Monday, February 18, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Lawyers Group Slams ‘Light’ Sentence for Ex-Officer Who Aided U Ko Ni Killers

Posted: 18 Feb 2019 06:51 AM PST

YANGON—The Independent Lawyers' Association of Myanmar (ILAM) has denounced a Yangon court's "light" treatment of a former military intelligence captain who had been accused of conspiring to kill prominent lawyer U Ko Ni, only to be sentenced on a lesser charge at the last minute.

Yangon Northern District Court on Friday sentenced Zeya Phyo to five years in prison with hard labor for destroying evidence in the case. Gunman Kyi Lin and conspirator Aung Win Zaw were sentenced to death for the lawyer's 2017 killing. Kyi Lin also received an additional 20-year prison term for killing taxi driver U Ne Win as he tried to apprehend the shooter. Aung Win Tun was given a three-year prison term for harboring one of the men.

The association said it would submit a legal report on the verdict, including its recommendations, to the President, State Counselor and parliamentary speakers in the coming weeks.

The alleged mastermind of the killing, former Lieutenant-Colonel Aung Win Khaing, remains at large after evading authorities. His last known whereabouts were in Naypyitaw.

In a statement released on Saturday, ILAM welcomed the death sentences handed to Kyi Lin and Aung Win Zaw. But the lawyers' group said a mere five-year sentence for someone involved in a "coordinated crime" that shocked and frightened the nation was "too light" in the public's view.

Zeya Phyo initially faced charges of premeditated murder and of aiding and abetting an offender by giving financial support to the conspirators to carry out the murder. He was first identified in connection with the case at a press conference given by the Home Affairs Ministry and police in February 2017.

Myanmar Police Chief Major-General Zaw Win said at the press conference that Aung Win Khaing asked Zeya Phyo for financial assistance to carry out the murder. Zeya Phyo handed over 100 million kyats to Aung Win Khaing in August 2016, Maj-Gen. Zaw Win said at the time.

In Friday's verdict, however, he was acquitted of the previous charges and sentenced for a different violation under the Penal Code's Article 201.

Lawyer U Thein Than Oo, a senior member of ILAM, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the light sentence given to Zeya Phyo, who was identified as a main conspirator by police, is "totally unacceptable and not justified."

The 65-year-old lawyer said never in his career had he heard of a court reaching a decision that contradicted the findings of the police chief and the Home Affairs Ministry.

Even Article 201, he said, allows for a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, but the court only sentenced him to five.

ILAM also called for a separate investigation of U Ko Ni's killing under the Counter-Terrorism Law, saying the crime met the definition of terrorism under articles 13, 15, 16 and 17 of the law.

It said the four men should be investigated under the law for assassinating the lawyer in broad daylight outside Yangon International Airport on Jan. 29, 2017.

The plaintiff's lawyers also told the media after the verdict that they were not satisfied with the court's decision regarding Zeya Phyo and would appeal to a higher court.

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Indian Troops Seal Off India-Myanmar Border

Posted: 18 Feb 2019 04:47 AM PST

YANGON – At least two infantry companies from the Indian army have been deployed in Mizoram, a state located at the border with Myanmar's Paletwa Township in southern Chin State as fighting intensifies in the area between the Myanmar Military and the Arakan Army (AA).

The Assam Tribune reported on Sunday that the troops are stationed in Mizoram's southwestern Lawngtlai District. The troops are deployed with the intention of preventing AA fighters from entering Indian territory and to assist the villagers displaced from the conflict zones. It said AA rebels and government troops have been fighting along the Kaladan River in Myanmar's Paletwa Township since earlier this month.

The report says troops began arriving at the border on Saturday.

AA spokesperson U Khine Thukha confirmed to The Irrawaddy on Monday that they have learned the Indian military recently stationed more than 500 soldiers along the border between the Mizoram villages of Parva and Lungpuk, covering a distance of at least 22 kilometers.

U Khine Thukha remarked that this is the first time in recent years that such heavy military presence has been seen at the border. There are widely-held suspicions that the Indian army may be trying to work in cooperation with the Myanmar military against AA rebels.

"My message to the Indian government is that collaborating with ICC-wanted war criminals (Myanmar's military) is totally inappropriate. India should not cooperate with the ICC criminals," said U Khine Thukha, referring to accusations against the Myanmar military of committing war crimes against the Rohingya in Rakhine State in late 2017.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing with Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi during his trip to India in July. / Commander-in-Chief / Facebook

Over the weekend, unconfirmed claims that high-ranking Burmese military officers secretly met their Indian army counterparts were widely spread across social media. However, The Irrawaddy's calls to Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the Military's Office of the Commander-in-Chief, went unanswered on Monday.

Reports from Mizoram said that about 1,750 people from Chin State's Paletwa Township sought refuge in 2017 as a result of Myanmar military-led operations against the AA. As of September 2018, some 200 refugees were still sheltering in Mizoram, refusing to go return to their villages in Myanmar out of fear of the return of unpredictable armed clashes in the region.

Recent clashes between the AA and government troops forced a number of residents to flee from Paletwa across the border to Mizoram on Saturday, though the number of displaced has not been confirmed.

India's reinforcements along the Myanmar-India border come amid what many see as strengthening ties between the Myanmar and Indian militaries.  In late January, Myanmar's military seized the headquarters of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) in the Naga Self-Administered Zone of Sagaing Region without resistance from the Naga rebels.

A military announcement last week accused the NSCN-K of violating the bilateral ceasefire agreement by sheltering members of Indian militant groups from Assam and Manipur which are fighting against Indian government troops. It claimed they arrested six NSCN-K members and two Kathae rebels. The NSCN-K signed a regional-level ceasefire agreement with the military in 2012 and since then, no major armed clashes with government troops have occurred in the region. The leaders of NSCN-K denied the military's allegations.

On Monday afternoon, Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a letter of condolence to the family members of those in the Indian army who were killed in Thursday's suicide bomb attack in Kashmir on Feb. 14.

The AA announced on its official website on Sunday that they had fought with military troops in Rathedaung Township's Yae Soe Chaung Village on Feb. 14, killing 10 government troops. They also announced that they had carried out a mine attack on a highway express coach carrying government soldiers in Ponnagyun Township on Feb. 17, leaving a number of troops wounded and seeking medical treatment in Sittwe. The AA denounced the military's attempt at disguising its troops as civilians by transporting them in private transport.

Locals relief groups have estimated that the armed violence in northern Rakhine State has displaced more than 6,000 residents while aid shipments from international relief agencies are being blocked by army officers on the ground, with the exception of those from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

As of this week, about 40 locals are in detention in the area on accusations of having ties with the AA, which have been declared an unlawful association.

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Military, USDP, ANP Withhold Nominees For Constitution Amendment Committee

Posted: 18 Feb 2019 04:42 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — The Myanmar military and two political parties have not submitted lists of nominees for a pending committee to draft amendments to the Constitution, which the Union Parliament is due to form on Tuesday.

U Myat Nyana Soe, a lawmaker for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), said Parliament had yet to receive lists from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), Arakan National Party (ANP) and the military, which is guaranteed 25 percent of national and local legislative seats by the Constitution.

"Twelve political parties and independent representatives have submitted lists of nominees. If those parties and that institution do not submit name lists, we can exclude them and share their quotas with the other parties to form the committee. But we won't do that," he told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

According to a draft plan distributed to lawmakers, the committee will comprise 44 members: 18 from the NLD, eight from the military, two from the USDP, one independent representative, and one each from ethnic minority parties.

USDP lawmaker U Thaung Aye told reporters on Monday that no decisions could be made at two preliminary meetings on how to form the committee and that the NLD was being arrogant in pushing ahead with it.

"The Tatmadaw [military] is also not happy with it, and the Tatmadaw representatives and I held talks with the speaker and deputy speaker this morning. The speaker said he is just implementing the proposal by taking everything into consideration," U Thaung Aye said.

Monday’s Lower House session was delayed about 20 minutes by the discussion.

U Thaung Aye said his party had yet to decide how to proceed.

U Myat Nyana Soe, who will serve as the committee’s secretary, said the body was being formed in line with parliamentary laws after legislators overwhelmingly approved a proposal to form the committee on Feb. 6.

"This is the proposal approved by the Union Parliament. As I've said, we can't switch into reverse gear. We have to implement the proposal. The other side says we are democratic dictators and that we bully democratically. It is not true," he told The Irrawaddy.

ANP lawmaker U Pe Than said his party did not submit a list of nominees because it was designated only one seat on the committee but wanted two.

"In general we decided to join the committee. But we are confused about the tasks of the committee. We are still discussing about its tasks,” he said.

U Pe Than cited a section of the Constitution that says amendments must be proposed to Parliament with the support of at least 20 percent of lawmakers. The military and USDP have cited it to object to the committee’s formation, but the NLD says the section has no bearing because the committee is only meant to draft amendments that would go into a formal proposal at a future date.

The NLD holds 59 percent of the seats in Parliament, ethnic parties hold 11 percent, the USDP holds 5 percent, and the military holds 25 percent.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Karenni Activists Threaten to Destroy Aung San Statue as Talks Collapse

Posted: 18 Feb 2019 04:31 AM PST

Karenni activists threatened to tear down a statue of General Aung San in Loikaw, Kayah State on Monday after negotiations with a committee overseeing the monument's construction broke down, according to local sources.

Six representatives of a group that has been protesting the placement of the statue of the independence hero in a park in the city met with members of the Gen. Aung San Bronze Statue Implementation Committee on Monday, but the meeting came to an abrupt halt at around 11.30 a.m. when members of the Implementation Committee walked out.

The meeting was supposed to find a compromise solution to the conflict over the statue, which many in the Karenni community see as a symbol of the central government's authority and an attempt to impose on them an official historical narrative. The Implementation Committee comprises members of local civil organizations that support the presence of a statue of Gen. Aung San in Loikaw.

Di Di, a spokesperson for the anti-statue group, said, "We discussed the background of the statue; we even told them why are protesting against it, but when we tried to discuss the future of the statue project, they left the meeting."

He added, "They told us at the meeting that their involvement [in the project] was limited to bringing the statue to the town, and putting it up. So, their job was done. [They said] if we want to remove the statue, we need to negotiate with the government."

According to a statement released by the activists, the meeting was canceled without any agreement being reached because the Implementation Committee did not want to take responsibility for the future of the statue, and its members walked out.

Implementation Committee member U Win Aung told The Irrawaddy on Monday that, "[The activists] focused their discussion solely on how they could remove the statue. For our part, we were the ones that built it. So, we could not accept their idea."

He added that the pro-statue side had many supporters, as well.

"We walked out of the meeting as we did not believe it could produce any positive results," he said.

U Win Aung said his team initially solicited donations to fund the project from local residents. The effort raised 20 million kyats (about US$13,000). However, this would not cover the cost of the statue, so the committee sought funding from the state government.

He said the state government donated 40 million kyats to the project.

"I wanted to tell to persons who oppose the project that Gen. Aung San was a respected leader both internationally and inside the country. Allowing the statue will be positive for our region," U Win Aung said.

I call on them to stop protesting against the project, he said.

In light of the protesters' threat, U Win Aung called on the state government to protect the statue, saying he and his committee had done what was asked of them by delivering the statue.

Saying negotiations had proved fruitless, local right activists vowed to launch another protest in the town soon. They renewed their call for the state government to remove the statue.

They said they would issue another statement soon to inform the public of their plans regarding the statue.

"If the government refuses to remove the statue, we will do it ourselves," Di Di said.

"This is an important issue. The government needs to resolve it as soon as possible. But the government's recent actions show a lack of responsibility. We feel that by their actions they are ignoring our voice, and even insulting us," he said.

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Court Fines Weekly Journal Over Satirical Article

Posted: 18 Feb 2019 02:07 AM PST

YANGON — A court in Tanintharyi Region on Monday fined a local weekly 500,000 kyats ($327) for a satirical article it published more than a year ago that offended the region’s chief minister.

"It is not a fair decision," Tanintharyi Journal editor-in-chief U Myo Aung said of the Dawei Township Court’s decision, especially, he added, given the government’s efforts to establish a liberal democracy that respects the freedom of expression.

The journal was sued by the deputy director of the regional government office over a Nov. 20, 2017, article that referred to an unnamed female incumbent planning to contest a coming election for ward and village administrators. The complaint said the article was targeting the regional chief minister, Daw Lei Lei Maw, and damaged the government’s reputation.

In December 2017, the journal was charged under Article 25 (b) of the Media Law — which carries a maximum fine of 1 million kyats for news that “deliberately affects” the reputation of s specific person or organization.”

U Myo Aung, who has appeared before the court 36 times in the case, said he would consult with a lawyer before deciding whether to appeal.

U Myint Kyaw, a member of the Myanmar Press Council, said the court decision was unjust.

"It is like enforcing censorship of the media — to not write anything critical about the authorities, including the chief ministers," he said.

U Myint Kyaw noted that the article only raised the same complaints about local authorities that residents themselves voiced when State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited Tanintharyi Region last week.

Some residents had earlier handed the government a formal complaint accusing the chief minister — along with her brother-in-law U Aung Soe, a regional Lower House lawmakers, and regional Planning and Finance Minister U Phyo Min Tun — of awarding public contracts and a government job to relatives.

"The public's complaints and the public feeling toward her are more harsh than this satirical piece, so in reality the journal should not be found guilty, " U Myint Kyaw said.

The Irrawaddy’s ZUE ZUE contributes to this report. 

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Bodies of Three Murdered Ethnic Daingnet Found in Maungdaw

Posted: 18 Feb 2019 01:46 AM PST

SITTWE—Three missing members of the Daingnet ethnic community of Thinbaw Hla Village in Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township were found dead on Saturday according to the village administrator.

The three men were reported to have gone out crabbing on Friday, and their buried bodies were recovered the following day, said village administrator U Maung Sein Tun.

"They went to catch crabs and didn't come back, so we searched for them the following day and found an earth pile in the bush near the village of Kun Thee Pin. We dug the earth pile and found their bodies," he told The Irrawaddy.

Maungdaw Township administrator U Myint Khaing, who together with the township judge and a forensic doctor recovered the bodies, confirmed that the three victims had had their throats slit.

The three victims, aged 29, 30 and 40 respectively were cremated in Thinbaw Hla on Saturday evening.

These frequent killings of ethnic people in Maungdaw highlight the lack of rule of law and security here, said U Khin Maung Than, chairman of the Arakan National Party's Maungdaw Township chapter.

"[Government] leaders don't seem to be very interested in the problems facing ethnic people in Maungdaw. There is no rule of law and the culprits have never been arrested. I feel like [government leaders] don't care at all about the safety of locals," U Khin Maung Than told The Irrawaddy.

In October last year, a 14-year-old boy was killed while traveling from Kha Maung Seik Village to his home village of Aung Zan in northern Maungdaw Township.

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Military’s Parliamentary Quota Necessary as Country Not Yet Stable: Army Chief

Posted: 18 Feb 2019 01:40 AM PST

NAYPYITAW—Myanmar Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has defended the military's constitutionally guaranteed allotment of 25 percent of seats in the national legislature, saying it remains necessary to safeguard Myanmar's stable transition to multiparty democracy.

"We are still overcoming a lot of hardships. We need a stable march to multiparty democracy," Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said in an interview with Japanese news agency Asahi Shimbun on Feb. 14.

The current state of parliamentary debate, administrative affairs and public participation in politics, as well as the actions of ethnic armed groups, show that the country still lacks stability in the political and security sectors, he said.

"The Tatmadaw [Myanmar's military] has therefore taken those seats as a measure to ensure national stability. The situation will change if every sector is secured," the senior general said.

He denied that Section 59 (f) of the 2008 Constitution, which bars State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency because her late spouse was a foreigner, is targeted at a particular individual.

Myanmar suffered a lot under colonial rule, and the power to shape the future of the country must be in the hands of the Myanmar people, he said. Therefore, the Tatmadaw will continue to back the provision, he said.

The National League for Democracy-led government was able to create the position of State Counselor—technically the second highest position after the President—for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Meanwhile, Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing is ranked eighth, according to protocol.

The senior general reiterated his support for amending Section 261 of the Constitution to allow regional legislatures to elect their chief ministers.

On Wednesday, the Union Solidarity and Development Party put forward a bill to amend the article. Currently, chief ministers are appointed by the president. The party said it submitted the proposal in cooperation with the Army.

According to political analysts, as the Tatmadaw also holds 25 percent of seats in regional parliaments, the amendment if approved would actually give the military greater influence.

According to political analyst U Maung Maung Soe, "Besides Section 261, other provisions should also be amended [regarding] ethnicities. I think the NLD's move to amend the Constitution is intended to promote democracy. But the Tatmadaw won't make many compromises," he said.

Lower House lawmaker U Sai Kyaw Thiha said amending Section 261 alone will not guarantee ethnic rights, but added that "half a loaf was better than no bread at all".

Regarding the military's right to appoint 25 percent of lawmakers, U Sai Kyaw Thiha said, "The [Tatmadaw] should not think of itself as essential to state-building."

As any amendment to the Constitution requires the approval of more than 75 percent of lawmakers, no amendment can be made without the consent of the Army.

When asked about the NLD's recent move to amend the Constitution, the senior general said the Tatmadaw agreed in principle with amending the charter.

"We have never said no to constitutional amendment," he said, adding that he believed it would be more appropriate and effective to carry out any amendments in line with Chapter XII of the Constitution, which lays out the procedures for amendment.

U Maung Maung Soe said, "Only amendments agreed to by both sides can be made. Otherwise, it would be difficult to amend because the approval of more than 75 percent of lawmakers is required."

Former President U Thein Sein told reporters on Friday that amending the Constitution should not be done by lawmakers alone, adding that the groups that participated in the National Convention that drafted the 2008 Constitution, as well as signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, should also be invited to take part.

"It is not that [the Constitution] emerged easily. Of course, amendments must be made to meet the requirements of the time. But it is important that it is not amended easily," he remarked.

Lawmakers met for a second time on Friday to try to form a committee to draft amendments to the Constitution. Military-appointed lawmaker Major-General Than Soe demanded that military lawmakers have 25 percent representation on the proposed committee.

The Tatmadaw had 25 percent representation on the 109-member constitutional review committee formed under the previous government, but the recently proposed 45-member committee would have only eight military-appointed lawmakers, or just 17 percent of the total.

"This ratio is not fair. We should have greater representation based on our number. So, I would like to request the inclusion of 11 or 12 [military appointees] on the committee," he said.

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Saudi Crown Prince Begins Asia Tour With $20B Pakistan Investment Pledge

Posted: 17 Feb 2019 08:37 PM PST

ISLAMABAD — Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday said Saudi Arabia has signed investment agreements worth $20 billion during his high-profile visit to Pakistan, where tensions were flaring up with nuclear-armed rival India.

Kicking off his tour of South Asia and China with a far higher Pakistan investment than expected, the crown prince said the $20 billion figure represents only the start of an economic tie-up that would bring the historic Muslim allies even closer.

“It's big for phase 1, and definitely it will grow every month and every year, and it will be beneficial to both countries,” said the crown prince.

“We have been a brotherly country, a friendly country to Pakistan. We've walked together in tough and good times, and we [will] continue.”

But Prince Mohammed’s visit is at risk of being overshadowed by Pakistan’s growing tensions with India. Earlier this week a suicide bomber killed 44 Indian paramilitary police in the disputed Kashmir region. New Delhi has accused Pakistan of having a hand in the bombing and vowed to punish Islamabad, which denies involvement.

Cash-strapped and in need of friends, Pakistan welcomed the crown prince with open arms and in grandiose fashion, including sending fighter jets to guide his incoming plane once it entered Pakistani airspace.

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan’s army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa, greeted Prince Mohammed on the red carpet of a military airport in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, before Khan personally drove the crown prince to the capital Islamabad.

“Saudi Arabia has always been a friend in need, which is why we value it so much,” said Khan, while seated next to Prince Mohammed. “I want to thank you for the way you helped us when we were in bad situation.”

Saudi Arabia has in recent months helped keep Pakistan’s economy afloat by propping up its rapidly dwindling foreign exchange reserves with a $6 billion loan, giving Islamabad breathing room as it negotiates a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.

Islamabad has shown appreciation by treating Prince Mohammed’s trip as the biggest state visit since Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015, soon after Beijing announced plans to invest tens of billions of dollars on infrastructure in Pakistan as part of China’s global Belt and Road initiative.

The tour is seen as an attempt by the crown prince to rebuild his reputation after the murder of Saudi critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, analysts say. Many in the West blamed Prince Mohammed for the killing, which triggered the kingdom’s biggest political crisis for a generation. He has denied being involved.

He had also planned to visit Indonesia and Malaysia during the tour, but those trips have been postponed, according to Malaysian and Indonesian officials.

In Pakistan, most of the agreements signed focused on energy projects, including a $10 billion refinery and petrochemicals complex in the coastal city of Gwadar, where China is building a port. Memorandums of understanding were also signed for investments in minerals and agriculture, Khan said.

The two nations’ relationship has in the past centered on oil-rich Saudi Arabia backing Pakistan’s economy during difficult periods, and in return Pakistan’s powerful army lending support to Saudi Arabia and its royal family.

As the guardians of most holy sites in the birthplace of Islam, the Saudi royal family carries vast religious clout in Pakistan, a staunchly conservative and mainly Muslim nation of 208 million people.

“What is happening in this relationship is a renewal of Pakistan’s commitment to help protect the royal family and the order as it exists in Saudi Arabia,” said Mosharraf Zaidi, Senior Fellow at Tabadlab, a Pakistani think tank focused on global and local public policy.

“On the flip side, there is reassurance that Saudi Arabia will not only continue to serve as a strategic friend who will help shore up Pakistan’s finances when needed, but it’s also going to become a participant in the wider investment in Pakistan.”

Prince Mohammed was also set to meet representatives of the Afghan Taliban militant group to discuss peace negotiations to end the 17-year civil war in Afghanistan, Pakistani government and militant sources said.

But that was unlikely after Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group’s planned meetings with Khan and U.S. officials in Islamabad were called off.

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India Detains 23 Men with Suspected Links to Group Behind Deadly Kashmir Attack

Posted: 17 Feb 2019 08:21 PM PST

SRINAGAR, India—Indian forces have detained 23 men suspected of links to the Pakistan-based militant group that masterminded the bombing of an Indian security convoy that killed 44 paramilitary police, a top police official said on Sunday.

The 23 men included members and sympathizers of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the militant group which has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack, the deadliest on Indian security forces in decades.

The attack has fueled tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has demanded Pakistan close down the Jaish and other Islamist militant groups that operate from its soil, while Islamabad has rejected suggestions it was linked to the attack.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region at the heart of decades of hostility, is claimed in its entirety by India and Pakistan, but is ruled in part by both south Asian countries.

Representatives of India’s National Investigating Agency (NIA) questioned the suspects about the bombing on Sunday, two security officials said.

“They are trying to reach out to the top commanders of Jaish-e-Mohammad, including its Kashmir Chief,” one of the sources said.

Mohammed Umair, the commander of the Jaish in Kashmir who is believed to have plotted the attack, is suspected to be hiding in the region where the attacks took place, the officials said.

The officials say Umair had “radicalized and motivated” the Kashmiri school dropout who rammed a car laden with explosives into the convoy on Thursday.

Umair is thought to have entered Indian Kashmir from Pakistan in September to head the Jaish in the region. Security forces suspect he is in hiding in southern Kashmir, according to the officials, who could not be named as a matter of policy.

Indian officials say Umair is a nephew of the chief of the Jaish, Masood Azhar, who is believed to be in Pakistan.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised a strong response to the attack and says he has given the military a free hand to tackle cross-border militancy.

The Jaish, considered to be one of the most lethal militant groups, has expanded its presence in Kashmir, the police officer said.

India has raided the houses of suspected militants across South Kashmir to find information on those who masterminded and executed the attack.

Muzaffar Ahmad Malik, whose brother declared himself a militant a year ago, told Reuters that his house was raided on Saturday by Indian troops.

“They were looking for militants, as they said that they had information about militants hiding in the house,” Malik said.

Investigators are now trying to figure out how a large quantity of explosives used in the attack was smuggled into Kashmir, the officials said.

A spokesman for the ministry of home affairs declined to comment.

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Europe’s Food Makers Find Green Palm Oil Hard to Stomach

Posted: 17 Feb 2019 08:13 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR — Europe, the world’s second-biggest buyer of palm oil, is set to miss a 2020 target backed by about 10 countries, as well as big companies, to use 100-percent sustainable supplies of the edible oil in food ingredients, environmental experts warn.

A lack of public awareness and debate around the palm oil industry has left nations like Italy, Spain and Poland lagging behind their neighbors in green palm oil purchases, a January report by The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) said.

“Countries in northwestern Europe are leading the pack,” said Daan Wensing, a director at IDH, a Netherlands-based nonprofit. “Other major destinations are just getting started.”

In addition to a lack of government action to force buyers to purchase sustainable palm oil, Wensing said European catering firms and animal feed companies are not coming under consumer pressure to source greener supplies.

“The industries that are consumer-facing have stepped up, but sectors like canteen catering services are not really playing ball yet,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

As the world’s most widely used edible oil, palm oil is found in everything from margarine to biscuits and soap to soups, as well as in biofuel.

But in recent years, the industry has come under close scrutiny from green activists and consumers, who have blamed it for clearing forests for plantations and causing fires, along with the exploitation of workers.

In response, about 10 European governments — including France, the Netherlands and Britain — and major corporate buyers of palm oil like Nestle, Mondelez, PepsiCo and Unilever pledged to purchase only sustainable palm oil by 2020.

The European Union has also approved a law to phase out palm oil-based biofuels by 2030, causing outrage in top producer nations Indonesia and Malaysia.

But with less than two years to go until the end of 2020, only 74 percent of palm oil bought by Europe’s food industry was certified as sustainable, the IDH report said.

“To meet the 100-percent target by 2020 is going to be very difficult because now we move into these markets where there is no consumer pressure or awareness,” said Wensing.

Cart before horse

Palm oil certified as sustainable by the global industry watchdog, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), accounts for about a fifth of global output, at an estimated 12.3 million tons per year.

It sells at a premium, but demand covers just half of supply.

Europe imported an estimated 7 million tons of palm oil in 2017, according to consultancy LMC International, with about 2.6 million tons of that used for food production.

Anne Rosenbarger, Southeast Asia commodities manager at the World Resources Institute Indonesia, said the debate around palm oil had often been politicized, further confusing consumers.

British supermarket chain Iceland, for example, said last year it would remove palm oil from its own-brand food by the end of 2018 as part of efforts to stem deforestation.

The retailer was then banned from showing a palm oil-themed Christmas advert on television because it was deemed to breach political advertising rules.

Such controversies around palm-oil boycotts are making major brands wary of using the RSPO logo on their products and drawing attention to their use of palm oil, said Rosenbarger.

Building greater awareness of sustainable palm oil and the RSPO among consumers would encourage more food makers to use the trademark on their products, she added.

Improving transparency around the way the RSPO applies its standards and handles complaints would also help convince more brands to use the logo, researchers said.

The RSPO is backed by major European buyers and has more than 4,000 members, including producers, traders, consumer goods firms and green groups.

Even if the “extremely ambitious” 2020 targets set by European buyers fall short, they were required to drive the transformation seen in companies over the last few years, said Rosenbarger, who is also co-chair of the RSPO.

“There was a little bit of cart before the horse, but that’s part of the growing pains of what needed to happen,” she said.

No deforestation

While many companies have put in place sustainable palm oil policies, action and implementation have often been lacking throughout supply chains, said Grant Rosoman, Asia-Pacific campaign advisor at Greenpeace International.

He said it was unlikely the 2020 goals would be met because “no deforestation” commitments take years to implement.

“A lot of the big traders and buyers just don’t want to pay enough for what it takes to do proper, responsibly produced palm oil,” he said.

European countries that have pledged to buy only sustainable palm oil should enforce those commitments even if they are just refining or taking port deliveries of palm oil to be delivered across Europe, said IDH’s Wensing.

He called on more European governments to make the 2020 pledge on sustainable palm oil, and for more awareness campaigns to change consumer attitudes and demand.

“Governments need to step up their game to make sure it (sustainable palm oil) is the norm in Europe,” he said.

Palm oil buyers should also get more involved on the ground to ensure that their supplies are not linked to deforestation or abuse of workers’ rights, he added.

If Europe leads the way in buying only green palm oil, it could set a precedent for other major consuming countries like Indonesia, China and India, said David Gaveau, a scientist at the Indonesia-based Center for International Forestry Research.

But much work remains to convince others outside Europe to put the environment ahead of price, said experts.

“Palm oil consumers are starting to care in the United States, and quite a bit of RSPO palm (oil) is now entering the U.S. markets,” Carl Bek-Nielsen, chief executive director at Malaysia’s United Plantations Berhad, said by email.

“In India and China, interest is slowly gaining momentum but there is still a fair way to go.”

The post Europe’s Food Makers Find Green Palm Oil Hard to Stomach appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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