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Monday, January 25, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

For Lynn Wunna, A Clear Mind is Key to Artistic Expression
Maintaining Arms Embargo is Crucial to Peace Process
Buyers Remain Cautious as Condominium Law Approved By Parliament
New Mon Language Curriculum Ready for Government Schools
Letpadan Detainees Facing ‘Life-Threatening’ Illnesses: Report
Thai Court Orders Prison Transfer of Burmese Pair Implicated in Ranong Murder
Suu Kyi, Military Chief Meet Again as Power Transfer Nears
Three Children Reported Injured After Burma Army, TNLA Clash
Market Launched in Muse Business Zone
Army Chief Vows to Inform Press Council About Peace Process
Acclaimed Writer Amitav Ghosh Honors U Thant in Rangoon
Ethnic Protesters in Nepal Reject Constitutional Amendment
Vietnam PM Nominated to Panel in Key Move to Seek Leadership
Malaysia Detains 7 Suspected IS Members Plotting Attacks
A Kachin Leader’s Legacy Lives On Through His Daughter

For Lynn Wunna, A Clear Mind is Key to Artistic Expression

Posted: 25 Jan 2016 05:25 PM PST

RANGOON — Lynn Wunna credits the guidance he received from one of Burma's most renowned and influential artists, Bagyi Aung Soe, as setting him on his own unique artistic path.

"Art is not for money," he recalls Bagyi Aung Soe advising. "It is your obligation to create works of aesthetic appeal. Whether or not you can make money, that depends on fate."

The eldest of six siblings, Lynn Wunna was born in Rangoon's Tamwe Township. His father was an English teacher and his mother a civil servant.

He began learning the very basics of painting when he was young as well-known cartoonist Myay Zar taught art at his local kindergarten. When he was in fifth grade, he studied basic painting from the artist Lun Kywe and by the ninth grade, he was taking tips from Bagyi Aung Soe, who lived just four doors down from his home.

Bagyi Aung Soe did not teach him painting techniques directly at first but instead showed him pictures in books and explained how they were drawn and asked him to imitate the style.

He still remembers much of the late artist's advice.

"One day he said I had become half an artist," Lynn Wunna said. "I asked him what I was supposed to do to be a fully-fledged artist and he told me to read a lot."

Bagyi Aung Soe also helped him undergo mind training exercises such as mediating and counting beads to obtain Satori—a state of mind helping a person to better understand their true nature.

"Don't be a second Aung Soe; be the first Lynn Wunna," Bagyi Aung Soe once told him.

Lynn Wunna was arrested on September 9, 1990, and spent three months in Insein Prison for his involvement in politics. He studied at the State Fine Arts School in Rangoon from 1991-94 but, just two months after graduation, he was arrested for a second time and spent another year in jail.

"Artists love freedom. Throughout history, artists have always confronted rulers during dark eras in which freedom is prohibited," Lynn Wunna said.

"I took part in basic education school student unions after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising and was consequently imprisoned when I was in 10th grade."

After his release, he was no longer permitted to study at school and had to take exams off-campus.

"I think politics concerns everyone living in the country. Unless and until people… enjoy complete human freedom and there is responsibility and accountability, politics will remain a crushing burden on us," Lynn Wunna said, adding that he was optimistic about the country's future.

The Rangoon-born artist has so far held eight solo exhibitions since 1996 and participated in dozens of group shows and charity events.

He describes the creation of his works as dependent on his mental state.

"I focus on color rather than figures and draw out my feelings on canvas in a state of mind between consciousness and unconsciousness. If consciousness is stronger than unconsciousness, my painting is dominated by drawing techniques and if unconsciousness is stronger… the painting is dominated by abstract composition," he said.

"Sometimes images which hide in the deepest parts of the mind come out onto canvas without the knowledge of the creator."

When asked how he defines a successful artist, he pointed to Bagyi Aung Soe and Kin Maung Yin as examples.

"They have attained the highest state. [By that] I mean a state in which an artist can free his mind and draw out his feelings freely without being burdened. This I think is the highest achievement for an artist," he said.

Aside from painting, Lynn Wunna is also involved in illustration.

"To illustrate, you need to have a strong imagination, and for arts, you need to have strong feeling," he said.

Translated by Thet Ko Ko.

The post For Lynn Wunna, A Clear Mind is Key to Artistic Expression appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Maintaining Arms Embargo is Crucial to Peace Process

Posted: 25 Jan 2016 04:25 PM PST

A cache of Burma Army weapons purportedly seized recently by the Shan State Army-North. (Photo: Tai Tan Yang / SSPP/SSA)

In 2016,the question of lifting the on-going arms embargo and related sanctions against the Tatmadaw, as the Burma Army is known, and its civilian cronies will be revisited by Western governments. The fact that the current embargo imposed by the European Union and that has existed since 1998 is set to expire on April 30th makes this inevitable. While in some ways this will be a continuation of a process of lifting political and economic sanctions by these foreign governments that began in 2011 with the transition to quasi-civilian rule and then intensified after the 2012 electoral gains of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

During the coming months, it can be expected that this process will enter a new phase with pressure from within Burma for the lifting of military-related sanctions. While senior Tatmadaw can be expected to seek this as a reward for their "good behavior," it can also be expected that the new NLD government will also voice its support as a demonstration of its commitment to national reconciliation and the role of the military as a national institution.

It is difficult to see how any ethnic armed organization could retain any faith in foreign intermediaries—in what is already seen by many as a broken process—should they permit state-owned or private arms companies from their countries to do business with the Tatmadaw. This is because the lifting of these sanctions would undermine trust in the good faith of these governments in three key areas.

The first of these concerns the impact that this change in policy would have on the faith that ethnic armed organizations have in the commitment of foreign governments to promoting good governance and the rule of law in Burma.

Under the 2008 Constitution, the military will remain outside of the oversight and control of the incoming NLD led government, as will the administration and budgets of the ministries of Defense, Interior and Border Affairs. This independence will continue to be facilitated by the military's control of an economic empire administered through the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, Ltd. and the Myanmar Economic Corporation, which also includes significant off-the-books income from the looting of natural resources such as timber, jade and precious stones in areas largely inhabited by non-Bamar ethnic minorities.

Additional income is also obtained through the confiscation of land, which continues to occur in places such as Karenni State as well as from Chinese companies that have been allowed to operate in Burma. One such example is the massive jade extraction in Kachin State's Hpakant area. As the money to pay for weapons, equipment or military-related services would come from such sources, governments that allow state and private companies to do business with the Tatmadaw risk being viewed as its partner in crime and thereby taint their involvement in the current peace process.

This association can also extend to the second major issue of concern: on-going human rights abuses committed by the Tatmadaw against non-Bamar ethnic minorities in conflict-affected areas across the country.

The fact is that even after the transition to quasi-civilian rule and the beginning of the current peace process, the Tatmadaw has continued the practice of forced labor, as well as committing rape, torture and killing civilians. Such abuses have long been a feature of the military's notorious scorched-earth "Four Cut" strategy. In addition, the Tatmadaw has also continued its practice of indiscriminately laying landmines and deliberately shelling civilian populations. In both Shan and Kachin states, the scale and intensity of these crimes have resulted in tens of thousands of civilians being displaced from their homes.

While it would be bad enough that a lifting of military-related sanctions would be seen as a tacit acceptance of these abuses, the third major issue of concern is that the Tatmadaw continues to violate ceasefire agreements and even refuses to engage some ethnic armed organizations in peace talks.

In the case of the Shan State Progressive Party, the political wing of the Shan State Army–North, this group has had more than 100 clashes with the government over the past three years. At the same time, it has been subjected to repeated demands that it withdraw from outposts, bases and towns that are under its control. It was the refusal of Shan State Army–North to withdraw from the outposts in Mong Hsu as well as the strategically located river port town of Tar San Pu in Kyethi Township, Shan State, which resulted in the Tatmadaw launching an attack that displaced about 10,000 civilians.

One doesn't need to know much about Burma to understand that a willingness to do business with the Tatmadaw as it continues to violate ceasefire agreements and refuses to negotiate with some ethnic armed organizations would risk further emboldening it to use force against them, rather than seeking a genuine political settlement to the country's protracted civil war.

Of course, the already weak response of the international community to these crimes and its failure to force Naypyidaw to abide either by its ceasefire agreements or obligations under international treaties—including the Geneva Conventions and Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict—has not gone unnoticed. Nor has the fact that the United States, the European Union and others have done little to dissuade or prevent countries receiving large amounts of aid from selling arms to the Tatmadaw. A recent example is their failure to stop Pakistan's sale of JF-17 Thunder multirole fighters, which could be used not only against ethnic armed organizations but also civilian populations.

Lifting military-related sanctions would be a betrayal on a scale unseen since the United States and the United Kingdom abandoned the Karen and Kachin after World War II. For this reason, efforts by political parties, NGOs and civil society to maintain the arms embargo and other sanctions against the military must be sustained if the current peace process is to survive.

Khu Oo Reh is Vice Chairman of the Karenni National Progressive Party and General Secretary of the United Nationalities Federal Council.

The post Maintaining Arms Embargo is Crucial to Peace Process appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Buyers Remain Cautious as Condominium Law Approved By Parliament

Posted: 25 Jan 2016 05:09 AM PST

Construction site in Mayangone Township, one of Rangoon's prime real estate locations. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burma's outgoing Union Parliament on Friday approved a new Condominium Law, clarifying some property regulations and making 40 percent of units available for foreign purchase.

Three years in the making, the law is expected to breathe new life into a stagnating real estate market, though industry professionals predict foreign investors still await more reform.

Under the new law, foreigners will be able to buy units on the sixth floor or higher, but are not allowed to manage properties. Buyers will acquire shared ownership of the land on which the condos are built, viewed as an improvement over previous property laws favoring landowners over apartment owners.

The law also outlines criteria for condominiums, detailing the number of floors, units, parking places, facilities and security required. Condominiums must be more than ix stories high with a footprint of at least 20,000 square feet.

Lower House lawmaker Khine Maung Yi, of the National Democratic Force party, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the bill had been passed by both houses and that "details will be announced after the President [Thein Sein] approves it."

Real estate professionals expect to see an uptick in sales, especially in the commercial capital Rangoon, where supply has exceeded demand amid a construction boom in recent years. The property market has also slowed since 2014 due to skyrocketing prices and concerns over political stability.

"There are many condos waiting to be sold in Rangoon, but the market has cooled down as many investors take a 'wait and see' approach to the country's political situation and laws," said Than Oo, vice chairman of the Myanmar Real Estate Association.

"But now I expect many developers will be happy, as foreign investors will come," he added.

Some investors still remain cautious because of Burma's as-yet incomplete tax reform agenda, according to Zin Min Swe, managing director of Mandalay-based CAD Construction. A number of lawmakers have proposed raising property and sales taxes, and enforcement is expected to become more stringent in the years to come.

"I am concerned that the government will try to control the property market with the tax laws; they will reassess the property taxes for these buyers," Zin Min Swe said, explaining that until investors see a clear and fair tax policy, they are unlikely to rush in and buy residential properties.

In addition to vague and likely impermanent tax laws, investors want to see a number of other refinements to related policies.

Tony Picon, managing director of the US-based real estate firm Colliers International, said that buyers will be waiting for a clearer land titling system and changes to parking requirements, "which are hindering the condo sector."

The post Buyers Remain Cautious as Condominium Law Approved By Parliament appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Mon Language Curriculum Ready for Government Schools

Posted: 25 Jan 2016 04:33 AM PST

A Mon nongovernment primary school operated by the Mon National Education Committee under the New Mon State Party in Kabyarwa village, Ye Township, Mon State. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The training of 400 teachers in a new child-centered curriculum for the instruction of the Mon language began this week in Moulmein.

Regional volunteers and civil servants who work as Mon language instructors in government schools will attend the training in the Mon State capital. Participants are from Mon and Karen states, and Tenasserim Division.

Min Aung Zay, a team leader on the Working Committee for Curriculum Drafting, said the training will be delivered as a four-day workshop to two batches of 200 teachers. He explained that these teachers will then try out the new curriculum when schools re-open. Through student-centered methodology, he hopes children will be able to "learn the language easily."

The Mon Language Curriculum Committee within the Mon State government has finished drafting primary-level textbooks, a basic Mon language book and a teacher's guide for the upcoming school year. The materials were adapted from Burma's national curriculum and are based on "mother tongue-based multilingual education," an approach in which students are instructed in their first language as a way to both preserve non-dominant languages and build confidence in learning.

New Mon-language textbooks for kindergarten up to grade five are currently being printed with Unicef funds, and are expected to be ready at the end of April or early May.

With support from the Mon State government, the Mon language teachers will be provided a salary of 30,000 kyats (US$23) per month. The Irrawaddy reported in May that, due to a lack of funds and national support, teachers had previously only received one-third of this.

There are approximately 50,000 students in Mon State and 100,000 students countrywide currently attending schools where the Mon language is taught.

"Most schools that teach Mon language classes are in Mon villages where there are no Burman students," Min Aung Zay said. Seven of Mon State's townships are home to 382 such schools.

"The language is not taught in some cities where Burmese is spoken more. But in cities where there are more Mon, we have to teach it," he added.

In 2014, the Mon State parliament approved a bill allowing ethnic language instruction during school hours, yet access to Mon language classes still varies by school. Beginning in 2011, ethnic educators and lawmakers proposed the inclusion of local languages in government schools. It was permitted one year later, but only outside of regular school hours, and did not receive state funding.

For 50 years, Burma's military governments banned ethnic minority language education from public schools, requiring that all instruction take place in Burmese, the language of the country's ethnic Burman majority. Minority languages were instead taught in non-government schools run by the administrative divisions of non-state ethnic armed groups.

The post New Mon Language Curriculum Ready for Government Schools appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Letpadan Detainees Facing ‘Life-Threatening’ Illnesses: Report

Posted: 25 Jan 2016 04:15 AM PST

Members of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), Justice Trust and the Letpadan Justice Committee hold a press conference on Monday in Rangoon. (Photo: Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — A coalition of three groups released a report on Monday highlighting the ailing health of 53 student demonstrators and supporters detained since March and urging their "immediate and unconditional" release.

In the report, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), Justice Trust and the Letpadan Justice Committee said some of the Thayawaddy Prison detainees are suffering from life-threatening medical conditions without access to proper treatment services.

"The poor health of the students is a result of the brutal crackdown at Letpadan [in Pegu Division]. They were kicked, punched, as well as beaten in the face and head with batons," said ABFSU spokesperson Aung Nay Paing.

The report released Monday said unsanitary conditions at Thayawaddy Prison had contributed to detainees' deteriorating health.

Protests against Burma's controversial National Education Law went on for months before police eventually clamped down on demonstrators at Letpadan on March 10 of last year. Of the 127 students initially detained, 53 have since been released. The remaining students have been charged with various sections of Burma's Penal Code.

Nineteen of the remaining students were granted bail and two were released after they were found to be minors.

Thet Min, the medical practitioner who led the research team for the report, said prison authorities had barred many of the ailing students from being transferred to private hospitals to receive treatment, despite his urging.

Thet Min examined 34 of the remaining 53 detainees for the report and found that some are suffering from gastrointestinal illnesses, chest infections and tuberculosis (TB). He recommended that the student who has contracted TB, in particular, be separated from other detainees to prevent spread of the infectious disease.

Overall, the report stated that some 70 percent of the students who were involved in the Letpadan protests had received internal injuries as a result of the crackdown.

Aung Nay Paing said that, nine months on, only a single witness out of the 49 who have submitted statements in the cases had actually made it to the courthouse.

"It [the trial] can take up to three years," he said. "These cases shouldn't lead to imprisonment. We demand that the government drop the case."

Aung Nay Paing added that the current government should resolve the Letpadan controversy, rather than leave it to the new government when power is transferred in late March.

Khin Khin Htwe, mother of detained student Min Thwe Thit, said she had gone to court hearings several times but that some parents had been unable to attend due in part to financial hurdles.

The post Letpadan Detainees Facing 'Life-Threatening' Illnesses: Report appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thai Court Orders Prison Transfer of Burmese Pair Implicated in Ranong Murder

Posted: 25 Jan 2016 03:56 AM PST

Moe Zin Aung, Sein Kadone, Wai Lin and Kyaw Soe Win (from left to right) are seen with their families last year. (Photo: Min Oo / FED)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — A court in Thailand's Ranong province on Monday ordered that two Burmese minors accused of involvement in the fatal stabbing of a Thai student in September last year be transferred to a juvenile prison in Surat Thani province, some 200 km south of the Ranong juvenile facility in which they had been detained.

Four Burmese fisheries workers—including Moe Zin Aung and Kyaw Soe Win, both 15 years old—have been in detention since October 2015 in connection with the stabbing death of a 19-year-old Thai woman the previous month.

The two minors appeared in court on Monday after a judge accepted the case against them on Jan. 22. The pair are being tried in separate proceedings from the other accused, Wai Lin and Sein Kadone, as the former are adolescents.

"I told my son to stay safe at the Surat Thani juvenile detention centre," said Ei Ei Moe, the mother of Moe Zin Aung. "I am worried about him as they are moving him to a place further from us."

She said Moe Zin Aung received minor injuries after he was assaulted by another detainee in the juvenile detention center in Ranong on Jan. 15.

Ei Ei Moe added that the defendant's lawyers and the migrant rights group, Foundation for Education & Development, pledged to assist the family to arrange future prison visits.

Family members of the accused have alleged their sons were tortured by police in detention.

The next court hearing for the two Burmese minors is scheduled for Feb. 29. Wai Lin and Sein Kadone appeared in court on Jan. 18 and their next hearing is set for March 14.

The case is expected to be closely scrutinized after a Thai court sentenced two Burmese migrant workers to death last month for the murder of two British backpackers on a Thai resort island in September 2014. The verdict prompted days of protests outside the Thai Embassy in Rangoon.

The post Thai Court Orders Prison Transfer of Burmese Pair Implicated in Ranong Murder appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi, Military Chief Meet Again as Power Transfer Nears

Posted: 25 Jan 2016 03:31 AM PST

Burma Army commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, left, and Aung San Suu Kyi shake hands ahead of talks on Monday in Naypyidaw. (Photo: Facebook / Senior General Min Aung Hlaing)

RANGOON — Burma Army leader Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and Aung San Suu Kyi held talks on Monday for the second time since the National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman and her party emerged victorious in a Nov. 8 general election, according to the commander-in-chief's office.

The two-hour sit-down in the capital Naypyidaw came more than a month after the two leaders first met on Dec. 2.

Also present for Monday's meeting were Min Aung Hlaing's deputy Snr-Gen Soe Win and other high-ranking generals, as well as NLD central committee members Win Htein, Win Myint and Zaw Myint Maung, and Suu Kyi's personal physician Dr. Tin Myo Win, the statement said.

"The two sides frankly discussed matters related to a peaceful transition in the post-election period, parliamentary issues, formation of the next government and measures to be taken to build permanent peace after the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement [NCA]," the statement read.

Suu Kyi's NLD won nearly 80 percent of seats contested in November, and will hold the parliamentary supermajority it needs to choose Burma's next president.

With Suu Kyi barred from assuming the presidency and the military controlling three powerful ministries, relations between the NLD chairwoman and Min Aung Hlaing are seen as a critical indicator of the extent to which the party will be able to govern effectively over the 2016-21 period.

A second meeting between the two had been tipped in recent weeks. Unlike Monday's gathering, their first encounter was a private one-on-one.

The NLD will take power on April 1.

The post Suu Kyi, Military Chief Meet Again as Power Transfer Nears appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Three Children Reported Injured After Burma Army, TNLA Clash

Posted: 25 Jan 2016 01:37 AM PST

TNLA soldiers from Battalion 527 at Lwel Khan village in Kyaukme Township in northern Shan State. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Three children were wounded by an artillery shell in northern Shan State's Namhsan Township on Saturday, local sources said, during a clash between the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and government troops.

Ba Kyaw, of the Ta'ang Literature and Culture Association in Namhsan, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that three children from one family, aged seven, 10 and 12, were injured when an artillery shell landed on their house in Namhsan town during clashes in the area. It was unclear which side had fired the shell.

"They were hit by the explosion," said Ba Kyaw, who described the fighting as a rare occurrence in the town. "Many of us were afraid."

TNLA troops reported that they attacked a Burma Army base of Light Infantry Division 77 just after midnight on January 23. They allegedly exchanged fire for 30 minutes.

Tar Bong Kyaw, TNLA general secretary, told The Irrawaddy last year that increased aggression from the Burma Army could lead the armed group to consider a more offensive strategy.

"We will change our military tactics if they chase our troops into the jungle," he said in October. "We will attack their base in the town instead of letting them come to fight us."

The TNLA have recently accused Burma Army troops of partnering with soldiers from the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) and jointly attacking them, a charge which the SSA-S leadership denies.

Since November, clashes between the TNLA and the SSA-S have reportedly occurred in several northern Shan State townships, including Namkham and Manton. Both groups have traded blame over the cause of the fighting.

The SSA-S was one of eight armed groups to sign a so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government in October, while the TNLA was one of three armed groups excluded from signing. Several major ethnic armed organizations opted out of the agreement on the basis that it lacked inclusivity.

The post Three Children Reported Injured After Burma Army, TNLA Clash appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Market Launched in Muse Business Zone

Posted: 25 Jan 2016 12:11 AM PST

Mingalar Market in Muse is pictured during its launch last week. (Photo: Facebook / Phyo Aung)

RANGOON — The Mingalar Market in the Muse Central Economic Zone at the Sino-Burmese border opened last week, with shop rental spaces commanding up to 1 billion kyats (US$770,000) per unit.

The 192-unit market, built on 15.5 acres of land, is the first phase of the Muse Central Economic Zone project, a joint venture between the Shan State government and New Star Light Co., which is being built over six phases near the Shweli River along Shan State's northern border with China.

The shops will be leased out on 30-year terms, with rents ranging between 300 million kyats and 1 billion kyats for the three-decade period.

Shops are housed within a three-story compound and leases can be renewed twice, meaning a maximum lease length of 90 years. More than 60 percent of the shops have been leased out so far, according to a New Star Light official in charge of the sales.

More than 200 acres of lands were confiscated for the business district project and a compensation of 24 million kyats was given for each acre of land, Sai Kham Hein, one of the farmers whose land was confiscated, told The Irrawaddy.

Sai Myat Aung, a member of the Shan Literature and Culture Committee in Muse, told The Irrawaddy: "Farmers are not yet satisfied with the compensation they have been given. They want to claim more in compensation."

Construction for the project began in 2013 and the entire project was originally scheduled to be completed last year.

The project's first phase will also include offices, banks, an exhibition center and specialty shops for gems and jade, the Myanmar Times reported.

The post Market Launched in Muse Business Zone appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Army Chief Vows to Inform Press Council About Peace Process

Posted: 24 Jan 2016 10:33 PM PST

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing with members of the Myanmar Press Council in Naypyidaw on Jan. 24, 2016. (Photo: Min Aung Hlaing / Facebook)

RANGOON — The chief of the Burma Army has promised greater transparency throughout the peace process, telling the country's press council that it will serve as an important liaison between the military and the national media.

Speaking to council members on Sunday in Naypyidaw, Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said the press council would be "contacted directly" about military-related news, and that press releases will be issued if necessary.

The commander said the press was often "incorrect," warranting greater cooperation between the military and the country's highest semi-independent media body, formed last year with 24 members.

Min Aung Hlaing said the Burma Army was committed to full implementation of a lasting peace agreement, and viewed ending civil conflict as necessary for the country's stability and development.

Reiterating that the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR) process must adhere to a firm timeframe, the commander said the military was working closely with the government and the Parliament to ensure the rule of law and urged the media to remain "positive."

The post Army Chief Vows to Inform Press Council About Peace Process appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Acclaimed Writer Amitav Ghosh Honors U Thant in Rangoon

Posted: 24 Jan 2016 10:14 PM PST

Amitav Ghosh speaks on climate change at the U Thant House museum in Rangoon on Jan. 24, 2016. (Photo: U Thant House)

RANGOON — Internationally acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh spoke in Rangoon on Sunday at an event marking the birthday of the late former UN Secretary General U Thant, Jan. 22.

The best-selling author of fiction and non-fiction works, including "The Glass Palace," which was set partly in Burma, delivered a lecture called "Climate Change and a Rising" Asia at U Thant's former home in Windermere, near Rangoon University.

U Thant's house has recently been restored and opened to the public as a museum in his honor.

Thant Myint U, the grandson of the former secretary general and co-chairman of the U Thant House Trust, gave introductory remarks, calling it "very fitting" to discuss climate change in U Thant's home.

"U Thant was a passionate believer and early advocate of environmental protection," Thant Myint U said.

"We hope U Thant's house will continue to be not just a museum, but also a venue for talks on issues related to U Thant's life and legacy, such as peace, human rights, sustainable development and climate change," he added.

More than 120 people attended Sunday's event, including Tin Oo, the party patron of the National League for Democracy (NLD), political figures, civil society leaders, diplomats and UN officials.

The post Acclaimed Writer Amitav Ghosh Honors U Thant in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ethnic Protesters in Nepal Reject Constitutional Amendment

Posted: 24 Jan 2016 08:56 PM PST

Madhesi protesters block the highway connecting Nepal to India as they protest against the new constitution in Birgunj, Nepal Nov. 4, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

KATHMANDU — Ethnic protesters in Nepal rejected a constitutional amendment passed by the parliament in a bid to end months of protests that have blocked a key border crossing with India and caused shortages of fuel and other supplies.

Members of Madhesi ethnic parties boycotted a late night vote Saturday that approved the first amendment to the constitution with overwhelming support. Laxman Lal Karna of the United Democratic Madhesi Front said Sunday that the amendment was incomplete and did not address their concerns.

"We reject the amendment that does little to address our demands. It does not even touch our main demand for changing the borders of the provinces," Karna said.

The amendment backed by the ruling coalition and the main opposition party changes the constitution to ensure proportionate inclusion of minority communities in government and electoral constituencies.

The constitution was adopted in September by the Constituent Assembly despite protests from Madhesi groups.

The Madhesis in south Nepal have been protesting for months, saying the constitution carved Nepal's seven states unfairly with borders that cut through their ancestral homeland. They want a larger state, more government representation and more local autonomy.

The protests and a general strike in much of southern Nepal has blocked a key border crossing with India, through which Nepal gets much of its fuel and other supplies. It resulted in a severe shortage of fuel and medicines.

More than 50 people have been killed since August in protest-related violence. Three people were killed on Thursday when police opened fire on Madhesi protesters who tried to attack a political rally organized by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli's party in a southeast Nepal town.

Talks between the protesting groups and the government have continued but no agreement has been reached.

The post Ethnic Protesters in Nepal Reject Constitutional Amendment appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Vietnam PM Nominated to Panel in Key Move to Seek Leadership

Posted: 24 Jan 2016 08:39 PM PST

Vietnam Communist Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong, left, and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the opening of the Vietnam Communist Party's 12th National Congress in Hanoi on Jan. 21, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)

HANOI — Supporters of Vietnam's prime minister have nominated him for a key Communist Party panel, a necessary step to contesting the post of the party chief, in a last-minute maneuver to secure the top job in the country.

Delegates at a Communist Party congress nominated Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to the Central Committee in what amounts to open defiance of the party chief, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who for years has been trying to sideline Dung.

His nomination was announced by Vu Ngoc Hoang, a Central Committee member and deputy chair of the party's propaganda and education commission, state-run newspaper Tuoi Tre reported Sunday.

The move, while not completely unexpected, exposed the deep division between Trong and Dung. It was all the more striking as it was revealed during the ongoing party congress to choose the new general secretary and other leaders in the Politburo, the collective leadership that will govern Vietnam for the next five years.

Dung is favored by the business community, which feels that he will continue the economic reforms in the country at the same pace that have helped Vietnam attract a flood of foreign investment and helped triple the per capita GDP to US$2,100 over the past 10 years.

He is also seen as being more solid in standing up to neighboring China, which has been displaying aggressive territorial ambitions in the South China Sea.

Trong on the other hand is a stolid, conservative party apparatchik who is not seen as being too imaginative on economic reforms, and being too soft on China.

Before the congress opened on Thursday, it appeared that Trong had suppressed Dung by keeping him out of the official list of candidates for the new Central Committee, a key panel that will elect the Politburo. He also invoked a rule that prohibits the 175 members of the committee, where Dung has influence, from nominating anyone else.

However, Dung appears to have found a loophole in that rule by getting some of the 1,510 delegates attending the congress to nominate him, which is allowed.

Hoang was quoted by Tuoi Tre newspaper as saying that Dung and 61 others were nominated by the delegates for Central Committee positions. These names were not on the official list, and the development means that the congress will now have to vote on the final candidates.

Dung is obliged to refuse to accept the nomination, but the delegates are allowed to reject his refusal. If they do so on Monday, Dung would be in the running for the general secretary's post along with Trong. The Central Committee will also nominate other key posts, including prime minister, which is the No. 2 in the hierarchy, the president and the chairman of the National Assembly, or the parliament.

Dung has been prime minister for two terms, and the only job open for him would be the No. 1 post. Trong's camp accuses him of economic mismanagement, a prime example of which was the bankruptcy of a state-owned shipping company, failing to control massive public debt, corruption and non-preforming loans of state-owned banks.

Vietnam is one of the last remaining communist nations in the world, with a party membership of 4.5 million. But like its ideological ally China, the government believes in quasi-free market economy alongside a strictly controlled society that places several restrictions on its 93 million people.

The post Vietnam PM Nominated to Panel in Key Move to Seek Leadership appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Malaysia Detains 7 Suspected IS Members Plotting Attacks

Posted: 24 Jan 2016 08:27 PM PST

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak delivers a speech at the opening of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur November 21, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian police have detained seven men suspected of being an Islamic State militant cell that was plotting attacks, authorities said Sunday.

The seven Malaysians were detained over the past three days in a follow-up operation after the Jan. 15 detention of a man who was planning a suicide attack in Kuala Lumpur, national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said.

Among the items seized were 30 types of bullets, jihad books and Islamic State flags and videos, he said.

"All the suspects are members of the same [terror] cell, which is responsible for planning to launch terror attacks in strategic locations across Malaysia," Khalid said in a statement.

The suspect thought to be the cell leader is a 31-year-old assistant housekeeping manager at a hotel in southern Johor state, Khalid said. He said one of the suspects, whom he didn't identify, received orders from Bahrom Naim, an Indonesian based in Syria who had a role in planning the Jakarta attacks.

Malaysia raised its security alert level following the attacks on Jan. 14 in neighboring Indonesia.

More than 150 people suspected of having ties to the Islamic State group have been detained in Malaysia over the past two years, including some accused of plotting attacks in Kuala Lumpur.

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A Kachin Leader’s Legacy Lives On Through His Daughter

Posted: 24 Jan 2016 06:25 PM PST

Ja Seng Hkawn at her riverside home in Myitkyina. (Photo: Thin Lei Win / Myanmar Now)

MYITKYINA, Kachin State — For much of the first 20 years of her life, Maran Ja Seng Hkawn was raised by her grandmothers in Kachin, Burma's northernmost state, without her parents or siblings by her side and under the scrutiny of military intelligence.

Her crime? She was born into a revolutionary Kachin family.

Decades on, the 50-year-old daughter of a late rebel leader is poised to enter the Kachin State parliament as an elected member when it reconvenes in early February. She is one of only five representatives from Kachin parties to have won a seat in the Nov. 8 elections, which saw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) sweep the board.

"I'm happy that I'd be able to work in a legal and official capacity… Of course, I don't know whether I would be able to do [everything] I wish to but I'm going to work to achieve a federal union that is fair and based on the wishes of the ethnic people," she said.

When Ja Seng Hkawn was six months old, her father left to join the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the insurgent Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which was fighting for independence. Her mother followed him to rebel-held territory with her older brother when Ja Seng Hkawn was three, and gave birth to five more children there.

"I grew up in the arms of my grandmothers from both sides of the family. I couldn't even remember what my parents looked like," she told Myanmar Now, sitting on the terrace of her riverside home in a quiet suburb of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.

"We couldn't go 10 miles beyond the city without permission. We were constantly questioned. But I never felt scared or humiliated," she added, her slightness and soft-spoken manner belying a political steeliness.

Ja Seng Hkawn said she knew "by instinct" she would be joining her family, which she did, 30 years ago, abandoning her teaching job and joining the KIO struggle for Kachin self-determination.

By then, the dream of independence had been revised to a federal union after her father, Maran Brang Seng, was elected KIO chairman in 1976. Ja Seng Hkawn lived among the insurgents from 1986, working closely with her father, and bore witness to a period of upheaval and change.

There was heavy fighting between the Burma Army and the rebels, resulting in the loss of numerous KIO strongholds including their headquarters in Pajao. But the KIO also managed to find western allies sympathetic to their cause.

"Brang Seng was the first Kachin leader to reach out to the outside world in a broader, non-partisan sense," Bertil Lintner, a Swedish journalist and author of books on Burma's ethnic insurgencies, told Myanmar Now.

Rebel to Activist

Brang Seng suffered a stroke in October 1993 and passed away in 1994, months after his deputy signed a ceasefire with Myanmar's junta, an accord that lasted 17 years.

Ja Seng Hkawng stayed in rebel ranks for 16 more years, before returning to Myitkyina in 2010, intending to participate in the country's elections. But the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP), founded by Dr. Manam Tu Ja, another former KIO stalwart, was not allowed to register.

"When I first came back here I was very surprised. People were so scared and didn't even dare speak to each other," she said. "Over there, it was much freer. You could be honest with everyone and speak your mind, whether it's the chairman or the army chief."

She began her political career in Myanmar by bringing together women to advance the rights of the Kachin minority.

"We started Kachin Women's Union at my house, bringing two women with some influence from each township. We would meet here, get hold of whatever documents we can find on human rights, women's rights, democracy, and read and discuss them. We were like kids," she recalled.

Then the ceasefire broke down in June 2011 and fighting erupted, displacing tens of thousands of people.

"There are so many issues in Kachin. The government was talking about national reconciliation but constantly increasing the number of troops. There are environmental issues, including the Myitsone dam. There's land grabbing. There's also rape of ethnic women… many cases that people have not heard of," she said.

When President Thein Sein suspended the controversial Chinese-led Myitsone dam project in September 2011, a group of Kachins, including Ja Seng Hawn, decided to hold a celebration. They tried to get some kind of support from Aung San Suu Kyi, another famous soldier's daughter, but there was no response.

Suu Kyi visited Myitkyina on the same day, not to attend the Myitsone event, but to rally support for the NLD ahead of by-elections.

"Everyone was sad. Of course, we'd like her to give the event some respect," she said. Still, she went on to organize several other events, emboldening the local civil society.

NLD Dominates

Like many ethnic leaders, Ja Seng Hkawn believes Kachin State's interests would be best served by Kachins managing their own affairs.

Yet her views did not seem to be shared by the electorate—out of a total of 70 elected seats in the state, only five candidates from two Kachin parties won. She blamed the result on a divided vote and the fact that voters' main motivation was to throw out the military-backed government.

"In 2010, we weren't allowed to form a party. That turned upside down in 2015 when lots of political parties were set up," she said.

There were attempts to merge or form alliances—she believes the Kachin people should be united if they are to achieve federalism—but nothing materialized, and before the election, everyone was over-confident of their prospects, she said.

Ja Seng Hkawn ran under the banner of Kachin State Democracy Party (KSDP), another party founded by Dr. Tu Ja, for Injangyang (2) constituency. Her husband, also a former KIO officer, ran with a different party. He lost.

"There's much that we've done in Injangyang, but much more needs to be done. Farming is the only livelihood and it's not secure. When it was time to register for the elections, I decided to go with Injangyang and a party that I know well," she said.

Due to insecurity, elections were held in just one of the 35 village tracts in her constituency. She won 203 out of only 386 votes—a little more than 50 percent.

"I ran for the state parliament because there's so much to be done here. I didn't want to go to the national Parliament and spend five years yawning. At least here, you can use whatever opportunity you have to change things [on ethnic and women's rights and Kachin self-determination] on the ground," said Ja Seng Hkawn.

She is, however, worried about the implications of a single-party dominating the Parliament.

"If it's like the NUP [Ne Win's party] being substituted by the USDP and now USDP would be substituted by the NLD, I don't think that should happen," she said.

Mulit-Hyphenated

Ja Seng Hkawn is one of a number of passionate and prominent Kachin women who are shaping the state's social and political landscape, from Lahpai Seng Raw, winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, to champions of peace, women's rights and land rights.

She has many strings to her bow. The MP-elect is also chairwoman of Kachin State Public Company Limited, which runs utilities and other businesses together with the government—in what the Economist called a "novel private-public partnership."

"We wanted to show other Kachins that there's more to economy than extraction and selling timber," she said. Another motivation was to push reform of Burma's overburdened and inefficient public sector, instead of just criticizing from the outside.

So far, the company has signed contracts with the state government to run two small hydroelectric plants and provide ticketing and other services for the Mandalay-Myitkyina train.

She also continues to campaign for the scrapping of the Myitsone project at the source of the Irrawaddy River, also known as Ayeyarwady. In 2013, she visited China to lobby for its cancellation but nearly lost her cool in a meeting with officials from the Commerce Ministry and the Export Import Bank of China, which has provided Burma with multi-million dollar loans.

"They kept wanting to talk about how to re-start the project. I got so tired of explaining that I said, 'There's no way [to continue]. If you kill the Ayeyarwady, you're killing the whole country.'"

A devout Christian, Ja Seng Hkawn is frustrated by the breakdown of the ceasefire and resumption of hostilities.

"In the 50 years of conflict in Kachin, this is the first time the villagers have been displaced for this long. The weapons are now much more powerful and create much more damage," she said.

The solution, she says, lies in a federal system that promotes the rights of Burma's minorities.

"My father worked to achieve the people's desire for a federal Myanmar and Kachin self-determination. I will continue to work for this."

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