The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Student Leaders to Meet President, Lawmakers
- Mizzima to Shut Down Daily, As Tycoon Cuts Ties
- Hurdles and Wins for Emerging Business
- Carlsberg to Begin Brewing Burma Beer in March
- Govt to Push for Ambitious 4.5M Tourist Visitor Target
- Mon Rebels Prohibit Controversial Coal Plant
- Newly Minted YCDC Members Finding Power Elusive
- Hostage Crisis Trips Up Japan as It Seeks Global Security Role
- China Police Suspended After Dining on Enormous Salamander
- AirAsia Probe Vets Possible Computer Glitch, Crew Response
- Students in Irrawaddy Prepare to Join Education Protests
| Student Leaders to Meet President, Lawmakers Posted: 28 Jan 2015 05:58 AM PST  Student demonstrators march from Taung Tha to Popa, Mandalay Division, en route to Rangoon to demand more inclusive education reform, Jan. 28, 2015. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — In a big win for student demonstrators, the Burmese government agreed on Wednesday to host quadripartite discussions on education reform. Following months of escalating protest against a new National Education Law, high-level government representatives met with student leaders in Naypyidaw, where they committed to bring together President Thein Sein, students, advocates, and lawmakers as the legislation comes under review, according to a student leader present at the meeting. "We agreed to discuss and find solutions for the 11-points we have demanded," student activist Nanda Sint Aung told The Irrawaddy shortly after the meeting, referring to a list of weaknesses in education reform agreed upon by the movement. After hundreds of demonstrators set out on a march from Mandalay to Rangoon on Jan. 20, the president urged lawmakers to acknowledge their grievances and amend the law. Students responded that they would not end the protests until the government guaranteed an inclusive review process beginning with quadripartite talks. Wednesday's five-hour discussion followed a tense stand-off between protesters and police in Taung Tha, Mandalay Division, where authorities attempted to prevent the crowd from entering the town. Police later stood down and the procession continued. President's Office Minister Aung Min and representatives of Parliament and the Ministry of Education attended Wednesday's meeting, where Nanda Sint Aung said they signed a formal assurance that the requested quadripartite talks will be held on Feb. 1 in Rangoon. A number of notable activists—including Min Ko Naing, Mya Aye and Phone Cho of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society—also witnessed and served as signatories to the agreement. Nanda Sint Aung said on behalf of the student movement that activists were "satisfied" with the agreement, but stressed that they were "worried about the talks because we have no history of getting positive results." He said the demonstrations will be paused temporarily on the day of the Rangoon talks. Hundreds of students, teachers and supporters are currently marching from Taung Tha to Popa, Mandalay Division, while other "columns" are mobilizing in Irrawaddy Division and elsewhere with plans to converge in the commercial capital. Massive student demonstrations gained traction soon after passage of the National Education Law in September 2014. Its critics claim the legislation centralizes authority, restricts the formation of independent student unions and curbs curricular freedoms. Zarni Mann contributed reporting from Taung Tha, Mandalay Division. The post Student Leaders to Meet President, Lawmakers appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Mizzima to Shut Down Daily, As Tycoon Cuts Ties Posted: 28 Jan 2015 05:49 AM PST  A reader reads a copy of the Daily Mizzima newspaper on Wednesday. Publication of the paper will end per March 1. (Photo: Nobel Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Mizzima Media Group (MMG) announced on Wednesday that it will end print publication of its daily Burmese-language newspaper per March 1 after local business tycoon Serge Pun decided to withdraw from the media organization. Some 22 months after it first entered Burma's fledgling media market, the print edition of Daily Mizzima will cease and continue as a digital subscription-only publication, the organization said in a statement. MMG said on Wednesday that it will continue publishing an English-language weekly magazine, a daily online news website in both languages, and produce paid-for TV and radio news content, along with offering other media services. Soe Myint, MMG chief editor and managing director, told The Irrawaddy that the decision was taken because "there are many difficulties and it's very costly [to publish] a private newspaper," adding, "Now online readership is increasing so we change to an online digital newspaper." "Generally speaking, I know that nearly all of the private newspapers run without profits and even losses," he said. Soe Myint said he could not specify how many employees would lose their job as a result of the decision. About 40 local staff members of the organization's roughly 140 employees were reportedly sacked last month ahead of the announcement. Dozens more lay-offs are expected by the end of next month, among them reporters, photographers and designers. Daily Mizzima is thought to have a circulation of around 12,000 papers and is in the top five most sold private dailies in Burma. Soe Myint said Serge Pun (also known locally as Thein Wai) and chief executive officer Sonny Swe decided to leave MMG and divested their shares in the company last week. "They gave the ownership rights to me and Thin Thin Aung," said Soe Myint, referring to his wife, who will become the organization's new director. "Sonny Swe no longer wants to work at Mizzima, that's why he resigned. [And] U Thein Wai just wanted to help Mizzima since the beginning," he said when asked about the reasons for the break-up of the partnership, before referring further question to the other men. In November 2013, Mizzima Media Group announced a revamp of the organization in order to expand its news coverage. Serge Pun became a Board of Directors' member and shareholder. Soe Myint and Sonny Swe, cofounder of English-language weekly newspaper The Myanmar Times, also took shares and became chief executive officer and editor-in-chief, respectively. Soe Myint said MMG had "borrowed money" from Serge Pun for its expansion, but he declined to elaborate on whether the organization was indebted to the prominent businessman. He added that his company now hopes to attract business partners in the private sector in order to sustain its media operations. Sonny Swe did not directly address answer question as to why he was leaving Mizzima Media Group, saying only that there had been "no problems" between him and Soe Myint, before adding, "But we have a different management style." He said he and Serge Pun voluntarily transferred ownership of their shares to Soe Myint, adding that he hoped to continue to be active in Burma's media industry. "If U Serge Pun has the desire to cooperate as a partner with me I have no reason to refuse," he said. Soe Myint, a former exiled dissident who was acquitted for hijacking a Burmese airplane by an Indian court, founded Mizzima in New Delhi in 1998 in order to cover events in military-run Burma. Serge Pun founded the multinational Serge Pun & Associates Myanmar Limited in 1991 and set up Yoma Bank the following year. SPA Myanmar has since become a sprawling conglomerate with interests in financial services, construction, real estate, the automotive industry and health care. Daily Mizzima was among a slew of news organization that set up a private print newspaper after President Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government allowed the publication of dailies in April 2013, lifting decades-old, junta-era restrictions on Burma's media. Burmese journalists eagerly set up independent newspapers, giving the country a vibrant, unruly media landscape. The Voice, 7 Day Daily, Daily Eleven and The Messenger were among the local-language papers to go daily, while The Myanma Freedom Daily was the first English-language daily to go into print. Many publications have since run it into economic trouble and struggle to compete with state-run newspapers, which are sold at low prices, benefit from existing distribution networks and have a large circulation of more than 300,000 copies. At least five local newspapers have shut down since April 2013, including The Myanma Freedom, which suspended publication in March 2014. Additional reporting by Paul Vrieze. The post Mizzima to Shut Down Daily, As Tycoon Cuts Ties appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Hurdles and Wins for Emerging Business Posted: 28 Jan 2015 04:29 AM PST  A worker at the Yangon port. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) Lack of finance and access to land; poor infrastructure support including access to electricity; corruption; and a poorly educated workforce are among the biggest hurdles in trying to establish a business in Myanmar. These issues were highlighted in the latest Enterprise Survey data published by the World Bank and underline the concerns voiced by many observers over the country's economic and social development. Enterprise Surveys provide comprehensive company-level data on the business environment in developing economies around the world. The World Bank interviewed representatives from 632 firms between February and April 2014, asking for feedback on 15 issues, ranging from finance to social disorder, taxation, political stability, legal matters and bureaucratic red tape. "Among 15 areas of the business environment, firms in Myanmar are more likely to rate access to finance to be the biggest obstacle to their daily operations, followed by access to land, electricity, and then poorly educated workers," the survey concluded. Lack of finance for new businesses is one of the biggest challenges to growth. Myanmar rates as one of the poorest in financial services across the entire Asia-Pacific region, the survey said. "The proportion of firms with a checking or savings account is 30 percent, which is less than half the average for low income countries. Access to credit through banks is worse still. Only 7 percent of firms report having a bank loan which is one-fifth the level for [regional] or low income countries," the survey said. "Less than 2 percent of investments are financed from banks, slightly over a tenth of the [regional] average." The survey found that corruption was much more prevalent in Myanmar than in other countries of the East Asia and Pacific regions surveyed. "Almost one out of two Myanmar firms experience at least one bribe payment request across six transactions dealing with utilities access, permits, licenses, and taxes," the World Bank said. "The private sector experiences almost twice the incidence compared to other [regional] countries." Fifty-six percent of firms reported being expected to give gifts or payment to get an electrical connection and 53 percent reported the same to get an import license. The survey "more or less formalizes what is widely understood on the ground," Australian economist and Myanmar specialist Sean Turnell told The Irrawaddy. "Myanmar remains a very difficult place in which to undertake and perhaps above all start a business. To some extent too, [the survey] highlights that much of the fundamentals—the soft and hard infrastructure that determines the business and economic ecosystem—remain insufficiently reformed," said Dr. Turnell, a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney. "These fundamentals include access to finance, the ease or otherwise of securing 'permissions' for business activity, the reliability of electricity and energy, access to skilled labor, and so on. "Of course, this is also the hard stuff that takes a long time to fix. Five decades of neglect in these areas is not easy to turn around. What's important is that these fundamentals are addressed, and not simply the window dressing." Consult-Myanmar, a Yangon-based, Singapore-owned business advisory company, describes Myanmar along with Cambodia and Laos as frontier markets that "lack the regulatory and financial institutions found in other more economically developed destinations in the region such as Malaysia and Thailand." It said the findings of another recently published World Bank study, Doing Business 2015, "make abundantly clear" that business problems abound in many parts of Southeast Asia. "While Singapore continues to rank No. 1 in the world for ease of doing business, many of the region's so-called frontier economies continue to be characterised by pervasive corruption, and weak governance and rule of law." Nevertheless, Consult-Myanmar, founded by Singapore businessman Andrew Tan, believes foreign investors are attracted to Myanmar by its "young demographic base, growing middle class, and strategic location." The company suggests that would-be investors in Myanmar should follow a set of basic rules: adopt a realistic timeline for development; leverage local talent; educate local partners about the consequences of violating anti-graft laws; understand and address the challenges of corruption's close cousin, cronyism; and don't be afraid of walking away from a deal if it doesn't look right. Global business risk assessor Business Monitor International said in a recent assessment that a "lack of information and timely economic data on Myanmar remains a key factor preventing foreign investors from assessing the true potential of the economy." "Uncertainties as to the government's direction on economic policies pose additional risks to business investment in Myanmar," the UK-based firm said. The World Bank Enterprise Survey also found that domestic and foreign firms are reluctant to invest in training employees. "Only 15 percent of firms do so, almost one-third of the average for East Asia and Pacific, and close to half the average for low income economies. However, among firms that do offer training, about the same proportion of workers are trained compared to other low income countries," the survey said. But despite the difficulties impeding the establishment of successful businesses, the World Bank remains upbeat about Myanmar's progress—provided reforms continue. "Private sector firms in Myanmar have reported spectacular sales growth since the onset of a series of government-initiated policy reforms in 2011," the survey said. "A 24 percent real annual sales growth rate puts Myanmar in the fastest growing private sectors as measured by Enterprise Surveys. … Importantly, this remarkable sales growth took place despite great hurdles, which is suggestive of continued growth that could be unlocked by further reforms." The post Hurdles and Wins for Emerging Business appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Carlsberg to Begin Brewing Burma Beer in March Posted: 28 Jan 2015 03:50 AM PST  Carlsberg's company logo is pictured on a coaster. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — The Denmark-based Carlsberg Group will begin brewing beer in Burma from March, in a joint venture with local firm Myanmar Golden Star, the latter's chairman Thein Tun told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. Carlsberg and Myanmar Golden Star (MGS) signed an agreement in early 2013 to build a brewing facility and distribute the well-known beer in country. Carlsberg owns 51 percent of the joint venture Myanmar Carlsberg Co. Ltd., according to a January 2013 announcement. "We'll produce three varieties of Carlsberg beer in March. The investment will be about US$70 million," Thein Tun said. The MGS chairman, known as "Pepsi" Thein Tun ever since he brought the American beverage giant to Burma in the 1990s, said the company will produce canned, bottled and draught beer at a facility in a Pegu Division industrial zone. "We can't say right now that we have any expectations for the market," he said. In a statement from the Carlsberg Group in January 2013, Roy Bagattini, senior vice president of Carlsberg in the Asia region, said political reforms at the time had prompted the company's move into Burma's largely untapped market. "We have followed the developments in Myanmar closely and are encouraged by the recent political developments in the country," he said. "We believe that the timing is right for us to invest in the country. We expect that the Myanmar beer market will grow strongly in coming years as the economy expands. MGS Breweries is one of the leading soft drinks producers in Myanmar and a partner we have known for many years. This partnership is a pivotal development in expanding our presence in the country." The MGS conglomerate was incorporated in 1989 and today is comprised of six fully owned companies and six joint ventures. Sanctions forced Pepsi out of the country in 1997, but MGS brought the US firm back to set up operations in Burma again last year. Like many other foreign companies' products, Carlsberg beer cans can be found on some store shelves, often having arrived overland via Thai border crossings. Though the Myanmar Investment Commission has approved joint ventures for a handful of foreign brewers including Heineken over the last two years, those operations have not yet begun. A spokesperson from City Mart Holdings said Carlsberg would have a tough fight on its hands in a market dominated by the military-owned Myanmar Brewery and its signature Myanmar Beer brand. "As far as I remember, Carlsberg was sold in Myanmar starting around 1996, but they left here before 2000. … At that time, Myanmar Beer also began distributing in the market," she said. "But now Myanmar Beer has strong market share and there are also others like Dagon and Mandalay Beer in the market, so Carlsberg will have to compete with them," she said. Carlsberg was founded in 1847. Export of Carlsberg beer began in 1868, and the company is today the world's fourth largest brewer. The post Carlsberg to Begin Brewing Burma Beer in March appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Govt to Push for Ambitious 4.5M Tourist Visitor Target Posted: 28 Jan 2015 03:44 AM PST  Tourists arrive to a hotel located on Inle Lake, one of the main tourist attractions in Burma, on Sept. 25, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Minzayar) NAYPYIDAW — The Minister of Hotels and Tourism has said the government will continue to push for sharply raising the overall number of tourist figures to reach 4 to 5 million visitors this year, despite recent criticism of its tourism development approach and doubts over the accuracy of its visitors figures. Minister Htay Aung said 3.08 million tourist figures were recorded in 2014, a number that his ministry hopes to raise 4.5-5 million this year by increasing overland visitor numbers, improving e-visa service for tourists, negotiating visa waiver agreements with other Asean countries, and the possible opening up of a Burma-China border crossing to visitors from third countries. "In Myanmar last year we had 3.08 million visitors, but there are many categories of people [included in the figure]. What we count are mostly tourists by air, cruise ship and overland routes," he said during an interview on the sidelines of the Asean Tourism Forum on Tuesday. "Overland routes have potential for tourist arrivals [growth] in the future." Htay Aung said 1.2 million of the 3.08 million visitors recorded last year were arrivals by air and cruise ship. Visitors from Thailand, China and Japan topped the arrivals list. Following Burma's opening up under President Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government, tourism arrivals have risen sharply, according to the government, which says numbers rose from 800,000 in 2011 to 3.08 million last year. The government has touted the growth as a measure of the success of its political and economic reforms, but questions have been raised about the accuracy of the figures and its tourism development approach. Tourism experts told The Myanmar Times recently that Naypyidaw's methods differ from international accepted definitions of tourist visits that are used by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Under the latter's definition, only about 1.2 million of the government's arrival numbers would be defined as tourists who stayed at least 24 hours in the country. Some 1.9 million of Naypyidaw's registered visitors are in fact day-trippers from neighboring Thailand, India, China and Laos. A Tourism Master plan 2013-2030, drafted by the Asian Development Bank, advised the government to aim for 2.2 million tourist visitors by 2015 and 5 million in 2020. The numbers were reportedly later revised upward on the government's insistence to 3 million and 7.5 million, respectively, in an indication of the government's eagerness to expand the sector. Htay Aung did not directly answer questions about the accuracy of tourist arrival figures, but told a press conference in Naypyidaw that "in the very near future we will be working with the UNWTO on specific research methodologies" for tourism figures. Aung Myat Kyaw, the chairman of Union of Myanmar Travel Association, said the government should ensure that its arrival figures are in line with international definitions so that the tourism industry can improve its growth strategies. "Nobody has the accurate numbers," he said. Burma's tourism growth is being hampered by problems such as a lack of quality hotels and guesthouses, high room rates, poor transport and communications infrastructure, and an underdeveloped domestic air industry with a poor safety record. The post Govt to Push for Ambitious 4.5M Tourist Visitor Target appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Mon Rebels Prohibit Controversial Coal Plant Posted: 28 Jan 2015 02:44 AM PST  Toyo-Thai Corporation plans to build a coal-fired power plant near this beach in Inn Din village, Ye Township. (Photo: Mon Kyae) RANGOON — Ethnic rebels in Mon State announced on Tuesday that they will not allow a proposed coal-fired power plant to be built in the southeastern state. The proposed 1,280 megawatt power plant was first proposed during a preliminary consultation with local communities in Ye Township in April 2014. The project, which locals found confusing and potentially dangerous, was expected to be built in Inn Din village at a cost of about US$2.7 billion. Details about the development are scarce, but local communities and the state's ethnic leadership voiced skepticism about claims that it would benefit local communities, positing instead that most or all of the energy produced would be exported to neighboring Thailand. In the latest bid to stop the development, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), and its armed counterpart, the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), issued a statement arguing that the state's political situation remains unstable and unsuitable for such a development. Nai Hongsar Bong Khaing, a spokesperson for the NMSP based in the state capital Moulmein, told The Irrawaddy that allowing the development to proceed would contravene party rules on three counts: political instability is too risky for large-scale developments; local communities and religious leaders have not been adequately consulted; and environmental risks have not been analyzed to the party's satisfaction. "We found that the current political situation is not yet conducive to political dialogue. According to our party's policy, we cannot let the company build this power plant until we have reached a political settlement," said Nai Hongsar, adding that because the majority of locals oppose the project, "we have to make this decision." Any progress toward approval of the development would depend on the outcome of the peace process, he said, as talks geared toward a nationwide ceasefire agreement have stalled over disagreements between ethnic rebels and government actors. The government has pushed for the project since early consultations began last year, but a series of meetings with the state's ethnic politicians and communities were met with reprove and sometimes protest. Mon State Chief Minister Ohn Myint, a member of the leading Union Solidarity and Development Party, met with the NMSP in 2014 to discuss the projects potential benefits in the poor and under-served state, where many still live without 24-hour access to electricity and pay high fees for basic services. "[Ohn Myint] told us that the plant will benefit local development, and that the government would not allow the company to damage the environment," said Nai Hongsar, in reference to their earlier conference. "But we are worried that our people will not get as many benefits as the minister said." On the national level, an ethnic Mon Upper House lawmaker, argued that the benefits outweigh potential risks, given the level of development in his home state. Nai Banyar Aung Moe's constituency in Ye Township, he said, suffers a severe shortage of electricity resulting in high prices that hinder development. "Normally [in areas served by the national grid], one unit of electricity costs 35 kyats ($0.35), but people in Ye have to pay 500," he said. Ye Township is not yet connected to the national power grid, but Nai Banyar Aung Moe said the project could offer the energy needed for development. "Unless we allow the building of coal power plants in our region, development will remain behind other countries. Our Mon people will be slave workers in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, because our country is poor," he said, recalling what he viewed as a missed opportunity when the NMSP refused to allow development of a deep sea port in Moulmein, a proposal later rejiggered for a new location in Dawei. Lower House lawmaker Mi Myint Than, who is also ethnic Mon, argued that the project could create jobs and offer a new course for development in the state, which is currently reliant on the China-controlled rubber trade. "China controls the rubber prices," she said, "but if there was electric power, Japanese companies would invest in our region." The NMSP was established in 1958 and remains Mon State's dominant political party. Projects opposed by the party, such as the deep sea port, have been suspended in the past. The NMSP's armed wing, MNLA, has been at intermittent odds with the Burma Army, but secured a new ceasefire with the government in April 2012. The post Mon Rebels Prohibit Controversial Coal Plant appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Newly Minted YCDC Members Finding Power Elusive Posted: 28 Jan 2015 12:04 AM PST  A Buddhist monk crosses the street in front of Rangoon's City Hall. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — The first elected representatives of the Rangoon municipal government in more than five decades say they have been granted little authority in their new posts since being sworn in earlier this month. A total of 115 members were elected to three levels of the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) last month and assumed their positions on Jan. 6. Their approximately one-year terms will come to an end when a new Union-level government takes office in 2016. A total of 293 candidates, including members of civil society organizations, community leaders and academics contested the election on Dec. 27, 2014, for the 115 seats on committees at the central, district and township levels of the YCDC, a municipal body that oversees Burma's largest city. Elected YCDC members told The Irrawaddy that representatives at the township level are tasked with improving drainage, roads, garbage collection, water supply and fencing, whereas district-level members deal with constituents' concerns. "According to the organizational structure, the township and district levels don't have authority," said Dr. Soe Tun, a member of the municipal committee for Rangoon's East District. "All things concerning construction of buildings and roads, and sanitation, are handled by departments of the central body. We mostly handle complaints." The YCDC Central Committee is made up of nine members, of which four were elected in late December. At the township-level, elected YCDC members are even subordinate to the jurisdiction's municipal executive officers, who are appointed by the government and carry out instructions handed down from the YCDC Central Committee. Myint Zaw, chairman of the North Dagon Township municipal committee, argued for more authority at the lower levels of city governance. "Departments [of the YCDC Central Committee] assume full authority," he said. "We have to go to Rangoon City Hall for most municipal issues. In reality, we can handle many municipal issues at the township level. If there were to be a decentralization, it would save the bother of going to City Hall." "We don't have authority to handle administrative matters. License granting, tax collection and sanitation are handled by the upper level [Central Committee]. I asked for saplings to plant in my township, but was denied. At present, we can only work in cooperation [with the Central Committee]," lamented Htay Oo, chairman of the North Okkalapa Township YCDC. Asked about the scope of the newly sworn-in YCDC members' authority, elected Central Committee member Htay Aung said he was not authorized to take questions from the media and referred The Irrawaddy to YCDC's Information Department. Despite some elected officials' complaints, Soe Tun took an optimistic view, saying the involvement of elected members in the workings of YCDC has contributed to better communication with constituents. A five-member majority of the YCDC Central Committee is appointed by the government. Rangoon Mayor Hla Myint, who is chairman of the YCDC Central Committee, is directly appointed by President Thein Sein. The YCDC Central Committee is not accountable to the president, but to Rangoon Division's chief minister, Myint Swe, who is also a Thein Sein appointee. The post Newly Minted YCDC Members Finding Power Elusive appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Hostage Crisis Trips Up Japan as It Seeks Global Security Role Posted: 27 Jan 2015 10:22 PM PST  Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends a session of parliament in Tokyo on Jan. 28, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) TOKYO — Tokyo knew for months that Islamic State militants were holding two Japanese men captive, but appeared ill-prepared when the group set a ransom deadline and purportedly killed one of them, according to officials involved in the crisis in the past week. The biggest foreign policy test of Prime Minister's Shinzo Abe's two years in office may have blindsided an administration that has pushed for Japan to take a stronger line on global security, according to the accounts of officials speaking to Reuters on condition they not be named. As Abe prepared for a five-day trip to the Middle East where he would announce US$200 million in humanitarian aid to counter Islamic State, he convened a meeting of his national security advisers, said a person with knowledge of the proceedings. But the issue of the Japanese captives was not raised at the meeting of Abe's National Security Council, the person added. Officials involved in preparations for Abe's agenda understood that by naming Islamic State as a threat during a visit to Egypt, Abe was taking a risk. His speech before a Cairo business group was intended to drive home the message that Japan was a reliable partner for the region and allies like the United States. In response, Islamic State released a video a few days later showing the two Japanese men, Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, beside a masked militant who demanded a $200 million ransom, citing the amount Abe had pledged in aid. It is unclear whether Islamic State would have acted differently without Abe's comments. But experts said the speech was likely to have brought the crisis forward. "Abe's comments obviously provoked them," said Masato Iizuka, an Islamic Studies professor at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. "Going out of your way to call a group of people terrorists and challenging them is bound to have consequences, and I think the risks, the impact it could potentially have on Japanese nationals overseas were underestimated." The government's response to the crisis is bound to figure in a coming debate over military policy that could in future allow Japan to offer logistical support for campaigns like the US-led bombings in Syria. Yoshihide Suga, the government's chief spokesman and a close Abe aide, said it was wrong to conclude Abe's trip had provoked Islamic State. "We made a decision on the prime minister's trip after taking [into] account all factors, including ISIL [Islamic State] activities and local security," he told reporters on Tuesday. "It is not at all appropriate to link this atrocious and contemptible act of terrorism with the prime minister's visit." A small anti-terrorism task force in the foreign ministry had been quietly working on the Yukawa case since August. After the video threat, the foreign ministry expanded that to a full-blown crisis center and brought in reinforcements on Thursday as embassies around the world sent out requests for help and leads. Other officials worked from the Japanese Embassy in Jordan, which has become the regional hub for Japan's response. By Friday morning, with just hours remaining before the ransom deadline, officials had not established contact with Islamic State captors and did not know where the Japanese were being held, a senior official said. It was not clear whether that has changed since Saturday when a second video emerged claiming Yukawa had been killed. Nils Bildt, president of security consultancy CTSS Japan, which has worked for the Japanese government, said Tokyo could have tried to establish contact with militants earlier. "Japan has so far done very little to establish effective and clear channels of communication on the ground," he said. "While surely someone is attempting to access these back channels now, it would seem they could have been more effectively used over the past few months." The government has declined to comment on the specifics of its actions on the hostages, saying only that it was using every diplomatic channel available to secure Goto's release. Separately, Abe's office asked key ministries to clarify the legal framework for its response. The briefing paper reviewed by Reuters said Japan would not have the legal authority to strike IS even after changes being sought by Abe to free Japan's military from some of the restrictions of its pacifist constitution. With Goto in captivity, some Abe critics have held back. Saori Ikeuchi, a Japanese Communist Party lawmaker, on Sunday said via Twitter that Abe's administration had "taken lives at home and abroad lightly." Ikeuchi deleted the comment and apologized in a subsequent tweet on Monday. "The tweet I made was inappropriate in times like these," Ikeuchi said. "I offer my apology." A survey by the Sankei newspaper on Tuesday found 59 percent of Japanese said Abe's response the crisis was adequate. The post Hostage Crisis Trips Up Japan as It Seeks Global Security Role appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| China Police Suspended After Dining on Enormous Salamander Posted: 27 Jan 2015 10:18 PM PST  Shenzhen police officers in 2013. (Photo: Bobby Yip / Reuters) BEIJING — The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen suspended 14 police officers and put a police chief under investigation on Tuesday on suspicion of feasting on an endangered giant salamander, state media reported. The officers allegedly were consuming the endangered animal, the world’s largest amphibian, at a seafood restaurant, the state-backed Shenzhen Daily reported on Tuesday. The giant salamander can grow as long as 180 centimeters (6 feet). China’s leadership has called for Communist Party cadres and officials to forgo elaborate banquets and pricey junkets as it works to clamp down on government excess. Corruption, as well as a yawning gap between the rich and the poor, is a central source of public discontent with the ruling party. Some of the police officers slapped and attacked a trio of reporters who were trying to photograph the banquet, snatching away their mobile phones and cameras, according to Southern Metropolis Daily, a respected newspaper in southern China. Security personnel refused reporters’ demands that they check surveillance video at the restaurant, the paper reported. Numbers of the Chinese giant salamander, whose home is central and southern China, have "declined catastrophically" over the last three decades, mostly due to over-exploitation for human consumption, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Some in China believe consuming it can combat the effects of ageing. Traditional Chinese beliefs hold that animal products, such as bear bile and tiger bone, have medicinal properties. Environmental groups have decried a flourishing market for products made from endangered animals in the world’s second- largest economy. The Shenzhen Daily said the restaurant is unlicensed, and a representative of the eatery told the paper the salamander in question was raised in captivity. The IUCN says there is some commercial farming of giant salamanders, but the vast majority being traded are believed to have been poached from wild populations. The post China Police Suspended After Dining on Enormous Salamander appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| AirAsia Probe Vets Possible Computer Glitch, Crew Response Posted: 27 Jan 2015 08:42 PM PST  An Airbus investigator walks near part of the tail of the AirAsia QZ8501 passenger plane in Kumai Port, near Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan January 12, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) SINGAPORE/PARIS — Investigators probing the crash of an AirAsia jetliner are examining maintenance records of a key part of its automated control systems, and how the pilots may have handled the plane if it failed, two people familiar with the matter said. An outage of the twin Flight Augmentation Computers (FAC) could not have directly caused the Dec. 28 crash, experts say, but without them the pilots would have had to rely on manual flying skills that are often stretched during a sudden airborne emergency. "There appears to be some issue with the FAC," a person familiar with the investigation said, adding that more information was being sought from the manufacturer and airline. Indonesia has said the Airbus A320 jet climbed abruptly from its cruising height and then stalled, or lost lift, before plunging out of control into the Java Sea, killing all 162 people on board. A second person familiar with the probe said investigators were looking at how the pilots dealt with the chain of events leading up to the crash. Neither person agreed to be identified, because details of the investigation remain confidential. The pair of computers comprising the A320's FAC system is mainly responsible for controlling rudder movements and helping to keep the airplane stable, as well detecting windshear, or sudden changes in wind speed or direction. Indonesian magazine Tempo reported a series of maintenance problems with the computerized rudder system of that particular aircraft in the days and months before the loss of Flight QZ8501. Pictures of wreckage retrieved from the Java Sea provide little evidence that the crash was caused by problems with the rudder. But, after partially analyzing data from the "black box" voice and flight data recorders, investigators have extended their interest to the FAC computers, the two people familiar with the probe said. A problem with the system may help explain another key element of the crash—why the jet did not automatically correct itself before entering into a stall, even if accidentally encouraged to do so by crew. Manual Control Airbus jets are designed to provide "flight envelope protection," making it virtually impossible to push them outside safe design limits when operating in normal flying mode. But when the computers are unable to perform their tasks, control is automatically handed to the pilots who must fall back on training and fly manually, in so-called "alternate" mode. A failure of both FAC computers—one primary, the other back-up—is one of those rare circumstances that can cause the usual stall protection to trip. That alone would not explain why such a jet might crash and it is unlikely to be the only scenario being considered by investigators. It was not clear when any fault might have developed, but it would, if confirmed, be one possible explanation of how the plane got into the state where the Indonesian pilot and French first officer would need to take over and display skill under stress. "Stall protection can trip in very exceptional circumstances and the pilots need to react to that," an A320 pilot said, asking not to be named since he is not allowed to talk to media. Airbus said it would not comment on the investigation or the crashed jet, but stressed that this type of aircraft is designed to be flown manually even when the safety buffer is not available. "The aircraft remains fully controllable if you lose the two FACs," an Airbus spokesman said by email. "The consequence of losing the two FACs is that the pilot has to fly manually like a conventional aircraft, which by definition has no flight envelope protection." Preliminary Report Due Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) declined to comment. The agency will submit its preliminary report to the International Civil Aviation Organization later this week, but said on Tuesday it would not include an analysis of the data from the black boxes. AirAsia, referring to the jet by its 5-letter registration, said it could not comment on the aircraft or the investigation. "We are unable to comment on technical matters related to PK-AXC at this time as we would like to avoid adding to speculation while the investigation by the NTSC is still ongoing," an AirAsia spokeswoman said by email. In October, airlines were given four years to upgrade FACs on A320 jets at the next repair after a design review. An emergency European safety directive in December instructed crew how to disable computerized flight protections themselves but only in extremely rare circumstances. There is no indication Airbus or regulators have identified anything that would raise wider concerns about the safety of the 6,100 A320-family aircraft in operation. Under aviation rules, Airbus must notify operators worldwide if it discovers anything that could affect the safety of the whole fleet and it has not so far done so. But investigators will want to examine what caused the plane to slip out of its usual safely cocooned flying mode, how it entered a stall and what actions the crew took in response. Some pilot unions, including those at Air France after an A330 jet crashed in the Atlantic in 2009, have argued in the past that Airbus systems are so complex that pilots can be overwhelmed when things go wrong. The jetmaker denies this. The post AirAsia Probe Vets Possible Computer Glitch, Crew Response appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Students in Irrawaddy Prepare to Join Education Protests Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:00 PM PST  Students protest the National Education Law in Rangoon on Nov. 17, 2014. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) Amid a tense standoff between authorities and a crowd of people demonstrating against Burma's new National Education Bill, a students' group in Irrawaddy Division has announced that it will show solidarity by setting off on a separate march to Rangoon. Organizers told The Irrawaddy that three columns of university students will set out from Pathein, Maubin and Hinthada townships in Irrawaddy Division on Jan. 30, later converging on the road into Rangoon. Aung Aung Kyaw, a coordinator and former member of the All Burma Federation of Students' Unions (ABFSU), said that preparatory meetings are underway and he is expecting a large turnout. "We are preparing to leave Pathein on the 30th of this month, and then we'll march to Rangoon," he said, adding that students and teachers will be joined by about 105 other participants carrying the red fighting peacock flags that have become symbolic of the movement. State media reported on Tuesday that some students currently marching from Mandalay to Rangoon may face charges for violating the State Flag Law after hoisting the pennant at Myingyan College on Monday afternoon. The Mandalay marchers, who took to road one week ago, encountered push-back from police as they approached Taung Tha in central Burma. About 100 police greeted the demonstrators with riot gear and two fire engines, but they were eventually allowed to pass the barricade and enter the town. Their Irrawaddy counterparts said that they had not faced pressure from local authorities over their planned activities, but they are prepared to stage a sit-in if they are intercepted and blocked. "We're mobilizing students across Irrawaddy Division now and networking among the groups," said organizer Kyaw Nanda. "So far, authorities have not stopped our activities." His collaborator Aung Aung Kyaw added that the group "would stage a sit-in along the way if the government stopped our march." Police in Pathein told The Irrawaddy they are aware that the march is being planned but that organizers have not yet sought permission. The march will be attended by university students from Pathein, Kangyidaung, Myaungmya, Labutta, Kyonepyaw and Yeykyi. Delegates from the Moulemein, Dawei and Arakan state chapters of the ABFSU will also attend. The Irrawaddy student protests will be the latest in a string of demonstrations against the new National Education Law, demanding that it be amended to allow for decentralized control, the establishment of independent student unions, increased education spending and inclusive consultations about education reform. The post Students in Irrawaddy Prepare to Join Education Protests appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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