The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- It’s Time for the NLD to Reciprocate the Public’s Faith
- Aye Myint Retrospective at Gallery 65
- The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (June 27, 2015)
| It’s Time for the NLD to Reciprocate the Public’s Faith Posted: 26 Jun 2015 07:27 PM PDT  Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), at a press conference shortly after Thursday's vote on constitutional reform. (Photo: Hnin Yadana Zaw / Reuters) Whatever fleeting, slender hopes Aung San Suu Kyi had of maneuvering her way into the presidency next year are now dashed. "People are now crystal clear about who they have to support," she told media on Thursday, after the Union Parliament declined to support a referendum proposal to alter a constitutional clause that bars her from the nation's highest office. The Burma Armed Forces, which are allocated a quarter of parliamentary seats, have likewise demonstrated they are not willing to meekly surrender their political power. A vote on removing the effective military veto over constitutional amendments was also struck down on Thursday, albeit in a tighter contest. Certainly both Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were under no illusions about the likelihood of success. From here, they hope the vote will galvanize their support base into a strong outcome in this year's election. With one in every ten people in Burma signing petitions in support of charter reform last year, their expectations are not unreasonable. "The public will now clearly understand who wants change and it will help the public to clearly decide whom they should vote for in the election," she said of Thursday's vote. As many media outlets have acknowledged, the events in Naypyidaw this week signal the end of the battle—if not the war—in the fight to democratize Burma's charter. What has not been acknowledged is that Thursday's vote also takes the NLD's most concrete policy off the agenda for some time to come. For years, the party has publicly offered vague pronouncements on human rights and the rule of law instead of firm proposals on education, healthcare, foreign investment, ethnic issues and any number of critical issues facing the country's future. This was echoed in the NLD's executive committee meeting in Rangoon last weekend, when the party once again mused on the prospect of an electoral boycott. Suu Kyi told press there, at an occasion also commemorating her 70th birthday, that the party would finalize its candidate list once it had decided whether or not to contest this year's poll. Suu Kyi and the executive committee made it clear last weekend that they are pushing for the sort of landslide the party enjoyed in the 1990 election, before the results were annulled by the junta and hundreds of NLD party members found themselves behind bars in some of the most horrific jails on the continent. It was a welcome move for the NLD to announce last weekend that it would require candidates to disclose their family assets for review. Suu Kyi said of the pledge that the NLD needed to show transparency to win public trust. We agree. Burma stagnated for decades as the well connected leeched untold billions; the refusal to countenance corruption and graft is a vital commitment to a politics of integrity and public service. We also hope the party's commitment to transparency is affirmed through the release of detailed policies as the election nears. If Burma is to progress, it needs to move beyond the lingering trust deficit of the previous decades. The NLD, the single greatest moral authority in the country for the last 25 years, has a vital role to play. Despite well-earned cynicism, the people of Burma want to believe that this time there will be a free and fair election, despite ominous signs of discrepancies in voter lists. They want to believe, despite the bitter experience of 1990, that an endorsement of the opposition will this time occasion a transfer of power. They want to believe, as the European Union said last week, that 2015 will be the year that Burma has the opportunity to confirm that the reforms of the last few years are indeed irreversible. Suu Kyi has taken the constitutional reform with characteristic good grace. In the face of defeat, the prudent decision is to withdraw and regroup. It is our hope that the NLD's senior leaders are now considering what Thursday's vote means—for their own aspirations, for how they will govern, and for the years ahead—rather than wallowing in rancor. It is also our hope that they do this in dialogue with their supporters, detailing how they intend to govern in an imperfect parliament rather than taking comfort in idealism. All free and fair elections the world over hinge on faith—faith in the pledges of a governing party, in the integrity of the system, and in a better future. For longer than many can remember, the NLD has asked the public for blind faith, promising that a vote for a change of government is a vote for a better future. As Burma prepares for what may be a seismic break from the past, now is the time for the NLD to reciprocate the faith of the nation. The post It's Time for the NLD to Reciprocate the Public's Faith appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Aye Myint Retrospective at Gallery 65 Posted: 26 Jun 2015 07:00 PM PDT
          RANGOON — As a life-long devotee of traditional design and patters, Burmese artist Aye Myint is most well known for the works featured in his 1993 book, 'Burmese Design Through Drawings'. Some of the 85-year-old's finest works will be featured in a retrospective exhibition this weekend at Rangoon's Gallery 65. The three-day showing will feature 37 paintings from 1954 to the present by the acclaimed artist, who first studied traditional design during fieldwork at old pagodas and monasteries across the country. Featured are paintings that depict scenes from the Buddhist Jakata stories and national celebrations such as Shinbyu and Thingyan. Gallery 65 is located at 65 Yawmingyi Street, Dagon Township. The exhibition runs from 10am-6pm, June 27-29. The post Aye Myint Retrospective at Gallery 65 appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (June 27, 2015) Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:00 PM PDT
 Pizza Hut is set to open in Rangoon's Bahan Township in November. (Photo: Larry Downing / Reuters) Phone Tower Builder Seeks Advice as It Expands into Conflict Zones A mobile phone tower company is consulting local experts to develop a plan for dealing with security as it moves to expand Norwegian provider Telenor's reach beyond central parts of Burma, according to a recent filing. Burma's government opened up the telecommunications sector to competition with the aim of bringing the benefits of mobile connectivity to all corners of the country. Two private firms, Telenor and Qatar's Oordeoo, launched mobile phone and internet services last year and have pledged to reach 75 percent of the population in the first five years of their 15-year licenses. But doing that involves reaching parts of the country where the central government does not have full control, with more than a dozen non-state armed groups (NSAGs) operating in border areas. Telenor has subcontracted Apollo Towers Myanmar to build its masts. Major shareholders include two US entities, Tillman Global Holdings, and TPG Holdings. The company has already built 1,000 towers for Telenor and in May said it had received an order for 700 more. In a filing with United States Embassy in Rangoon published by the embassy on June 18, investment firm TPG Holdings reported on its investment in Apollo Towers, under American government rules that state that any company investing more than $500,000 in Burma must lodge reports on the human rights impact of its project. The filing said Apollo Towers had already enlisted private security firm IDG Myanmar to provide security at "a small number of vulnerable tower sites where passive security measures have yet to be installed." While these security guards are unarmed, according to the filing, Apollo Towers is seeking further advice as it expands into areas where conflict is more likely to be an issue. "Moving into the second construction phase, which will take place to a greater extent in conflict-affected regions, Apollo Towers is consulting local experts in developing a security management plan, incorporating an assessment of project security risks in alignment with the International Finance Corporation's Performance Standard 4 and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights," it said. "Apollo Towers recognizes, in particular, the importance of communication and engagement with local groups prior to entering any region, in order to prevent conflict and ensure that all parties and stakeholders understand and are not adversely affected by activities to be undertaken." TPG, which is also investing in microfinance in Burma through a company called Pacific Star, is part of the massive TPG investment firm, formerly known as Texas Pacific Group. In a draft impact assessment on the information and communications technology sector, published in February, the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business noted that the dynamics of the race to expand phone networks "may push companies to consider roll out to areas that still have active armed conflicts as they will have dwindling options to choose 'safe' (i.e. non-conflict) areas." The group warned that extra precautions should be taken if companies deal directly with the Burma Army, which has a record of human rights violations. The assessment also noted difficulties concerning the presence of land mines, hiring security providers, and dealing with the ethnic armed groups who control territory in border regions. "As the de facto authority in their areas, their agreement is necessary for any activities to take place," it said. "Companies should be aware of whom they are consulting with (or who those acting on their behalf are consulting with), and understand the risks of not consulting with NSAGs." With US chicken outlet KFC expected to open it's first restaurant in Rangoon on Tuesday, the next major international fast-food franchise may be on its way before the end of the year. Workers were putting the finishing touches on a large KFC outlet on Bogyoke Aung San Road in downtown Rangoon this week. The large signboards displaying Colonel Sanders mark the first big American chain to find its way into Burma, four years after the government began opening up the economy. But a report posted on Retail News Asia on Monday suggests that another chain of KFC's parent company, Yum! Brands, is also on its way. "Hong Kong's Jardine Restaurant Group has gained the rights for Pizza Hut Myanmar and can open the primary restaurant there in November," the report said. The report said Burma's first Pizza Hut restaurant would be opened on Dhammazedi Road, in Rangoon's Bahan Township. According to the Myanmar Times newspaper, local supermarket group City Mart, which runs the Market Place shopping center on the same road, is also involved in the deal. In other Asian markets, Jardine Restaurant Group, part of the Hong Kong-based Jardines conglomerate operates Pizza Hut as well as KFC. However, in Myanmar the franchise for KFC was won by Serge Pun's Yoma Strategic Holdings. Already operating in the country are South Korea's BBQ and Lotteria, Thailand's Pizza Company and US ice cream company Swensen's. Irish Marketing Company to Enter Burma Irish digital marketing firm Brandtone is planning to expand its operations into Burma, according to a report from Dublin-based newspaper The Independent. The report said the company, which already operates in other developing nations, had raised more than $20 million in funding for an expansion, including its move into Burma. According to its website, the company already has offices in Indonesia, India and China and elsewhere outside of Asia. Brandtone's pitch is that it enables clients to "engage" with potential customers via their phones, and the move to expand into Burma appears timed to coincide with the boom in mobile users in the past year. "The marketing business, which has 130 staff, is also widening its client base to include financial, agrichemical and healthcare brands. Its current clients are mostly consumer goods companies like Unilever and Kelloggs," The Independent reported. "[Brandtone] helps brand[s] to market in areas with low smartphone penetration, running SMS-based reward schemes in some instances and building up a database of shopper profiles in countries like India and China." Gap Inc., H&M Back Labor Reform Initiative Global garment retailers Gap Inc. and H&M have stated their support for a United States-led initiative to improve labor rights in Burma's growing apparel sector. Gap and H&M, based in the United States and Sweden, respectively, issued a joint statement this week following a stakeholders forum held by the International Labor Organisation in May. The forum was part of the Initiative on Labour Law Reform and Institutional Capacity Building, first proposed by the United States last year—later backed by Japan, Denmark and the European Union—amid concerns that international buyers returning to the garment sector after years of sanctions would find an environment lacking in guarantees for workers' rights. Gap Inc. was the first major American brand to announce that would begin sourcing from Burma following the suspension of sanctions. In June 2014 it began sourcing "Made in Myanmar" clothing for its Old Navy and Banana Republic brands. H&M placed test orders with factories in Burma in 2013, and is among a raft of major European labels now sourcing from the country. The companies said they "welcome Myanmar's commitment to the labor law reform process," adding that the reforms must be comprehensive, understood by stakeholders, appropriate for the Burmese context and consistent with international standards and conventions. "We are committed to working with our suppliers and other stakeholders in Myanmar to secure continued progress towards the widespread implementation of global best practices so that the garment sector can play a meaningful and helpful role in Myanmar's continued economic, social and democratic development," the statement said. Burma Opens Trade Office in Taiwan Media in Taiwan said the Burmese government has opened a new trade office in Tapei as it seeks to draw more investment from the country. The office, which opened on Monday, is headed by Burmese Commerce Ministry official Thet Lwin Oo, the Taipei-based China Post reported, citing a statement from the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The report noted that trade between the two countries had risen since Burma lifted some restrictions on trade with Taiwan in January 2013. It said trade had risen by 20 percent year on year to reach $328 million in 2014. "The office will be responsible for promoting bilateral exchanges in trade, investment, business, transportation, tourism, culture, agriculture and animal husbandry," the report said. "MOFA welcomed the opening of the trade office, saying that the move is expected to enhance ties that will be beneficial for both sides. The ministry said it is looking forward to working closely with the office." The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (June 27, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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