The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Govt ‘Blacklist’ Practices Highlight Lack of Transparency, Activists Say
- Govt to Take Action Against Those Behind ‘Illegal’ Hpakant Mosque
- For Sumlut Roi Ja’s Husband, Trauma Continues Five Years After Her Disappearance
- Govt Seeks Work Permits for Undocumented Domestic Workers Abroad
- Lawmakers Blame Burma’s Drug Problem on Warlord-Govt Nexus
- Commission Approves 13 Foreign Investment Proposals During New Govt Term
- Commentary: Still Too Early For Burmese Refugee Return
- Advocacy Group Calls for Release of Arrested Arakan Activist
- KBZ Bank Opens Office in Bangkok
- A Legacy of Military Land Grabs in the Delta: a Test for the New Govt
| Govt ‘Blacklist’ Practices Highlight Lack of Transparency, Activists Say Posted: 04 Aug 2016 08:06 AM PDT  The expanded Rangoon International Airport, photographed on March 12, 2016. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw/ The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population officially announced on Wednesday the removal of over 600 people from Burma's notorious blacklist. A total of 619 names—of both foreign and Burmese nationals—were taken off of a previously existing blacklist of more than 4,380 people, minister Thein Swe told the reporters at a press conference in Naypyidaw. The names which have been removed include individuals put on the blacklist by the former Thein Sein government for political reasons, according to Minister Thein Swe. He said there was no plan to disclose the blacklisted names, in order to protect the privacy of the people in question. "Fifteen ministries are working together to scrutinize the list of blacklisted people and to continue relaxing regulations," he added. Despite the removals, activists are still skeptical about the announcement, which comes on the heels of an incident involving Maung Maung Wann, an educator, 88-generation political dissident and former Burmese political prisoner who was deported back to the US on Tuesday by Burmese immigration officers at the Rangoon International Airport. They claimed he was on the country's blacklist. Maung Maung Wann was in fact granted entry to Burma with the permission of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, but he was forced to return to the United States before being notified of this development. So why was Maung Maung Wann, a US citizen, issued a visa by the Burmese embassy in the United States if his name was featured on a blacklist? Myint Kyaing, a permanent secretary with the Immigration and Population Department, told The Irrawaddy that the name "Maung Maung Wann" was on the blacklist until August 2, but was removed. However, spokesperson Aye Aye Soe of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed on Wednesday that the Burmese embassy in the US had issued him a visa because his name was not on the blacklist that the ministry had used as a reference. Aung Myo Min, executive director of Equality Myanmar and a once-exiled activist, questioned the government mechanisms at play, describing them as "not transparent" and exhibiting a "lack of coordination." "The case proves there is a lack of coordination between respective ministries," he said. "Such a blacklist—and the removals—should be announced publicly so that similar cases to Maung Maung Wann do not happen again." "Without knowing who is still on the blacklist and who has been removed, we can't pressure the government about who else should be removed," he explained. Bo Kyi, of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) agreed that the current government faces challenges in reforming the much-criticized bureaucracy of its predecessors. He also highlighted the lack of clear guidelines and government policy reflected in the removals. Some exiled activists have been forced to sign pledges that they will not engage in political activity in Burma, lest they face a rejection of their visa if they try to return. Ko Ni, a legal advisor to the ruling National League for Democracy party, said that the current government should remove all names of those who were put on the blacklist by the former military junta due to their political stances or dissident beliefs. He also feels these changes should be publicly announced once they are finalized. Former President Thein Sein's administration removed more than 2,000 names from a blacklist of more than 6,000 in 2012—one year into his quasi-civilian rule. The names included many exiled pro-democracy activists, foreign journalists and political critics. The post Govt 'Blacklist' Practices Highlight Lack of Transparency, Activists Say appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Govt to Take Action Against Those Behind ‘Illegal’ Hpakant Mosque Posted: 04 Aug 2016 07:39 AM PDT  A Buddhist nationalist mob gathers near the site of the mosque in Lone Khin Village Tract, Hpakant Township, Kachin State. (Photo: Zaw Min Htun / Facebook) RANGOON — The Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs has announced that the mosque burned down by a mob in rural Hpakant Township in Kachin State had been built "illegally" on state-owned land, and action would be taken against those who constructed it. The mosque, in Lebyin Village of Lone Khin Village Tract, was burned down by a Buddhist nationalist mob on July 1, after which five locals were arrested. The Irrawaddy phoned the Lon Khin Village Tract administrator and local police officials but they could not be reached. The ministry's statement on Thursday via state-owned media outlined the background of the Muslim place of worship, according to government investigations: Ye Maung, a local Muslim, was permitted to construct a "temporary" home in 1985 on vacant land in the village held by Khin Maung, the chairman of the local People's Council. After the latter's death, the land defaulted back to the state. In September 2014, Sonny Thein, another local Muslim, was being employed as a supervisor on the construction of the Uru Creek Bridge in the village. Sonny Thein erected a wall around a yard adjacent to the construction site to prevent it being used as a footpath. The walled-in area contained the small structure built earlier by Ye Maung, which Sonny Thein then expanded and adapted into a mosque. When the bridge was opened on March 28 this year, local Buddhist residents and monks discovered that local Muslims were using the structure and its extensions as a place of worship. The structure was not legally authorized for religious purposes, according to the statement. The Buddhist residents urged local authorities to take action. Hpakant Township authorities met with two trustees of the mosque on June 26-28 and said they would be charged according to the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law (2012), if they did not demolish all the "illegal" buildings. The ministry's statement said the Mosque trustees then oversaw the demolition of three extensions to the structure, but refused to have one part demolished because it had been funded by private donations. This prompted the authorities to charge the trustees—although legal proceedings could not get underway before the mob burned the structure down. Tin Soe, the National League for Democracy representative for Hpakant Township in the Lower House of Parliament, told The Irrawaddy that he had attempted to mediate between the mosque trustees and the township authorities. He and local authorities had had around seven meetings with the mosque trustees, who ultimately promised to demolish all the buildings—in contradiction to the ministry's statement—before the "extreme nationalist" mob came. "A very upsetting incident happened because of some extremists. Our efforts were ruined within a moment," he said. Tin Soe claimed that Ma Ba Tha members were among the mob, and that the Ma Ba Tha township chapter was "behind" the incident. He told The Irrawaddy that four men and one woman—of Burman, Shan and Arakanese ethnicity—were being tried in court for the Lone Khin mosque burning, and were now acquiring a defense lawyer. The lawmaker also recalled an earlier incident, which had received little publicity, in Tanai Township of Kachin State, where a mosque had also been destroyed by a local mob. The Irrawaddy phoned the director of the Ministry of Culture of Religious Affairs, Aung San Win, on Thursday. He confirmed that the government would be taking action against both the people behind the construction of the "illegal" mosque in Lone Khin and the people involved in burning it down. The director said the relevant government department in Kachin State is still investigating the case. The ministry's statement on Thursday explained that the government had also been taking action against the illegal construction of Buddhist religious structures. It stated that, in early 2014, the government had demolished 24 "illegal" Buddhist monasteries in the Naypyidaw area. Additionally, legal proceedings against 173 monasteries in Rangoon Division and 86 in other states and divisions had been launched at the recommendation of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, the government-appointed council that oversees monastic discipline in Burma. Ministry director Aung San Win confirmed these actions, stating that many of these "monasteries" had been not been authorized for religious observance. He declined to say how many monks had been imprisoned, although some individuals behind these monasteries had been given prison terms. "When we found them guilty, we disrobed and jailed some of them," he said. "Some are on the run." Although the ministry statement cited a total of 283 monasteries that had been previously been charged as "illegal," it did not mention any figures for places of worship related to other religions, such as Christianity or Islam. Aung San Win said a list of "illegal" religious buildings had been compiled across the country, although he would not disclose the number. The post Govt to Take Action Against Those Behind 'Illegal' Hpakant Mosque appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| For Sumlut Roi Ja’s Husband, Trauma Continues Five Years After Her Disappearance Posted: 04 Aug 2016 07:16 AM PDT  Dau Lum, husband of Roi Ja, pictured on July 28, 2016. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) Since his wife disappeared in Oct. 2011, Dau Lum has struggled with chronic illness and depression. Sumlut Roi Ja, a then-28-year-old mother of one, was abducted while harvesting corn, allegedly by Burma Army soldiers from the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 321 in eastern Kachin State. It is believed that she was raped and murdered, but her body was never found. At the time of the interview with The Irrawaddy in late July, Dau Lum is still visibly distressed. "I often get sick, and since she was taken, my mind has become traumatized and sad," Dau Lum said. He and his lawyer took the case against the commander of LIB 321 all the way to Burma's Supreme Court, but it was dismissed in 2012 due to a lack of evidence. Although he traveled to Naypyidaw, Dau Lum was not allowed a chance to testify. Since then, civil society organizations have attempted to put pressure on public officials to re-examine the case, particularly the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT), which sent an open letter to ex-president Thein Sein asking him to re-open the Roi Ja's case. He did not. Dau Lum and his parents have since abandoned their village of Hkaibang and relocated to a camp for internally displaced people, about a three-hour drive from Mai Ja Yang on the Chinese border. The Irrawaddy visited Dau Lum and Roi Ja's house, built just after their marriage in 2007, but now abandoned. Uninhabited, it is now broken and empty of belongings. Dau Lum and Roi Ja's daughter entered first grade this year. The girl, Dau Lum said, often asks him where her mother is. "I say to her, 'your mother went to look for money,'" he said, using a local expression for leaving home in search of employment. "Then, she replies, 'why does it take her so long to find money?'" Dau Lum still remembers the last day he saw his wife. They were with his father, harvesting corn just outside their village. He said Burma Army soldiers appeared and detained them—Dau Lum and his father managed to escape, but as soldiers shot after them, Roi Ja could not keep up. "They tightened the rope around our hands, but the three of us ran away. Then, they shot at us, and my wife was afraid, and she could not run anymore," he said. Some locals reported seeing her in the Burma Army barracks on the mountain ridge outside the village. Troops from the Kachin Independence Army—a local ethnic armed group—who monitored the base said, on at least one occasion, they saw a woman they identified as Roi Ja. The Irrawaddy asked Dau Lum whether he believed Roi Ja was still alive. "She is not alive," he said quietly. "She has been killed already." The post For Sumlut Roi Ja's Husband, Trauma Continues Five Years After Her Disappearance appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Govt Seeks Work Permits for Undocumented Domestic Workers Abroad Posted: 04 Aug 2016 05:55 AM PDT  A seminar to mark International Domestic Workers' Day in Thailand on June 16, 2016. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) NAYPYIDAW—Burma's government will seek the cooperation of concerned labor ministries to issue official work permits for undocumented Burmese domestic workers in foreign countries, said Thein Swe, minister of labor, immigration and population. "We will cooperate with concerned embassies and labor ministries to make a list of illegal Burmese domestic workers in foreign countries so we can provide legal protection and guarantee their fundamental rights," said Thein Swe. The decision follows labor rights defenders' request to State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to take care of Burmese domestic workers in Thailand, during her visit to the country in July. The government began compiling a list of undocumented domestic workers in cooperation with Burmese embassies and labor organizations after Suu Kyi returned from her trip to Thailand. The government estimates that the numbers could be as high as 28,000 in Thailand and 40,000 in Singapore. Most of the domestic workers in Thailand are women who do not have any legal protection since they are working without official permission. "They don't get fair wages and it is difficult to protect them in the case of violence," said Thein Swe. The government estimates that there could be at least 28,000 Burmese migrants in Thailand working odd jobs—as garden cleaners, office gophers, vendors, drivers and so on, said Thein Swe. The Singaporean government already recognizes Burmese domestic workers as legal workers even though they do not hold proper documentation to work there. "Although the Burmese government doesn't officially send domestic workers to Singapore, they go there on tourist visas and then stay on. We've learned that the number is somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000," said the minister. "Even though the Singaporean government recognizes Burmese domestic helpers, the Burmese Embassy in Singapore receives complaints almost daily regarding abuses inflicted by home owners or requests for help changing jobs," Thein Swe added. Burma sent 174 people to Hong Kong and 130 people to Singapore in 2014 to work as domestic workers under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the respective governments. Employees, labor rights advocates, and the MAP Foundation—a Thai non-governmental organization working with Burmese migrant workers in Thailand—met in June in northern Thailand to mark International Domestic Workers' Day. Participants at the commemorative seminar agreed that relations between Burma and Thailand have improved, but with little positive impact on Burmese domestic workers in Thailand. The post Govt Seeks Work Permits for Undocumented Domestic Workers Abroad appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Lawmakers Blame Burma’s Drug Problem on Warlord-Govt Nexus Posted: 04 Aug 2016 05:36 AM PDT  Burma's Upper House of Parliament in session. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Upper House lawmakers have blamed Burma's endemic drug problem on a nexus of corrupt government officials and warlords commanding ethnic militias, and demanded that the government take a tough line against both. In a session of the Upper House of Parliament on Tuesday, lawmakers said the connivance of such highly placed actors, in an environment of general impunity, made it particularly difficult to tackle the drug scourge, which was particularly harming Burma's youth. Khun Than Pe, representing Shan State Constituency-9, said that "drug lords" could begin to produce drugs on a grander commercial scale by posing as ethnic armed resistance leaders at a time when the military junta was forging a series of bilateral ceasefires in the 1990s. "It was in the 1990s that [the drug problem] spread across both urban and rural areas. It is fair to say that [the problem] was born with 'peace,'" said Khun Thein Pe. He said that "uniformed people," besides drug kingpins and militiamen, are selling drugs in the Pa-O Self Administered Zone of southern Shan State. He also said that, "In eastern Shan State, [drugs] as served like snacks in public gaming centers. You can see people openly abusing drugs in groups, as if they don't care." Though the government has formed dedicated drug squads in the police force at the division and state level, they are too understaffed and under-equipped to arrest drug lords even if they want to, said Myo Win, a lawmaker from Mon State Constituency-8. On the other hand, he said, the complicity of government authorities in the drug trade has frustrated efforts to arrest drug kingpins and major dealers because government officers leak information to them. He cited a raid on July 15 on 13 known drug-dealing hotspots in the city of Mandalay involving 350 policemen, which resulted in the arrest of only drug users and small-time street dealers. In the parliamentary session, military representative Lt-Col Tin Lin Oo countered that large-scale drug seizures were now frequent. However, he did not comment on the causes of the drug problem in Burma or on whether the Burma Army had a special plan to combat the activities of drug lords in cooperation with police drug squads. Lawmakers suggested that higher-level government authorities should take the responsibility of taking on drug lords and rooting out government officials working in cahoots with them. They also urged the government to conduct public awareness campaigns on a wide scale and provide poppy growers with alternative livelihoods. Various lawmakers commented on increases in drug abuse within their constituencies, particularly among the young, many of whom become prone to committing crimes when short of money to buy drugs. "Drugs are available even at betel nut shops in the streets in Arakan State, although poppy is not grown there," said Myint Naing, a lawmaker representing Arakan State Constituency-5. Poppy, the primary ingredient for opium and heroin, is grown in Shan, Kachin, Karenni and Chin states of Burma. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Burma is second largest producer of opium in the world, after Afghanistan. Large quantities of methamphetamine drugs are also produced and trafficked in Burma. The post Lawmakers Blame Burma's Drug Problem on Warlord-Govt Nexus appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Commission Approves 13 Foreign Investment Proposals During New Govt Term Posted: 04 Aug 2016 05:32 AM PDT  A worker is seen at a construction site for Shangri-La Residences in Rangoon on September 20, 2013. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — The newly re-formed Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) approved 13 foreign investment proposals and nine local investments over the last two months, a figure significantly lower than the same period in 2015, Aung Naing Oo, secretary of the MIC, told The Irrawaddy. Since the MIC was re-staffed in early June under the chairmanship of Kyaw Win, Union Minister of National Planning and Finance, the commission has been met with more than 100 proposals left over from the previous government's term; most are still waiting to be approved. "The new MIC has approved 13 foreign investment proposals. We're checking more proposals, as most of them are for the construction of office towers," said Aung Naing Oo. "It's only the beginning stage of the new government. That's why we are taking more time to approve the proposals," he said. The foreign investment proposals approved by the MIC over the last two months have an estimated net worth of more than US$124 million. These include proposals for seven projects in the manufacturing sector, three in transport and telecommunications, and three proposals whose sectors were not known at the time of publication. Approved local proposals, which total nine projects, include one in transportation, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, respectively. Two projects have been approved in the hotel and tourism industry, and three are not yet known. The total investment is valued at nearly US$35 million. "Some local proposals include investment in hotel projects in Mandalay and Kengtong [Kengtung]," Aung Naing Oo said. The amounts of these investments—both local and foreign—are estimates provided at the time of proposal. Yet these foreign investment projects are expected to create 9,651 job opportunities in Burma; the local investment proposals aim to establish more than 1,750 jobs. The MIC, which is responsible for assessing and approving large-scale investments and is headed by Union-level government officials, initially consisted of at least nine members who dealt largely with processing foreign investment. Each set of MIC members serve a term of three years. In the first quarter of the 2015-16 fiscal year, 71 projects were approved at a valuation of $2.65 billion. The first quarter of the 2014-2015 fiscal year saw 39 projects approved which were valued collectively at $810 million. However, when compared to last year, the first quarter of the 2016-2017 fiscal year has seen lower numbers of approval, which some attribute to the country undergoing a transition period with the new government. Dr. Maung Maung Lay, vice chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), told The Irrawaddy that though the National League for Democracy-led government has announced its 12 economic policies, they appear to be very general, which will impact foreign direct investment (FDI) entries. "General economic policies will not work well. More rules and regulations need to be put into place—that's why decisions concerning FDI are also 'wait and see' this year," he said. Maung Maung Lay added that other countries in the region are welcoming FDI with more attractive methods, which could delay Burma's own development, as investors often have to build infrastructure themselves in order to complete projects. "It is important to welcome FDI here," he said. The post Commission Approves 13 Foreign Investment Proposals During New Govt Term appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Commentary: Still Too Early For Burmese Refugee Return Posted: 04 Aug 2016 03:48 AM PDT  Bamboo huts with leaf roofs, built by refugees, dot the hills of Mae La Oon camp southwest of Mae Sariang in northern Thailand. (Photo: The Border Consortium) Service centers for Burmese refugees who wish to return home will soon be opened in the camps along the Thai-Burma border—a sudden development that has alarmed refugees and camp leaders. Set up with the involvement of agencies including the International Organization of Migration, the Voluntary Repatriation Centers will provide counseling, advice and provisions to enable voluntary returns. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will conduct official processing in coordination with the Thai authorities. However, refugee community leaders and local organizations have told The Irrawaddy that a majority of the 120,000 registered refugees in the nine camps along the border do not wish to return to Burma. The conflict-wracked areas of rural Karen State in eastern Burma that many of the refugees fled from are still considered unsafe, due to continued militarization. There is a perception among sections of the international community that, after 30 years on Thai soil—and after the installment of a democratically elected government and the signing of a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement that included the Karen National Union (KNU)—it is time for many of the refugees to return home. In the last few years there has been a decline in assistance from international donors to the border refugee communities, which has coincided with an increase in donor funds dispersed inside Burma, including through government channels. The decline in assistance has also been attributed to unprecedented global pressures on refugee funds and resources caused by the current refugee crisis in the Middle East. The UNHCR has given assurances that all returns would be voluntary and that refugees retain the right to decide. However, many refugees consider the choice as one of "do or die," being unsure of their chances of survival in Thailand under dwindling donor assistance. Some have interpreted cuts in this assistance as a form of pressure. Since Thailand does not legally permit refugees to work, those in search of extra income—outside of running small-scale businesses within the camps—would have to join the ranks of "illegal" Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, whom labor rights organizations have estimated to number as high as 2 million (against 1.7 million Burmese migrants working legally). Those with family members or friends working in third countries may be able to live on remittances. Saw Honest, chairman of Mae La camp, the largest Burmese border camp hosting around 40,000 refugees, said that, when the Mae Fah Luang Foundation—a Thai nongovernmental organization—conducted a survey in 2014, "only 2 or 3 percent" of the [refugee] population showed an interest in going home. "Most of them wanted to resettle in third countries. The second largest proportion wanted to remain in Thailand," said Saw Honest. "We know that we are coming under pressure, anyhow," said Saw Honest. More official and up-to-date statistics on refugees' willingness to return home are not currently available, but refugee community leaders claim that the majority of refugees consider it "still too early" to return home. Refugees have gone individually to check on their abandoned villages and farmlands, they said, but the continued presence of Burma Army units there have precluded the desire of most to return permanently. "We know that the KNU has made a ceasefire with the Burmese government and they have developed a greater understanding of one another. But there are still threats to civilian safety because the Burma Army and [non-state] armed groups are deployed close to villages, and landmines have not yet been removed. Also, land ownership issues should be addressed," said Saw Honest, referencing a legacy of military land grabs. A large proportion of the refugees who fled conflict have lost whatever land registration documents they might have had, after their villages were burned down or ransacked and they went on the run, moving from place to place before reaching Thailand. After visiting some of the villages that these refugees had fled from in Karen and Mon states in April this year, this Irrawaddy reporter found that several of the "model villages" built for returnees were incomplete and seemingly abandoned. Some that have made return visits to their villages in Thaton and Bilin townships of Mon State—from which 3,000 refugees fled armed conflict to the border camps in Thailand—found that their old farmland had been confiscated. Across Papun and Hpa-an districts of Karen State, which saw large outflows of refugees due to conflict, militarization remains significant, with not only the Burma Army present across rural areas but also ethnic Karen armed groups including a Border Guard Force, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and brigades of the KNU. These groups have also seized farmland and exploited land rich in gold and tin for business opportunities—including land once held by the current refugees. Despite apparent progress in the peace process, with the "21st Century Panglong" Union Peace Conference scheduled for later this month, there have been scant moves by the Burma Army to withdraw their troops from rural civilian areas. Furthermore, the KNU's armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, is continuing to recruit and train new soldiers, and is remaining on the alert. Naw Blooming Night Zar, a spokesperson for Karen Refugee Committee, told The Irrawaddy that she had raised with the UNHCR her concern that the sudden introduction of Voluntary Repatriation Centers might frighten refugees. "We do not see so many refugees interested in returning. Some individuals have gone home only to observe the situation. There are no group returns. We have told [the UNHCR] that it is not yet time," said Blooming Night Zar. The UNHCR, meanwhile, said that it would distribute pamphlets to inform refugees about the voluntarily return process, and would explain to community leaders about the current preparations. Iain Hall, a UNHCR senior field coordinator, insisted that they were not "promoting or encouraging refugees' return," but were making the necessary preparations to "support any refugees that have made a voluntary decision to return, as is their right." Such preparations, being undertaken in earnest, appear to reflect the new priorities of donors and governments. But instead of expediting their altered policies, the UNHCR should be exercising its mandate to speak of behalf of refugees and their concerns. Without fully understanding or addressing the challenges on the ground—such as continued militarization in the areas of Burma where these refugees may return to—any decisions made by the Thai and Burmese government, donors, international agencies and non-state armed groups to accelerate repatriation would be premature. If the wrong choices were made, it is not they, but the refugees, who would suffer the consequences. The post Commentary: Still Too Early For Burmese Refugee Return appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Advocacy Group Calls for Release of Arrested Arakan Activist Posted: 04 Aug 2016 02:39 AM PDT  Khine Myo Htun faces charges for accusing the Burma Army of committing war crimes in the Arakan State. (Photo: ERI) EarthRights International (ERI) called on Thursday for the immediate release of prominent environmental activist Khine Myo Htun, who will appear for a court hearing on Friday. Khine Myo Htun, deputy-spokesperson for the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) was arrested last week in Arakan State's capital Sittwe, after being accused of sedition and incitement under Burma's severe penal code. He faces charges for accusing the Burma Army of committing war crimes in the state. In its statement on Thursday, United States based advocacy organization ERI said that Khine Myo Htun’s arrest was politically motivated. Ka Hsaw Wa, co-founder and executive director of ERI said in the statement that the Burma Army had once again demonstrated its ruthlessness and unwillingness to change by going after activists who dared to expose its abuses, despite the introduction of a new democratic government. "It is disgraceful that human rights activists continue to be persecuted for exercising their democratic rights in a country led by a former prisoner of conscience," he added. The Arakan Liberation Army, the military wing of Khine Myo Htun's ALP party, was one of eight non-state ethnic armed groups that signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in October with the former government. The outspoken activist was charged under sections 505(b) and 505(c) of Burma's Penal Code – for sedition and incitement respectively. The charges were filed by Lt Col Tin Naing Tun from the Sittwe-based Regional Operations Command of the Burma Army on May 5. Khine Myo Htun is a former student at ERI's school for human rights and environmental activists in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He also worked with Arakan Oil Watch, an environmental and human rights group. He is the co-founder of Natural Resources for the People and a board member of the Arakan Natural Resources and Environmental Network. In April, the ALP incited controversy when it accused the Burma Army of violating the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilians for forced portering and torture. ERI, however, said that it had reviewed the audio and video evidence backing torture and forced portering allegations against the army and deemed that it was credible. The rights advocacy group said it would support Khine Myo Htun's legal case. The post Advocacy Group Calls for Release of Arrested Arakan Activist appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| KBZ Bank Opens Office in Bangkok Posted: 04 Aug 2016 12:33 AM PDT  Nang Lang Kham, the executive director of KBZ Bank, talks at the opening ceremony of the bank’s representative office in Bangkok on Aug 3. (Photo: KBZ Bank) Kanbawza Bank (KBZ Bank) has opened a representative office in Bangkok, the first Burmese bank to establish an international presence. Earlier this year, KBZ Bank officially received a licence from the Bank of Thailand to open the office in the capital. The bank also recently obtained a representative licence to open an office in Singapore, continuing its planned expansion within the Asean region. Than Cho, senior managing director of KBZ Bank, said the office would start offering financial and advisory services as soon as possible to Burmese people and to businesses in Thailand.  The KBZ representative office at Sathorn Square Office Tower in Bangkok (Photo: KBZ Bank) "Naturally, Thai businesses are interested in entering Burma. We hope they take advantage of our extensive knowledge of Burma's financial markets and join the growing bilateral trade between our two countries," he said. Zeyar Sein Htut, KBZ Bank’s new chief in Thailand, said the bank will focus on activities such as market research, liaising with the private sector and serving as a source of information, including regulatory requirements for doing business both in Thailand and Burma. KBZ Bank wants to explore opportunities to build relations with, and eventually cater to, the large Burmese population in the kingdom—estimated at 3 million people—when they return to their home country. Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan met Burma’s President Htin Kyaw in Naypyidaw last month. The two countries announced they intended to double bilateral trade to US$20 billion in 2017. The post KBZ Bank Opens Office in Bangkok appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| A Legacy of Military Land Grabs in the Delta: a Test for the New Govt Posted: 03 Aug 2016 10:47 PM PDT  Than Shin poses with copies of her land documents in Irrawaddy Division's Maubin Township in April 5, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) By the standards of her village in Burma's swampy Irrawaddy Delta, Than Shin was a prosperous woman. She had 20 acres of farmland on which her family grew rice. But her fortunes changed in 2000 when the military government informed her it was taking possession of her land. Over the next year, Than Shin watched as the fields that for decades had provided her family with a living were cleared to make way for fish farms. Today, Than Shin and her family live in a thatched shack along the main road leading to Burma's commercial capital Yangon. Her 67-year-old husband goes door to door on his bicycle selling soybeans. "We depended on that land our whole lives. When they grabbed it, we had nothing, no income. We had to eat curry made from leaves," she told Reuters. Than Shin’s story is just one example of what the ruling party of Aung San Suu Kyi says was the systematic confiscation of land from farmers by the army and the placing of that land in the hands of crony companies close to the military junta that ruled Burma for half a century. The fish farms that were built on her land were owned by a company linked to then regional military commander Shwe Mann, who is now one of Burma's most powerful political figures, according to a Reuters review of corporate filings. When Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) stormed to power in elections last November, its victory was fueled in part by rural anger over land seizures and the party's pledge to provide redress. Just days after the NLD formed the first government since 1962 that is not backed by the military, the new deputy agriculture minister told local media that returning land to its rightful owners was the duty of the government. Now the NLD is moving to make good on that promise. The parliament member overseeing the effort, Sein Win, told Reuters the party aims to solve all land-grab cases within one year. That's an ambitious timeframe. In untangling land disputes, the new government will have to contend with powerful business interests, many linked to the military. That could put Suu Kyi on a collision course with the generals and threaten Burma's fragile transition to democracy. ‘VIRGIN’ LAND The NLD's Sein Win estimates that the number of land-grab cases is in the hundreds of thousands. Based on surveys conducted by the party's branches around the country, he says that between three to five million acres of land was forcibly taken by the military. Shwe Mann, the former army commander, held the powerful post of speaker in the previous military-dominated parliament. Today, he is a close confidante of Suu Kyi. In a rare interview, he defended the junta's actions, saying that vast swathes of land were allocated to him in his capacity as the regional commander and to local authorities by the government as part of a national project by Burma's military rulers in the 1990s to bolster food security and agricultural production. All the land in the area he oversaw, he said, was "vacant, fallow or virgin" and so the junta's actions were not illegal. Still, Shwe Mann said there could be a discrepancy between "what's on the map in the land record office and the situation on the ground.” In the past, he said, farmers did not want to register land as agricultural to avoid participation in a socialist economy. The military did not respond to questions from Reuters. The previous military-dominated parliament set up two bodies to investigate and mediate land-grab cases, but was criticized for dragging its feet. In total, the government reviewed 17,000 cases, but only resolved around 1,000, according to local media reports. With Suu Kyi's party now taking the lead, the new government has formed a taskforce to deal with land-grab cases. In June alone, 6,434 acres of land that was seized in the Irrawaddy Delta was returned to 324 villagers, according to the state-owned Myanma Alinn Daily and local media. The vast majority of land was taken in the 1990s and early 2000s, amid a military-led transition from socialism to a market-driven economy. The state owned all land, but farmers were granted rights to cultivate it. "The land grabs were done by the (junta) government, with most of it going to the military, companies, government departments and ministries," the NLD's Sein Win said. MILITARY CONNECTIONS Hta Ni village, a collection of hamlets about two hours from Yangon, encapsulates the challenge facing Suu Kyi. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, local authorities under then-Southwestern Regional Military Commander Shwe Mann seized roughly 1,000 acres from about 200 homes, according to local paralegals who base their estimate on statements and documents from villagers. It was during this period that 474 acres of land in Hta Ni was handed to Asia Might Co. Ltd., the company with ties to Shwe Mann, for an aquaculture project. The former commander confirmed that Asia Might was linked to him and that it took part in the project at his request. He also confirmed that the company was run at the time by Min Naing, whom he described as a "close friend." A brother of Shwe Mann served as a company director and was a minority shareholder, according to corporate filings. "When it comes to my role, I take full responsibility," said Shwe Mann. "I acted according to the existing law." Min Naing did not respond to questions from Reuters that were sent via a son of Shwe Mann. "There are a lot of villages, particularly across the delta, which have lost almost all of their agricultural land to land grabs," said Tim Millar, the Burma program director of Namati, a legal aid group involved in helping farmers in Burma retrieve their land. With the start of Burma’s transition away from military rule in 2011, villagers began actively demanding the return of land. After its November election victory, the NLD instructed its branches across the country to gather information on land dispute cases. Now that the review has begun, the NLD's Sein Win is hoping his party's massive parliamentary majority will forestall any resistance from the military. It won't be easy. The country's constitution still reserves key ministerial posts for the military, including defense, border affairs and internal affairs. And Suu Kyi’s relationship with the army is strained: The constitution drafted by the military in 2008, for instance, bars her from the presidency. "Whether or not these cases will be solved depends on whether the NLD has a good relationship with the military commander-in-chief,” said Myint Naing, the director of Human Rights Watch Defence, a local NGO in the Irrawaddy Delta that is helping the villagers in Hta Ni. If they're not resolved, "we’ll be forced to take to the streets," he said. ‘LIKE SELLING STOLEN GOODS’ Frustration has already boiled over. A police officer was killed and 40 people injured in a 2013 land protest in the village of Ma Let Toe, not far from where Than Shin lost her land 16 years ago. Villagers are still occupying a tract of land they say was stolen by the army and forms part of a fish and rice farm owned by Orchard Co. Ltd. Orchard’s owner, Myint Sein, says his entire concession was either "virgin land" given to him for free by the military or land that he legally purchased from farmers. He showed Reuters a 2003 aerial map of some of the concession area, which shows a section of the land as empty swamp. But the map did not include the area currently occupied by protesting farmers. Adding to the challenge of addressing land disputes is the sheer complexity of the cases and often the absence of a clear paper trail. In many areas of the country, documents such as land tax receipts, government loan books, land use permits and witness statements from village elders have been destroyed by the damp climate. Cyclone Nargis, which killed as many as 140,000 people in the Irrawaddy Delta in 2008, also destroyed many of the documents kept by locals in their homes. Land-grab victims often don't know who now owns the land they once farmed. In many cases, the land has been divided and sold on several times, further complicating efforts to settle disputes. None of the Hta Ni villagers or NGO workers interviewed by Reuters were aware that Asia Might was linked to Shwe Mann. What's more, Asia Might no longer owns the land. In the mid-2000s, the company transferred ownership, according to the chief land office official in the area. Even if companies that were originally given the land have sold it on, the transfer should be viewed "like selling stolen goods,” Namati’s Millar said. "It’s not theirs to sell in the first place." The post A Legacy of Military Land Grabs in the Delta: a Test for the New Govt appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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