The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- International Community Commends Ceasefire, Commits Support
- Rights Groups Call for End to Military Offensive in Shan State
- Long-Sought Ceasefire Signed in Naypyidaw
- Kachin Activist’s Husband Arrested over Facebook Post Said to Defame Army
- Malaysia’s Embattled PM Facing Stern Test as Parliament Returns
- Japan, China Vow to Keep up Ties Despite Tensions, Spying Arrests
- 41 Writers Return Indian Award, Citing Climate of Intolerance
| International Community Commends Ceasefire, Commits Support Posted: 15 Oct 2015 05:41 AM PDT  The signing ceremony for a long-sought ceasefire agreement in Naypyidaw on Oct. 15, 2015. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The international community on Thursday roundly welcomed the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Burmese government and eight non-state armed groups, urging all stakeholders to adhere to the agreement in order to bring lasting peace to the country following decades of civil war. A number of foreign governments have provided assistance to Burma's peace process, which has been underway for more than two years and reached a milestone on Thursday with a signing ceremony in the capital Naypyidaw. Only a fraction of the country's ethnic armed groups became signatory to the nationwide ceasefire agreement (referred to as the NCA), rendering the term something of a misnomer. While the pact fell short of demands for an "all-inclusive" deal that would welcome all stakeholders, foreign observers uniformly referred to the event as a "step" toward ending the world's longest-running civil conflict. "We call on all NCA signatories to adhere to the spirit and letter of the agreement they have signed today," US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement from Washington, urging against any further aggression as the process unfolds. "Military action undertaken by or against any signatory or non-signatory to this agreement undermines the trust-building necessary for lasting peace, stability, and security for all." UK Ambassador to Burma Andrew Patrick, who was present at the signing ceremony, struck a similar note. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on the sidelines of the event, Patrick emphasized the importance of timely implementation of political dialogue set to follow the accord. "Of course, we must remember that this is one step, and the important thing to follow is the political dialogue, which will determine the future of the country," Patrick said. "That is a very, very important negotiation, the political dialogue that is yet to come." The Ambassador said he had hope that reaching the accord could serve to "reduce the amount of violence" in the war-torn country. "In general, if you look at other countries, ceasefires help to reduce violence. They never completely stop the violence, but we hope everybody will be able to use this to step away from the violence," he said. "But, of course, we are realistic given the history." Regarding financial support for the continuation of the peace process, both the Europe-backed Peace Donor Support Group and a new inter-governmental Joint Peace Fund have committed to continued monetary assistance for signatories and other stakeholders. Swiss Ambassador to Burma Paul Seger described the fund as "one instrument whereby the international community will try to promote and to support the peace process with money," adding that "it is not yet entirely clear how much money there will be." While the new fund will be "important," Seger said, "it is not the only part of the support and assistance the international community will give." Statements issued by the US State Department, the UK Embassy in Burma and the Peace Donor Support Group all encouraged non-signatories to continue constructive dialogue with the government so that they may ultimately join the pact. The document signed on Thursday was a draft agreement approved by both sides of the conflict in March of this year, including many of the ethnic armed groups that abstained. Seven other armed groups are entitled to join the pact at a later date, though they have held out on a demand that others currently ineligible and engaged in active conflict be brought into the agreement. "We should not forget that the text itself has been agreed by everyone. Not everyone has signed today, but the substance of the text is agreed by all the parties. I think this is a major step," said Roland Kobia, ambassador to Burma for the European Union, which is a major supporter of the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center. "Now of course, the NCA will become stronger if more groups join it." The post International Community Commends Ceasefire, Commits Support appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rights Groups Call for End to Military Offensive in Shan State Posted: 15 Oct 2015 01:49 AM PDT  Villagers displaced by the Burma Army offensive against the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) outside the Hai Pa temple. (Photo: Shan Human Rights Foundation) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — A group of 18 ethnic Shan civil society organizations has called on the Burmese government to halt an ongoing military offensive in northern Shan State that has forced over 1,500 villagers from their homes in the past week. The offensive, involving over ten Burmese battalions, has continued as the Burmese government signed its long-awaited "nationwide" ceasefire agreement in Naypyidaw on Thursday morning with eight non-state armed groups. Shan civil society spokesman Sai Khur Hseng told The Irrawaddy that the attacks on the Shan State Army North (SSA-N), the armed wing of the Shan State Progressive Party, suggested that the Burma Army was launching offensives against ethnic armed groups that refused to participate in the ceasefire accord. "There is no guarantee (for civilian safety) even though the ceasefire agreement was signed," he said. "Only eight groups signed it. Questions arise as to whether they are attacking those groups which didn't sign the agreement." Thursday's statement accuses the Burmese government of shirking political means to solve conflicts and using the ceasefire agreement as "a divide-and-rule tactic to temporarily pacify some groups while crushing others." The Burma Army launched a large-scale military offensive against the SSA-N in Mong Hsu and Kyethi townships on Oct. 6. Attacks have included artillery bombardments directed at the SSA-N's Wan Hai village headquarters in Mong Hsu, despite a January 2012 ceasefire permitting the armed group to base soldiers in the village. The group's Wan Hai headquarters were earlier shelled on Aug. 7 following a clash with the military 20 kilometers to the south. Col. Sai Hla, an SSA-N spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy on Oct. 12 that the latest round of hostilities had been triggered by the group's refusal to accept a Burma Army request to vacate a strategic river port at Tar San Pu village in Kyethi Township. More than 1,500 villagers who fled homes are sheltering in nearby villages, while hundreds are hiding in the jungles for safety. Thursday's statement said that the displaced villagers were in urgent need of humanitarian aid and protection, and were facing a looming food crisis from the interruption to the harvest season. It added that four women had given birth while hiding. "(The displaced) are staying at monasteries or the houses of their friends and relatives," said Sai Khur Hseng. "Women who have given birth to babies are suffering from malnutrition. Food conditions will worsen in coming days, as they don't have sufficient food. They are relying on locals to feed them." The groups have also called for the international community to halt the offensive. "If the international community wants genuine peace in Burma, it is urgently needed to publicly condemn this new offensive and put pressure on Napyidaw to end its advances into ethnic territories and pull back its troops from these areas," read Thursday's statement. The US Embassy in Rangoon released a statement on Thursday commending the signing of the "nationwide" ceasefire agreement in Naypyidaw, while urging the government to continue discussions with ethnic armed groups that refused to sign the pact. "We remain concerned by reports of continued military offensives in Kachin and Shan States and the lack of humanitarian access to many of the more than 100,000 internally displaced persons in those areas," read a statement from John Kirby, a US State Department spokesperson. The Shan community in the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand are planning a prayer ceremony and candlelight vigil on Thursday evening for those killed and displaced in the October offensive. The post Rights Groups Call for End to Military Offensive in Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Long-Sought Ceasefire Signed in Naypyidaw Posted: 15 Oct 2015 12:31 AM PDT Click to view slideshow. NAYPYIDAW — A long-awaited "nationwide" ceasefire agreement between the government and eight of Burma's armed rebel groups was signed here on Thursday, with signatories hopeful that the pact will go some way toward ending decades of civil war in the country. The event marked the culmination of more than two years of negotiations between the government and more than a dozen ethnic armed groups, with President Thein Sein, Burma Army commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, parliamentary leaders and the eight non-state armed groups all signing onto the accord. Six international and 20 domestic witnesses were also on hand for a ceremony attended by about 1,000 people at the Myanmar Convention Center in the capital Naypyidaw. The signing was welcomed by both international and domestic audiences, despite it falling short of including the 15 armed groups that the government had originally hoped would ink the pact. "The ceasefire is the beginning of the peace process, and we have to work forward to realize the peace," said Thein Sein in an opening speech before the signing ceremony. Gen. Mutu Say Poe, the chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU), said signatories would encourage those ethnic armed groups abstaining from the signing for the moment to be a part of the process going forward, while also insisting that "the Tatmadaw [Burma Army] should not use force in bringing them into the process." The weeks leading up to Thursday's signing have not brought a cessation of hostilities between the Burma Army and ethnic armed groups, with rebel armies that earlier this month indicated they would not sign onto the accord typically the target of reported government offensives. Nonetheless, "We have opened a new page in history," Mutu Say Poe said in a speech on behalf of armed group signatories, adding that "implementation of the NCA [nationwide ceasefire agreement] is very important and I ask everyone to be patient as we try to realize it." Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), declined to sign as a witness despite representative Win Htein joining Thursday's ceremony. "We did not sign as a witness because it is questionable with regard to the term 'nationwide pact,' as now only eight groups signed," Win Htein told The Irrawaddy. "However, we would welcome it if there is progress toward peace following this signing." Myint Soe, a member of the Union Peacemaking Working Committee—the body leading negotiations for the ceasefire on the government side—said: "We are happy and satisfied with today's event." "Although others may be saying that the NCA lacks all-inclusivity, it should be acknowledged that this is just the beginning," said the former lieutenant-general, who was involved in the drafting of the agreement. In a late-night press release from Washington, US State Department spokesman John Kirby commended all sides on Thursday's signing. Though several major ethnic armies have abstained from the initial signing this week, Kirby said those joining Thursday's ceremony were taking a critical first step in a long process of building a sustainable and just peace. "We recognize that some groups were not able to sign today, and we understand and respect their concerns. We welcome their commitment to continue discussions within their communities and with the government about the necessary conditions for signing at a future date, and we urge the government to engage constructively in a dialogue with these groups to pursue a more inclusive peace," Kirby said. "We urge all parties to continue to engage with each other and civil society representatives in the spirit of unity and compromise, particularly in the process to finalize a political dialogue framework and the conduct of the political dialogue itself." The ceasefire agreement dictates that the Burma Army and ethnic armed groups signatories meet within 14 days of the signing to "define the exact timeframes governing ceasefire related matters and their implementation." Most ethnic armed organizations that did not sign onto the accord this week have cited the government's refusal to include a handful of rebel groups currently engaged in conflict with the Burma Army. For its part, the government has said that it might be open to allowing some of those groups to sign down the road, though the terms of their prospective inclusion remain unclear. Some of the country's largest ethnic armed groups, including the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), did not participate in Thursday's signing. The government has said the seven groups it recognizes as eligible that refused to initially sign can join the agreement at a later date as they see fit. The post Long-Sought Ceasefire Signed in Naypyidaw appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Kachin Activist’s Husband Arrested over Facebook Post Said to Defame Army Posted: 14 Oct 2015 11:20 PM PDT  Burma Army Commander-in-Chief Snr-General Min Aung Hlaing. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The husband of a renowned ethnic Kachin peace activist has been arrested after sharing a Facebook post deemed to defame the Burma Army, the second such arrest this week. Patrick Khum Jaa Lee, 43, was apprehended by plainclothes police on Wednesday at his home in Rangoon's Hlaing Township, where he lives with his wife May Sabe Phyu, a high-profile peace and gender equality activist.  Patrick Khum Jaa Lee was apprehended by plainclothes police on Oct. 15 at his home in Rangoon's Hlaing Township, where he lives with his wife May Sabe Phyu. (Photo: Facebook) Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, his daughter Ah Pam said he was arrested on defamation charges related to sharing a photo of a man wearing a Kachin-style longyi stepping on a portrait of Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing. "Around five people from the Hlaing police station took daddy at 7:30pm yesterday [Wednesday] for the post he shared on Facebook," Ah Pam said by phone as she waited to see her father at the police station. "So far we haven't had a chance to see him." A senior police official in Rangoon's western district, where Hlaing is located, confirmed that Patrick Khum Jaa Lee had been charged under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law after a Lt-Col for the Burma Army filed a suit against him. Defamation or threats punished under the provision can result in a sentence of up to three years. The officer said the defendant "has been brought to trial and remanded," and that his laptop and phone had been confiscated. Ah Pam said her mother, May Sabe Phyu, was currently in Switzerland and will return to Burma immediately to attend to her husband's case. On Tuesday, a young woman was detained and brought to trial after sharing a satirical post on social media comparing Burma Army uniforms to a feminine longyi donned by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Earlier this year, a photographer was similarly arrested for sharing a photo deemed insulting to the military. He was released after three days of interrogation. Additional reporting contributed by May Sitt Paing. This article was updated at 2:22 pm on Oct. 15 to add comments from a police official.
The post Kachin Activist's Husband Arrested over Facebook Post Said to Defame Army appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Malaysia’s Embattled PM Facing Stern Test as Parliament Returns Posted: 14 Oct 2015 11:07 PM PDT  Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak speaks at a forum in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 6. (Photo: Olivia Harris / Reuters) KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak faces the toughest test of his political career so far when parliament reconvenes next week, with the leader facing questions from a growing number of establishment figures about his alleged role in a graft scandal at the state investment fund. Najib’s tight grip on his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party has kept him in power despite public anger over alleged graft and financial mismanagement at strategic investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), whose advisory board the prime minister chairs. But that grip appears to be loosening, and his position could become precarious if he loses some crucial upcoming votes in parliament. Some senior leaders from UMNO, including former deputy prime minister and Najib’s potential successor Muhyiddin Yassin, joined forces with influential former premier Mahathir Mohamad on Monday to criticize Najib and call on party members to “speak up” against wrongdoing. Although they stopped short of openly calling for Najib’s resignation, the rebellion may have opened up an opportunity the opposition is seeking to exploit through a no-confidence vote in parliament next week. “We have decided in principle to move a no confidence motion in parliament,” said Tian Chua, a member of parliament and National Vice President of opposition party PKR. “We will definitely need to collaborate with some leaders from the ruling coalition. But now there is an opportunity to put aside other interests and focus on saving the country and the people.” A no-confidence vote is seen as having a slim chance of outright success given the opposition bloc is about 25 seats short of the majority needed to carry the motion. Even if it gets the numbers, the speaker of the house could reject the motion, stopping it from being tabled. But Najib is also facing crucial votes on his annual budget and Malaysia’s membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal which, political sources say, faces resistance from his own party as well as the opposition. Losing either of those votes would significantly weaken Najib’s position. “There are many ways of objecting…even if the house rejects Najib’s budget, that would mean a no-confidence against the Prime Minister and it would seriously damage his stand,” said Wan Saiful Wan Jan, chief executive of the think-tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS). Najib has responded to the UMNO members turning against him by saying his opponents are trying to destabilise Malaysia and hinder its peaceful development. “Do not allow anyone to be in cahoots with internal and external parties to destroy what we have achieved so far,” he was quoted by The Malaysian Insider as saying during a speech on Wednesday. Losing Confidence The scandal surrounding Najib erupted in July when it was reported that Malaysian investigators looking into 1MDB found nearly $700 million was transferred to bank accounts in Najib’s name. Reuters has not been able to verify the report. Najib has denied taking any money for personal gain while the country’s anti-corruption commission said the funds were a political donation. But Najib has failed to stop questions about the money flows, while several investigations into 1MDB, which has run up debts of close to $11 billion, are still ongoing. Last week Malaysia’s royal rulers made an unprecedented statement saying the government’s failure to give convincing answers on 1MDB may have resulted in a “crisis of confidence”. The country’s central bank has called for criminal prosecution against 1MDB, though the call was rejected by the Attorney General. Investors are also nervous, with the ringgit down nearly 20 percent this year against the dollar. However, Najib’s biggest threat comes from within his own party, with Mahathir, Muhyiddin and another veteran UMNO MP, Tengku Razaleigh, upping the pressure. Muhyiddin said on Monday that several grassroot members of UMNO were worried about the country’s leadership but were not willing to speak. “I ask them to be openly express their feelings. Do not fear the consequences if you are doing the right thing,” he said. For now, Najib still sits strong with a comfortable majority in parliament and little sign that a flood of Umno MPs will turn on him. But his growing list of opponents say that even if they can not pull off a no confidence vote, they will look for other ways to unsettle the leader. “I do think there are other ways to go about this,” said UMNO party elder Tengku Razaleigh, without elaborating. The post Malaysia’s Embattled PM Facing Stern Test as Parliament Returns appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Japan, China Vow to Keep up Ties Despite Tensions, Spying Arrests Posted: 14 Oct 2015 11:00 PM PDT  Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, talks with China’s President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a Conference in Jakarta on Apr. 22. (Photo: Kyodo / Reuters) TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China’s top diplomat on Wednesday vowed to keep up a recent warming in ties, even though new irritants, such as a row over documents about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, threaten the nascent recovery in relations. Relations between the neighbours, haunted by the legacy of Japan’s World War Two aggression and conflicting claims over a group of East China Sea islets, have warmed after Abe met Chinese President Xi Jinping twice since last November. But a fresh chill seemed likely after China last month announced the arrest of two Japanese for spying, and Japan this week threatened it might halt funding for UNESCO over a dispute about documents related to the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. UNESCO included a dossier submitted by Chinese organisations in the latest listing of its “Memory of the World” programme, which aims to preserve important historical materials. “China and Japan are important neighbours to each other,” Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi said at the start of his meeting with Abe on Wednesday. “We would like to step closer to Japan and constantly promote the improvement and development of bilateral ties.” He also told Abe the development of healthy and stable relations was in the interest of both countries, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement after the meeting. Yang on Tuesday agreed to pursue high-level dialogue in a meeting with Abe’s national security adviser, Shotaro Yachi. “I’ve heard that you had a good meeting with Mr. Yachi,” Abe told Yang before Wednesday’s event was closed to reporters. “By holding such high-level talks repeatedly, I would like to bring forward relations between the two countries.” Later, Abe told Yang he looked forward to meeting Xi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a string of international conferences this fall, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko told reporters. These events include a G20 summit in Turkey and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meetings in the Philippines, both set for November. Abe expressed “serious concerns” over Chinese vessels’ activities in the East China Sea, and both agreed to push for early adoption of a communication mechanism, now in the works, to avert misunderstandings between their militaries, Seko said. Patrol vessels and fighter jets from both Japan and China have been shadowing each other on and off near the disputed East China Sea islets, raising fears that a confrontation could result in a clash. The post Japan, China Vow to Keep up Ties Despite Tensions, Spying Arrests appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| 41 Writers Return Indian Award, Citing Climate of Intolerance Posted: 14 Oct 2015 10:12 PM PDT  Internationally acclaimed novelist Salman Rushdie, who said he had received nearly 10,000 hate messages after coming out in support of the writers. (Photo: Eloy Alonso / Reuters) NEW DELHI — Many in India’s literary community are disgusted. Dozens of writers say every day brings more evidence of intolerance and bigotry going mainstream—a man lynched allegedly for eating beef, an atheist critic of Hindu idol worship gunned down — all met by a deafening silence from the government. As of Wednesday, 41 novelists, essayists, playwrights and poets had returned the awards they received from India’s prestigious literary academy to protest what they call a growing climate of intolerance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The writers are also angry that India’s Sahitya Akademi, or National Academy of Letters, has said little about the murder of the well-known rationalist Malleshappa Kalburgi, an award-winning Kannada-language writer, gunned down in August for his writings against superstition and false beliefs. The government has dismissed the writers’ protests, questioning their motives and accusing them of being politically motivated. “If they say they are unable to write, let them stop writing,” culture minister Mahesh Sharma told reporters. The writers say they cannot remain mute spectators to numerous incidents of communal violence, attacks on intellectuals and increasing curbs on free speech. “It’s become a question of an individual’s right to speak, to think, to write, to eat, to dress, to debate,” said Maya Krishna Rao, a playwright and theater actress, who returned her award to the academy this week. When Modi won a landslide victory in May 2014, many voiced fears of right-wing Hindu nationalism leading to communal violence and religious intolerance. Modi, who had spent years dodging allegations of failing to stop riots in Gujarat state in which around 1,000 Muslims died, assured the nation that he was prime minister for all and would work for everyone. But the last year has seen a rising crescendo of violence by Hindu fringe groups, trying to force a regressive Hindu nationalism on all, causing fear among India’s minority communities. State governments ruled by the BJP have cracked down on cow slaughter, and even buffalo meat, a key source of protein for poor Muslims and lower caste Hindus, has become scarce. The ban on cow slaughter has given rise to Hindu vigilante groups and mob violence has risen. Last month a Muslim man was lynched in northern India over false rumors that his family had eaten beef for dinner. On Wednesday, in response to persistent demands that the prime minister break his silence on the lynching, Modi said the mob killing was “sad and undesirable,” but added that his government could not be blamed as the local administration was responsible for the state. Last week, well-known writer Nayantara Sahgal returned her academy award, triggering the return of awards by other writers. Sahgal, a niece of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, is known as a fiercely independent political writer who had crossed swords with her cousin and another former prime minister, Indira Gandhi, when she imposed a state of emergency in India in the mid-70s. Referring to recent violence by Hindu groups, Sahgal said in an interview to The Indian Express newspaper that there was “an attempt to blow up the idea of India and to put in its place a kind of travesty of Hinduism, a kind of monoculture, which has nothing to do with Hinduism.” Sahgal’s views are echoed across the literary spectrum. Ghulam Nabi Khayal, a Kashmiri language writer, said earlier governments would try to restore peace in situations of communal conflict. “But that’s no more the case with the rise of Hindu rightwing BJP,” Khayal said in Srinagar. “For the past one year, the Indian state has become suffocating and extremely intolerant.” The government was “now brazenly and institutionally backing this communal hatred,” he said, justifying his decision to return his award. It wasn’t the first time that Hindu conservatives silenced an author or forced a book to be withdrawn. In January, novelist Perumal Murugan went into hiding and said he had quit writing after his latest book sparked virulent protests. Hindu nationalists organized weeks of demonstrations demanding that Murugan delete portions of the Tamil-language book because they found them offensive. Instead, the writer stopped writing altogether, his voice muted by the angry protests. Last year, Penguin India decided to destroy all copies of historian Wendy Doniger’s book on Hinduism after an outcry. In 2011, the state of Gujarat banned Joseph Lelyveld’s biography on pacifist freedom fighter Mohandas K. Gandhi, after reviews suggested Gandhi had a homosexual relationship. Writers who voiced support for Sahgal and other authors are facing the wrath of Hindu hard-liners on social media as well. Internationally renowned novelist Salman Rushdie, who was born in Mumbai, said he had received nearly 10,000 hate messages after he came out in support of the writers. Rushdie said the government’s silence was allowing a new “degree of thuggish violence” in India. The BJP has often tried to distance itself from extremist fringe Hindu groups, but the failure to crack down has emboldened them. “The prime minister remains silent about this reign of terror. We must assume he dare not alienate evil-doers who support his ideology,” Sahgal said in a letter to the academy while returning her award. The post 41 Writers Return Indian Award, Citing Climate of Intolerance appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Irrawaddy. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
