarks at a commemoration event in Rathedaung Township earlier that month for the 233rd anniversary of the fall of the Arakan Kingdom to the Burmese in 1785.

He is facing three charges—high treason, unlawful association and defamation of the State.

The Rakhine State High Court has accepted Dr. Aye Maung's appeal to make a second decision about the charges, and the prosecutor and defense lawyer will argue at the next trial on Nov. 27 whether or not the charges should be dismissed.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Top UK Fashion Brands Team Up with Law Enforcement to Combat Modern Slavery

Posted: 13 Nov 2018 09:52 PM PST

LONDON — Major British retailers including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Next are joining forces with law enforcement agencies in a bid to eradicate labor exploitation and modern slavery from the fashion industry, Britain’s anti-slavery body said on Tuesday.

Six of the country’s top fashion brands have vowed to raise awareness to stop worker abuses, protect at-risk and exploited employees, and root out modern slavery from their supply chains, according to the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

Companies face growing scrutiny in Britain and beyond to ensure their operations are slave-free as rising demand for cheap clothing fuels labor exploitation in factories worldwide.

“Tens of thousands of people are employed in the textiles industry in the UK and it contributes billions of pounds to the economy,” said Ian Waterfield, head of operations at the GLAA.

“That alone makes it an attractive proposition for unscrupulous employers and criminals who exploit workers.”

About 25 million people are estimated to be trapped in forced labor worldwide, according to the United Nations.

The global fashion industry has come under pressure to change since more than 1,100 garment workers were killed in the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh five years ago.

Yet big brands have been criticized for failing to improve conditions in their supply chains—from fields to factories—and allowing or turning a blind eye to abuses such as excessive working hours, child labor and bans on forming trade unions.

None of the six brand—which also include New Look, River Island and Shop Direct—responded to requests for comment about the partnership, but the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade association called it an “important step” to end worker abuses.

The agreement is being backed by Britain’s labor inspectorate, tax authority and health and safety and immigration officials, as well as several industry bodies.

Anti-Slavery International welcomed the commitment of the major brands but said the deal highlighted the gaps in Britain’s landmark anti-slavery legislation, which came into law in 2015.

Britain’s Modern Slavery Act requires firms with a turnover of 36 million pounds ($46 million) to file an annual statement outlining their anti-slavery efforts. Yet compliance is low as there are no penalties for offenders, according to activists.

“Proactive identification and eradication of exploitative practices shouldn’t be a voluntary act but a standard practice sanctioned by the law …, ” said Klara Skrivankova, UK and Europe manager for charity Anti-Slavery International.

“Only then the businesses that do their part in ending slavery wouldn’t be undercut by those which profit from exploitation,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Leading fashion designers, entrepreneurs and campaigners will be questioned by lawmakers on Tuesday as part of an ongoing state inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry.

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UN Will Not Help Myanmar with Long-term Camps for Rohingya: Document

Posted: 13 Nov 2018 09:47 PM PST

YANGON — The United Nations’ refugee agency will not provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingya Muslims who return to Myanmar if they are interned in camps, according to an internal position paper circulated days before the initial repatriation is due to start.

The confidential briefing paper, dated this month and reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, outlines the position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the repatriation process, and reflects a desire not to be drawn into supporting long-term camps for the Muslim minority.

A UNHCR spokeswoman said it did not comment on leaked documents.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in late October to begin in mid-November the repatriation of some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled Myanmar last year to escape an army crackdown, despite warnings by the UN and aid agencies that conditions were not yet safe for their return.

Myanmar has been building transit centers for the refugees that it says will be temporary, but many Rohingya say they fear the sites could become permanent because of harsh restrictions on movement imposed on the largely stateless minority.

The UNHCR paper says the agency “will not provide individual assistance in situations of encampment, including in reception facilities or transit camps, unless they are clearly temporary in nature and used for the sole purpose of facilitating free movement to places of returnees’ origin or choice.”

The document, which was circulated to diplomats, also advises other agencies not to assist with any such camps.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have been languishing in UN-supported camps and villages across western Myanmar since 2012, when they were driven out of their homes during a previous wave of ethnic violence. They were told the camps, razor-wire ringed areas they are forbidden to leave, would be temporary.

Myanmar government spokesman U Zaw Htay did not answer calls seeking comment on Tuesday.

The US State Department said in a statement on Sunday any returnees to Myanmar “must have freedom of movement and not be confined to camps.”

Not Ready

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh to escape a sweeping army crackdown in the north of Myanmar’s Rakhine State last year. UN-mandated investigators have accused the Myanmar military of “genocidal intent” and ethnic cleansing. Myanmar denies almost all of the allegations against its troops, saying security forces were battling terrorists.

In the document, the UNHCR also outlines its involvement in the repatriation process organized by Myanmar and Bangladesh, saying that its officials will seek to ascertain whether several thousand Rohingya on a list of refugees identified for repatriation to Myanmar want to go back.

Last week, more than 20 individuals on the list of potential returnees submitted by Bangladesh told Reuters they would refuse to return, saying they feared for their safety.

More than 1 million Rohingya lived in Rakhine before the exodus of refugees that began in August last year. The state has long been riven with tension between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and the Rohingya, who are mostly denied citizenship and face severe restrictions on their movement.

The memo seen by Reuters reiterates the UNHCR’s stance that conditions in Rakhine are not conducive to returns.

That view was repeated by UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Turk on Tuesday.

“I think we are still not at that stage where the conditions are there that we would be able to facilitate or promote returns at this point in time,” Volker told a news briefing in Geneva.

“So if there are indeed people who want to return, we have to absolutely make sure that we are able to certify that they do this on [the basis of] a free and informed choice.”

In the document, the UNHCR called for Myanmar to release more information about plans to return and reintegrate the Rohingya.

On Sunday, Myanmar’s Minister for Social Welfare U Win Myat Aye said preparations had been made for 2,251 people to be transported to two transit centers by boat on Thursday, while a second group of 2,095 could follow later by road.

Once processed, they would be sent to another center where they would be housed and fed until they could be resettled, he said.

Returnees would only be allowed to travel within Maungdaw Township if they accepted National Verification Cards, an identity document most Rohingya reject because they say it brands them as foreigners.

Authorities have said they plan to build houses in 42 sites across Rakhine, but have not revealed the locations.

In its memo, the UNHCR says the organization would provide support to refugees in “resettlement sites and model villages” in Rakhine State only if these were “located in places of refugees’ origin or choice."

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Myanmar’s Neighbors to Call for ‘Accountability’ in Rakhine Crisis: Draft Statement

Posted: 13 Nov 2018 08:55 PM PST

SINGAPORE — Southeast Asian nations will call for those responsible for atrocities in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to be held “fully accountable,” according to a statement prepared for a regional summit, reflecting a stronger line being taken within the group.

The draft of the chairman’s statement, which was reviewed by Reuters but may change before it is delivered by host Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the close of meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the situation in Rakhine State was a “matter of concern.”

The Singapore government did not immediately comment on the draft statement.

A final statement could be issued after the ASEAN leaders start their meeting late on Tuesday.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay did not answer calls seeking comment on the summit message.

A UN report in August detailed mass killings and gang rapes with genocidal intent in a Myanmar military crackdown that began in 2017 and drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine into neighboring Bangladesh. It called for its commander-in-chief and five generals to be prosecuted under international law.

Myanmar has denied most of the allegations in the report.

Myanmar’s de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who will be joining the summit in Singapore, has been widely criticized for her handling of the crisis.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, ASEAN’s seniormost leader, was scathing about the Nobel peace laureate on Tuesday when asked about the situation in Myanmar.

“It would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to defend what is indefensible,” the 93-year-old told reporters in Singapore. “We are very disappointed, because someone who has been detained before knows the sufferings, and should not inflict it on others.”

Mahathir and Aung San Suu Kyi were seated side by side at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN summit and at a welcome dinner. TV coverage showed them studiously ignoring each other.

Amnesty International said on Tuesday it had withdrawn its most prestigious human rights prize from Aung San Suu Kyi, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya.

“We called on the Independent Commission of Enquiry established by the Government of Myanmar to carry out an independent and impartial investigation of the allegations of human rights violations and related issues, and hold those responsible fully accountable,” said the ASEAN chairman’s draft statement.

The Rohingya crisis is one of the biggest man-made disasters involving a member since ASEAN was founded in 1967, and it is one of the thorniest issues yet faced by a group that traditionally works by consensus and is reluctant to get involved in matters deemed internal to its members.

In July, Myanmar established a commission of inquiry to probe allegations of human rights abuses in Rakhine, which includes two local and two international members from Japan and the Philippines.

The draft statement repeated ASEAN’s previous calls on the importance of the repatriation of displaced persons to Myanmar, humanitarian relief and reconciliation among communities, but went further in calling for accountability for the alleged atrocities.

The strengthening of rhetoric in the draft was flagged earlier this year by Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who said his ASEAN peers had urged Myanmar to give the inquiry commission a full mandate to hold those responsible accountable.

A source close to pre-summit discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Singapore was leaning towards a stronger stance because it is the most internationally engaged member of ASEAN and feels responsibility as summit host to protect its credibility.

It was not clear if all members of the grouping would back the sternest statement to date from ASEAN on the Rakhine issue.

ASEAN’s Muslim-majority members — Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei — tend to take the toughest line on the Rohingya question, while Myanmar has close regional allies in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Under military control in recent years, Thailand has also provided cover for Myanmar.

The post Myanmar’s Neighbors to Call for ‘Accountability’ in Rakhine Crisis: Draft Statement appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘Defending the Indefensible’: Malaysia’s Mahathir Slams Suu Kyi over Rohingya Crisis

Posted: 13 Nov 2018 08:17 PM PST

SINGAPORE — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday Myanmar’s de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was trying to “defend the indefensible” over alleged atrocities committed by the country’s military against minority Rohingya Muslims.

Asked on the sidelines of a speech he delivered in Singapore to comment on how Myanmar and Suu Kyi had been dealing with the Rohingya issue, Mahathir said:

“It would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to defend what is indefensible.

“They are actually oppressing these people to the point of killing them, mass killing.”

A UN report in August detailed a military crackdown with genocidal intent that began in 2017 and drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine State into neighboring Bangladesh.

Myanmar has denied most of the allegations in the report. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has previously said her civilian government should not bear all responsibility for the crisis because the military retains a powerful political role under the Constitution.

Southeast Asian nations will call for those responsible for atrocities in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to be held “fully accountable”, according to a statement prepared for a regional summit, reflecting a stronger line being taken within the group.

The post 'Defending the Indefensible': Malaysia’s Mahathir Slams Suu Kyi over Rohingya Crisis appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Warnings of a ‘Domino Effect’ of Protectionism as Asian Leaders Meet

Posted: 13 Nov 2018 08:11 PM PST

SINGAPORE — Asian leaders gathered for a summit on Tuesday amid warnings that the post-World War II international order is in jeopardy and trade tensions between Washington and Beijing could trigger a “domino effect” of protectionist measures by other countries.

Malaysian Prime Mahathir Mohamad told a business forum ahead of the summit in Singapore that other developed countries would take a cue from the United States and China if their tit-for-tat tariff war were allowed to spiral.

“The trade tension between the two world powers is bound to create a domino effect that will affect trade reactions and will be a reason for other developed countries to adopt protective measures against developing countries, including the ASEAN countries,” Mahathir said, referring to the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang – for a second day – struck a conciliatory note on the trade spat, saying he was hopeful that the two sides would find a way to prevent it from escalating further.

“I still hope we can hold talks based on mutual respect, balance and mutual benefits to resolve the issue. There are no winners in a trade war,” Li said before his meeting with the ASEAN leaders.

US Vice President Mike Pence will attend the Singapore meetings instead of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly panned existing multilateral trade pacts as unfair and has railed against China over intellectual property theft, entry barriers to American businesses and a yawning US trade gap.

It was not clear if Li and Pence would meet separately on the sidelines in Singapore, which would be a prelude to a summit scheduled between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of the month in Buenos Aires.

Before he arrived in Singapore on Monday, Li said China would further open its economy in the face of rising protectionism, though he did not refer directly to China’s bruising trade war with the United States.

“Rival Blocs"

Mahathir, a veteran strongman of the region who in May returned to the prime minister’s office he had occupied for 22 years, told reporters that the United States is “a colonial power” that uses “economic pressure to cow people."

In his speech, he said “the rise of trade protectionism, resurgent nationalistic movements and inward-looking policies” seemed to be emerging even among ASEAN nations.

That was echoed by summit host Singaporean Prime Lee Hsien Loong, who told a welcome ceremony for his ASEAN counterparts that “the international order is at a turning point."

“The existing free, open and rules-based multilateral system which has underpinned ASEAN’s growth and stability has come under stress,” he said, adding that it was unclear if the international order would break up into rival blocs.

Returning to the theme as the leaders sat down to dinner, he said: “Countries are becoming insular, retreating from multilateralism and globalization, which has been the cornerstone of ASEAN peace and stability.”

China’s Li is expected to rally support at the Singapore meetings for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade pact that will encompass more than a third of the world's GDP.

“Free trade has, in some aspects, prevented war effectively,” he said in a speech on Tuesday. “We are willing to negotiate with all sides to push ahead with free trade internationally, and we’re also willing to discuss a fairer system.”

The RCEP agreement includes 16 countries, including ASEAN nations, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, but not the United States.

The draft of a statement to be issued by RCEP nations later in the week, which was reviewed by Reuters, said the group would instruct “ministers and negotiators to work toward the full conclusion of the RCEP negotiations in 2019."

South China Sea Deal

Li said that Beijing hoped a consultation with Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct in the disputed South China Sea would be completed in three years, and that such a deal would bolster free trade.

China and ASEAN agreed in August on a working text to continue long drawn-out negotiations over the code of conduct.

Some ASEAN members and China have overlapping claims to islands in the sea, one of the world’s busiest waterways. For years, they have been discussing a pact to prevent an escalation of disputes.

“It is China’s hope that the COC (code of conduct) consultation will be finished in three years time so that it will contribute to enduring peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Li said. “China and ASEAN countries will benefit in that process, it will also be conducive to free trade and go on to serve the interests of other parties.”

Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged their Chinese counterparts to halt militarization of the South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese for sending US warships close to islands claimed by Beijing.

The post Warnings of a 'Domino Effect' of Protectionism as Asian Leaders Meet appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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