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Monday, January 11, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Arakan Army Chief: ‘Fresh Clashes Could Break Out at Any Time’
Cartoonist Says Facebook Users ‘Flagged’ Him Over NLD Gibe
Two Men Held for Alleged Ties to Arakan Army
Activist’s Hunger Strike Enters 2nd Week Over Ex-Presidents Bill
New Approach Needed for Genuine Peace in Burma
New Bridge to Be Built Near Goteik Viaduct
Big Losses Reported Following Rangoon Market Fire
Presenting Presents, and More, at Naypyidaw’s National Museum
Karen New Year Celebrations Held in Burma and Abroad
US Flies B-52 over S. Korea after North’s Nuclear Test
Thousands Protest in HK over Missing Publishers; Booksellers Worried
In Koh Tao Aftermath, Unlocking the DNA of Doubt
Thai Rubber Farmers Threaten Protest, Set to Meet Tuesday

Arakan Army Chief: ‘Fresh Clashes Could Break Out at Any Time’

Posted: 11 Jan 2016 04:24 AM PST

Arakan Army Commander-in-Chief Brig-Gen Tun Myat Naing. (Photo: JPaing/The Irrawaddy)

Clashes erupted between the Arakan Army and the Burma Army around Mt. Yam Chaung, in Kyauktaw Township, from Dec. 27 to Jan. 4. Though conflict has subsided, tensions remain high and hundreds of villagers have already been displaced by the fighting.

Myawady Daily, a military-owned newspaper, reported on Jan. 7 that the Burma Army had suffered casualties during the 9-day conflict. The newspaper referred to the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group that has been excluded from peace negotiations, as an insurgent group, vowing that the the government forces would "annihilate" them.

The Irrawaddy recently spoke with Arakan Army Commander-in-Chief Tun Myat Naing about what happened in Kyauktaw and how his views on the peace process.

What is the current situation in Kyauktaw Township?

There is no fighting for the time being, but there is a lot of military activity. [The Burma Army] has brought in reinforcements; Division 66 has also come in. We were clashing with two military operation commands of the Burma Army, Sittwe Regional Operations Command and troops based in Ann Township. As our forces are mobile forces, we fight sometimes and withdraw sometimes, as necessary. We have heard from civilians that Burma Army battalions from Pegu are also coming in. As there is a lot of military activity, fresh clashes could break out at any time.

Would you like to comment on the Jan. 7 issue of Myawady Daily [which states that the Burma Army will annihilate the Arakan 'insurgents']?

If issued as a government press release, the government should take more responsibility [to verify facts]. A news report should not be published recklessly. The word 'annihilate' reflects [the government's lack of] political will and implies that they do not want to find a political solution. So it seems that we should give it serious thought and make preparations.

The report said that the Arakan Army had used snipers during the conflict, and is planning to hold talks with terrorist groups at the border to establish a base within the state. Is this true?

This is a baseless accusation intended to ruin our image. The government should not put groundless information and emotions in its newspaper releases. Regarding the conflict, I am not supposed to disclose information about our weapons, forces and tactics as it concerns military security. But I can confirm that no allied force is helping us in these clashes. In Arakan State, we are the sole forces.

How many casualties were there among the Arakan troops?

Two lost their lives and three had minor injuries. They [the Burma Army] took one of the two bodies. They said they took three bodies, but that isn't true.

At present, the Arakan Army troops are mobile. Do you plan to establish any bases?

Given the circumstances, it would be difficult for us to establish bases right now. We have been in the area for a long time, but the Burma Army didn't know [hence there had been no prior conflict]. We are active in the area, but not to the extent of provoking conflict. I don't think we need to receive the recognition of the government as many have suggested, but we believe without a doubt that the Arakan Army has the absolute right to live in Arakan State. We are just now asserting that right.

What are your views on the political dialogue that will begin on Jan. 12?

We have no faith in it, regardless of the words used to describe it. In resolving political problems, we should stop doing things for show and do things that bring real benefit to the country and the people. How can the rest of the ethnic groups accept the NCA [nationwide ceasefire agreement, signed on Oct. 15] while it doesn't include all of us? Again, the government has said that it has also invited non-signatories, but no one is naïve enough to show up and be exploited while they have no right to participate. They are not as naïve as they were in 1946, 47.

What will the peace process look like under the new government? The military will continue to play a major role in the process, but there are still tensions between the Burma Army and the non-signatories. Will this be a challenge for the new government?

It will be a huge challenge. The next government should boldly take decisive action, rather than trying not to offend the military. If they would avoid doing something because the military might not like it, their slogan—'time to change'—will come to nothing and we will be at a political impasse. Therefore, they might need a great deal of courage, responsibility and solutions to overcome huge challenges.

The Burma Army is concerned that the Arakan Army will establish its base in Arakan State and this concern might be directly related to the state's resources. At present, they manage the investments as they please, and hardly anyone will point them out or speak out against them. Therefore, they use military force where they could find a political solution.

Would you like to add any further comments?

It would be best to find a political solution. We are ready for it. It is the best, I would say. If the government wants to make 'annihilation' its priority, then we'll have to find other means.

The post Arakan Army Chief: 'Fresh Clashes Could Break Out at Any Time' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Cartoonist Says Facebook Users ‘Flagged’ Him Over NLD Gibe

Posted: 11 Jan 2016 04:19 AM PST

"You said what you wanted to do, but you got angry when we said what we wanted to do." (Cartoon by Maung Maung Fountain)

RANGOON — A well-known cartoonist based in Rangoon appears to have been blocked from using Facebook after his personal account was linked to a comic poking fun at the incoming government.

S Tha Htoo, known by his pen name Maung Maung Fountain, told The Irrawaddy his account had been inaccessible since Sunday, though at time of writing he had not received any email notification from the social media site alerting him of irregularities. Facebook was not immediately available for comment.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, 48-year-old Maung Maung Fountain said he believed his account was flagged by other users because of his latest cartoon, which depicts a woman in a red dress holding a crown, hovering over two young boys.

The boys in the cartoon say to the woman, who appears to be an abstract reference to Aung San Suu Kyi, "You said what you wanted to do, but you got angry when we said what we wanted to do."

Maung Maung Fountain said he had received some negative commentary after a Facebook user shared his cartoon and identifying him by the name he uses on his personal Facebook account. Shortly thereafter, the account was blocked, leading him to believe that other users had flagged him for inappropriate content.

The cartoonist admitted that his illustration referenced a recent upset within the National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi's party, which won a Nov. 8 election and is set to assume power next month.

Suu Kyi has been tight-lipped about her party's plans for governance, and has drawn controversy over her reaction to lawmakers that had requested ministerial positions.

Maung Maung Fountain, a regular contributor to The Irrawaddy and other local journals, said the incident was "totally unexpected" during the transition period, when he expected to see freedom of expression advance in the former authoritarian state.

"It wasn't even a personal attack," he said. "During the time of the military junta, we fought with our pens much harder than we do now."

Expressing his concern that online reactions to his work had sparked vitriolic debate, Maung Maung Fountain said he hoped that online intimidation would not prevent the next generation of satirists from taking a firm position on current affairs.

Burma has a rich history of political cartoons, dating back to the early 20th century. Under military rule, drawings were the sharpest tool of quick-witted dissidents, and the tradition has stayed strong through decades of censorship.

Maung Maung Fountain said he believes political cartoonists play an important role in democracies, even those that are more developed. The tradition, he predicted, will not easily die out as Burma becomes a more open society.

Unfamiliar with the Internet and social media until 2013, Maung Maung Fountain has been active as an artist for decades. He took up his pen a year before the 1988 student-led uprising, and has since developed a broad portfolio of cartoons about politics and social ills.

The post Cartoonist Says Facebook Users 'Flagged' Him Over NLD Gibe appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Two Men Held for Alleged Ties to Arakan Army

Posted: 11 Jan 2016 04:09 AM PST

A list of names of individuals detained last year for alleged ties to the Arakan Army at the Kyauktaw Township Police Station. (Photo: Phoe Thiha)

RANGOON — Taungup Township administrator Lu Maw said local police arrested two Arakan Army soldiers found in possession of 50 walkie-talkies near the town's outskirts on Saturday.

"Both of them are from AA [Arakan Army] but I can't provide detailed information," said Lu Maw, who referred The Irrawaddy to the township police.

Contacted on Monday, police officer Sithu Htike confirmed the detention of two men but declined to discuss their case, saying he did not have official permission to speak to the media.

Elsewhere in Arakan State, more than 200 people have taken shelter at monasteries in Kyauktaw and Mrauk Oo townships in recent weeks, according to Khiang Kaung San of the Wunlark Development Foundation, one of several civil society groups providing rice and other food supplies as well as blankets to the displaced.

In April of last year, the Arakan Army and government troops clashed and at least 20 locals were detained by police in Kyauktaw, with the suspects accused of unlawful association with the ethnic armed group. In addition, 18 Arakan Army soldiers were arrested, according to Kyauktaw Township police chief Win Kyi.

"Verdicts are pending, [the cases are] not finished yet and some witnesses were unable to attend hearings at the courthouse," Win Kyi told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

The father of one of the suspected Arakan Army soldiers, Tha Tun Oo from Kyaukphyu Township, said his son Maung Than Wai was believed by the family to have taken work abroad before his name appeared in state media accounts of the conflict in April.

He has since attended more than five of his 24-year-old son's hearings in Kyauktaw since he was detained, but as the trial has dragged on he has struggled to finance the trips to the courthouse.

"I can't spend a lot of money to attend hearings," he told The Irrawaddy. "I don't know why this verdict has been delayed, it has almost been one year."

The latest skirmishes first broke out between the Arakan Army and government troops in Kyauktaw Township, northern Arakan State, on Dec. 27. Last week, state media reported the Burma Army's intention to "remove" the ethnic armed group from Arakan State. The reports said more than 15 clashes had occurred between the two sides in the span of a week, killing one high-ranking officer and several other government soldiers. The bodies of three Arakan Army soldiers were also recovered, according to military mouthpiece Myawaddy.

State media claimed that the Arakan Army was trying to ally with insurgent groups in unspecified "other countries."

Arakan State shares a border with Bangladesh, and farther north Burma borders northeast India, where several insurgent groups operate.

On Friday, the Arakan Army released a statement claiming that at least 150 government soldiers had lost their lives in the recent fighting, while also asserting that only two of its members had been killed.

The Arakan Army statement denied any effort to ally itself with foreign forces.

The post Two Men Held for Alleged Ties to Arakan Army appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Activist’s Hunger Strike Enters 2nd Week Over Ex-Presidents Bill

Posted: 11 Jan 2016 03:11 AM PST

Naw Ohn Hla is pictured at her home in Rangoon in late 2013. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The prominent jailed activist Naw Ohn Hla remains on a hunger strike that is about to enter its second week, with the prominent activist protesting a proposed law that would grant ex-presidents sweeping immunity regarding legal repercussions for actions undertaken in office.

The 53-year-old is reportedly in good health but is refusing even to drink water or shower.

She has been frequently imprisoned over the past two decades for her advocacy on causes ranging from peace and justice to the release of Burma's political prisoners. She is currently serving time for a Dec. 29, 2014 protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Rangoon following the death of a woman at the controversial Letpadaung copper mine about one week prior.

She was sentenced last year to six years and two months' imprisonment for that protest, on charges including Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law and Article 505(b) of the Burmese Penal Code. She and several fellow protesters had urged the government to carry out an investigation into the killing of Khin Win, who was shot dead on Dec. 22, 2014, by police at the Chinese-back mine in Monywa, Sagaing Division.

Min Nay Htoo, a spokesperson for the Democracy and Peace Women Network, which Naw Ohn Hla cofounded, told The Irrawaddy that other rights activists had visited her on Friday, reporting that her eyes appeared sunken but that she otherwise looked to be in good health.

"We were forbidden from meeting her by prison authorities at first. We had to submit a letter and then were allowed to meet. She is still in a good condition as of January 8. She stopped drinking water on January 5 [and continues this] through today," he said.

"Prison authorities asked us to make her cease the hunger strike, but we told them that because she is doing this of her own free will, we can't stop her," he said.

Naw Ohn Hla's hunger strike is being staged against the Former President's Security bill, which was approved by Parliament's Lower House on Dec. 31, and is likely to be taken up by the upper chamber this week. Critics of the legislation say it would deal a blow to ensuring accountability for former holders of Burma's highest elected office.

"She [Naw Ohn Hla] said she will continue hunger strike till she cannot stand," Min Nay Htoo said.

The post Activist's Hunger Strike Enters 2nd Week Over Ex-Presidents Bill appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Approach Needed for Genuine Peace in Burma

Posted: 11 Jan 2016 03:04 AM PST

The signing ceremony for a long-sought ceasefire agreement in Naypyidaw on Oct. 15, 2015. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

Everything is looking good as the Burmese government and a number of ethnic armed groups prepare for a political dialog, which is soon to begin. On Oct. 15 last year, eight such groups signed a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government. Just as many groups did not sign, but the agreement nevertheless "silenced the guns in two thirds of the conflict areas. By strength of forces of the eight signatories, it's like 80 per cent of the ethnic armed groups."

That's the situation in Burma's conflict areas—if one is to believe what Tin Maung Thann, special adviser to the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), said in an interview with Frontier Myanmar, a Rangoon-based magazine, which appeared on its website on December 24. Thant Myint-U, who has served as an adviser to President Thein Sein and the MPC, told Frontier on Jan. 7 that, "Thousands of hours of informal and formal talks have created an atmosphere of familiarity, if not trust, that did not exist before. We have an initial ceasefire agreement whose text has been almost universally agreed, with parliamentary ratification and international recognition." Other peacemakers have said that the Oct. 15 agreement means that "the train has left the station, others can join later—or be left behind when the political dialog process begins."

Reality on the ground, however, is entirely different. Almost the entire international and national media have swallowed the notion of "eight armed groups" having signed the agreement—but few have bothered to examine the list of those groups. The Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA) is a genuine ethnic rebel group that has been fighting against the government since 1949, and it has an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 armed followers. But it remains bitterly divided over the agreement, which was signed by Gen. Mutu Say Poe, the KNU chairman. But shortly after the signing ceremony in Naypyidaw, two leading members of the KNU, vice president Zipporah Sein and veteran activist David Tharckarbaw, went to the Panghsang headquarters of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma's most powerful ethnic force which did not sign the agreement. Since the KNU was a signatory, they came as representatives of the Karen National Defense Organization, the movement's village defense forces.

Two other Karen groups were among those that signed the October 15 agreement, one being the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and the other the KNU-KNLA Peace Council. But the DKBA, which was originally known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, has been, in effect, a government-allied militia since it broke away from the KNU/KNLA in late 1994. Since then, it has attacked and fought against the KNU/KNLA, not the government's forces.

The DKBA may have 3,000 to 4,000 men in arms, and, thus, could be described as an armed ethnic group although it did not fight against the government. The "Peace Council" is another group that broke away from the KNU/KNLA, but, independent observers assert, it has no more than 50 men in arms. It entered into a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government in 2007, and, according to By Force of Arms, a book written by researcher Paul Keenan, "was then able to sign a number of lucrative logging contracts with Thai companies."

The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), which was among the signatories of the Oct. 15 agreement, may have 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers. But they are based on the Thai border, where, according to a Bangkok-based, independent military analyst, "[it] remains a hostage to Thai security concerns, and to Thai interests in mining, logging and other forms of cross-border trade." The RCSS calls its armed force "the Shan State Army", but it should not be confused with the original SSA, which was set up in 1964 and then commanded by Sao Nang Hearn Hkam, the widow of Burma's first president Sao Shwe Thaike.

The RCSS has an entirely different history. It grew out of the remnants of druglord Khun Sa's Möng Tai Army (MTA). When he surrendered with most of his men to the Burmese government in January 1996, one of his commanders, Yawd Serk, refused to do so. He resurrected the Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA), an older group which he and many other commanders had belonged to before it merged with Khun Sa's forces in the mid-1980s and it all became the MTA. The "new SURA" later began to call itself "SSA".

The real SSA, on the other hand, is about 2,000 to 3,000 strong, is active in central and northern Shan State—and did not sign the agreement. Its political wing is called the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), which was set up in 1971, and is closely allied with the UWSA. The SSPP/SSA actually entered into a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government back in September 1989, but in recent years—and months—it has come under heavy attacks by government forces.

The remaining four signatories of the Oct. 15 agreement—apart from the KNU/KNLA, the DKBA, the Peace Council and the RCSS—could not even be described as "armed ethnic groups." The Pa-O National Liberation Organization is a one-man show led by a person who lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He was left behind when the main Pa-O outfit, the Pa-O National Organization/Army (PNA/PNO) entered into a ceasefire agreement with the government in March 1991.

The Arakan Liberation Party/Army (ALP/ALA) is a tiny group with a handful of followers who have never been active in Arakan State, also known as Rakhine. It was set up in 1972 in KNU-controlled areas on the Thai border where it maintained a small camp at the Karen base of Wangkha until it was overrun by government forces in the mid-1990s. Since then, it has been based in Mae Sot, Thailand.

The ALP/ALA should not be confused with the Arakan Army (AA), a much stronger rebel outfit that has been trained and equipped by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the north. The AA has over the past year participated in battles in Kokang in northeastern Shan State and also launched a couple of surprise attacks in Arakan State.

The Chin National Front, which signed the agreement, is a badly factionalized group that has been active on and off in Chin State. But it has never had any armed force to be reckoned with, and Chin State is in any case the only ethnic state in Burma which has not had any widespread ethnic insurgency. This is usually attributed to the fact that the Chin speak more than 30 mutually unintelligible dialects and, therefore, lack the ethnic cohesion that is prevalent in other ethnic areas.

The last signatory is the All-Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), which was set up at various places along Burma's borders with its neighbors after the 1988 uprising. About a decade later, the main force gave up its armed struggle and began concentrating on information and propaganda. A remnant of the ABSDF fought on alongside the KIA in Kachin State, where it is still based. Its leaders were among the signatories in Naypyidaw in October. They have, however, vowed to fight if they are attacked, which may happen as the KIA did not sign the agreement.

Thus, it was as far from a genuine, nationwide ceasefire agreement—which it purported to be—as one could possibly get. Rather, the grand ceremony and the agreement that was signed in Naypyidaw on Oct. 15 should be seen as a face-saving gesture of the government-appointed MPC—and of the European Union, Norway and other donors, which have poured millions of Euros into the outfit, as well. After several years of talks, the MPC needed something to show international donors to justify what in reality amounts to a dismal failure to achieve peace across the country—and the international community was prepared to play along with the charade. Against this background, it is hardly surprising that the event was described by one observer of the political scene in Burma as reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland's "Mad Hatters Tea Party."

Among the groups that did not sign it are the country's most powerful rebel armies, the 20,000-strong UWSA, its ally SSPP/SSA, the 5,000 to 6,000 strong and battle-hardened KIA with its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a Palaung group with at least 3,000 men in arms.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Kokang, a district in northeastern Shan State inhabited by ethnic Chinese, also did not sign, nor did the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS), which controls the Möng La region north of Kengtung. The MNDAA may have between 1,000 and 2,000 men in arms and the NDAA-ESS twice that number.

The UWSA, the MNDAA and the NDAA-ESS emerged from the collapse of the once powerful Communist Party Burma in 1989. Since then, especially the UWSA, has been able to procure from China modern weaponry, including surface-to-air missiles, mortars, artillery and even light tanks. The group may also have a limited number of transport helicopters, and it has been supplying not only the SSA but also the MNDAA and the TNLA with light weapons such as automatic and semi-automatic assault rifles.

As for the so-called "peace process," Burma's decades-long civil war has actually intensified since ex-general Thein Sein became the country's president in March 2011 and, in November 2012, set up the MPC. The KIA, which had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the government in 1994, came under heavy attack in June 2011. The offensive against the KIA culminated in December 2012-January 2013, when the government's army for the first time used Mi-35, Russian-supplied Hind helicopter gunships and Chinese-made Karakoram attack aircraft against the rebels.

In early 2015, fierce battles were fought between government forces and the MNDAA in Kokang—and this time the air strikes were much heavier and more intense than they were in Kachin State in 2012-2013. On May 20, 2015, military analysts at IHS/Jane's said about the conflict in Kokang that the government's army had launched "the largest war since Myanmar's [Burma's] independence."

Overall, Burma has not seen such heavy battles in Shan and Kachin states since the 1980s. And before and after the Oct. 15 agreement was signed, heavy fighting raged around the SSPP/SSA headquarters at Wan Hai in central Shan State. That seems to have died down in recent months, but fighting has once again flared up in Palaung-inhabited areas in northern Shan State, where the TNLA has come under attack. RCSS troops have also attacked the TNLA, underscoring the fact that the Oct. 15 agreement caused not only splits within some of the signatories but also between groups that did and did not sign it.

On Jan. 7, more than 120 civil society organizations want the government to put on hold its "peace dialogue" until all the warring factions can be brought to the negotiating table. At the same time, the UWSA called the upcoming conference "meaningless" because it will exclude most important ethnic armed groups in the country.

Seen in a broader perspective, the entire "peace process" is flawed because the government wants to put the cart before the horse by insisting on an agreement—the one signed on Oct. 15—before any political issues have even been discussed. Details for how that ceasefire shall be implemented and monitored on the ground will also be discussed after they sign the agreement, not before.

In any normal peace process, a ceasefire can be announced at any time. Warring parties freeze their positions, and the ceasefire is then monitored on the ground. After that, talks are held about political issues, and, when a consensus has been reached, an agreement that will settle conflict and address the reasons for it can be signed. In short, it is a messy and upside-down process that can hardly lead to a lasting peace, nor solve the ethnic conflicts that caused the war to break out in the first place.

It is evident that the new government that takes over after Thein Sein's would need to adopt an entirely different approach to the question of establishing peace in a country that had been torn apart by civil war for decades. As a first step to bring this tragedy to an end, the MPC should be dissolved, a new, more enlightened entity appointed—and international donors made to realize that they have to change their attitudes as well. So far, it has only been a total waste of money, and the Thein Sein government's "peace process" has created more problems that it has solved.

The post New Approach Needed for Genuine Peace in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Bridge to Be Built Near Goteik Viaduct

Posted: 11 Jan 2016 02:42 AM PST

A train travels along the Goteik Viaduct in Shan State. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The days of unobstructed vistas from the well-known Goteik Viaduct in Shan State's Nawnghkio Township appear numbered, with construction on a new bridge to begin this year near the railway trestle, according to Oriental Highway Co. Ltd., which has won the contract to build it.

The four-lane bridge, with a capacity to take vehicles weighing up to 70 tons, is expected to take three years to complete, according to Oriental Highway. The bridge will be built near the famed Goteik Viaduct to more conveniently link Nawnghkio and Kyaukme townships, said the company.

Oriental Highway was previously an affiliate of Asia World Group and is now under National Infrastructure Holdings Co. Ltd.

The company is still holding talks on technical details of the project with China Harbour Engineering Co., and will begin work as soon as the concerned ministries greenlight the project.

Oriental Highway operates the Mandalay-Muse road, a stretch that includes 14 toll gates and is used by more than 10,000 vehicles daily.

The largest railway trestle in the world at the time of its construction, the Goteik Viaduct is more than 115 years old and was built across a valley that sees the structure span 2,260 feet in length. Its tallest tower stands at more than 800 feet.

With the viaduct drawing increasing numbers of tourists, last month authorities said they were clamping down on a restriction that prohibits walking along it, citing safety concerns.

The post New Bridge to Be Built Near Goteik Viaduct appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Big Losses Reported Following Rangoon Market Fire

Posted: 11 Jan 2016 12:44 AM PST

An aerial view of the Mingalar Market after the outbreak of a fire in the early hours of Saturday. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — A massive fire at the Mingalar Market in Rangoon early Saturday morning has caused more than 36.6 million kyats (US$2.7 million) in damages, affecting 1,636 shops and injuring a firefighter, according to the Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township Police.

The township police station said the electrical fire was sparked as men at a shop on the fourth floor of the market complex were welding a roller door at about 11 pm on Friday, with the blaze reaching its peak at about 1:30 am on Saturday.

Police are interrogating five men who were installing the roller door, as well as the market's electrical supervisor.

"We have opened a case against those six men," the chief of Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township Police Station told The Irrawaddy.

The Mingalar Market Management Committee said temporary spaces would be provided at Mingalar and nearby Shwe Mingalar markets to shop owners whose properties were damaged in the fire.

Kyaw Kyaw Latt, a drugstore owner at Mingalar Market, told The Irrawaddy: "My house is close to Mingalar Market. But I did not see any welding. I only saw fire engulfing the market on four sides. [Shop owners] are allowed to do welding for their shops."

The market also saw an electrical fire in May 2010, and since then its management committee has prohibited shop owners from using electricity on their own. Power sockets were removed from shops and the electrical supervisor of the market was assigned the duty to provide lighting between 8 am and 5 pm. Shop owners wanting access to electricity other than lighting must make special arrangements with relevant market authorities.

Kyaw Kyaw Latt said that although both fire outbreaks in recent memory were blamed on faulty electricity, Saturday's blaze was notable for the speed with which it wrought devastation.

Sandar Lin, a store owner, echoed that sentiment: "The fire has caused a great loss to shop owners. When I first saw the fire, it was taking place on four sides [of the market]. In the previous fire outbreak, fire spread from one shop to another and lasted the whole day. However, this time it caused great loss in a short time."

The post Big Losses Reported Following Rangoon Market Fire appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Presenting Presents, and More, at Naypyidaw’s National Museum

Posted: 10 Jan 2016 10:24 PM PST

Click to view slideshow.

NAYPYIDAW — Gifts that President Thein Sein has received from a number of foreign countries are among the items showcased at the National Museum in Burma's capital Naypyidaw.

The National Museum–Naypyidaw also now houses the ballpoint pens that were used to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement between the government and eight of Burma's ethnic armed groups on Oct. 15, 2015.

Also on offer is the typewriter used by Dr. Maung Maung, who served a brief stint as Burma's president from Aug. 19, 1988, to Sept. 19, 1988.

The museum has seven rooms showcasing presents that Thein Sein has received from foreign countries, and artifacts and fossils from Burma's pre-history, early recorded history and modern history, as well as works of Burmese arts. There are plans on the books to add more showrooms to the museum complex.

The National Museum–Naypyidaw is administered by the Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library under the Ministry of Culture, and was opened to the public in July of last year.

The post Presenting Presents, and More, at Naypyidaw's National Museum appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Karen New Year Celebrations Held in Burma and Abroad

Posted: 10 Jan 2016 10:19 PM PST

Click to view slideshow.

RANGOON — Sunday marked the Karen New Year, 2755, drawing jubilant crowds of ethnic Karen people to celebrations held across the globe.

In Burma, the biggest celebrations took place in the former capital, Rangoon, and in Hpa-an, the capital of Karen State. The day was observed with cheerful gatherings and performances by talent donning traditional Karen costumes.

A number of high-profile attendees rang in the New Year at various venues. President Thein Sein and Mutu Say Poe, President of the Karen National Union (KNU), attended celebrations in Hpa-an with other ethnic armed group leaders, while KNU Vice-Chairwoman Zipporah Sein joined celebrations in Rangoon's Ahlone Township.

Speaking at the event, Zipporah Sein said that, "all Karen people are responsible for Karen causes such as freedom, fundamental rights and autonomy in Karen State. So all Karen people have to try to achieve that goal."

She further stressed that sustainable peace in Burma will require the will and efforts of all people in the country, urging citizens to become involved in nationwide reform.

"Everyone is responsible for change to a new democratic system," she said. "We will need to move forward with the stalled peace process. The new government also has a responsibility to implement the ceasefire and the peace process, and we also believe the new government will continue and complete the process."

Karen communities abroad, mostly migrants and refugees who have resettled in Australia, Norway and the United States, also held similar ceremonies to mark the holiday in their respective homes.

In areas of Karen State that are under the control of ethnic armed groups, military parades were held to mark the occasion. Hundreds gathered at Mu Aye Pu, a KNU base in Hpa-an District, for a military procession, while another such event was held earlier in Shwe Koko, a stronghold of the Karen Border Guard Force in the southern part of the state.

In Karen tradition, celebrants sounded horns and beat drums to mark the year 2755.

The holiday was first observed in Karen State in 1939, after Karen leaders called on British officials to recognize the holiday—which had been designated the year prior.

The post Karen New Year Celebrations Held in Burma and Abroad appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US Flies B-52 over S. Korea after North’s Nuclear Test

Posted: 10 Jan 2016 10:10 PM PST

A US Air Force B-52 flies over Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, January 10, 2016. (Photo: Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters)

SEOUL — The United States deployed a B-52 bomber on a low-level flight over its ally South Korea on Sunday, a show of force following North Korea's nuclear test last week.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un maintained that Wednesday's test was of a hydrogen bomb and said it was a self-defensive step against a US threat of nuclear war.

North Korea's fourth nuclear test angered both China, its main ally, and the United States, although the US government and weapons experts doubt the North's claim that the device was a hydrogen bomb.

The massive B-52, based in Guam and capable of carrying nuclear weapons, could be seen in a low flight over Osan Air Base at around noon (0300 GMT). It was flanked by two fighter planes, a US F-16 and a South Korean F-15, before returning to Guam, the US military said in a statement.

Osan is south of Seoul and 77 kilometers (48 miles) from the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas. The flight was "in response to recent provocative action by North Korea," the US military said.

In Washington, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said on Sunday the flight underscored to South Korea "the deep and enduring alliance that we have with them."

"Last night was a step toward reassurance in that regard and that was important," McDonough said on CNN's "State of the Union."

He said the United States would continue to work with China and Russia, as well as allies Japan and South Korea, to isolate the North until it lives up to its commitments to get rid of its nuclear weapons.

"Until they do it they'll remain where they are, which is an outcast unable to provide for their own people," McDonough said.

China has publicly supported a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, and the United States will "make sure that they understand that a nuclear North Korea is not a stable scenario," he said.

After the North's last test, in 2013, the United States sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea. At the time, the North responded by threatening a nuclear attack on the United States.

The United States is also considering sending a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean peninsula next month to join a naval exercise with Seoul, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported without identifying a source. However, US Forces Korea officials said they had no knowledge of the plan.

The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and the United States has about 28,500 troops based in South Korea.

An editorial in the North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday called for a peace treaty with the United States, which is the North's long-standing position. "Only when a peace treaty is concluded between the DPRK [North Korea] and the US can genuine peace settle in the Korean Peninsula," state news agency KCNA quoted it as saying.

The United States and China have both dangled the prospect of better relations, including the lifting of sanctions, if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons.

Earlier on Sunday, KCNA quoted Kim as saying no one had the right to criticize the North's nuclear tests.

"The DPRK's H-bomb test … is a self-defensive step for reliably defending the peace on the Korean Peninsula and the regional security from the danger of nuclear war caused by the US-led imperialists," it quoted Kim as saying.

The North's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"It is the legitimate right of a sovereign state and a fair action that nobody can criticize," he said.

Timing of Test

Kim's comments were in line with the North's official rhetoric blaming the United States for deploying nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula to justify its nuclear program but were the first by its leader since Wednesday's blast.

The United States has said it has no nuclear weapons stationed in South Korea.

Kim noted the test was being held ahead of a rare congress of its ruling Workers' Party later this year, "which will be a historic turning point in accomplishing the revolutionary cause of Juche," according to KCNA.

Juche is the North's home-grown state ideology that combines Marxism and extreme nationalism established by the state founder and the current leader's grandfather, Kim Il Sung.

KCNA said Kim made the comments on a visit to the country's Ministry of the People's Armed Forces.

South Korea continued to conduct high-decibel propaganda broadcasts across the border into the North on Sunday.

The broadcasts, which include "K-pop" music and statements critical of the Kim government, began on Friday and are considered an insult by Pyongyang. A top North Korean official told a rally on Friday that the broadcasts had pushed the rival Koreas to the "brink of war."

Daily life was mostly as normal on the South Korean side of the border on Sunday. A popular ice fishing festival near the border attracted an estimated 121,300 people on Saturday and 100,000 on Sunday, Yonhap reported.

The post US Flies B-52 over S. Korea after North's Nuclear Test appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thousands Protest in HK over Missing Publishers; Booksellers Worried

Posted: 10 Jan 2016 10:05 PM PST

Demonstrators hold Hong Kong's old colonial-era flags during a protest over the disappearance of booksellers, in Hong Kong, China, January 10, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)

HONG KONG — Thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday in a reprise of anti-China protests of more than a year ago, demanding to know the whereabouts of five missing people linked to a local publisher of books critical of Beijing's leadership.

Other publishers and book vendors are unnerved by the mysterious disappearances, and in some cases they have pulled books critical of Beijing's leaders from their shelves.

In three bookstores selling political books visited by Reuters, owners declined to be interviewed, citing the fear of mainland anger. Hong Kong, a former British colony handed back to China in 1997, is constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and autonomy from Beijing for 50 years but the series of disappearances has led to suspicions that mainland law enforcement officers were ignoring the law.

Lee Bo, 65, a shareholder of Causeway Bay Books and a British passport holder, went missing from Hong Kong in late December, although his wife has withdrawn a missing person report, saying he travelled to China voluntarily to assist in an unspecified investigation.

Four other associates of the publisher have previously been unaccounted for, since late last year.

Dressed in yellow and holding up yellow umbrellas, the hallmark of anti-China protests that crippled parts of the city in late 2014, the protesters demanded to know the whereabouts of the missing booksellers.

"Today's Lee Bo is you and me tomorrow," the protesters shouted.

The demonstrators gathered outside government headquarters—the scene of pro-democracy protests in late 2014—carrying banners that read: "Release Hong Kong Booksellers Now!"

The Hong Kong government said in a statement it was "firmly committed to protecting the freedom of expression and freedom of publication."

"The rule of law is the cornerstone of our society," it said, adding that police are investigating the cases and have sought assistance from mainland authorities.

Protest organizers said about 6,000 people took part.

"Nobody is safe in Hong Kong now," said Bao Pu, who published the secret memoirs of Zhao Ziyang, a former Communist Party general secretary who was purged after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. His father, Bao Tong, was the most senior Chinese official jailed over the protests in Beijing.

As of Thursday, more than 500 publishers, writers, booksellers and members of the public had signed an online petition pledging to: "Not fear the white terror and uphold the principle of publication freedom." White terror is a term used to describe periods of political persecution by authoritarian regimes.

Britain and the United States have expressed concern about the disappearances.

'Evil Influence'

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi skirted a direct question on whether the men were under Chinese detention at a recent press conference. The Guangdong and Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing, have not responded to Reuters' repeated requests for comment.

China's state-run Global Times tabloid, however, wrote in a recent editorial that the booksellers were exercising an "evil influence" in China through their political books. The newspaper went on to say that it was "reasonable" for law enforcement agencies to "circumvent the law when they seek cooperation from an individual for investigation."

Political gossip books and exposés on Chinese leaders have been a lucrative niche market for Hong Kong booksellers catering to Chinese visitors accustomed to pervasive censorship of sensitive literature back home.

But now, some stores have distanced themselves from such books.

At the PageOne bookshop chain, a young sales assistant told Reuters some of these books had been pulled recently.

"This is the company's decision," he said. "I'm not very clear about it. We only have history books now."

A spokesperson for PageOne said the firm wouldn't comment.

At the People's Book Cafe, posters of Mao Zedong—the late founder of modern China—were hanging above mainland Chinese tourists scouring the aisles to buy banned books on China's leaders, including Mao himself.

Paul Tang, the owner, told Reuters that in the event the industry for banned books collapsed in Hong Kong, he expected it to "migrate to other nearby countries" like Taiwan or Japan, given the huge sustained demand from Chinese visitors.

At two other small, independent bookshops visited by Reuters, Insiders Books and Best Reading Bookstores, staff refused to comment about the disappearances.

The Causeway Bay Books shop, which has been linked to all five missing men, remains locked, while at the firm's warehouse in an industrial building where Lee was last seen in late December, stacks of books wrapped in brown paper were piled up outside the door.

One pile of books was on Chinese President "Xi Jinping's ultimate battle with the old Communists," according to an invoice glued to the side.

Lee told Reuters in November that "the only possible reason" for the disappearances of his associates was because of a new book they were going to publish, that some local media said was an expose on Xi Jinping's love life. Lee, however, declined to give specifics at the time.

The post Thousands Protest in HK over Missing Publishers; Booksellers Worried appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

In Koh Tao Aftermath, Unlocking the DNA of Doubt

Posted: 10 Jan 2016 09:58 PM PST

Myanmar migrant worker Wai Phyo, also known as Win Zaw Htun, arrives at the Koh Samui Provincial Court, in Koh Samui, Thailand, on July 22, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

The evidence comprised little more than a data table, printed on a single sheet of paper. To Jane Taupin, it didn't seem to make sense.

"[It] had no guidance for the reader of how to interpret the table," she said.

"What's more, it contained handwritten notes and amendments. That is non-compliant with any international standard that I know of."

Taupin, one of the world's foremost experts on DNA profiling, had been expecting to raise this and several other serious concerns about the handling of DNA evidence during the Koh Tao murder trial last year.

But despite flying out from Australia to Thailand to attend the hearing, she was never called to the witness stand.

Instead, the defense team relied on the testimony of Pornthip Rojanasunand, head of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, to challenge the DNA findings.

The three judges at the Samui Provincial Court found Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun guilty of the murder of British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge, sentencing the pair to death. The ruling, delivered on Christmas Eve, relied heavily on the DNA evidence put forward by prosecutors, which claimed a "100 percent" match and which the court agreed used methodology that was "internationally accepted."

Yet Taupin, who has worked as an internal laboratory auditor and written books on the use of forensic evidence in courtrooms, said serious doubts linger over whether that is the case.

Crime scenes, she said, are notoriously difficult to gather quality DNA samples from. Cases like the one on Koh Tao, which deal with mixed samples, are fraught with danger: Complex and sometimes unreliable statistical calculations must be carried out to determine the probability that someone other than the accused could match the recovered sample.

Yet no statistical analysis was made available to the defense team or the court.

Instead, the judges were simply told by prosecution witnesses that the evidence "confirmed" that DNA recovered from the crime scene belonged to the two accused, a claim Taupin said is not strictly possible to make; instead, a probability ratio must be given.

"Whatever way you want to determine the statistics, they've got to be validated in your laboratory, and you've got to have them. But Thailand doesn't have them. Not at all," she said.

"DNA profiling is predicated on statistics, that's the whole point. You don't just say it's a match—it's not fingerprinting. … You need to give significance to that match."

A History of Doubt

From the moment the bodies of Miller and Witheridge were discovered on Sairee Beach on Sept. 15, 2014, police found themselves under enormous pressure—both from the public and the newly self-appointed military government—to resolve the case quickly.

But the investigation was dogged from the outset by a series of very public blunders, including concerns the crime scene had not been properly secured and could have been contaminated.

It soon emerged CCTV cameras in the vicinity of the crime scene were not working, while cameras near the pier—the small island's sole entry/exit point—were never inspected.

Thai nationals were ruled out almost immediately as suspects, and police quickly declared the island's Burmese migrant population was most likely responsible. They announced that DNA samples showed the perpetrators were Asian, even though DNA profiling is not able to determine race—a fact later acknowledged by police forensic experts in court.

On Sept. 16, the day after the murders, 11 pieces of evidence recovered from the crime scene, along with DNA samples taken from 14 suspects, were sent to a police forensics lab for testing.

One of those pieces of evidence was the murder weapon, a garden hoe. An initial test found traces of human blood, which proved to be that of Witheridge. But no DNA was recovered.

Almost a year after that test was conducted, the hoe was retested—this time by a team led by Dr. Pornthip. It found traces of DNA belonging to at least two people, but which did not match with the profiles of the accused.

A key part of the prosecution's case was what they said was a "match" between DNA samples found on Witheridge's body and the two defendants.

Defense lawyers had asked police to hand over the DNA samples that the police used to make this match, for independent verification, but were told there was nothing left of the evidence for retesting.

The Evidence Sometimes Lies

Taupin blames television shows like "CSI" for propagating the myth that DNA evidence is infallible. In reality, she said, DNA profiling relies heavily on assumptions and interpretations by individual scientists. She said studies have shown that it is possible for different labs to offer completely different findings from the same sample.

"It's completely reliant on the subjective interpretation of the DNA analyst as to how many contributors there are. It all falls back on that," she said. "If one analyst says there's only one contributor, another analyst might say there are two."

As a result, forensic scientists must be acutely aware of the potential flaws in their experiments, and also explain these potential shortcomings to the court, she said.

Taupin said the whole purpose of analyzing DNA profiles is not about certainty to begin with—it's about statistical probability, something which no other branch of forensic science is able to offer.

When a crime scene sample arrives at the lab for testing, forensic scientists are forced to make informed guesses about how many people might have contributed to the mixture of DNA recovered from a piece of evidence. The more possible contributors, the harder it becomes to reasonably link the evidence to any individual person.

The scientists will not analyze entire genomes; instead they look at just a small part. How many areas are tested will differ by country, but in Thailand scientists will check for commonalities at 16 specific locations, which is considered acceptable by international standards.

At each of these 16 locations, there are many different possible genetic variations, known as alleles. Every person has two alleles at each location—one inherited from the mother and one from the father.

A simple analogy is to picture each allele as a box containing Scrabble pieces. If a forensic scientist opens 16 boxes and finds just two letters in each of them, then they can generally assume—as long as the sample is "true"—that there was only one contributor.

While two people can share alleles at individual locations, the odds of them sharing the same values at all 16 points are impossibly small. If testing found matches at 17 locations, the probability that it would be another person is one in 10 billion, according to Taupin.

"Nevertheless, you can't prove identity, you can only give a statistic. And there's a lot of steps to get to that point," she said. "And if you've got a mixture of more than one person, the statistics are commensurately different, because there's different combinations that can give that."

In the Koh Tao case, the most compelling DNA evidence was that recovered from semen sampled from Witheridge's body, which contained at least three people's DNA—the victim and what police said were the two accused. Yet Taupin said it's not clear how mixed sample statistics were applied to those samples.

If we return to the Scrabble analogy, and imagine that some or all of those 16 allele boxes contain more than two letters, then the number of potential matches vastly increases.

At a basic level, that is what happens with DNA profiling, and is why in mixed samples it is easy to create false links between an accused and a crime scene.

During the Koh Tao trial, the court was told samples were found which match the profiles of the suspects in all 16 locations. But no statistic was offered to show how many other people in the population might also have matched, which Taupin said defied international guidelines.

"If, for example, there were five contributors to a sample, probably most people including you and me could have contributed," Taupin said. "If you have five contributors, there are so many combinations of permutations that unless the particular crime scene sample had a really uncommon allele, most people in the population could have contributed.

"You have to consider, what are the other people in the population that could have provided, or who could match, that so-called DNA profile that you've obtained from the reference sample?"

Despite the prosecution claiming that the DNA evidence showed a match in the Koh Tao case, Taupin said the power of DNA lies not in matching samples, but in its power of discrimination, or what the differences are. "And that is what was not explained in this particular case," she said.

Taupin said she is not critical of the court's decision, but the DNA evidence presented by the prosecution had many potential flaws that needed more proper explanation.

Given the nature of mixed sample DNA analysis, she is particularly critical of claims by multiple police forensics experts that their lab results guaranteed the identity of the perpetrators "100 percent."

She said there is no international standard that recommends the conclusion of identity from a forensic DNA profile, no matter how many areas on the DNA molecule are examined.

It is for this reason, she said, that DNA profiling alone is not enough to form the basis of a criminal conviction. "It's just one piece of the circumstantial case. It's a scientific test, that's all," she said.

'True Deception'

Taupin said there are many areas during the DNA profiling process where mistakes can be made, which is why the availability of data for peer review is essential.

"There are many ways that you can misinterpret a particular value as being an actual 'true' allelial result, and it's not actually so," she said.

Taupin pointed to potential mistakes in the limited data presented to the court in the Koh Tao case. In the one-page table, an extra "allele value"—basically an extra Scrabble letter—was found in the DNA sample taken from Witheridge's breast that did not match either of the accused.

"They [the prosecution] said, 'Oh well, that doesn't matter because the other components matched the accused,'" Taupin said.

"But it does matter, because if there's an extra value in there, and if the two accused contributed, then a third person must have donated."

She said there were also a number of components in the retrieved semen samples, particularly in the anal swab recovered from Witheridge, that were a mixture of at least two people and possibly three.

But the steps to achieve all this were not provided.

Taupin said she did not know whether the testing was conducted on the basis of only two suspects, or whether there were more. The starting assumption would influence how the DNA is analyzed.

"The very first area that they look at out of the 16 is called D3, and one accused [in the Koh Tao case] was a 13,15 [allele value], and the second accused was a 13,15 at that area, and the crime scene stain was a 13,15. So they say, well, they could have contributed at that area," Taupin said.

"But also say for example you could be a 13,15, but I could be a 13,13, and I could have contributed if there's two contributors. It all falls down on the basis that people can share alleles, and you can share with me a 13, and someone else can share a 15, so it's all completely dependent on statistics."

Imperfect Match

Taupin also raised concerns about the mass collection of DNA that took place on Koh Tao as police desperately searched for suspects in the days after the crime.

While stressing that without access to the police records it's impossible to know exactly what methods were used, she said "they obviously just kept testing people until they got components that matched. But that's not how it works.

"If you test a lot of people, you don't just test until you find that someone matches, because how many other people might match, how many other people that have left the island might match, or how many people in Thailand might match, or how many people in the United Kingdom might match.

"A fallacy, and that's what I think happened, is that they've tested people until they've found people that had components that were in the mixture."

If that is the case, she said, it would mean police have not looked at the whole concept of mixture statistics.

"How they could have ignored mixture statistics defies belief, and shows an absolute ignorance of the literature of the last 20 years and all international guidelines," she said.

"One particularly disturbing aspect was that it said there was saliva on the right breast of the deceased, but there was no test for it. It was just assumed to be saliva. I mean where did they get that from?"

'Should Be Dismissed'

Concerns over the handling of DNA evidence have not been limited to methodology alone. Doubts have also been raised about the laboratory where the crime scene samples were tested. Police presented no solid evidence to the court to show their laboratory was certified ISO17025, which specifies the general requirements to carry out tests, including sampling.

Some Thai DNA experts have questioned whether the police lab responsible for testing in this case had ISO17025 certification at the time of analyzing forensic samples in the Koh Tao case.

Andy Hall, a British human rights defender and adviser to the defense team, said regardless of whether or not there was a certification, the process did not comply with proper standards in the opinion of Taupin and the defense team.

"The DNA evidence, essentially the central part of the case against the accused, was very sloppily gathered, analyzed and reported in a way that did not comply with international forensic standards," said Hall.

"That sloppy nature raised suspicions that meant the DNA match against the accused could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution and should be dismissed."

But the court disagreed. It concluded that the DNA testing by the Royal Thai Police was credible and trustworthy.

The judges said the DNA evidence can prove beyond reasonable doubt that both of the defendants raped the second victim, "even without considering any other facts or circumstances such as the defendants' confessions following arrest and at the interrogation stages."

The court found no issue with the DNA evidence lacking any records of how and where it was handled, saying "they are internal procedures which differ within each organization and does not contribute to inaccurate and incorrect test results, thus the result from both institutions have not been damaged or compromised."

But Kingsley Abbott, the international legal adviser for Southeast Asia at the International Commission of Jurists, a Geneva-based human rights organization, said there are several legal concerns about how the court approached the DNA evidence and allegations of torture which should be subject to careful review on appeal.

"A court must always approach DNA evidence, which is inherently complex and vulnerable to error, with the greatest of care," he said.

"Before taking it into account, it must be sure there were no mistakes from the moment the DNA evidence was collected to the time it was transported, analyzed and interpreted. This is only possible when a complete and detailed picture is presented and explained to the court by appropriate officials and experts.

"Whether this was done in this case consistent with international standards should be reviewed on appeal."

He said allegations of torture made by the accused must be subject to a separate independent, impartial and effective investigation as alleged crimes in their own right.

"The appeal court should also review whether, in its decision, the trial court placed the burden of proof that torture occurred on the accused, contrary to international law," said Abbott.

"Once an allegation of torture is made, the burden falls on the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the evidence was obtained lawfully. Any evidence found to have been obtained by torture must be excluded from evidence in all proceedings."

On the Defense

In the wake of last month's court ruling, the defense team has been heavily criticized for not attacking the DNA evidence more vigorously. Notably, questions linger over why Taupin was never called to offer expert testimony.

Defense lawyer Nakhon Chompuchat said the case was complex but his team had taken great care to challenge the available DNA data.

"Police were given a very tough cross-examination regarding the subject of DNA evidence. This was a groundbreaking case, the first time a Thai criminal defense team ever challenged police forensic evidence and were granted a retest," he said.

"The defense team drew extensively from what they learned from Jane [Taupin] in their questioning of the police DNA evidence. Most of what she pointed out Dr. Pornthip did give testimony on.

"Since the defense team are preparing an appeal, certain elements of the case, this being one, cannot be further discussed at this time."

Police, meanwhile, have been at pains to defend the integrity of their investigation.

They have, in particular, defended the quality of the DNA evidence, insisting it meets all international standards.

"The DNA evidence cannot lie," said police spokesman Maj. Gen. Piyaphan Pingmuang.

But Taupin is not so convinced.

"It's quite specific that if you say a particular person has contributed to a DNA sample or crime stain, then you must state the statistical significance. You must. And the 'must' is in capital letters and underlined. That is an international guideline," she said.

"So to say a crime scene stain matches a reference sample without any significance of inclusion, without any statistics, follows no recognized guideline, none at all."

The post In Koh Tao Aftermath, Unlocking the DNA of Doubt appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thai Rubber Farmers Threaten Protest, Set to Meet Tuesday

Posted: 10 Jan 2016 09:00 PM PST

A man works inside a rubber factory at Raman district in the southern province of Yala, Thailand, on Nov. 4, 2015. (Photo: Surapan Boonthanom / Reuters)

BANGKOK — Thailand's rubber farmers will meet to call for help from the military government on Tuesday to deal with a slump in their incomes and threaten open defiance of its ban on protests if their demands are not met.

The threat is an unusual challenge because rubber farmers have typically supported the conservative royalist establishment championed by the generals, who outlawed political gatherings of more than five people when they seized power in mid-2014.

Thailand, the world's top rubber producer and exporter, has already rolled out several measures to support farmers whose income has been slashed due to a fall in international prices of the commodity to a seven-year low.

But those measures have stopped short of doing what the farmers want and what previous more populist governments reviled by the military have done—spend state money to guarantee a selling price to farmers.

"We call for rubber prices at 60 baht per kilogram. If the government can't do that, we are ready for a big protest," the group of rubber farmer networks said in a statement issued on Sunday. That amounts to US$1.65 per kilogram.

The government should move quickly to strengthen domestic rubber prices, the statement said, suggesting it terminate a plan to sell rubber stocks of 360,000 tons and task the Rubber Authority of Thailand to overhaul the industry.

Stocks accumulated through previous subsidies and support schemes have weighed on the market, further depressing prices to multi-year lows last week as concern over the health of China's economy hammered international financial markets.

Thailand's benchmark unsmoked rubber sheet (USS3) was at 33.40 baht per kilogram on Friday, the lowest since dropping to 32.7 baht in December 2008, according to Rubber Authority of Thailand data.

Last week, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said his government did not have enough money to assist rubber farmers with another direct subsidy, but was looking for a sustainable solution to the problem.

Saksarit Sriprasart, a rubber farmer leader in the southern province of Trang, told Reuters on Sunday he would go on hunger strike next week if the government fails to solve the problems of small rubber farmers.

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