The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- The Tragedy and Hope of a Palace
- NLD Ministers Corruption-Free, Says Commission
- Art and Censorship
- Daughter of Assassinated Lawyer Testifies
- Detained Journalists Denied Second Bail Appeal in Unlawful Association Case
- Govt Peace Team to Meet UWSA
- Critics Cry Foul as Joshua Wong and Other Young Hong Kong Democracy Leaders get Jail
- Rights Groups Slam ‘Outrageous’ Indian Plan to Deport Rohingya
- Bangladesh Ramps up Border Patrols to Deter Fresh Rohingya Inflow
- Fish Farmer Hit With Defamation Lawsuit Over State Counselor Facebook Post
- The Empty Rhetoric of Unity
| The Tragedy and Hope of a Palace Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:54 AM PDT HSIPAW, Shan State — The last time she saw Inge Eberhard, the wife of the last prince of Hsipaw, was in 1964 at Mingalardon Airport in Yangon, shortly before the Austrian woman and her two children left Myanmar out of fear for their safety. It was two years after the sudden disappearance of the prince during his detention by the army. Sao Sarm Hpong was among the few people who bid farewell to the mother and children outside the airport before the trio was escorted by two Military Intelligence Service officers for questioning about their departure. A European-bound Pan Am Boeing 707 was waiting for them—the last passengers—on the runway. "She looked really scared at the time," the now 73-year-old Shan woman recalled about that particular night on May 11. "Because authorities could have blocked their departure if they were suspicious," she added on a recent afternoon, while sitting in the Haw, a one-time palace where Prince Sao Kya Seng and Inge Eberhard, the princess, and their daughters lived 53 years ago, in Hsipaw, now a growing tourist destination in northern Shan State. They ruled the provincial town from 1954 to 1962 until the late Gen Ne Win staged a military coup in Myanmar. Sao Sarm Hpong and her husband Sao Oo Kya, also known as Donald, the nephew of the prince, have been taking care of the residence for more than four decades.  Widely known as the "Shan Palace" among international tourists, or "Hsipaw Haw" locally, the white two-story manor house with its tiled roof, large French windows, balconies, and terraces resembles an English country house. The 93-year-old brick building is the most accessible to visitors out of the six haws (or palaces) of saophas (princes or rulers) in Shan State, the rest of which are either off limits, razed, or in a sorry state of disrepair. In her 1994 memoir about her regal days, "Twilight Over Burma," Inge Eberhard reminisced of "well-kept gardens, lawns and exotic trees" that surrounded the manor. But The Irrawaddy's recent visit saw the Haw was far from its former glory. There are no more lawns and the five-acre compound is partially reclaimed by the forest. The tennis court where the saopha once played with state champions is in total ruin. The family swimming pool is dried up and neglected.  The brick building itself is also weather beaten. Sao Sarm Hpong said the roof leaks when it rains. The guttering needs urgent repair. "We have difficulties for the maintenance as we rely on visitors' donations only," she said. People's Princely Couple Sao Kya Seng was arrested by the army on March 3, 1962—a day after the coup. According to his wife's memoir, the prince as well as a member of Parliament was accused of financing Shan insurgents and plotting a secession of the Shan states from the Union of Myanmar. Then aged 38, he was reportedly killed by the army during his detention after repeatedly denying the accusations. Rather than admitting the execution, the army said in a letter to Inge Eberhard in August 1962 that the saopha "has never been taken into custody by the Defence Service." Until today, Hsipaw's elders remember their prince and princess as people who were passionate about healthcare and economic development in the area.  "They wanted Hsipaw to be a role model of development for Shan State. What a loss!" said town native U Ye Aung, 73, who knew the couple, as his parents were close friends with the saopha and mahadevi (princess). His mother was in charge of Foundation School, a free nursery founded by the princess for local children. As a boy in his early teens, he remembered his mother and the princess drove a Land Rover to nearby Shan and Palaung (Ta'ang) villages. Their mission, he said, was to encourage women to deliver their babies at the maternity home in Hsipaw in order to reduce maternal fatalities. She secured ambulances to use as mobile clinics for child delivery in rural areas.  The saopha had his philanthropic endeavors, too, implementing agricultural projects by giving all the family land to farmers and buying tractors to help sow experimental new crops such as coffee, pineapples, ginger and soybeans. As a trained mining engineer, he established The Tai Mining Co., to tap the region's unexplored mineral deposits. U Ye Aung said he and his dad frequently delivered mineral samples found by farmers to the prince. "He once said we would be able to pave the roads of Shan State with gold in the next ten years," he recalled. The couple, he said, was under the watchful eyes of the townsfolk upon their arrival in 1954, especially the princess, as the prince took the hand of a European woman while there were eight beautiful potential brides waiting for his return to Hsipaw.  "But to everyone's surprise, the mahadevi studied Shan language and culture, and behaved like a Shan woman within six months," he said with a laugh. Even Inge Eberhard described her attempts in her book. When she dressed in a gold brocade sarong and white silk blouse with her knee-length hair tamed in a Shan knot, her impressed maid commented, "Mahadevi, you look more like a born Shan every day," adding, "If only you were a few inches shorter." After the Good Old Days When the princess and her daughters, Mayari and Kennari, left the Haw in 1973—after the 11-month virtual house arrest by the army and the prince's demise— the only people left in the building were their butler and his family. "They didn't have enough money to maintain the building. When we arrived back here in around 1972, most of the furniture inside had been destroyed by termites and rats," said Sao Sarm Hpong.  She remembered most of the townspeople stayed away from the Haw at the time, as they were afraid of government retribution. "But they welcomed us when we went to the town," she said. The first visitors, foreigners who were probably informed by "Twilight Over Burma," appeared at the gate of the Haw in 1996 when the then military regime opened the country to tourism with the slogan "Visit Myanmar Year." When Myanmar re-opened to the world in 2012, she said, the 'Shan Palace' became a popular site on the map of international tourists who traveled around northern Shan State. Despite a steady flow of visitors, Sao Sarm Hpong's family does not charge an entrance fee, as the Haw is not a museum. "It's our residence. So we only accept donations," she said. Visitors from home and abroad are confined to the building's current living room where she explains the history of the Haw, describes the prince and princess, and laments the saopha's tragic disappearance, in English, Shan and Burmese, under the gazes of Sao Kya Seng, Inge Eberhard and his forbearers, whose old pictures decorate the walls.  "[Inge Eberhard] is 85 years old now, unfit to travel to Myanmar. But she still wants confirmation from the army that they had killed her husband," she explained to visitors. She added that a film based on the princess's memoirs was banned from public screenings at a human rights film festival in Yangon by the authorities, stating they were afraid the movie could harm ethnic unity in the country. Sao Sarm Hpong admitted that her family simply can't afford to renovate the building, despite wanting to do so, and they haven't had any correspondence with Inge Eberhard and her daughters since they left Myanmar.  She said her family has been taking care of the Haw because of its historical value for the Shan people who grew up during the time of the military regime, as "they know nothing of our history." "Yes, this is a historic building. But even if the government wants to take care of it, there may be complications, as we live here," she said. Her husband, the prince's nephew, was away on a trip at the time. U Ye Aung said the Haw must be conserved due to its historical importance—not only to Hsipaw, but to the country. He urged the caretaker family to jump at any opportunities that would keep the residence intact. "We have lost the saopha. It would be a shame for our town if we lose his Haw," he added. The post The Tragedy and Hope of a Palace appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| NLD Ministers Corruption-Free, Says Commission Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:12 AM PDT YANGON — Myanmar's anti-corruption commission is yet to find graft among the government's ministers since its formation one-and-a-half years ago, according to an official from the commission. U Thin Maung, a member of the commission that was formed under the 2013 Anti-Corruption Law, said it has not uncovered or received reports of corruption among the National League for Democracy (NLD) ministers, a progression from the previous government, which was afflicted with alleged cases. "I hope the situation continues like this," he said. State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in an interview with Channel News Asia when she visited Singapore last December that the fact that her ministers are not corrupt is what pleased her the most in her first nine months of government. The country's de facto leader repeatedly spoke out publicly against corruption and called for the public to submit complaints against corrupt government officials, ensuring the confidentiality of all submissions. Before she formed the government, she asked her lawmakers and ministerial nominees to avoid corruption. "The NLD government has come up with two priorities since assuming power: peace and a corruption-free government," the commission member said. He said the government announced directives for the public procurement system to all ministries soon after it took office in March 2016. Previously, there was no such mandate, he added, citing the move as a government initiative against corruption. In April, 2016, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi ordered all civil servants not to accept any gifts worth more than 25,000 kyats (US$21), an amount 10 times lower than the threshold set by the previous government. U Thein Sein's government officially allowed civil servants to accept gifts that were valued at less than $US250. It also stated clean and good governance as a priority. Two years after it took power, then telecommunication and information technology minister U Thein Tun was removed from his post after he became entangled in a corruption case. In addition, former Magwe Region chief minister U Phone Maw Shwe was investigated for embezzlement after U Tun Tun, a Lower House lawmaker, raised a question in Parliament on missing regional development funds. U Tun Tun urged other states and regions to dig into similar accusations of embezzlement, even if they are not able to take legal action because of the government's policy of "no retrospection," arguing that the government bodies could at least retrieve their public funds. Myanmar has risen slightly in global transparency rankings in recent years. It ranked 137 out of 176 nations in a 2016 report from graft watchdog Transparency International while it was 147 out of 168 nations in 2015. In 2014, it ranked 156, one mark better than previous year's 157. Despite improvements in the index, the disappearance of corruption is not possible, U Thin Maung said. "It will only depend on the amount, more or less. But we can reduce it," he added. The post NLD Ministers Corruption-Free, Says Commission appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:06 AM PDT YANGON — Aung Min, a renowned doctor, scriptwriter and author, was busy interviewing artists for his book on Myanmar contemporary art at the height of Saffron Revolution in 2007 when people took to the streets across the country in response to the high price of food and fuel. The Special Branch asked him to provide a complete list of names and addresses of those interviewed for the book. They warned him that if they found anything subversive or anti-military in the published work, they would arrest all those involved without asking any further questions. He finished and got the permission for publication of the manuscript from the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department of the Ministry of Information in 2008, but then had difficulty finding high-quality paper for printing after cyclone Nargis swept Yangon and the Irrawaddy Delta in May. He published the book in October 2008.  The book entitled "Myanmar Contemporary Art 1" features the biographies and pictures of the works of 70 Myanmar artists including Bagyi Aung Soe, Paw Oo Thet, Kin Maung Yin, Kin Maung (Bank) and Myo Thant Aung. "The book focuses on prominent artists between 1960 and 1990 – from the beginning of Myanmar modern art to another era of art evolution," said the editor of the book Aung Myint. Almost nine years after the publication of the Burmese version, the English version was launched on August 8. The book was translated by Maung Day and edited by Mrat Lunn Htwann and Nathalie Johnston. The book has 11 chapters: Pre-Modernism, Sources of Inspiration for Modernist Myanmar Art, Early Days of Modernism, Early Modernists, Pinnacle of Modernism, Some Individual Contemporary Artists, Inya Gallery, Rectangular Lantern, Gangaw Village, Post Modernism, and Shwe Generation.  The English version of the book features 'Our Three Main National Causes' as well as four political objectives, four economic objectives and four social objectives—the rhetoric of the military regime of U Than Shwe— to remind people of the draconian pre-publication censorship under the regime. All of the books, regardless of their subjects, had to bear Our Three National Causes and political, economic and social objectives on the front pages in the past. This book did not escape censorship either. The book includes an appendix that lists the censored sections of the original manuscript. U Win Pe, one of the second-generation modernists in Myanmar, was excluded from the book. When asked about his exclusion, U Win Pe, said: "It was because I opposed the government. It would have been justified if they didn't like my work, but I was censored because they didn't like me." MPP Ye Myit, one of the most influential contemporary artists in Myanmar, also had two of his paintings censored from the book, because the paintings included naked female figures in front of Bagan's temples.  "It upset me deeply that my work was censored. These two paintings can be published now, but it's a belated joy," said MPP Ye Myint. The English version of "Myanmar Contemporary Art 1" is available for US$30 or 40,000 kyats at Myan/art Art Gallery on Bogalay Zay Street in Yangon. The post Art and Censorship appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Daughter of Assassinated Lawyer Testifies Posted: 18 Aug 2017 05:03 AM PDT YANGON — Nearly five months into the trial process, Yangon's northern district court examined the daughter of late National League for Democracy legal adviser U Ko Ni, who was present at the scene when her father was murdered in January. At the 20th hearing for the trial on Friday, U Ko Ni's eldest daughter Dr. Yin Nwe Khaing, 34, appeared in court with her family's lawyer, U Nay La, to present her eyewitness account of the murder. She was the 20th witness so far; a list of more than 80 witnesses has been submitted by the prosecuting lawyer. It's been nearly seven months since prominent Muslim lawyer U Ko Ni was shot by gunman Kyi Lin outside Yangon International Airport on the afternoon of Jan. 29. He is survived by his wife and three adult children. Police have detained four suspects in the murder: Kyi Lin, and alleged co-conspirators Zeya Phyo, Aung Win Zaw and Aung Win Tun. An additional man, Aung Win Khaing, is suspected of being the main conspirator in the murder but remains at large. According to a police statement, he is the brother of the two detained suspects Aung Win Zaw and Aung Win Tun, and was last seen in Naypyidaw. Police testified to the court that there is no record that Aung Win Khaing has passed through the country's border gates since the assassination, but there are no new leads in locating the fugitive. Dr. Yin Nwe Khaing told the media after the Friday court hearing that the length of time required for the trial process does not matter to her as long as the truth comes out. "You can't demand an equal [loss] from the [perpetrator's] side in a murder," she said. "Our family will not get back the one who died. So the truth is the only thing we can expect out of this trial." Details of who was involved in the conspiracy, and why they did it, must be uncovered, she said, describing it as crucial not only for the country but also for its judicial system. Lawyer U Nay La told The Irrawaddy that authorities should put forward more effort in locating Aung Win Khaing, and that there have been flaws in the police investigation of the case. "After two or three more hearings and examinations, the case will be more clear," U Nay La said. "I believed the fugitive will be arrested before the end of the murder trial," he added. The next court hearing will be held at the northern district court on August 25. Shooter Kyi Lin and the three alleged co-perpetrators are being charged under Article 302 of Myanmar's Penal Code for murder. Zeya Phyo, a former military intelligence officer, is also charged under Article 67 of the Telecommunications Law for the possession of restricted telecommunications equipment and Article 468 of the Penal Code for the forgery of national identity cards. Two of the suspects—Kyi Lin and Aung Win Zaw—are also being charged under Article 19(d) and (f) of the country's 1878 Arms Act for possession and transportation of illegal arms, in addition to the murder charge. The post Daughter of Assassinated Lawyer Testifies appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Detained Journalists Denied Second Bail Appeal in Unlawful Association Case Posted: 18 Aug 2017 04:28 AM PDT HSIPAW, Shan State — The second bail appeal for three detained journalists from The Irrawaddy and the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) was rejected by the Hsipaw Township Court judge, with national security being cited as the reason. Lawi Weng of The Irrawaddy, and U Aye Nai and U Pyae Phone Aung from DVB, have been in custody at Hsipaw Prison in northern Shan State since they were arrested by the army on June 26 on their way back from covering a drug-burning ceremony hosted by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, a Palaung ethnic armed group. The army accused them of unlawful association with an outlawed organization. During their fourth trial, the township's judge U Kyaw Moe Thu said that apart from the national security issue, he was worried that granting bail could prolong the legal process, as the hearings have been going on for a month so far. "I want to end this case as soon as possible. So far, only two witnesses from the plaintiff's side have appeared at court. For the purpose of a speedy hearing, the bail request is denied," he said during the hearing. Myanmar Army officers Maj Myat Maw Aung and Aung Lin Htet had been summoned to give testimony at Friday's hearing. Maj Myat Maw Aung presented a CD with data allegedly copied from the journalists' cameras and phones to be examined as evidence. The journalists' lawyers objected, stating that the evidence was inadmissible and questioning its authenticity. Aung Lin Htet did not give testimony due to time constraints. The Hsipaw Township Court judge will decide at next Friday's hearing whether to accept the new evidence. U Zeya Hlaing, a Myanmar Press Council member who showed up at the hearing in Hsipaw on Friday, told The Irrawaddy that he felt very bad to see his fellow journalists in handcuffs under a heavy security presence. "Journalism is not a crime. Why has their bail been denied while some people prowling the city with weapons receive bail? These journalists didn't have weapons. Our legal system is questionable," he said. The post Detained Journalists Denied Second Bail Appeal in Unlawful Association Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 18 Aug 2017 02:25 AM PDT YANGON — Government peace negotiators are planning to meet leaders of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) at its headquarters in northern Shan State, according to a UWSA official. U Thein Zaw Oo, the assistant liaison officer at the USAW Lashio office, said he was told that U Thein Zaw Oo—the vice-chairperson of the government's Peace Commission—was going to lead a delegation to the headquarters, possibly in September, but the date has not yet been confirmed. U Thein Zaw Oo was assigned under President U Thein Sein's government to persuade the UWSA, National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), and Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) to join the peace process. The National League for Democracy (NLD) administration then entrusted him with the same task, placing him as the vice-chairperson of the Peace Commission. "We don't know the details, agenda or date of the meeting yet," said spokesperson U Aung Soe of the Peace Commission. Following a summit of ethnic armed groups at UWSA headquarters in Panghsang in Feb. 2017, the UWSA formed the Federal Political Negotiation Consultative Committee (FPNCC) to join the peace process outside of the national ceasefire agreement path. Led by the UWSA, the FPNCC also comprises the NDAA, SSPP, Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Arakan Army (AA), and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). The ethnic armed groups demand the government engages with them as a single entity, but the government has refused, preferring to deal with them as separate groups. Brig-Gen Tar Bone Kyaw of the TNLA said: "I haven't heard about the meeting. We have only agreed to meet the government as a bloc. The FPNCC is yet to hold a meeting and make a decision on whether or not to meet the government separately." Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Govt Peace Team to Meet UWSA appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Critics Cry Foul as Joshua Wong and Other Young Hong Kong Democracy Leaders get Jail Posted: 17 Aug 2017 11:58 PM PDT HONG KONG — A Hong Kong appeals court jailed three leaders of the Chinese-ruled city's democracy movement for six to eight months on Thursday, dealing a blow to the youth-led push for universal suffrage and prompting accusations of political interference. Joshua Wong, 20, Alex Chow, 26, and Nathan Law, 24, were sentenced last year to non-jail terms including community service for unlawful assembly, but the Department of Justice in the former British colony applied for a review, seeking imprisonment. Wong was jailed for six months, Chow for seven months and Law for eight months. Law had been the city's youngest ever democratically elected legislator before he was stripped last month of his seat by a government-led lawsuit. The three appeared stern but calm as their sentences were delivered by a panel of three judges. A lawyer involved in the case, Jonathan Man, said they would appeal. The jail terms disqualify them from running for the financial hub's legislature for the next five years. The bespectacled Wong, who was 17 when he became the face of the student-led democracy movement, punched his fist in the air as he left the court room and shouted: "Hong Kong people don't give up." Minutes earlier he Tweeted: "They can silence protests, remove us from the legislature and lock us up. But they will not win the hearts and minds of Hongkongers." Chow waved at his parents as he left the court. His mother broke down in tears. About 100 supporters later swarmed the prison vans taking the three away from court, shouting "shame on political prosecution" and waving yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the city's pro-democracy movement, a Reuters witness said. At least one person was taken away by police. The three judges in Hong Kong's second highest court, the court of appeal, wrote in their judgment that the three could not say they were jailed for exercising freedom of assembly in a city where many democrats see a gradual erosion of freedoms promised in 1997 when Britain handed the territory back to China. "In recent years, there's been an unhealthy trend in Hong Kong society. Some people use the pursuit of ideals…as an excuse to take illegal action," Judge Wally Yeung wrote. "This case is a prime example of the aforementioned unhealthy trend." Rubio Slams 'Shameful' Jail Terms Hong Kong, which has been governed under a "one country, two systems" formula since 1997, allowing freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, was rocked by nearly three months of mostly peaceful street occupations in late 2014, demanding Beijing grant the city full democracy. The so-called Umbrella Movement, which drew hundreds of thousands of protesters at its peak, was triggered by Wong and his colleagues climbing into a courtyard fronting the city's government headquarters. They were later charged with participating in and inciting an unlawful assembly. Under the "two systems" formula, Hong Kong enjoys a free judiciary, unlike on the mainland where the Communist Party controls the courts which rarely challenge its decisions. US Senator and one-time presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, who heads the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said in a statement the "shameful" resentencing showed that "Hong Kong's cherished autonomy is precipitously eroding." "Beijing's heavy hand is on display for all to see as they attempt to crush the next generation of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and undermine the 'one country, two systems' arrangement," Rubio said. "Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Alex Chow, and other Umbrella Movement protesters are pro-democracy champions worthy of admiration, not criminals deserving jail time." International human rights organizations also slammed the jail terms. "From the initial choice to prosecute these young democrats through to today's hearing, these cases have been shot through by politics, not law," China director at Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, said in a statement. "That Hong Kong's courts increasingly appear to operate as mainland courts do is clear evidence that 'one country, two systems' is on the ropes–with ominous consequences for all." Amnesty International added its voice. "The relentless and vindictive pursuit of student leaders using vague charges smacks of political payback by the authorities," said Mabel Au, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong. Britain said it was vital Hong Kong's young people had a voice in politics and it hoped the sentencing would not discourage legitimate protest in future. "The UK remains a staunch supporter of the right to peaceful protest and we believe it is vital that Hong Kong's young people have a voice in politics. Hong Kong's way of life is underpinned by its rule of law," a spokeswoman for Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement. The Hong Kong Department of Justice said in a statement it respected the court's decision. Dissenting Views A senior government source who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter said Hong Kong's top prosecutors had initially "not recommended pursuing" the case further after the non-jail terms were handed down. But Hong Kong's Secretary of Justice, Rimsky Yuen, overruled them and insisted on re-opening Wong's case, a decision that ultimately led to their imprisonment, the source said. In response to emailed questions from Reuters to Yuen seeking clarification, a spokesman for the Department of Justice said it "does not comment on internal discussions regarding individual cases." "However, the DoJ [Department of Justice] reiterates that all decisions were made in accordance with the Prosecution Code, the applicable law and relevant evidence." The DoJ said in an earlier statement there was "absolutely no basis to imply any political motive." In recent months, dozens of protesters, mostly young people, have been jailed for their roles in various protests, including a violent demonstration that the government called a riot in early 2016. Wong told Reuters on Wednesday that Hong Kong's democratic movement was facing its "darkest era" and that he'd lost confidence in the city's independent legal system, long considered one of the best in Asia. Just before sentencing, Wong told over a hundred supporters who thronged into the court lobby, some weeping, that he had no regrets. "I hope Hong Kong people won't give up," he said. "Victory is ours. When we are released next year I hope we can see a Hong Kong that is full of hope. I want to see Hong Kong people not giving up. This is my last wish before I go to jail." The post Critics Cry Foul as Joshua Wong and Other Young Hong Kong Democracy Leaders get Jail appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rights Groups Slam ‘Outrageous’ Indian Plan to Deport Rohingya Posted: 17 Aug 2017 10:39 PM PDT MUMBAI — Rights groups have condemned India's plan to deport some 40,000 Rohingya Muslims, saying India should abide by its legal obligations and protect the stateless refugees who face persecution in Myanmar. Junior interior minister Kiren Rijiju told parliament last week the central government had directed state authorities to identify and deport all illegal immigrants including Rohingya, even those registered with the UN refugee agency. "Indian authorities are well aware of the human rights violations Rohingya Muslims have had to face in Myanmar and it would be outrageous to abandon them to their fates," said Raghu Menon, advocacy manager at Amnesty International India. "It shows blatant disregard for India's obligations under international law," he said in a statement on Wednesday. The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and classified as illegal immigrants, despite claiming centuries-old roots. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar, where they face atrocities, including murder, rape and arson attacks, with many taking refuge in Bangladesh, and some then crossing a porous border into Hindu-majority India. Many have also headed to Southeast Asia, often on rickety boats run by people-smuggling gangs. The Rohingya are generally vilified in India, and there has been a series of anti-Rohingya protests in the past few months. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued identity cards to about 16,500 Rohingya in India. Rijiju, a high-profile minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government, said the UNHCR registration was irrelevant. India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which spells out states' responsibilities towards refugees. Nor does it have domestic legislation to protect the almost 210,000 refugees it hosts. But Asia's third largest economy is bound by customary international law not to forcibly return refugees to a place where they face danger, rights groups say. "The government should put an end to any plans to deport the Rohingya, and instead register them so that they can get an education and health care and find work," Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said on Thursday. The post Rights Groups Slam 'Outrageous' Indian Plan to Deport Rohingya appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Bangladesh Ramps up Border Patrols to Deter Fresh Rohingya Inflow Posted: 17 Aug 2017 10:34 PM PDT COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Bangladesh has stepped up patrols on its border with Myanmar, following reports that about 1,000 Rohingya Muslims crossed into the country in the past two weeks, amid fresh tension in its neighbor's northwestern Rakhine state. Security forces in Buddhist-majority Myanmar launched a massive crackdown in the state after Rohingya insurgents killed nine police in October, but the flow of refugees into Bangladesh had slowed until hundreds more soldiers were deployed recently. "Security forces are patrolling the villages daily," said Rahim, a teacher from Dar Gyi Zar village in Myanmar who fled to Bangladesh last year, but remains in touch with family members. "My mother is 73 and is panicking there, but she won't be able to flee," said Rahim, who uses one name, like many Rohingya. "No one will be allowed to illegally cross into our country," Manuzurul Hasan Khan, a senior Bangladesh border guard official, told Reuters, adding that the two countries were jointly patrolling frontier areas. There had been no major influx recently, he said, adding that the border was peaceful, with more joint patrols scheduled for this week. However, Rahim and a Rohingya leader in Bangladesh put the total of new refugees at more than 1,000. There had been a constant "slow movement of people across the border," a senior UN official in Bangladesh said. About 1,000 households had crossed each month in April, May and June, estimated the official, who declined to be identified in the absence of authorization to talk to the media. The figure rose to 1,300 households in July, the official said, adding that the border area was "definitely seeing more new arrivals" in August. About 500 of the newly arrived Rohingya live near an unofficial refugee camp in Leda, near the Naf river separating Bangladesh from Myanmar, said Zayed, a Rohingya leader. The rest have moved elsewhere in the border district of Cox's Bazar. Before the latest inflow, about 75,000 Rohinhya had fled to Bangladesh since October, joining tens of thousands already there and straining resources. Some families were packing up to leave, fearing another violent crackdown, a Rohingya resident of Maungdaw in Myanmar told Reuters. "People here are feeling depressed and getting so scared, hearing that more troops are coming to do area clearance again," the resident said on Saturday, seeking anonymity for fear of repercussions. "We have no one to protect us here." The resident and a human rights monitor with sources in northern Rakhine said security forces had run intensive searches and arrested some Rohingya men. Kyaw Swar Tun, an administrator in the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe, said security had been stepped up in the state's north, but denied that Muslims were fleeing across the border. "I don't hear anything of Bengali people leaving or entering the country during these days," he said, using a derogatory term for the Rohingya to imply they are interlopers from Bangladesh. The treatment of the roughly one million Rohingya in Myanmar has emerged as the country's most contentious human rights issue as it transitions from decades of harsh military rule. Myanmar denies citizenship to the Rohingya and classifies them as illegal immigrants, though they claim roots there dating back centuries. Myanmar security forces continue to harass Rohingya in Rakhine, said Noor Bashar, 26, who fled to Cox's Bazar last week. "Many more are still waiting to enter Bangladesh but it's difficult, due to the increased patrolling," she told Reuters. The post Bangladesh Ramps up Border Patrols to Deter Fresh Rohingya Inflow appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Fish Farmer Hit With Defamation Lawsuit Over State Counselor Facebook Post Posted: 17 Aug 2017 10:20 PM PDT MANDALAY — A fish farmer in Yangon has been dealt a lawsuit under Myanmar's controversial telecoms law for posting on Facebook the suggestion that bachelors could propose to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Self-described political activist Daw Zar Zar Htoon filed the lawsuit under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law against U Min Swe, also known as Nga (Fish) Min Swe—a nod to his profession, and a means to differentiate him from politician and former political prisoner U Min Swe. "His posts—not only this one—defamed our Mother Suu," said Mandalay resident Daw Zar Zar Htoon, who filed the lawsuit in a Pyigyitagon Township police station. "I have lots of evidence of his defamation." Daw Zar Zar Htoon stressed that she was not associated with the State Counselor's National League for Democracy (NLD) but took action "as an ordinary citizen who does not want further slandering against the Lady we love and respect." Police colonel Thein Lwin of the township confirmed the lawsuit and said the case was under investigation. "We are now checking the evidence submitted by the plaintiff. If it is found to be enough to go under [Article] 66(d), we will inform the accused, accordingly with the law," he said. U Min Swe is a well-known and outspoken local figure who has previously self-published leaflets against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, circulating them during the NLD election campaigns and party events. The Irrawaddy was unable to reach him for comment on Thursday. A Facebook post on his profile on Thursday, however, stated that "every unmarried man is entitled to ask women of any age who have no husband to love and marry them." "Anyone can sue me for saying this," he wrote in Burmese. Responding to the lawsuit, he added that he would like to sue former US President Barack Obama for defaming Myanmar, as he hugged and kissed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi when he visited the country. Earlier this month, the Upper House voted to amend Article 66(d) by allowing bail to be granted to the defendant and blocking third parties from prosecuting under the law unless the party has been granted legal power by the "defamed" individual. The proposed modifications will also be put to the Lower House before a final decision is taken. Critics have called for Article 66(d) to be scrapped, arguing that it has been used to restrict freedom of expression and stifle the press. The article states that whoever uses a "telecommunication network to extort, threaten, obstruct, defame, disturb inappropriately influence or intimidate," on conviction can be "punished with imprisonment for a term extending to a maximum of three years, and shall be liable to fine or both." The post Fish Farmer Hit With Defamation Lawsuit Over State Counselor Facebook Post appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 17 Aug 2017 07:35 PM PDT Two events indicating the prospect of peace and conflict were simultaneously taking place on Aug. 11, 2017. One was a meeting between the Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN), the negotiating body of the ethnic alliance the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), and the government Peace Commission. "The level of trust is now at zero," said DPN leader Khu Oo Reh, reflecting the spirit of the meeting. The other was indiscriminate shelling by Light Infantry Battalions 381 and 384, under the command of Military Operation Command 3, in an episode of conflict with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kasung village, Mogaung Township, Kachin State. More than 1,000 people were displaced and several were reportedly killed due to the shelling. This follows the displacement of more than 1,000 people in June from Tanai in western Kachin State, after the Myanmar Army dropped leaflets in the area announcing clearance operations. A Tatmadaw representative said in Parliament on August 14 that it is the military's duty to enforce the "rule of law" in areas where the KIA is active and to bring local people into the fold of security provided by the military. Active military hostility initiated by the Myanmar Army in Kasung must not be treated as "just another fight." Sources in Kachin State suspect this move to be an initial step taken by the army to formalize an agreement made with China: to allow for the reported construction of a highway bypassing Kachin's major cities, and merging into the route of the Ledo Road, which connected Kunming, in China's Yunnan Province, to the Indian border town of Ledo during World War II. The KIA's Battalion 11, situated 3 miles north of Kasung, serves as a significant obstacle to the potential construction of such a motorway, which would pass through the village. The shelling could be interpreted as an attempt to clear the area in an early effort toward carrying out the plan to create such infrastructure. The bombing of Kasung occurred around one month after Myanmar Army Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing's weeklong visit to India, where he had several top-level meetings with talks on both bilateral and military-to-military cooperation with his western neighbor. Myanmar's military has learned to thrive in its strategic position between Asia's two giants, both seeking regional dominance. It was the British demarcation of borders that defined Myanmar's boundaries as a state, and the lines set out by a colonial power have also contributed to the fate of generations of non-Bamar ethnic groups: squeezed between India, China, and the Tatmadaw troops are communities who have been stripped of their security and basic right to a life with dignity, particularly for those living along these borders. Synonymous With the Military For many communities in the ethnic states, the first Bamar people they encountered were Tatmadaw troops entering their villages, bringing with them human rights violations, looting and the destruction of property. A 100-year-old displaced woman from Kasung said during an interview, "I crawled, I ran, I was carried on my son's back across two rice fields, running away from 'Myen' [referring to Bamar people]." Yet a translation of that interview then reads, "As the government troops were coming." For many, the terms "Myen"—the term for "Bamar" in the Kachin Jinghpaw dialect—has become synonymous with Myanmar Army troops. Similarly, in Karen language, "Pa Yaw" refers to both Bamar people and the Myanmar Army. A member of the Karen community recalls: "Back in the village where I grew up, people would say 'Pa Yaw' were coming when the Myanmar Army was entering the village." In Shan, the word "Marn" for the "Bamar" ethnicity is also used to describe Myanmar Army troops. For people living in areas that receive little to no support or services from the central government, the only Bamar they have known are Myanmar Army troops. It has been their ethnic communities and respective ethnic armed organizations that have supplied basic infrastructure, health and education—not Naypyitaw or Yangon. "The government is blocking the UN and other INGOs [international non-governmental organizations] from going to Kachin Independence Organization areas and quite clearly trying to destroy what has been built up. They are clearly determined to wipe out the infrastructure that has been built over the years," said a longtime journalist and a regular visitor to Kachin State. No National Identity Since the founding of the Union of Burma in 1948, sufficient attention and effort have not been invested in creating a unified ideology to bring together the diverse range of ethnic communities within the country's borders. No unified central ideology of nationhood was offered to the ethnic nationalities so that they might adopt the notion of a national identity. As soon as the position of Commander-in-Chief was transferred from Smith Dun in February 1949 to Gen Ne Win, Burman officers filled the high commands, while non-Bamars were given new but lower ranks, described in "Burma in Revolt" by Bertil Lintner. Fewer than 10 years after gaining independence, the political and economic prospects in Kachin State were falling drastically, and by 1951, "the Kachin State honeymoon was now over," wrote Mandy Sadan in "Being and Becoming Kachin." By the 1960s, less than 15 years after independence, more than a dozen ethnic nationalities had already armed themselves and saw such a struggle as the only way to call for political dialogue. Despite the army's central rhetoric to the national causes being non-disintegration of national solidarity and of the Union, the brutality committed by its troops has forced unprecedented numbers of civilians to flee, and it has inflicted prior and ongoing human rights violations upon vulnerable communities, most recently in the village of Kasung. Yet the Tatmadaw continues to advance as a major economic and political player and as a strategic partner of both China and India, often at the cost of the safety and security of Myanmar's people. Consecutive governments of a new independent Myanmar have failed to tackle the issue of creating a unified national identity since the colonial legacy. To avoid the fate of becoming another failed state, to which Myanmar is already on its way, the people need to look to each other to co-create a national identity. It must be envisioned not simply around the leadership of another individual, but based on shared values and mutual respect, and without coercion from any group to forfeit their unique identity. Stella Naw is an advocate for equal rights and writes about peace and conflict in Myanmar. The post The Empty Rhetoric of Unity appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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