Wednesday, May 2, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Rights Groups Question Tatmadaw Chief’s Denial of Sexual Violence

Posted: 02 May 2018 07:59 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand – Human rights advocates have raised objections to the Myanmar military chief's assertion that his troops do not use sexual violence against civilians and that the Tatmadaw was taking "harsh and stronger actions against … offenders" who violate this policy.

Tatmadaw commander-in-chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing made the comments on Monday to a special envoy of the United Nations Security Council who was making a two-day visit to the country. The UNSC envoy's inquiries were focused in part on allegations of sexual violence against Rohingya women during the Tatmadaw's recent military operations against Muslim militants. The militants' attack on security forces triggered anti-terrorism operations in Rakhine State's Maungdaw and Buthitaung townships in October 2016 and August 2017.

"Sexual violence [is] considered a despicable act according to the tradition, culture and religion of the country and actions [are] being taken against any offenders," the state-run English-language newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar quoted Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing as saying on Tuesday.

Punishments have only been handed down in those rights violation cases that have received widespread attention, such as the case involving Mong Raw villagers in Shan State and the Inn Din case in Rakhine State, advocates say.

No action has been taken against soldiers accused of committing sexual violence in ethnic minority areas, despite the cases having been publicized for a long time, they say.

The human rights advocates voiced strong criticisms of the Army chief's comments, saying they had witnessed such sexual violence in the past, especially in areas involving ethnic conflict.

U Aung Myo Min, a human rights educator and the director of Equality Myanmar, said such a comment is "totally unacceptable."

There has been much evidence and documentation of human rights violations and sexual violence against women, especially in minority ethnic areas in Kachin, Shan, Karen, Karenni and Mon states, dating back to 1988, he said.

"Sexual violence by the armed forces is more common in conflict areas, partly because no action is taken and the offenders become more audacious due to this impunity," U Aung Myo Min said.

Numerous reports documenting abuses have been issued by ethnic women's organizations and ethnic human rights foundations, including the License to Rape report in 2002 by the Shan Women Actions Network and Shan Human Rights Foundation.

Kachin, Karen and Mon women told The Irrawaddy that human rights violations and the use of sexual violence as a weapon are common in conflict areas. Hundreds of cases have been documented in reports by numerous women's organizations, they said.

"Women are being targeted for sexual assault, which has been used as a weapon in conflict areas, including in Kachin State," said Moon Nay Li, a spokesperson for the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT).

Both KWAT and the Women League of Burma have documented evidence of abuses. Moon Nay Li said that even in the period from 1994 to 2011 when a ceasefire was in effect between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Tatmadaw, Kachin women, including high school-age girls, were subjected to gang rapes. The practice has not stopped, and continues whenever the Tatmadaw troops enter their villages, she said. There have been more troop deployments in the areas since the ceasefire between the government and the KIA broke down in June 2011.

Even when cases are reported, there is no action taken and offenders enjoy impunity, the Kachin rights advocate added. "We want everyone outside of the conflict zones to know that security for women and young girls will be in a worrisome state so long as there is neither responsibility nor accountability in these cases," Moon Nay Li said.

Prominent cases include the abduction and alleged rape of Kachin woman Sumlut Roi Ja in October 2011 by the Tatmadaw's Light Infantry Battalion 321 near the town of Loi Jel in Kachin State; and Tatmadaw soldiers' alleged rape and murder in January 2015 of two Kachin schoolteachers from Kawng Kha village in Kut Kai Township, northern Shan State.

Justice has yet to be served in either of these cases. The Tatmadaw has stuck to its denials and victims' families who filed complaints have even been subjected to further legal persecution, said U Aung Myo Min, the Equality Myanmar director.

"This is not only about sexual abuse. It is about covering up violations of human rights. When this happens, it discourages victims from speaking up and allows the perpetrators to commit more crimes," he said.

Tatmadaw leaders have denied such cases since the period when the country was ruled by military juntas, and continue to do so, U Aung Myo Min added. "Thus Myanmar has a notorious human rights record."

The rights educator added that military leaders should accept the reality and avoid making further denials. Instead, those who violate basic human rights must be subject to legal action so that Myanmar's image will improve, U Aung Myo Min said.

"Leaders should consider both punishing individuals who do wrong and changing the system if the system makes matters worse," he said.

"The [Tatmadaw] always denies any allegations, not only of sexual violence being used as a weapon," echoed Naw K'nyaw Paw, the general secretary of the Karen Women Organization. The KWO documented rapes against Karen women by Tatmadaw soldiers during the regimes of the State Law and Order Restoration Council and the State Peace and Development Council in a 2004 report, Shattering Silence.

However, Naw K'nyaw Paw said, to this day, "We have not found any justice at all, even in cases where sexual violence happened in mixed-control areas under the [Myanmar] Army. When women are raped, they dare not report it because of the fear of repercussions. No, there is no justice at all."

She told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, "I am sure in Rakhine, in western [Myanmar], sexual violence against Rohingya women is happening, as it happened to other ethnic groups in Kachin, Karen and Shan."

Cases of rape and sexual violence seem to have declined in southern Myanmar, especially in Karen and Mon states, partly due to the ceasefires there, which started in 2012, and partly because the local communities are better trained in how to protect themselves from abuse.

Referring to the latest standoff and military deployment in Papun district of Karen State, Naw K'nyaw Paw added, "Our Karen communities do not dare face the [Myanmar] Army for many reasons. They are afraid of being killed; women are afraid of being tortured and raped, so they run away ahead of time [before the Tatmadaw columns arrive in their areas], and they do not dare return to the area."

In Mon State, victims of the Myanmar military's sexual violence against girls have not been able to seek justice in public courts, according to Mi Htaw Chan, coordinator of the Women and Child Rights Project led by the Human Rights Foundation of Mon Land.

"The victims' families are too afraid to confront the perpetrators as they are Tatmadaw soldiers, so they tend not to speak out," said Mi Htaw Chan, referring to cases dating to 2013-14.

The family of a 13-year-old girl who was raped by personnel from the Tatmadaw's Infantry Battalion 31 in Ye Township in December 2013 settled the case after the Tatmadaw paid them compensation of 500,000 kyats.  Later the family moved to the Thailand border, fearing further abuse at the hands of the soldiers, she said.

Another girl of the same age was raped by a soldier from Tatmadaw Battalion 315 in Than Phyu Zayet Township, Mon State in late 2013. The family did not receive justice; they were simply informed by the Tatmadaw that the offender was being punished by a military court, Mi Htaw Chan said.

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Journalists Say Press Freedom Declining in Myanmar

Posted: 02 May 2018 06:17 AM PDT

YANGON — Recent survey results show that local journalists think media freedom is declining in Myanmar, and increasingly believe the government and military pose the main threat to an independent press.

Free Expression Myanmar, an advocacy group campaigning for freedom of expression and legal reform, surveyed 200 working journalists across the country between December 2017 and April 2018.

A report summarizing the findings of the survey states that journalists' initial optimism that the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government would take significant steps to increase media freedom has been replaced by the belief that not only have there been no reforms, but overall media freedom has actually deteriorated.

"Journalists are frustrated by the government's failure to implement its election manifesto commitments to increase media freedom," reads the report, which was launched on Wednesday, one day ahead of World Press Freedom Day 2018.

The NLD manifesto released in 2015 clearly states: "The news media is the eyes and ears of the people. We will ensure that the media has the right to stand independently in accordance with self-regulation of matters relating to ethics and dignity, and the right to gather and disseminate news."

Yet, since the administration took office in March 2016, a number of local media outlets have been taken to court by the country's most powerful institutions, including the military.

Various laws have continued to be used as weapons of press oppression, according to the report. These include not only online defamation charges, but also colonial-era legislation such as the Official Secrets Act and the Unlawful Associations Act.

At least 11 journalists were arrested last year under various repressive laws for gathering information or traveling to conflict areas to conduct their work, and for criticizing officials.

U Han Zaw, secretary of the PEN Myanmar Center, said at an event to launch the report on Wednesday that fear of being sued was growing among journalists and editors, adding that this had led to self-censorship.

"This is a significant factor in the decline of media freedom," he said.

Some 49 percent of the surveyed journalists believed they had less freedom of expression compared to a year ago, while 41 percent believed they had the same freedom. Only 11 percent thought that they had more freedom.

The report states that the journalists believe the government and the military are the greatest threats to media freedom in Myanmar, given their continued used of old oppressive laws, which they have no real plans to amend, and adoption of new restrictions.

It also states that the courts and their regressive interpretation of Myanmar's laws pose a significant threat to media freedom.

"Journalists are concerned about the courts' unwillingness to listen to expert testimony, to refer cases to the Myanmar Press Council, or to interpret laws in favor of Myanmar's new democratic aims," the report states.

Yin Yadanar Thein, co-founder and program manager of Free Expression Myanmar, told The Irrawaddy that the survey's aim is to advocate for legal reforms. She said that the survey serves as evidence of the declining state of Myanmar's press freedom based on journalists' perceptions. This provides a more solid basis for advocating legal reform than simply the opinions of civil society organizations, Yin Yadanar Thein said.

"There are a lot of repressive laws including in the Penal Code. The government is neglecting to abolish those. Even if they consider that abolishment is impossible, they could make amendments in favor of freedom of expression," she said.

The report makes five recommendations to the government and the military: to conduct open and inclusive consultations with journalists on legal reform, which includes both changing laws and changing the behaviors of government officials; to end the state media monopoly including military-owned media; to immediately remove all barriers to the media's access to conflict areas; to ensure that no government official acting in an official capacity brings any criminal complaint against a journalist until legal reforms are implemented; and to ensure that all allegations of violence against journalists are investigated transparently.

The reports will be sent to the Ministry of Information, the Myanmar Press Council and the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission.

Reporters Without Borders' 2018 press freedom index ranked Myanmar 137th out of 180 assessed countries. This was a drop of six places from the previous ranking.

India, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and China placed at No. 138, 140, 142, 145 and 176, respectively.

The annual report published last week reflects growing animosity towards journalists around the world.

The post Journalists Say Press Freedom Declining in Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

160 Legal Officers Disciplined in 2017, Supreme Court Says

Posted: 02 May 2018 05:54 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — The Supreme Court took disciplinary action against 160 legal officers last year in response to complaints, according to the body’s latest annual report, released Wednesday in Naypyitaw.

Among the high-level officials disciplined were a director-general, two deputy directors-general, the heads of two regional law departments, two deputy directors and six district judges, according to the report. Disciplined low-level staff included clerks and assistants.

Punitive measures included salary reductions, suspended promotions, demotions, and the temporary suspension of duty. Three people were sacked: a township judge, a deputy township judge, and a staff officer.

"We took action against 88 officials and 72 staff," U Zaw Zaw Tun, assistant director of the International Research and Relations Department of the Supreme Court of the Union, told reporters.

Lawyer U Kyi Myint said the court should do more to publicize such news.

"The public doesn’t know about it. They should announce it in newspapers so that legal staff do not dare to misuse their power. They should announce it in real time rather than releasing annual or biannual reports," he said.

But U Kyi Myint said the Supreme Court’s efforts to reform the country’s legal system continued to be hampered by low pay and legal staff who protect one another.

"The report should specify the names of the judges alongside the type of punishment they were given. It is not clear how they were disciplined. Was it just a warning? If so, the report means nothing. Just releasing a list won't win the trust of the people," the lawyer said.

A similar report was released for 2016. They aim to provide greater transparency and accountability of the judicial system, enable the public to assess the performance of courts, enhance the capacity of courts, and inform the public about judicial sector reforms.

According to the latest report, there were 1,930 rape cases, 1,214 murder cases, 9,052 drug cases, 191 human trafficking cases and 96,307 other cases in 2017. Mandalay Region saw the most murder cases, Irrawaddy Region saw the most rape cases, and Kachin State saw the most drug cases.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Court Rejects Request to Name Officer in Reuters Case a ‘Hostile Witness’

Posted: 02 May 2018 04:18 AM PDT

YANGON — A Yangon court on Wednesday rejected a request to declare a police captain a hostile witness in the case of two Reuters journalists accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act.

Police Captain Moe Yan Naing told the Northern District Court late last month that Police Brigadier-General Tin Ko Ko had instructed officers to entrap the two reporters, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, by handing them classified documents and then arresting them.

The reporters were arrested in Yangon in December after accepting documents from police over a dinner the officers had invited them to and remain in custody.

Following last month’s explosive testimony, a lawyer for the plaintiff asked the court to declare the captain a hostile witness.

On Wednesday, Judge U Ye Lwin rejected the request, explaining that the captain’s testimony at a police station following the reporters’ arrest and later in court were found to be consistent.

"Plus, he is a police officer and he took an oath at the court before his testimony," the judge said.

The decision means the captain’s testimony on April 20 cannot be thrown out.

Since his testimony, Cpt. Moe Yan Naing was sentenced to a year in prison under the Police Discipline Law for handing classified information to the reporters and referred to Insein Prison, according to police spokesman Colonel Myo Thu Soe.

Cpt. Moe Yan Naing did not appear at court last week. But Judge U Ye Lwin said on Wednesday that the captain would remain a witness in the case and that the court would summon him next week.

U Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer for the two journalists, said Cpt. Moe Yan Naing's testimony in the case would yield further revelations if he does remain a witness, as the judge said he would.

“We are hopeful about the case,” he said. “His testimony is quite important."

On Monday, Col. Myo Thu Soe told The Irrawaddy that Brig-Gen.Tin Ko Ko would face no disciplinary action for allegedly masterminding the Reuters reporters’ entrapment and that the claim would not be investigated.

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UNSC Delegation Visits Northern Rakhine

Posted: 02 May 2018 02:42 AM PDT

SITTWE, Rakhine State —A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) delegation visited Rohingya villages on Tuesday in Rakhine State's Maungdaw, where hundreds of thousands of the ethnic minority have fled military-led violence, after months of not being permitted to do so.

The 15-member UNSC delegation comprising representatives from 15 countries visited Maungdaw on Tuesday, during which Rohingya residents of Pan Taw Pyin village met with them, U Anarwa, the village administrator, told The Irrawaddy.

The Rohingya told the delegation that they do not want to accept national verification cards (NVCs) issued by the Myanmar government.

"They asked us about education, freedom of movement and the burning of homes. We told them that we want to be able to travel freely around Maungdaw and that we do not want NVCs because we have lived here for generations. But they said nothing in response," he told The Irrawaddy.

When asked about the arson, a local Rohingya villager told the UNSC delegation that the Myanmar Army was responsible for the burning of homes.

NVCs have been issued since June 7, 2016, and through Jan. 3, 2018, they had been issued to 6,097 men and 3,076 women, according to the government.

The delegation visited Hla Poe Khaung and Taung Pyo Letwe repatriation camps and the Rohingya villages Shwezaa, and Pan Taw Pyin.

They also met Hindu and ethnic Mro families whose relatives were killed in attacks allegedly carried out by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), according to the government – a claim that ARSA denied. The delegations also met with eight Hindu women who claimed that ARSA abducted them and took them to Bangladesh.

"They asked me if I knew who killed my family members," said one of the abducted women Rica who said she witnessed the killing of her husband.

"I told them that they were killed by Rohingya living near our village, and that I know and remember the murderers," she added.

The delegation also met civil society organizations based in Sittwe at the Sittwe Airport lounge in the evening.

U Than Tun, general secretary of the Ancillary Committee for Reconstruction of Rakhine National Territory in the Western Frontier (ACRRNT), who attended the meeting, said: "We told the UNSC delegation that it is good that they have come here to see the real situation since they have only heard fake and fabricated news. I don't know what their decision will be. But I noticed that they had already had their minds made up no matter what we said."

The visit was the first of its kind by a UNSC delegation to Myanmar. The delegation also held talks with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar Army Chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing on Monday.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Through a Fog of Data, Air of Indian Cities Looks Dirtiest

Posted: 01 May 2018 10:13 PM PDT

GENEVA — India should follow China’s example and clean up the air in its cities, which are among the world’s worst for outdoor pollution, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The WHO’s database of more than 4,300 cities showed Indian cities such as New Delhi, Varanasi and Patna were among the most polluted, based on the amount of particulate matter under 2.5 micrograms found in every cubic meter of air.

Chinese cities such as Xingtai and Shijiazhuang and the Saudi refining hub at Jubail were also highly polluted, but the data for those places was 4-5 years old, and Maria Neira, WHO’s head of public health, said China had made big improvements that India should follow.

“There is a big step at the government level [in China] declaring war on air pollution,” Neira said. “One of the reasons for that is that the health argument was very strongly presented, and the fact that the citizens were really breathing air that was totally unacceptable.”

“We would be very happy if we would see a similar movement now in India, which is one of the countries for which we are particularly concerned. Although there are good initiatives which can be put in place quickly, still the levels are very high and we would like to see a similar decision and leadership.”

The WHO says nine out of 10 people on the planet breathe polluted air, and it kills 7 million people each year, almost all of them in poor countries in Asia and Africa. About a quarter of deaths from heart disease, stroke and lung cancer can be attributed to air pollution, the WHO says.

Globally, outdoor air pollution has remained high and largely unchanged in the past six years, while household air pollution has got worse in many poorer countries, as people continue to cook with solid fuel or kerosene, instead of cleaner fuels such as gas and electricity.

“The transition to clean fuels and technology in the home, clean household energy, is too slow. It’s been three decades and we still have three billion people primarily relying on [polluting] fuels and technologies, and that’s for cooking alone,” said WHO technical officer Heather Adair-Rohani.

The WHO’s global assessment is based on satellite data and modeling overlaid on the database of cities, which is self-selecting because it is based on voluntary reporting, with numbers that have been hugely revised since the previous report.

The most polluted city in 2016’s report, Zabol in Iran, has had its pollution level cut fourfold in the latest version of the database, and now appears to be cleaner than Australia’s capital Canberra.

“The data we are presenting today is I think the most accurate you can expect at the moment,” Neira said.

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Child Brides Sold into Sex Slavery, Domestic Work, Say Indian Officials

Posted: 01 May 2018 09:42 PM PDT

MUMBAI — Girls are being trafficked into domestic servitude or sex slavery after their parents illegally marry them off, said officials in the Indian state of Maharashtra on Tuesday.

Researchers are conducting the state’s first survey into links between child marriage and slavery, according to Vijaya Rahatkar, chairperson of Maharashtra’s women’s commission.

The legal age of marriage in India is 18 for women and 21 for men. Parents face a fine of 100,000 rupees ($1,535) and two years in prison if they are caught trying to marry off their underage children.

But discrimination against girls remains widespread, particularly in rural and poor communities where parents often view daughters as financial burdens and continue to marry them off early.

“Many of these marriages do not last, and we have now seen cases where there are direct and indirect linkages to trafficking,” Rahatkar told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Rahatkar said her commission decided to carry out the survey after receiving reports of child brides enslaved in households and sold into brothels.

After one such report, authorities rescued a girl who had been married off and then forced to work without wages on a farm, where she was abused and tied up so she did not run away.

The findings of the survey, currently underway in districts that report high rates of child marriage, will be shared with various state governments, said Rahatkar.

There has been a “complete vacuum in the research space on trafficking and child marriage,” said Adrian Phillips of the anti-trafficking group Justice and Care.

The research is expected to provide data that will expose connections between the two crimes, said Phillips, whose group has partnered with the women’s commission to conduct the survey.

The number of girls getting married in India has fallen by nearly half in the past decade, the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, said in March. But 27 percent of all brides are still below age 18, according to UNICEF.

Campaigners say it is difficult to convince many people that the tradition of child marriage is wrong.

“They believe there is no ill in the practice, as it has been going on for years,” said Nirmal Gorana, convener of the National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour.

“When parents marry their girls young, it is also to ensure they do not stake any claim on the parent’s property,” he added.

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UN Could Help Myanmar Gather Evidence of Crimes Against Rohingya: British Envoy

Posted: 01 May 2018 09:29 PM PDT

MAUNGDAW, Rakhine State— Britain’s UN envoy on Tuesday suggested the UN Security Council could consider helping Myanmar collect evidence of crimes committed during a military crackdown of the Rohingya people, denounced by the world body as ethnic cleansing after most recent bout of persecution of the Muslim minority last year.

“What we’ve got to do on the council is to think how best to turn that into something operational, so that the evidence gets collected and given either to the Burmese authorities or to some sort of international mechanism,” Britain’s UN Ambassador Karen Pierce told Reuters, as the Security Council wrapped up a four-day visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar on Tuesday.

Britain’s Pierce told reporters that an investigation needs evidentiary standards to achieve accountability.

“There are two ways of doing that basically, one is an International Criminal Court referral, the second would be the Burmese government do that themselves,” Pierce said.

The Myanmar mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pierce's suggestion.

Myanmar’s de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi pledged investigations if credible evidence was provided and military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing vowed “harsh action” over sexual violence during separate meetings with Security Council envoys in the country’s capital Naypyitaw on Monday, diplomats said.

But Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government has little control over the Myanmar military.

Members of the UN Security Council travelled to Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where the United Nations and rights groups say nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August.

Fleeing refugees have reported killings, rapes and arson. Rohingya insurgent attacks on Rakhine security posts led to the military operation that Myanmar deemed a legitimate response.

In Rakhine, data from the UN Operational Satellite Applications Program (UNOSAT) has shown hundreds of villages once inhabited by the Rohingya have now been burned down. Many such villages could be seen from the Myanmar military helicopters that carried the UN envoys to northern Rakhine.

Security Council envoys were shown a reception center Myanmar has built for repatriating Rohingya, aiming to accept a total of 150 people a day, and a transit camp that can house 30,000 returnees. The envoys passed two bulldozed villages near the camp.

Investigations and Options

Last November, the Myanmar military released a report denying all accusations of rape and killings by security forces.

But the US government is conducting an intensive examination of allegations of atrocities against the Rohingya that could be used to prosecute Myanmar’s military officials for crimes against humanity, US officials have told Reuters.

Meanwhile the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has asked it to rule on whether it has jurisdiction over the deportations of Rohingyas to Bangladesh, a possible crime against humanity, but Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government has expressed “serious concern” over the move.

Bangladesh is a member of the ICC but Myanmar is not, so if the ICC rules that it does not have jurisdiction, the UN Security Council could then choose to refer the situation in Myanmar to the court.

In December, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Myanmar must allow an “independent, transparent and credible investigation into what has happened.”

One way the Security Council could help Myanmar could be to mandate a UN investigative team to collect, preserve and store evidence, just as it did in Iraq last year when it investigated acts by Islamic State that may be war crimes.

The United Nations General Assembly could alternatively create an international inquiry into the most serious crimes committed against the Rohingya, similar to what the UN has done in Syria.

Russia’s deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy was wary of Security Council involvement though because Myanmar said it was willing to tackle the issue. Any Council resolution would need nine votes in favor and no vetoes by either Russia or China, an ally of Myanmar.

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Tuesday, May 1, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

UN Security Council Team Visits Northern Rakhine State

Posted: 01 May 2018 03:28 AM PDT

YANGON — A UN Security Council (UNSC) delegation visited northern Rakhine State on Tuesday to learn about the situation on the ground there. The team arrived in the state capital, Sittwe, on Tuesday morning and headed to strife-torn Maungdaw Township at about 11 a.m.

The delegation arrived in Myanmar on Monday from Bangladesh and met with Myanmar officials in Naypyitaw.

Daw Khin Nyo, a Lower House lawmaker and member of the Advisory Board on Rakhine State who met with the delegation on Monday, told The Irrawaddy the delegation accused the government of deliberately putting off the repatriation of Muslim refugees and raised questions about the difficulty of the repatriation procedures.

She said the delegation was unwilling to listen to Myanmar officials, and appeared unreasonably focused on unsubstantiated hearsay.

"Their faces clearly showed that they didn't believe anything we said. They just didn't care to listen to us. It seems that they have been swayed by the accounts of the other side. They only talked about killings, gang rapes, and throwing living children onto fires," said Daw Khin Nyo, who attended a working dinner hosted by State Counselor's Office Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe in Naypyitaw.

When the Myanmar officials asked for evidence for the claims, the delegation members said they had heard them from refugees in Bangladesh. The delegation voiced doubts when Myanmar officials said that indigenous people in Rakhine State had also been killed and victimized by the violence there, she said.

"When we raised the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army [ARSA], they said that we always discuss ARSA [when it comes to the Rohingya issue]. When we talked about the Hindus killed by ARSA, they said, 'Please show us,'" Daw Khin Nyo said.

ARSA launched attacks on Myanmar security forces in northern Rakhine in August last year. The attacks prompted clearance operations by the military, which prompted an exodus of Rohingya people to nearby Bangladesh. Those who fled alleged arbitrary killings, rapes and burning of property by security forces.

Before the dinner, the delegation members held talks with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and military commander-in-chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing. Despite statements issued by both sides reporting that the discussions focused on the Rakhine issue, the meetings didn't go well, according to government officials who were present.

During the meeting, the State Counselor underscored the country's readiness to receive verified returnees and to cooperate with Bangladesh to expedite the repatriation process, according to the State Counselor's Office. She stressed the importance of Bangladesh officials using the designated forms agreed upon by both countries as early as possible for verification, it said.

The Security Council delegation will hold a press conference on Tuesday evening in Naypyitaw.

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Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 30 Apr 2018 10:00 PM PDT

A Tribute to Thaw Di Wai Concert | May 5

Lay Phyu, A Nge, G Latt and many more will perform.

May 5, 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. National Theater, Myoma Kyaung Street. Tickets 15,000 to 70,000 kyats at 09-445139944, 09-5077244, 09-445139944.

Together Festival Yangon | May 5

This event is focused on electronic dance music.

May 5, 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Thuwunnabhumi Event Park. Tickets 25,000 to 90,000 kyats at H-Life Ticketing Counter, Myanmar Plaza Ground Floor, 1876 Call Center.

Jam It! | May 4

This is a free show to enjoy music.

May 4, 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. The Basement, No. 785 Mahabandoola Road, Lanmadaw Tsp.

Book Sale | May 5-6

Papers will be read on democracy and the Fourth Estate and publishing houses will offer discounts on books.

May 5-6, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Press, Theinbyu Road.

DAT (elements) | May 1-4

Discover installations made of sound, pictures and color presented by Noise in Yangon and Pyinsa Rasa.

May 1-4, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pyinsa Rasa Art Space at the Secretariat. Tickets 2,000 kyats for citizens and 10,000 kyats for foreigners.

 

Comedy Night | May 2

Enjoy stand-up comedy.

May 2, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Jazz in Time Music Bar, G-01 Bo Myat Tun Tower, Bo Myat Tun Street. Free Entry.

Books on Buddhism sale | Until May 6

Books on Buddhism will be sold at discount prices at Inwa bookshops.

Until May 6, Inwa bookshops.

Karl Marx Bicentennial Event | May 5

Papers will be read on the philosophies of Karl Marx followed by a discussion.

May 5, 10 a.m. Art Hall. Registration at 09-968509022, 09-979765612 and 09-975299233

White Wave Group Art Exhibition | April 29-May 3

Seven artists portray Ngapali Beach from their own perspectives.

April 29-May 3, OK Art Gallery, Aung San Stadium (North Wing). 

Aung Lin & K Sandar Win | May 5-7

The couple will showcase their creations.

May 5-7, OK Art Gallery, Aung San Stadium (North Wing).

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Monday, April 30, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

UN Security Council Delegates Visit Bangladesh, Myanmar to “Speed Up” Repatriation of Rohingya

Posted: 30 Apr 2018 07:52 AM PDT

DHAKA — A UN Security Council delegation visiting Bangladesh conceded on Monday that progress toward solving the Rohingya refugee crisis has been slow but denied that there was any resistance from China or Russia.

The delegation had met with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier in the day. Three members of the team joined a brief press conference at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport moments before flying to Myanmar for the second leg of the trip.

“We have been concerned that things are going slow. That’s the reasons that the Security Council is here. Also, the [UN} secretary general…has appointed a special envoy [on Myanmar], so things are happening. We are trying to contribute toward these things,” said Gustavo Adolfo Meza Cuadra Velasqez, Peru’s ambassador to the UN and the current chair of the Security Council.

Asked whether the support China and Russia have shown for the Myanmar military’s clearance operations would affect the Security Council’s work, Kuwait’s permanent representative to the UN, Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, said both countries were keen on finding a solution.

“I do not see any resistance from China and Russia. They are a member of the Security Council and they are with us,” he said. “They want to see a solution for this problem.”

When asked what actions could be taken against Myanmar for its widely alleged and reported abuses of the Rohingya community, the UK’s permanent representative to the UN, Karen Pierce, said authorities in Myanmar had begun their own investigation.

“We may feel that that’s too little too late, but we will want to talk to the Myanmar authorities about how they see accountability in this case. And then we will explore what might need to be done beyond that,” she said.

Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi flatly rejected a suggestion that the Security Council was shielding Myanmar from international pressure.

“No one is protecting anyone,” he said. “What we really want to see, we want to see that…the international obligation is implemented.”

He said the delegates met with refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camps with the help of the Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Ministry and called the current situation “not acceptable.”

“We are determined to find an end and a solution for this crisis. We are not expecting to have, to easily solve this problem very quick. But all the parties should show commitments to solve it as soon as possible,” the Kuwaiti ambassador said.

“We cannot remain silent about it, and when we go back to New York…we will try to explore ways and means to speed up the implementation of the agreement signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar for safe, free and voluntary and dignified return of the refugees,” he added.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement to see the refugees repatriated in November, but none has returned to Myanmar to date.

“We will talk to also the officials in Myanmar and we would like to hear from them. And we will go back to the council [and] we will consider it for sure,” Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi said. “This issue will remain on our agenda and it’s one of our priorities.”

The delegates avoided the term Rohingya in referring to the nearly 700,000 people who have fled Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State since late August, when militant attacks on security posts there set off a sweeping military clearance operation the UN and US have referred to as ethnic cleansing.

The Myanmar military insists the Rohingya do not constitute a distinct ethnic group and insists on calling them Bengali, implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The UN team referred to the Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh simply as refugees.

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Brig Gen Tin Ko Ko to Face No Action over Alleged Plot to Entrap Reuters Reporters

Posted: 30 Apr 2018 05:33 AM PDT

Police Brigadier General Tin Ko Ko, the accused mastermind behind the alleged entrapment of two Reuters reporters on secrets charges, will face no disciplinary action, nor will the allegations – which were made by a plaintiff witness during the journalists' trial – be investigated, a police spokesman said today.

The witness, police Captain Moe Yan Naing, told a court hearing on April 20 that the arrest of the Reuters reporters – Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo – on Dec. 12 was a setup carried out on the orders of the senior police officer. He said Brig-Gen Tin Ko Ko’s actions were “unethical and damaged the integrity of the country on the international stage.”

When asked whether the Myanmar police force would launch an investigation into the accusations made against police Brig. Gen. Tin Ko Ko as 10 days had passed since they were sensationally aired, police spokesman Colonel Myo Thu Soe, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that no action would be taken.

Brig. Gen. Tin Ko Ko is currently heading the Yangon-based Security Police Command, and he remains in the position, the police spokesman said.

Capt. Moe Yan Naing was sentenced to one-year imprisonment last Friday, under the Police Discipline Law for handing classified information to the journalists.

"He [Moe Yan Naing] was sentenced by the court in accordance with the Myanmar Police Force Maintenance of Discipline Law, and we have already referred him to the Correctional Department since Friday," said Police Colonel Myo Thu Soe, adding that Moe Yan Naing was being held in Insein prison.

Moe Yan Naing's family has not able to meet him since December and his wife, Daw Tu, said the family was not informed about the sentence either.

She told The Irrawaddy on Monday that she is hoping to see her husband at the next session of the trial of the Reuters journalists at the Yangon Northern District Court in Insein township on May 2, where Moe Yan Naing is due to appear again as a plaintiff witness.

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5,000 Protest, Call for Govt to Rescue Those Displaced in Kachin Clashes

Posted: 30 Apr 2018 04:43 AM PDT

MYITKYINA, Kachin State — More than 5,000 local residents took to the streets in Kachin State's Myitkyina on Monday, calling for the government's intervention to rescue displaced persons trapped in forests amid clashes.

Locals gathered at Manaw grounds and marched around the town, holding placards that urged the government not to neglect the people trapped in clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and calling on the Tatmadaw to stop airstrikes on civilians.

Citing the government's slogan 'together with the people' protesters also urged the government to try to understand the troubles facing them.

Nan Pu, one of the organizers of the protest, said: "Those trapped in forests, especially women, pregnant women, elderly people and children under five years old are suffering. Therefore, we have called on the government and the military to have mercy and let them go as soon as possible."

Besides those trapped in forests, others sheltering in churches have to live in crowded conditions and are short of food, said Nan Pu.

"Churches and Christian associations can only give what they have. Yesterday, they only had pea soup with a little vermicelli. We feel sorry for them. Though donors are donating as much as they can, there are many displaced persons to care for," she said.

Protesters urged the government to provide security for people trapped in clashes and take them to a safe location. They also called on the Tatmadaw to stop attacks immediately and to solve the problems through political means without military pressure.

The clashes between the Tatmadaw and KIA since 2011 have forced more than 100,000 locals to 160 internally displaced person (IDP) camps.

Tatmadaw attacks since April have forced some 2,000 locals to flee from Awng Lawt village in Tanai Township, 160 from Lai Nawng Hku in Hpakant Township, 1,000 locals from Kasung and Zup Mai villages in Mogaung Township, and 2,000 locals from 10 villages in Injangyang Township.

About 3,000 people are taking shelter at churches in nearby townships, and some 2,000 from Tanai are still trapped in forests since April 11 despite the fact that Kachin religious leaders and civil society organizations have requested that the Kachin State chief minister and Tatmadaw officials rescue them.

"The last time I was in contact with them was on April 17. They said they had no food and I don't know what happened to them after that," said Naw Tawng, vice chairman of the All Christian Order IDP Assistance Committee based in Tanai.

"I want the government to mediate between the two sides to de-escalate the clashes," said Rev. Bawk La, general secretary of the Myitkyina Christian Council who is also one of the organizers of the protest.

Christian and Buddhist religious leaders, leaders of Kachin political parties, political, human rights and environmental activists, and Myitkyina locals took part in the protest.

"Even North Korea and South Korea have met for peace now. Why can't our national brethren find a solution at the table and live peacefully?" asked Buddhist monk Ashin Pinnavumsa.

"The Tatmadaw does not treat us like humans. They oppress us with arms. We don't have human rights. We don't like that. That's why I joined the protest," said Gin Sao Shwe, 80, from Myitkyina's Sitapu Ward.

La Dum Naw, a resident of Yuzana Ward in Myitkyina who participated in the protest, drew attention to reports that the Tatmadaw accuses Kachin locals of being KIA members and then tortures and kills them.

The Northern Command of the Tatmadaw issued a notification on April 20 addressed to displaced persons stating that it only attacked KIA outposts and made sure that villages and locals were not affected by the attacks, as well as that it would provide assistance to those returning to their homes.

"People have become a scapegoat. They will go back only when they feel safe to do so. I hope that the government and the Tatmadaw will pay heed to the wishes of the people expressed at the protest," said Manan Tuja, chairman of the Kachin State Democracy Party (KSDP).

Demonstrators plan to stage another round of protests on Monday evening and to continue demonstrating until those trapped in the forests are safely evacuated.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Veteran Democracy Activists Say They Have Green Light to Register Party

Posted: 30 Apr 2018 03:08 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Veterans of the 1988 student uprising say the country’s highest election body has given them permission to begin the registration process for their proposed party, following criticism of their original name.

At a press conference in Yangon on Sunday, U Ko Ko Gyi said the Union Election Commission (UEC) informed him and his colleagues on Thursday that the Four Eights People's Party could begin the registration process.

"We will go to Naypyitaw on May 2 and submit the required documents and list of party members, which are required for party registration," said U Ko Ko Gyi, who rose to prominence during the 1988 uprising.

The party said U Ko Ko Gyi would be chairman and that U Ye Naing Aung would be vice chairman. It has yet to announce the members of its central committee.

"Our main intention is to join hands and cooperate with every institution for the peace and development of the country, and to create a national strategy for sustainable stability and development," said U Ye Naing Aung.

They hope to have the party registered before the announcement of the next national by-elections, which would allow them to compete for at least three seats.

As part of the registration process, the UEC will publish the proposed party’s basic information in state-run newspapers. If no one objects to the proposed name, emblem and flag, the Four Eights People’s Party will be officially registered.

The proposed party’s original name, the Four Eights Party, was criticized by those who believed that 8888, the date on which the student uprising began, should not be appropriated by any political party because it belonged to the entire country as a symbol of Myanmar’s struggle for democracy.

UEC officials were not available for comment.

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KIA Open Letter to Displaced Kachin Urges ‘Patience to Achieve Genuine Peace’

Posted: 30 Apr 2018 01:27 AM PDT

YANGON — The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) chief has issued a letter of encouragement to Kachin people who have been displaced by clashes.

The letter dated April 28 and signed by General N'Ban La apologized to displaced people who are either taking shelter at camps or trapped in forests amid recent clashes, as well as to members of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, for the troubles they are experiencing.

"The KIO Central Committee is worried and feels sorry that people are suffering hardship. But we must endure the troubles of clashes for a certain length of time with patience.

"We must endure the troubled times with patience to achieve genuine peace," wrote the KIA chief, who urged those affected to not feel downhearted.

The letter also blamed the Myanmar Army, also known as the Tatmadaw, for its offensive attacks across Kachin State while the KIO is seeking every means to solve problems politically. It also blamed the Tatmadaw for launching air strikes and artillery attacks, which have displaced many Kachin locals.

The letter also thanked those providing assistance to IDPs. It also called for unity among Kachin people and encouraged KIO members.

It also said that the KIA had withdrawn from some hills not because of Tatmadaw attacks but as a strategic maneuver.

"It is time we fight back with guerrilla warfare. KIA comrades must take responsibility not only to make efforts on the battleground but also to lead those fleeing to escape," read the letter.

Countless clashes between the Tatmadaw and the KIA have forced more than 100,000 people from their homes to camps since June 2011.

The number further increased by more than 40,000 in April following clashes in Tanai, Hpakant, Mogaung, and Injangyang townships.

Around half of them are taking shelter at churches in nearby townships, but the other half is still trapped in forests in those townships.

They reportedly fled after artillery shells and bombs dropped from Tatmadaw helicopters fell near their villages.

A teenager was killed and his father was injured by a bomb dropped by Tatmadaw helicopters on April 11.

Five of some 1,000 locals who fled from villages in Injangyang Township are still missing, according to displaced persons.

The Irrawaddy was unable to contact the Northern Command of the Tatmadaw to ask about the clashes.

The Northern Command issued a notification on April 20 addressed to displaced persons, stating that it had occupied Man Wel in Hpakant from KIA insurgents and was conducting clearance operations in other areas in Tanai, Mogaung and Injangyang townships.

The notification claimed that the Tatmadaw only attacked KIA outposts, and made sure villages and locals were not affected by the attacks. "Except the things destroyed by the KIA, everything else is kept intact," it read.

The Tatmadaw has provided food and household goods to locals who have returned to their homes in Man Wel in Hpakant, and will also do so for other returnees, read the notification.

The increase in the number of people at IDP camps will affect the image of Kachin State, read the notification, urging locals to return to their homes.

Thirty-two Kachin civil society organizations at home and abroad sent a letter on April 23 to the United Nations Security Council urging it to hand the case over to the International Criminal Court as the Tatmadaw is killing civilians and violating human rights in Kachin State.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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UNSC Comes to Myanmar

Posted: 30 Apr 2018 12:23 AM PDT

Today, a team of 15 permanent representatives from the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council will examine the situation in Rakhine State. This is the best time for the UNSC to try to comprehend the situation on the ground and the members should make an effort to hear the grievances of the local ethnic Arakanese population. The team's reception on the ground will be mixed, if not openly hostile.

The UNSC team will meet State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the chairperson of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine (UEHRD) and civil society groups before visiting troubled northern Rakhine State.

They will then be taken to Rakhine State where they will travel to various locations by helicopter. There is no doubt they will see extensive damage and villages burned down during security clearance options. Myanmar cannot hide what happened in Rakhine State.

Meanwhile, fighting has intensified in Kachin State where government forces and Kachin rebels have engaged and the air force has sent helicopters and fighter jets to attack rebels. But the situation in northern Rakhine State remains relatively calm at the moment. It is interesting to note the increased fighting in Kachin just ahead of the UNSC visit. But the decades-long civil war is now largely ignored the by UN.

The UN had pushed to visit for months, but early this year, Myanmar officials said that tension was still high in the area and it was not to the right time to visit, Kuwait's UN Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi told the press.

Myanmar also invited the Singaporean and Indian ambassadors to attend the UN meetings. This visit is important as to demonstrate that Myanmar is willing to take back refugees and displaced persons who fled their homes in August after attacks on border guard posts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) prompted violent security clearance operations.

The UN wants to see a voluntary, safe and dignified return of those displaced and Myanmar has agreed. But how many will return and whether Myanmar is ready to accept the refugees is still unclear. The issue of resettlement will be an ongoing one. The UN team just visited camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, where Rohingya refugees have demanded guarantees for a safe return.

And in November, the Security Council called on Myanmar to ensure no further excessive use of military force in Rakhine State. Furthermore, the Security Council also asked the government to urgently grant domestic and international media organizations full and unhindered access to Rakhine State and throughout the country and to ensure the safety and security of media personnel.

Myanmar and Bangladesh have signed an agreement on arranging the voluntary return of those displaced, largely Rohingya Muslims, but other subgroups as well.

If the refugees remain stranded in Bangladesh, pressure will mount on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's administration as well as military leaders who are facing increasing pressure and targeted sanctions from the United States and the European Union.

The EU extended its arms embargo against Myanmar following human rights violations in the country and has been preparing sanctions against individual army officials.

The embargo includes arms, other equipment that could be used for repression, the provision of military training and products used to monitor communications, the Council of the European Union said. Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has been invited to Brussels twice before but EU officials will have to decide whether to extend an invitation to Brussels in the future. Ironically, many inside the country argue that isolating Myanmar will no longer work.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing will have a tough time with some UNSC members despite appearances that he was trying to put his house in order.

Since Armed Forces Day in March, he has mentioned the Geneva Conventions and instructed soldiers to abide by military codes of conduct and international laws and conventions.

Recently, seven soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor for taking part in the massacre of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn Din in northwestern Rakhine state last September. Top army leaders were concerned about western pressure and sanctions.

In March, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed "shock" at comments by Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing in which he said the Rohingya minority shared nothing in common with the rest of the population and that their demand for citizenship had stoked recent violence.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech to military personnel and their families in northern Kachin State that the Rohingya "do not have any characteristics or culture in common with the ethnicities of Myanmar."

The military chief also said the tensions in Rakhine were "fueled because the Bengalis demanded citizenship," using a term that Rohingya activists reject as implying they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

China Backs Myanmar at the UN

At the UN, Myanmar was accused of "ethnic cleansing" and in a September meeting, three permanent members of the UNSC – the US, the UK and France – demanded Myanmar end the "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya. However, China and Russia prevented the UN body from making any decision. This was not the first time the two UNSC members have backed Myanmar; China and Russia have continually come to its defense at the UN.

Last week, Song Tao, the minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, met with Myanmar's new President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing.

He reportedly told Myanmar leaders that China sees the situation in Rakhine State as an internal affair and suggested the country does not allow interference from the UN or Western nations.

China backed the bilateral agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh to end the crisis and to allow repatriation.

In November, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Bangladesh and Myanmar where he proposed a "three-phase solution" – a ceasefire and restoration of stability in troubled Rakhine State, the signing of a repatriation agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh, and Chinese assistance to alleviate poverty in Rakhine State.

Indeed, China has played the role of 'Big Brother' to Myanmar for decades and continues to intervene.

As China increases its engagement and encourages Myanmar to work on the Rakhine issue, the West and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have also increased their pressure on Myanmar in regards to the situation in Rakhine. Rising anti-Western sentiment among Myanmar people, businessmen and ethnic groups is becoming more apparent.

Myanmar also received backing from India when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the country weeks after the violence erupted in northern Rakhine State and fully supported the government and military.

China has a long-term plan to invest in Myanmar and is beginning to establish a foothold in Rakhine State with its promise to develop a deep-sea port in Kyaukphyu on the Bay of Bengal at a cost of about $7.3 billion. The country clearly has strategic interests in the Indian Ocean – a point of competition between India and China.

Clearly, Myanmar is strategically important for China and the once-isolated country is now becoming a point of tension between China and powerful nations in the West. When former President U Thein Sein canceled the controversial China-funded Myitsone Dam project in Kachin State, the EU and US welcomed the decision.

China will not allow Myanmar to drift into the Western camp. In this geopolitical game, Myanmar will have to do some fine-tuning and balance its position. It will not be easy.

But the government will have to look at the stability of the Rakhine State where native Arakanese are concerned with international involvement and the UN. If the repatriation is to be supervised by the UN and an international presence, it will further complicate the situation. In Myanmar, the UN itself is facing an issue with credibility in regards to Rakhine State, and it needs to reassure Myanmar citizens that it wants to see the once-isolated country move forward – and that it is open-minded and not one-sided.

In November, a UNSC statement said, "The Security Council reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity, and unity of Myanmar, and stresses its support to the Government of Myanmar in the pursuit and consolidation of its ongoing democratic transition process, emphasizing the importance of reforms to promote accountable government institutions, especially in the security and justice sectors and to build the confidence of the people of Myanmar."

There is apprehension among the people of what will come after the UNSC visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Further punishment will not help Myanmar's fragile democratic transition and is likely to send the country back to its pariah status.

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Rakhine Border Guard Officer Kills Colleague in Spat over Water

Posted: 29 Apr 2018 11:51 PM PDT

SITTWE, Rakhine State — A border guard police officer was killed on Saturday and another was injured when a fight erupted between officers at Thinbawhla Chaungwa police outpost in northern Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township.

Police officer Kyaw Phyo Thu threw an MG-1 grenade at his colleague Pyae Phyo Min after they started fighting over the scarce water supply at the police post. The grenade exploded between Pyae Phyo Min and Lance-Corporal Min Min Zaw, who was sleeping near them, according to Maungdaw police.

The two were rushed to Maungdaw Hospital, but Pyae Phyo Min died of his wounds. Min Min Zaw was later transferred to a military hospital in Sittwe.

The commander of the Maungdaw Township Police Force, Captain Hla Htay, said he did not know the details about the incident, as it involved border guard police.

Police Colonel Aung Win, commander of Kyee Kan Pyin Border Guard Police headquarters, declined to comment, saying only that he regretted that a fight had broken out between officers.

"We have submitted the case to higher authorities. They will issue a statement to the press," he told The Irrawaddy.

Kyaw Phyo Thu was detained at the border guard headquarters, where an investigation was under way.

On Sunday, a police lance-corporal was fatally shot by a sub-lieutenant after the two got into a fight during a patrol in Yoe Tayoke village in Rakhine's Ponna Kyun Township.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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With Warning Drums and River Cleanups, Indonesian Women Head Off Disasters

Posted: 29 Apr 2018 10:36 PM PDT

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Whenever heavy rains come at night in her neighborhood in the ancient Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, schoolteacher Muryani remembers the worst floods she experienced, almost 35 years ago.

Sleeping with her mother and two young siblings in a bamboo hut to guard a farmer’s goats from thieves, Muryani feared for their lives as flash floods burst through the door.

“Suddenly the water was so high … it came very fast,” she said. “I was so worried about my mother, who was already quite old. I was afraid we would drown.”

Muryani, 44, who goes by one name only, still lives in the same area, now a small settlement of about 300 residents called Pedak Baru which sits by a river close to Mount Merapi volcano.

As floods have become more frequent over the last five years, Muryani and 25 other local women have teamed up with the YAKKUM Emergency Unit, a project that runs activities to help women protect their communities from disasters in Central Java and Yogyakarta.

Located along the Pacific Rim of Fire, Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands, and faces many natural threats, including earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. The effects of climate change, such as worsening floods and drought, present further risks.

The Indonesian government spends an estimated $300 million-$500 million annually on building back after disasters, according to World Bank resilience officials.

While the Southeast Asian nation has reduced poverty over the last 20 years, many hover just above the poverty line and can easily be pushed back under it by a disaster.

But women can play a crucial role in minimizing the risks for their families and neighbors, experts say.

For Muryani and her family, regular floods have often destroyed their possessions and furniture — which she cannot afford to replace — and forced her two children to miss school.

But the disaster training she has received is helping.

“It gives us an awareness for what to do when flooding happens and how to prepare,” she said.

Policy Change

Indonesia has experienced an average of 290 significant natural disasters annually over the past 30 years, according to the World Bank officials.

They include the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 167,000 Indonesians. After that shock, Jakarta reformed its institutions, laws and policies to better manage disaster risk.

The government introduced a disaster management bill in 2007 that shifted the emphasis from merely responding to disasters towards trying to stop them happening and curbing their impact.

The new approach led to the strengthening of Indonesia’s disaster management agency, with representatives and branches put in place across districts.

The disaster agency now encourages civil society groups like YAKKUM to involve women more in efforts to build resilience.

Despite the huge progress made in recent years, more work is needed, and a larger number of government departments should include disaster risk reduction in their projects, especially at the local level, said Arghya Sinha Roy of the ADB in Manila.

“Every disaster is not on a nationwide scale; it can be a localized district or village-level disaster,” he added.

Women Left Behind

Often marrying early, Indonesian women’s traditional role in running the household means they are sometimes forgotten when a community draws up plans to deal with disasters.

This can lead to them being left behind at home during evacuations, or being unaware of safety procedures.

“When you look back at the 2004 tsunami, most of the casualties are women,” said Irina Rafliana, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

And women who survive a major catastrophe are often the ones responsible for getting their families back on their feet in tough circumstances, she added.

In Indonesia, as in many Asian countries, women often take care of the family and its finances, meaning they are best placed to suggest ways of protecting lives, property and incomes, experts said.

When disasters happen, women tend to quickly grasp the importance of saving key documents, for example. And because women spend more time in their neighborhoods, they can pinpoint high-risk areas and influence their peers.

“If you compare Indonesia with other countries in Southeast Asia, the role of women … in disaster risk reduction is among the strongest,” said Rafliana.

Floods and volcanoes

Pedak Baru faces twin threats of flooding and damage to infrastructure caused by eruptions from nearby Mount Merapi.

The only access to the settlement is via a narrow, potholed road, while many of its two-story houses are in a state of disrepair due to regular inundations.

Things are changing, however, especially since YAKKUM began working with women in the community three years ago.

Pedak Baru’s women first mapped out their neighborhood to identify the risks, and now regularly collect rubbish from the river, recycling plastic waste for money.

The women are trained in evacuation procedures and first aid, and help fill and place sandbags along the river’s embankment when waters rise.

Despite scant funding, they have made buoys from rope and tires, and early-warning drums from bamboo.

Signposts on walls point out escape routes and an evacuation point positioned on higher ground.

The women also hold regular talks with the local branch of the Indonesian disaster agency, and are campaigning for the permanent reinforcement of their river embankment.

Pedak Baru resident Farida Estiningrum, 39, said the scheme had been useful in helping young people too.

“We have even trained the children on how to save themselves when the flood comes to the houses,” she said. “We are prepared for everything.”

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Myanmar Policeman Who Testified Reuters Reporters Were Framed Is Sentenced to Prison: Police

Posted: 29 Apr 2018 10:21 PM PDT

YANGON — A police officer who testified that police framed two Reuters reporters has been sentenced to an undisclosed prison term for violating Myanmar’s Police Disciplinary Act, a police spokesman told Reuters on Sunday, without elaborating.

Captain Moe Yan Naing told the court on April 20 that a senior officer had ordered police to “trap” one of the two journalists arrested in December. He said officers had been told to meet reporter Wa Lone at a restaurant in Yangon and give him “secret documents.”

During that hearing, Moe Yan Naing told the court he had been under arrest since the night of Dec. 12, the date the Reuters reporters were arrested, without access to his family. He said he had been accused of violating the Police Disciplinary Act.

The court in Yangon has been holding hearings since January to decide whether Wa Lone, 32, and his Reuters colleague Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, will be charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

At the time of their arrest, the reporters had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in a village in western Myanmar's Rakhine State. The killings took place during an army crackdown that United Nations agencies say has sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

Seven Myanmar soldiers had been sentenced to “10 years in prison with hard labor in a remote area” for participating in the massacre, the Myanmar military said in April.

On Sunday, police spokesman Colonel Myo Thu Soe told Reuters Moe Yan Naing had been punished “according to police disciplinary act,” adding that his “case has been processed by a police court, finalized and he was punished and he has been sent to prison to serve the punishment.”

Myo Thu Soe did not elaborate on where the police court is based and did not respond to several questions about the specific section of the law under which Moe Yan Naing was sentenced. He also did not answer questions on the length of the sentence.

"The punishment is a prison sentence and for the rest, please find out yourself," Myo Thu Soe told a Reuters reporter.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay was not immediately reachable for comment.

'In Their Hand'

Moe Yan Naing told the court he was charged under sections 16 (b) and 22 of the Police Disciplinary Act.

Under section 16 (b), anyone who “neglects to obey any general, local or other order issued in writing” could be sentenced to up to a year in prison.

Section 22 of the act also involves a maximum of a yearlong sentence for “any act or omission which, although not specified in this Law, is pre-judicial to good order and police discipline.”

Tu Tu, the 42-year-old wife of Moe Yan Naing, told Reuters by phone she had not been notified about a sentence, adding that she has been unable to see her husband since Dec. 12.

“He is in their hand. They can do as they wish,” she said, referring to the police.

Tu Tu and her children were evicted from their home in police housing in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw on April 21 – less than 24 hours after Moe Yan Naing’s testimony.

Police have said the eviction order was not related to Moe Yan Naing’s testimony, without elaborating further.

Judge Ye Lwin, who is overseeing the pretrial hearings in the case of the Reuters reporters, will on Wednesday rule on whether Moe Yan Naing was credible when he testified about what he called a police “set up” to “trap” Wa Lone.

The post Myanmar Policeman Who Testified Reuters Reporters Were Framed Is Sentenced to Prison: Police appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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