The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Analysis: Sacking of Senior Army Officers Unlikely to Reduce International Pressure over Rakhine
• Exhibit Exploring Sexuality Aims for Ambiguity
• Health Minister Sounds Alarm over Tobacco Use
• Four Eights People’s Party to Change Name After Renewed Public Outcry
• Ousted Female Village Chief Reinstated by Mon State Govt
• Yangon Amends Municipal Law, Creates Vice Mayor Position
• Hate Speech Trial of Ultranationalist Writer Begins in Sagaing
• Tatmadaw Occupies NMSP Outpost
• Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week
• Thailand Signals Election Could be Delayed Until May
• Thailand Resumes Search for Soccer Team Trapped in Flooded Cave
• Women Most at Risk from Traffickers in India, Libya, Myanmar: Poll
• EU Sanctions Myanmar Generals Over Rohingya; Myanmar Says Two Are Fired

Analysis: Sacking of Senior Army Officers Unlikely to Reduce International Pressure over Rakhine Posted: 26 Jun 2018 08:50 AM PDT YANGON — Despite the Myanmar Army's announcement of the expulsion of a couple of high-ranking officers on Monday over their mishandling of the northern Rakhine issue, which caused nearly 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh in late 2017, many political analysts and politicians predict that international pressure on Myanmar will continue to grow ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in September. The European Union (EU) released a list of targeted sanctions on Monday against seven military and border guard police officers directly involved the clearance operations in 2017. On the same day, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief announced its punishment of the officers. The targeted sanctions were not new; in February 2018, the EU condemned widely alleged human rights violations by Myanmar security forces and it has been preparing targeted restrictive measures on the responsible officers since then. The EU statement targets the following officers for sanctions: Lieutenant General Aung Kyaw Zaw, the commander of Bureau of Special Operations No. 3 at the military's Western Command from 2015 to 2017; Major General Maung Maung Soe, chief of the Western Command of the Myanmar Armed Forces from 2016 to 2017; Brigadier General Than Oo, commander of the 99th Light Infantry Division; Brigadier General Aung Aung, commander of the 33rd Light Infantry Division; Major General Khin Maung Soe of the 15th Light Infantry Division (a branch of Infantry Battalion No. 564); Brigadier General Thura San Lwin, head of the Border Guard Police; and Commander Thant Zin Oo of the 8th Security Police Battalion in northern Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township, who assisted Brig-Gen Aung Aung during the operations. A statement subsequently released by the military reiterated the Army's March 6 suspension of Maj-Gen Maung Maung Soe from his position and his official removal on June 25 as the Western Command chief for failing to carry out the necessary actions against members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) despite having received prior information about the group's attacks on civil servants and members of the security forces, as well as his mismanagement of military operations on the ground. Additionally, Lt-Gen Aung Kyaw Zaw, who was assigned to closely supervise operations in Rakhine State, voluntarily resigned on May 22 and Brig-Gen Thura San Lwin was removed from his position in the same month. The Office of the Commander-in-Chief did not mention whether action would be taken against the three other Army officers and one Border Guard officer. The Irrawaddy phoned Police Commander Thant Zin Oo on Tuesday but he declined to answer questions, saying, "I am too busy with security matters and meetings with my superiors." The Burmese-language Army statement used the phrase "violent Bengalis". "Bengali", the term used by most people in Myanmar to refer to Rohingya, implies they are immigrants from Bangladesh brought in by British colonial administrators to fill a labor shortage in northern Rakhine. Some political analysts and politicians concluded that the Army announcement was prompted by international pressure, while others saw it as a normal development. Yangon-based political analyst Dr. Yan Myo Thein welcomed the Army's move as an initial step, saying it represented a break with the past. He interpreted it as diplomatic gesture expressing a willingness to maintain a positive relationship with the international community. Dr. Yan Myo Thein pointed out that the support of the EU, the US and other Western countries was crucial to Myanmar's democratic transition. If international pressure is mounting, Myanmar should strategically tighten its relationship with the international community, he said. The analyst urged the military to apply the law equally to every single military officer by closely monitoring them to ensure they follow the laws, rules and regulations of the Army (or Tatmadaw), as well as social norms. When officers overstep their legitimate authority, the Army should investigate the alleged abuses and reveal its findings to the public, he said, adding that it is standard practice around the world for militaries to monitor the behavior of its soldiers and carry out inspections. "I think the Tatmadaw will do this more in the future," Dr. Yan Myo Thein said. He believed that increasing engagement with the UN could reduce the challenges, dilemmas and international pressure on Myanmar, as the country is itself a member of the world body, though he acknowledged that there would be advantages and disadvantages to this approach. Ethnic affairs expert Maung Maung Soe, who spent time in northern Rakhine before the armed conflict, agreed that the recent move by the Army to kick out four senior officers would do little to reduce international pressure on Myanmar. "It's very important that both the government and Army should broadly engage with the EU and the international community. And facilitating the opening of a new EU office in Naypyitaw is one of the significant steps that Myanmar intends to take," Dr. Yan Myo Thein said. National League for Democracy Lower House lawmaker Daw Pyone Kathy Naing, who is also a member of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine, said the EU sanctions were widely expected, adding that the Army's latest step demonstrated that it is willing to take legal action against officers who abuse their authority. However, she said simply blaming all security members would be unfair, as several key actors like the armed rebel group the Arakan Army (AA), as well as ARSA militants and narcotics gangs, were also moving around the region. Community hostility in the villages involved in the attacks also contributed to the explosive situation, she said. "Army officers should find evidence to prove the other groups' abuses, rather than simply making verbal arguments at this time," she said. She urged the international community to understand that Myanmar experienced terrorist attacks in late 2017 for the first time ever, and that the country might have some weaknesses when it comes to implementing counter-terrorism operations. "It's really good for us to take lessons from past experiences," Daw Pyone Kathy Naing said. While some politicians welcomed the Army's move, Arakan National Party (ANP) Lower House lawmaker U Pe Than had a different stance. He said punishment was unnecessary to ease the international pressure on Myanmar, as other countries had similarly mishandled conflicts. He argued that the situation on the ground made it extremely tough for members of the security forces to determine who was a terrorist, because by the time the clearance operation began every village involved in the serial attacks in August 2017 was either directly or indirectly linked in some way to ARSA. This was a result of poor law enforcement in the region for years, which had allowed ARSA militants to gain a foothold, he said. "Today's situation, in which we see continued referrals [of Myanmar military leaders] to the ICC, is the result of the international community's lack of information regarding what is happening on the ground. Whenever they talk about the northern Rakhine conflict, they focus solely on human rights and the mass exodus," U Pe Than said. While their views on the EU sanctions and Myanmar's short-term future may differ, local analysts and politicians generally agree that the international pressure will likely rise again in the run-up to the UN General Assembly, which is scheduled to be held in September, as Rohingya sympathizers and lobbyist groups' ultimate goals are to bring Myanmar military officers before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and to secure a citizenship guarantee for the Rohingya.     The post Analysis: Sacking of Senior Army Officers Unlikely to Reduce International Pressure over Rakhine appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Exhibit Exploring Sexuality Aims for Ambiguity Posted: 26 Jun 2018 07:51 AM PDT YANGON — A new exhibition in Yangon featuring the works of artists Richie Htet and Calum Minuti titled “I’m Not Trying to Seduce You” may leave visitors with the opposite impression. The exhibition is about the sensuality and sexuality of Myanmar women and an exploration of the idea of the Myanmar femme fatale, said Richie Htet. "Just as the title suggests, the work in the exhibition remains ambiguous when it comes to seduction," he said. An illustration by Richie Htet. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy The show opened on Saturday and will run until July 3 at the Myanmar Art gallery, located on Bogalay Zay Street. Opened hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The exhibition combines fashion with drawings, paintings and photography, setting it apart from other art exhibitions currently showing in Yangon. A painting of model Valerie by Richie Htet. "I think that is special and different about our exhibition. We think of fashion, art [paintings and drawings] and photography as one and the same," said Richie Htet. The exhibition showcases Richie Htet’s paintings on fashion and Calum Minuti's nude illustrations. Both studied fashion illustration at the London College of Fashion. A painting of model M Seng Lu by Richie Htet. "We wanted to liberate the women in our work, free from the confines of social acceptability. To portray the women nude is to free them and give them the ownership of their own bodies and sexuality," said Calum Minuti. The two began by coming up with the theme and title for the exhibition and working around that. As they explained, the show’s title borrows a line from the American movie “The Graduate.” Photographs by Zicky Le. "We were also inspired by the fashion and idea of the modern girl during the ’30s and ’40s in Burma," Richie Htet said, "a new liberated and empowered female with her sheer blouse, makeup and high heels." For the photos, the artists dressed their models in classic Myanmar attire because they thought it the best way to represent the sexual liberation of Myanmar women. Nude drawings by Calum Minuti. "As the idea of the show is to question the sensuality and the sexual liberation of the Burmese woman, what better way to represent them than in their traditional Burmese garb?" said Richie Htet. The exhibition also showcases the fashion photography of Zicky Le, working off Richie Htut and Calum Minuti’s directions. "Then we got a makeup artist, Kareng Ahla, and a few of our close friends, May Grace, M Seng Lu and Valerie, to model for us," added Richie Htut. Nude drawings by Calum Minuti. Zicky Le said most of his photos were used as the basis for the paintings. “It’s inspiring to see my photos being interpreted into paintings. It makes me want to create more photos, and we share similar tastes as well," he said. As artists, Richie Htet and Calum Minuti have an inherent desire and drive to portray beauty and progress. They want their work to be seen as something beautiful but also to promote forward-thinking feminist ideals. "We do what we do because we love the creative process; we get great pleasure from producing aesthetically pleasing images," Richie Htet said. Richie Htet is a Myanmar illustrator and fashion image-maker based in Myanmar. His work places heavy emphasis on the human form and deals with erotic and sexual themes based on aestheticism. Calum Minuti is a British visual artist and fashion image-maker currently based in Myanmar. He focuses on the human form and on human experiences, whether through the exploration of personal identity, gender politics or simple life drawings. The work featured in the exhibition is on sale and ranges in price from $100 to $800. The post Exhibit Exploring Sexuality Aims for Ambiguity appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Health Minister Sounds Alarm over Tobacco Use Posted: 26 Jun 2018 06:11 AM PDT YANGON — The Union Health Minister has warned that tobacco use is at a dangerous level in Myanmar and stressed the need for effective measures to control its consumption. The warning came in the minister's opening remarks to the two-day Myanmar National Conference on Tobacco Control and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which began Monday. Citing a 2014 study, Minister of Health and Sports U Myint Htwe said 44 percent of men in Myanmar smoke tobacco, and 62 percent of men consumed quid with tobacco. "This is an alarming level," the minister said. According to the local results of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey which was conducted among school students in 2016, 13.6 percent of young adolescents in Myanmar, aged 13 to 15 years, smoke or use smokeless tobacco products, while 33.2 percent are exposed to tobacco smoke at home and 28.4 percent are exposed inside enclosed public places. According to the WHO, tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year. Some 6 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while around 890,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. U Myint Htwe said the ministry is conducting "tobacco-free" campaigns at universities and schools. Saying that the work of preventing NCDs and tobacco control can't be done solely by the ministry, he called for greater cooperation between concerned ministries, especially the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Planning and Finance, along with civil society organizations on the ground and regional governments. "The NCDs caused by tobacco consumption are long-term illnesses, so they are costly both psychologically and financially for the patients and their families, and place an additional burden on the government's funds," he said. "Treatments for these illnesses are being provided free at public hospitals. If we do not prioritize tackling these illnesses, the state's health expenditures will rise sharply in the coming 10 to 15 years, affecting the economy," he added. Myanmar ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004 and enacted the Control of Smoking and Consumption of Tobacco Product Law in 2006. The law bans smoking and chewing betel nut in tobacco-free places such as schools, hospitals and sports facilities. The post Health Minister Sounds Alarm over Tobacco Use appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Four Eights People’s Party to Change Name After Renewed Public Outcry Posted: 26 Jun 2018 04:29 AM PDT MANDALAY — Following public criticism and an order from the Union Election Commission (UEC), the Four Eights People's Party will announce a new name in early July. "We will publicly announce the new name after the party's conference on July 8 in Mandalay," U Ye Naing Aung, a party founder and spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. The UEC reportedly ordered the party to change its name, logo and flag after more than 200 people sent objections to the name following the registration process in May. The name refers to the nationwide pro-democracy uprising against the Ne Win dictatorship that began, led by students, in Yangon on Aug. 8, 1988. The protests came to an end the following month in a bloody military crackdown. The nation's current de facto leader, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, first came to national prominence during the uprising. "We will make sure that our party name and logo include no signs or hints of the 1988 uprising," said U Ye Naing Aung. The new name of the party will be announced on July 8 after the party's conference. When U Ko Ko Gyi and other prominent former student activists introduced the party to the public in December last year, the Four Eights Party was criticized for its perceived appropriation of a national legacy. Critics said that as a signifier of the date on which the protests began, "8888" should not be used by a particular political party, for it represents a historical moment in the nation's history of resistance to dictatorship. In March, amid the criticism and challenges, the party announced a change in its name from "Four Eights" to the "Four Eights People's Party"; it began the registration process under that name at the UEC on May 2. The UEC announced the party's new name in a state-run newspaper in early June, but renewed public objections forced the party to change the name again. The party has announced that U Ko Ko Gyi will be its chairman and U Ye Naing Aung the vice chairman. However, it has yet to produce a list of central committee members. The post Four Eights People's Party to Change Name After Renewed Public Outcry appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ousted Female Village Chief Reinstated by Mon State Govt Posted: 26 Jun 2018 04:20 AM PDT MON STATE — Mon State’s only female village chief was officially reinstated last week after being forced to resign for letting a non-citizen stay in the village without informing authorities. But she may not want the job back. Mi Jalon Htaw, the chief of Tarana village in Kyaikmayaw Township, ran into trouble in April when the former village chief complained to township officials that she was allowing an ethnic Mon with Canadian citizenship but no locally issued identification documents stay in the village without informing authorities. Despite strong local support for Mi Jalon Htaw, a former member of the Mon Women’s Organization, the township authorities soon pressured her to resign. When it reviewed the case on June 6, the state government rebuked Mi Jalon Htaw for not informing authorities about the Canadian citizen but decided to give her back her job. "We are giving you a strong warning, but we are dismissing the first order from the Kyaikmayaw Township authorities," the state government said in a letter. The township made the reversal official with a letter on Friday. According to the township’s April 26 letter urging Mi Jalon Htaw to resign, the former village chief, Nai Hla Maung, filed his complaint after she sued him for allegedly grabbing a plot of undeveloped land belonging to the state in a move that had angered some locals. In his complaint to township authorities, Nai Hla Maung claimed that the Canadian citizen tore down a fence he had built around the plot of land. He accused Mi Jalon Htaw of ignoring his complaints about the incident and of not informing authorities of the Canadian’s arrival. Mi Jalon Htaw responded that the Canadian had a valid visa authorizing his stay and that it was her understanding that she did not have to inform local authorities about him. At a press conference on April 30, she told reporters that the township was wrong to have forced her out. "Because I am a woman, I feel that they [authorities] did not want me to have this position. But if they suppress me, it is like they are suppressing other women too," she said at the press conference. On Facebook, some of her supporters welcomed Friday’s letter from the township reversing the resignation. On Monday, however, the Mon News Agency reported that Mi Jalon Htaw was inclined to turn down the job but would consider her supporters’ wishes before making a final decision. The post Ousted Female Village Chief Reinstated by Mon State Govt appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Yangon Amends Municipal Law, Creates Vice Mayor Position Posted: 26 Jun 2018 03:26 AM PDT YANGON — The Yangon regional Parliament has approved amendments to the municipal law that will see a vice mayor elected in a secret ballot. The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC)'s executive board initially consisted of nine members: the mayor, four appointed members and four elected individuals, but it was later expanded to add two elected positions in order to give better service to the public. Now, the executive board has 11 members. U Tint Lwin, chairman of the regional parliamentary public accounts committee, said that one of the six elected members will be elected to the post of vice mayor. "He or she will be elected by the 11 executive members including the mayor through a secret ballot," he told the Parliament on Monday. The city municipality will have to cope with broader duties as Yangon's population increases in the future, he said. "So, the post is necessary to share the responsibilities with the mayor," said U Tint Lwin. "The role is to assist the mayor and act his behalf when he is away, as well as perform the duties assigned by the mayor. The vice mayor will also become the deputy to the YCDC chairman—a post concurrently held by the mayor. The bill amending the 2013 Yangon municipal law was put forward to the regional Parliament on Feb. 2. One of the key amendments approved on Monday is that anyone who is at least 18 years old will be allowed to vote in the municipal poll now. Previously, only one person in a household, usually the breadwinner, was allowed to cast a vote. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Yangon Amends Municipal Law, Creates Vice Mayor Position appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Hate Speech Trial of Ultranationalist Writer Begins in Sagaing Posted: 26 Jun 2018 12:54 AM PDT YANGON — A township administrator in Sagaing Region testified Monday at the first hearing in the trial of ultranationalist writer Maung Thway Chun for hate speech. Maung Thway Chun is being sued under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code for religious hate speech during a Dhamma talk in March that was allegedly critical of the government and ruling National League for Democracy. He was sued by U Naing Naing Zaw, a deputy administrator of Mingin Township, who testified at Monday’s hearing at the Mingin Township Court. In a video clip from the March talk that went viral on social media, Maung Thway Chun said that although it had been 70 years since Myanmar gained independence, the country would soon be subjugated again and this time lose its race, religion and territory. "There won't be Buddhism in the country, and mosques and churches will replace pagodas and temples," said the writer, a staunch supporter of the ultranationalist Ma Ba Tha association. He added that the speakers in both houses of the Union Parliament were Christians and warned that laws on race and religion endorsed by Ma Ba Tha — which largely target certain Muslim religious and cultural practices — may soon be scrapped. In March, Maung Thway Chun told The Irrawaddy that what he said during the talk was not as harsh as things he had written in Ma Ba Tha publications. He said he only spoke about the realities of preventing the dangers posed by “Bengalis,” a term used by nationalists to refer to Rohingya Muslims implying that they are interlopers from Bangladesh. Maung Thway Chun attempted to form a political party after the government-appointed State Sangha Committee banned Ma Ba Tha in May 2017. But the Union Election Commission rejected the proposed party’s application, citing its religious background. The Penal Code’s Section 505 (b) states that whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumor or report, with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offense against the state or against the public tranquility shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or with a fine, or both. The next hearing in the trial was scheduled for July 3. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Hate Speech Trial of Ultranationalist Writer Begins in Sagaing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Tatmadaw Occupies NMSP Outpost Posted: 26 Jun 2018 12:24 AM PDT YANGON — The Myanmar Army and its subdivision Border Guard Force (BGF) have occupied a New Mon State Party (NMSP) outpost situated in the village of Kanalou in Mon State's Kyaikmayaw. Joint forces of the Kyaikmayaw-based Battalion No. 208 of the Myanmar Army and the Kada village-based BGF totaling more than 50 troops took control of the NMSP outpost on Saturday. "Myanmar Army troops said that the NMSP outpost should not be there and that it must be stationed in the forest. The Tatmadaw troops searched the outpost and found a few NMSP military uniforms and a pack of bullets," said a local villager on the condition of anonymity. An NMSP official who also asked for anonymity confirmed that the outpost was occupied by the Tatmadaw, or Myanmar Army. The Irrawaddy was unable to reach NMSP leaders for comment. "As far as I know, the Tatmadaw and the BGF have told them to move from there. There was no clash. The NMSP left the outpost to avoid a clash. The NMSP has not yet filed a complaint. So, we have done nothing in response," Dr. Shwe Khar, Secretary-1 of the Union-level Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee, told The Irrawaddy. According to locals, NMSP troops left their outpost when they saw joint forces of the Tatmadaw and BGF approaching, avoiding a conflict. NMSP troops took down their flag and handed it over to the village administrator. Locals said that the NMSP established its outpost in Kanalou village more than three years ago, though it was supposed to open it in Mt. Pein Ne, which is more than 10 miles from the village, according to a state-level ceasefire agreement signed between the NMSP and the government back in 2012. The Tatmadaw and BGF forces have so far kept the outpost intact, said villagers. The village has more than 420 households with a population of more than 1,900 people. The NMSP signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the Union government on Feb. 13, 2018. However, as the NMSP is not a member of the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee of Mon State, there is no platform for talks between it and the Myanmar Army in the case of engagement. The NMSP has refused to join the committee because it was not allowed to join the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committees in Karen State and Tanintharyi Region where its troops are also based. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Tatmadaw Occupies NMSP Outpost appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:55 PM PDT MMA Fight Hometown hero Aung La N Sang will defend his middleweight belt against the Japanese challenger Ken Hasegawa. June 29, 6:30 p.m. Thuwunna Indoor Stadium. Tickets 10,000 to 200,000 kyats at 01-549297.   Unplugged Concert by Big Bag Celebrated band Big Bag will perform. July 1, 5 p.m. Myanmar Event Park. Tickets 10,000 kyats to 50,000 kyats here. Anyeint Artists will perform Anyeint and models will present clothing of Myanmar women from different periods in the country's history. June 30, 6:30 p.m. National Theater. Tickets are on sale at the venue as of Monday.   Pop Night with Eint Chit Eint Chit will sing pop songs. July 1, 7 p.m. Hard Rock Café, 4th Floor, Myanma Plaza. Reservations at 09-458261390. Tickets 150,000 to 200,000 kyats.   FAB #72 This is a club night for lesbians, gays and friends. June 30, 10 p.m. till late. PYRITE Club, Inya Lake Hotel Compound. Tickets 5,000 kyats.   Book Sale NDSP Publishing House will offer 30 percent discounts on all of its books. June 30-July 2, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Yangon Book Plaza, 5th Floor, Thanzay Market.   Clean Yangon, Green Yangon Everyone can join this volunteer activity to clean Yangon. June 30, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Yaw Min Gyi Street, Dagon Tsp. Gathering in front of Craft Café.   Rocker Night All rock songs, all night long. June 29, starts at 7 p.m. Hard Rock Café, 4th Floor, Myanmar Plaza. Reservations at 09-45826 1390. No entry fee.   Hot Eyes: Photo Exhibition There will be 62 photos taken by 16 photographers at this showcase. All of the prints will be up for sale for 25,000 kyats each. June 23-30. Pansuriya, No. 102, Bogalay Zay Street.   Moment of Peace Kyaw Min Htike will showcase more than 30 of his most recent paintings. June 27-July 1, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Gallery 65, No.65 Yaw Min Gyi Street, Dagon Tsp. The post Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand Signals Election Could be Delayed Until May Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:31 PM PDT BANGKOK — Thailand will hold a general election by May 5 next year, a deputy prime minister said on Monday, signaling the possibility of another delay of a vote that had tentatively been set for February. The military has been running Thailand since a May 2014 coup, when it ousted the civilian government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, citing the need to end street protests, and banned political activity in the name of peace and order. It has promised to hold a general election but has repeatedly pushed back the date, most recently suggesting polls would be held by February 2019. But Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, citing a timeframe determined by constitutional stipulations and legislative steps, told reporters various dates were possible from Feb. 24, with the latest being May 5. Wissanu also said the junta would ease a ban on political activity by parties between September and December this year, allowing them to undertake administrative tasks in preparation for the election. But bans on public gatherings of more than five people and political campaigning would remain in place during that period, Wissanu said. “What they can do is hold party meetings without permission. The meetings would enable them to decide on party regulations, find party members, discuss with the election commission the division of constituencies and determine party candidates,” he said. Representatives of 73 political parties attended a meeting with military government officials on Monday and some said they were happy with the partial lifting of the ban on political activity. But Watana Muangsook, a member of the Pheu Thai party, whose government was ousted in 2014, said the junta should lift the ban completely. The party did not send representatives to the meeting. Despite the ban on political activity, several small protests to push for elections have taken place in recent months in different parts of the country. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said last week the general election would not take place before King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s coronation, for which no date has yet been set. Pro-democracy activist Rangsiman Rome told Reuters he was not surprised by the junta’s signaling of another possible delay. “It’s still not certain that it will really happen between Feb. 24 and May 5,” he said. The post Thailand Signals Election Could be Delayed Until May appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand Resumes Search for Soccer Team Trapped in Flooded Cave Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:30 PM PDT BANGKOK — A search for a missing teenage soccer team believed trapped in a cave complex in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai entered its third day on Tuesday as concern grew for the welfare of the boys and their coach. Teams from the Royal Thai Navy had halted search efforts late on Monday, saying oxygen levels were low in some parts of the complex in the Tham Luang-Khun Nam Nang Noon forest park in the province. The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach, were believed to have been trapped by rising waters inside the cave network when heavy rain hit. “We must find the children today. We have hope that they are living somewhere in there,” provincial governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told Reuters, adding that each group drafted into the search would work its hardest to find the boys. The boys’ bicycles and soccer boots were found at the mouth of the Tham Luang caves after they went missing late on Saturday. A 17-member unit of the Royal Thai Navy has been deployed to find them and underwater drones have joined the search. So far, the team has searched about 6 km (4 miles) of the 10-km (6-mile)-long cave, said forest park head Damrong Hanpakdeeniyom. Visitors are usually only permitted to venture about 700 meters (2,300 ft) into the cave complex. “Inside it is very dark … and if it rains between July and December then we close it,” Damrong added. “This group went in further than allowed.” The post Thailand Resumes Search for Soccer Team Trapped in Flooded Cave appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Women Most at Risk from Traffickers in India, Libya, Myanmar: Poll Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:23 PM PDT LONDON — India, Libya and Myanmar are the world’s most dangerous countries for women exploited by human traffickers and forced to wed, work and sell sex, a global experts’ poll found on Tuesday. Nigeria and Russia came joint fourth in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts in women’s issues on the worst countries for women when it comes to the trade in humans. From detention centers in Libya and curses cast by priests in Nigeria, to porous borders in Myanmar and visa abuses around the World Cup in Russia, women and girls are increasingly being targeted and trapped by traffickers using a variety of tactics. Women and girls account for seven in 10 victims of an industry estimated to affect 40 million people worldwide and generate illegal annual profits of $150 billion for traffickers, says the United Nations and rights group Walk Free Foundation. “They are uniquely vulnerable because of their subordinate status economically, socially and culturally,” said Christa Hayden Sharpe from the charity International Justice Mission. Women and girls in India face the biggest threat from traffickers because they are still widely considered to be sexual objects and second-class citizens, campaigners said. About two-thirds of the 15,000 trafficking cases registered by India in 2016 involved female victims – nearly half were under 18 – with most sold into sex work or domestic servitude. “Trafficking is a global issue, but of all the victims I have seen, I have found those from Southeast Asia, mainly India, the most vulnerable,” said Triveni Acharya of the Indian anti-trafficking charity Rescue Foundation. “Girls continue to be seen as a burden on parents, inferior to boys,” she added, explaining how many rural girls are lured by traffickers who promise jobs or marriages in major cities. “Really Dire" In Libya, which is split between rival governments while ports are mainly controlled by armed groups who smuggle Africans onto boats heading for Europe, many migrants are detained and suffer forced labor, the United Nations and European Union say. Reports persist of captured migrants being bought and sold in “slave markets”, according to the UN human rights office. “The situation of migrant women and girls traveling through Libya is really dire,” said Hanan Salah, a senior researcher focusing on Libya for Human Rights Watch. “I would say that the majority of them face the risk of ill treatment and abuse.” Women in Myanmar, in the spotlight after the exodus of 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last year, face a different threat from traffickers – being forced into marriages in China. China is by far the most common destination country for trafficking victims from Myanmar – accounting for two thirds of the 307 cases investigated by the latter’s government in 2016. A lack of jobs in Myanmar means poor girls and women fall prey to traffickers – many of them female – who take them to China under false pretenses as brides for men in a nation with a gender imbalance due to its one-child policy, campaigners say. From Witchcraft to World Cup Thousands of Nigerian women and girls are lured to Europe each year via Libya, made to perform black magic rituals known as ‘juju’ which bind them to their traffickers before they are forced into sex work in Italy, according to the United Nations. Yet the recent order by a traditional ruler in Edo state revoking the voodoo rituals and warning priests who perform them is changing the nature of trafficking in Nigeria, officials say. “The new dimension is they (the traffickers) are now telling the girls that they will get them jobs as nurses and househelp in Dubai … (with) travel documents … making it look legal,” said Julie Okah-Donli, head of anti-trafficking agency NAPTIP. Russia is a major source and destination country for female victims, with local women being sex trafficked to Europe and the Middle East, and arrivals coming from nations such as Thailand, China and Nigeria, said Russian anti-slavery group Alternativa. While Russia’s strict visa process has long made trafficking women into the nation a difficult endeavor, criminals have been plotting to exploit the World Cup which allows visitors to enter visa-free if they hold a ticket and football fan pass, it said. “This is a real present for traffickers,” said Julia Siluyanova of Alternativa. Rounding out the top 10 most dangerous countries for women at the hands of traffickers were the Philippines, Afghanistan, Thailand, Nepal, and Bangladesh and Pakistan in joint tenth. The poll of 548 people was conducted online, by phone and in person between March 26 and May 4 spread across Europe, Africa, the Americas, South East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific. The post Women Most at Risk from Traffickers in India, Libya, Myanmar: Poll appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

EU Sanctions Myanmar Generals Over Rohingya; Myanmar Says Two Are Fired Posted: 25 Jun 2018 09:23 PM PDT LUXEMBOURG/YANGON — The European Union imposed sanctions on seven senior military officials from Myanmar on Monday, including the general in charge of an operation accused of driving more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh. Within hours of the EU announcement, the Myanmar military announced that one of the sanctioned generals had been fired on Monday and another had left the army last month after being removed from his post. The seven face asset freezes and are banned from traveling to the EU, after the bloc extended an arms embargo and prohibited any training of, or cooperation with, Myanmar’s armed forces. The sanctions, first reported by Reuters in April, also mark a shift in diplomacy by the EU, which suspended its restrictive measures on Myanmar in 2012 to support its partial shift to democratic governance in recent years. The crackdown on the Rohingya in northwestern Rakhine State, which the United Nations denounced as “ethnic cleansing” by the military, has soured relations. Myanmar rejects almost all accusations of wrongdoing and says it launched a legitimate counter-insurgency operation after coming under attack by Rohingya militants last August. One of the officers sanctioned by the EU, Major General Maung Maung Soe, had already been sanctioned by the United States last December. He was transferred late last year from his post as the head of Western Command in Rakhine, where Myanmar’s military launched its ferocious counter-offensive. “He is responsible for the atrocities and serious human rights violations committed against (the) Rohingya population in Rakhine State by the Western Command during that period,” the EU said in a statement. Hours later, the Myanmar army said in a statement that Muang Maung Soe had been fired on Monday from the military for underperformance when responding to Rohingya militant attacks. It also said that another sanctioned commander — Deputy Major General Aung Kyaw Zaw, whose Bureau of Special Operations No. 3 oversaw the Western Command — was “given permission to resign” in May. He had also been earlier moved from his original post. The army said it found “some flaws” in his performance. It did not refer to the EU sanctions in its statement. Thant Zin Oo, the commander of the Eighth Security Police Battalion, was also sanctioned. The EU accused him of “serious human rights violations (that) include unlawful killings and systematic burning of Rohingya houses and buildings.” Four other senior military staff were named, all generals. Canada also sanctioned senior military officials in February, when Reuters reported on events in the village of Inn Din where 10 Rohingya men were killed by Rakhine Buddhists and security force members. Reuters named and detailed Thant Zin Oo’s role in Rakhine in that story for the first time. Two Reuters journalists were jailed while reporting the story and remain in prison in Yangon, where they face up to 14 years behind bars for violating Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act. The post EU Sanctions Myanmar Generals Over Rohingya; Myanmar Says Two Are Fired appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Myanmar Now Reporters Threatened With Arrest by Military
• Date Set for Third 21st Panglong Conference 
• International Pressure Over Rohingya Crisis Tests NLD, Army Relations
• Rakhine Commission Criticizes Govt Spokesman For Calling it a ‘Shield’
• New Yangon City Project CEO Questioned About Role of Chinese Firm
• NLD Will ‘Not Defend Any Human Rights Violators’
• USDP to Contest Upcoming By-Election
• Government to Ignore ICC Request for Response on Rohingya Case
• Buddha’s Teaching and the Problems in Rakhine State
• NLD Stands by Commitment to Amend 2008 Constitution
• US Plans Limits on Chinese Investment in US Technology Firms
• Singapore Says Trump-Kim Summit Cost Just $12M, After Some Question Expenses

Myanmar Now Reporters Threatened With Arrest by Military Posted: 25 Jun 2018 07:22 AM PDT YANGON — Military personnel threatened to charge Myanmar Now reporters under the Official Secrets Act and asked them to promise not to disclose to the media their brief detention while reporting on the alleged recruitment of a disabled child soldier, the editor of the news website's Burmese edition said. The incident occurred outside of the No. (6) Pathein Military Training Camp in Ayeyarwady Region, Zarny Win said. "They asked them to delete all the data they had," he said. Win Nan Dar, Kay Zon Nway and Phyo Thiha Cho were briefly detained by military officers while they interviewed the mother of a disabled child soldier outside of the No. (6) Pathein Military Training Camp on Saturday. An estimated 20 people wearing civilian clothes and claiming to be military officers from the training camp surrounded the Myanmar Now reporters and took them into a house near the camp. Some of them were angry and threatened to charge the reporters under the Official Secrets Act and other laws, Zarny Win said. "We can't confirm their ranks but I am sure they are not high ranking officers from the military camp," he told The Irrawaddy. Myanmar Now reporters have been chasing an in-depth story on the alleged recruitment of a disabled child solider who is believed to have been taken to serve at a military division in Pathein Township. Myanmar Now published the first story on the topic on June 20. It said 16-year-old Thet Min Paing was allegedly recruited by the military three months ago while working on a rubber plantation in Dawei city, Tanintharyi Region, southern Myanmar. Zarny Win told The Irrawaddy that the reporters went to Pathein city for a pre-arranged appointment with Thet Min Paing's mother. But his mother also had an appointment with the officers inside the camp in the afternoon. Hoping to get the latest information, the reporters waited until the mother's discussion with military officials had finished. After that, they interviewed the mother outside of the camp. However, the editor said his reporters did not conduct interviews or take photographs inside the camp. Starting in the morning, Myanmar Now reporters requested permission from camp military officers for an interview to balance the story, but the officers refused. The military officers seized a memory card from a camera and also inspected computers, phones, bags and a hard disk belonging to the reporters. The military officers also took copies of reporters' ID cards and home addresses, the editor said. To mediate, the Myanmar Now editor contacted the Myanmar Press Council, Deputy Minister of Information U Aung Hla Tun and the director general of the State Counselor's Office, U Zaw Htay. The reporters were detained at around 3:00 pm and released at around 5:30 pm, the editor confirmed. Swe Win, an editor from Myanmar Now, officially posted at around 6:00 pm on Facebook a message thanking the mediators. "It was a good outcome that they accepted Press Council intervention," Myint Kyaw, a member of the council, said. When the military has concerns they should always come to the media with them, he added. During the brief detention, an officer told the Myanmar Now reporters that the military had been re-examining the child solider case after the case was reported on social media. "However, we have good news. According to the military members [who detained the reporters], the child solider will be released. As far as we know, the [release] process could take one month," the editor said. The Myanmar Now case comes amid the ongoing detention of two Reuters journalists on suspicion of violating the Official Secrets Act after allegedly being given classified documents by two policemen in 2017. The Irrawaddy tried several times to contact a spokesperson from the Military True News Information Team regarding the Myanmar Now reporters' brief detention but he did not answer the phone. The post Myanmar Now Reporters Threatened With Arrest by Military appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Date Set for Third 21st Panglong Conference  Posted: 25 Jun 2018 06:31 AM PDT YANGON – The secretariat of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) has proposed July 11 as the starting date for the long-waited upcoming third session of the 21stCentury Panglong Peace Conference, and unveiled a tentative schedule for a five-day meeting. U Zaw Htay, spokesman and director general of the President's Office, told reporters in Naypyitaw after a meeting of the UPDJC secretariat that the plan would be approved by the UPDJC on Friday, June 29. Throughout this week, the UPDJC secretariat and the working committees on each sector — political, social, economic, land and environment and security — will discuss details of each issue. The NLD-led 21st Panglong conferences have been conducted twice, in August 2016 and May 2017. The original plan was for the Union Peace Conference (UPC) to meet every six months but the gatherings have been postponed several times and the negotiators have tried to overcome the deadlock by leaving out the key federal principles, or the "package deal" on autonomy, the drafting of state constitutions and non-secession, of the conferences. U Zaw Htay reiterated that talks on the package deal would resume as soon as the UPC is completed, as agreed during informal talks in late May. "In the political sector, even though the key political package will not be included, we will focus on the rights of minorities and gender equality as agreed in the informal meetings," he added. The government will invite the United Nations and international observers as well as national observers and non-signatories of the NCA to the conferences. "We will follow the framework to hold the conferences, as agreed at the second session (last year), and the non-signatories will be invited as special attendees, [who would have an observer role]," said Khun Myint Tun, the vice chair of the PaO National Liberation Organization, a signatory to the NCA and a member of the UPDJC. The current non-signatories to the NCA are the Karenni National Progressive Party, Kachin Independent Army, Shan State Progressive Party, United Wa State Army and Mongla's National Democratic Alliance Army, Arakan Army, Ta'ang Nationalities Liberation Army, Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Kaplang. However, U Zaw Htay said further discussion were needed on whether to invite three active armed groups: the TNLA, AA and MNDAA, which are all based in Shan State in northeast Myanmar. "We will invite the rest of the non-signatories [which are recognized by the government and Tatmadaw]. But we will not invite the Arakan National Council, a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council," added U Zaw Htay. Htet Naing Zaw contributed to this report from Naypyitaw. The post Date Set for Third 21st Panglong Conference  appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

International Pressure Over Rohingya Crisis Tests NLD, Army Relations Posted: 25 Jun 2018 05:01 AM PDT MON STATE — Relations between the National League for Democracy (NLD) government and Myanmar Army appear to be hanging by a thread with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at loggerheads over international involvement in the Rohingya crisis. The state counselor and her party have stopped talking of national reconciliation with the army since U Win Myint became Union president in March, focusing instead on development and improving the rule of law. Myanmar has come under heavy international pressure over the army’s response to militant Muslim attacks on police posts in Rakhine State in August; the military crackdown that followed has driven some 700,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya to Bangladesh and drawn accusations of ethnic cleansing, even genocide. The International Criminal Court has asked Myanmar to respond by July 27 to a request from the prosecution to try the country for the Rohingyas’ alleged forced deportation. NLD spokesman U Aung Shin recently said the party would no longer protect human rights abusers, echoing earlier comments by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In a public address last year on Rakhine State, she said: "Action would be taken against anyone, regardless of race, religion or political standpoint, who violated human rights in Myanmar." "As our leader said, we will not protect anyone. We will take action against people who violate human rights if anyone is found to have truly done so,” U Aung Shin reiterated. Asked about the possible fallout from such a policy, the spokesman said the party was not worried. By allowing the UN’s new special envoy on Myanmar to establish an office in Naypyitaw, he added, the NLD was signaling its willingness to work with the international community in solving the Rohingya crisis. It is an open secret that Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing did not agree with the state counselor's decision late last month to form an independent three-person commission of inquiry to investigate rights abuses in Rakhine State since the militant attacks in August. On June 11, military representatives in the Union Parliament objected to plans to include a foreign expert among the three, claiming it would make the country vulnerable to foreign interference and put its sovereignty at risk. As military appointees, their remarks can be interpreted as coming from the commander-in-chief. Some observers say the army chief knows his days in the post are numbered, noting his many recent public appearances — including a visit to flood-hit Mon State — in possible preparation for an election run. In the meantime, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will use the international pressure on the military over its alleged human rights abuses in Rakhine State to nudge Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing out. The state counselor also enjoys better relations with foreign allies China and the US, further strengthening her hand. According to the 2008 Constitution it drafted, the military could still take back power from the civilian government. But Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party won the 2015 elections in a landslide on a wave of popular support. Only time will tell who prevails. The post International Pressure Over Rohingya Crisis Tests NLD, Army Relations appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rakhine Commission Criticizes Govt Spokesman For Calling it a ‘Shield’ Posted: 25 Jun 2018 03:38 AM PDT YANGON — In a new report, Myanmar’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, has criticized comments made by a government spokesman last year about its supposed purpose. When asked about the commission’s raison d’etre in July 2017, U Zaw Htay, who is also director-general of the State Counselor’s Office, said it served to protect the government from international criticism. "Whenever there is an accusation from the international community, we say we are taking action in line with the recommendations of the Kofi Annan commission. The commission is serving as a shield for us," he said at the time. In a report released earlier this month assessing its own work, “Lessons Learned,” the advisory commission said the spokesman’s comment hurt both the government and the commission. "Such statements cast doubts on the government's sincerity in addressing the challenges in Rakhine and undermined the credibility of the commission," it said. The commission said it did not react publicly to U Zaw Htay's comment but submitted a complaint to the Office of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Amid mounting international pressure over the government’s handling of communal violence in Rakhine State, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi appointed Annan, a fellow Nobel Laureate, to chair the newly formed advisory commission in August 2016. The commission was tasked with advising the government on ways to bring development and lasting peace to a restive region and submitted its report to the state counselor at the end of its one-year mandate. AI Haj U Aye Lwin, a member of the commission, told The Irrawaddy that the body made a verbal complaint about U Zaw Htay's comment at the time because it risked creating the wrong impression, especially internationally. "We didn't send a formal complaint letter and communicated verbally about the comment instead,” he said. U Zaw Htay, an ex-military official, previously served as spokesman for former President U Thein Sein and has drawn criticism for inflammatory statements before, especially those targeting Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. The post Rakhine Commission Criticizes Govt Spokesman For Calling it a ‘Shield’ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Yangon City Project CEO Questioned About Role of Chinese Firm Posted: 25 Jun 2018 02:55 AM PDT YANGON—Serge Pun, the CEO of the controversial New Yangon City project on Saturday partially disclosed the terms of a deal with a Hong Kong-listed Chinese firm that could see it provide infrastructure for the first phase of the development. The revelation came amid a question and answer session at a public meeting organized by the New Yangon Development Company (NYDC) to discuss and hear the public's views about the new city to the west of the Yangon River. Property mogul Serge Pun is also the vice chairman of the NYDC, the government body established to oversee the project. NYDC plans to develop 20,000 acres of land in the first phase of the project. This will include five village townships, two bridges, power plants, water and wastewater treatment plants and a 10-square-kilometer industrial estate generating 2 million jobs. The company says the cost of initial infrastructure work in the first phase is expected to exceed US$1.5 billion. During the meeting on Saturday in Yangon, audience members and panelists raised concerns about the project's nature, financing and risk, and sought details of China Communications Construction Co. Ltd (CCCC)'s involvement. The NYDC was formed in March and the Chinese firm became the first company to sign the framework agreement one month later. The press release about the signing ceremony included few details of the contents of the agreement. Serge Pun at the time said the framework agreement itself doesn't give CCCC the right to carry out infrastructure work. Rather, the firm agreed to submit a set of Pre-Project Documents (PPDs) including technical specifications, a financial proposal and a business model for NYDC to review, as part of the first stage of a fair competition. On Saturday, Serge Pun said that according to the framework agreement NYDC will provide land needed for CCCC, which will invest in building six infrastructure works including bridges, roads, and power and water treatment plants. "Out of the six, only three will generate income," he said. He didn't say how many acres of land were offered, adding that the land-leasing price will be the same as that offered by the government to investors in Thilawa, an SEZ project in Thanlyin Township. He said the agreement includes a joint venture between the NYDC and the CCCC that would allow the NYDC to own a 25-percent share of the investment without putting any money down. "But we don't have money for 25 percent. So we will invest land worth 10 per cent [of the whole investment] and CCCC has to invest 90 per cent," he said. To make it fair, Serge Pun told the audience, the NYDC will guarantee the CCCC a 13-percent rate of return on the investment. He added that the NYDC will let the CCCC take 95 percent of the income from the three infrastructure works that will generate revenue upon completion, while it will take 5 percent, despite its 25 percent holding in the joint venture. "We will let them take it until they have covered the capital as well as the profit. For us, we will make it in a short time, as our investment is just 10 percent," he explained. "After that, we will go with a 75-25 percent deal. By doing so, NYDC will own 25 percent of the investment." He said the Chinese company agreed to the deal as it is economically fair. When the framework agreement with the CCCC was signed in May, the NYDC said it marked the first stage of the NYDC Challenge Model, an adaptation of the global model of the Swiss Challenge for fair competition and transparency. As part of the NYDC Challenge, should a second party challenge with a lower bid, CCCC will be allowed to match the offer or forego. If CCCC chooses to forego, the second party will be awarded the contract and will have the obligation to reimburse all costs incurred in connection with the preparation and submission of the PPD. Those costs will be agreed between NYDC and CCCC prior to the initiation of the tender process. Once the PPD is submitted and approved by NYDC, it will be made public to allow any qualified party to challenge the agreement with better terms on the basis that it strictly adheres to the terms and conditions of the tender assessment criteria, the NYDC said. During the meeting on Saturday, panelists and audience members also questioned whether or not the government should be involved in the business, as the NYDC is fully owned by the Yangon government. U Khine Win, one of the panelists, said if the NYDC is doing business it would be against the National League for Democracy's 12-point economic policy, which encourages the vibrancy of the private sector. "I want every step the NLD government takes to be correct," he said. But Serge Pun said the NYDC is responsible for bringing in the investors needed to make New Yangon City happen. "That's the NYDC's business," he said. The post New Yangon City Project CEO Questioned About Role of Chinese Firm appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD Will ‘Not Defend Any Human Rights Violators’ Posted: 25 Jun 2018 02:48 AM PDT NAYPYITAW — Myanmar State Counselor and chairperson of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would not defend any individual or organization in the country that violated human rights, said Monywa Aung Shin, secretary of the NLD's information committee. The Myanmar government's granting of permission to the UN's special envoy to set up an office in the administrative capital Naypyitaw shows that the country needs the international community's recognition and support in solving the Rakhine crisis, he said. Christine Schraner Burgener, who was appointed as the new special envoy on Myanmar on April 26 by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, visited Myanmar in the second week of June. She met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and parliamentary speakers during her visit. She also visited Maungdaw in Rakhine State. "As our leader (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi) has said, we have no reason to defend anybody. If there are violations of human rights, the concerned perpetrators will be punished. We will not defend them. And our party will not be worried about it and neither will our leader," he told The Irrawaddy. The Myanmar government has been under pressure from the UN and the international community following widespread allegations that the Myanmar Army and security forces violated human rights in their counter-insurgency operation in northern Rakhine State last year. On Thursday, the International Criminal Court asked Myanmar to reply by July 27 to a request made in April that the ICC should exercise jurisdiction over the alleged crimes in Rakhine State. Last week, the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) urged the government to reconsider its decision to let the UN's new special envoy on Myanmar set up an office in Naypyitaw, warning that it could leave the country vulnerable to international interference. The office will open the way for the Rakhine issue to be brought to the ICC, said U Thein Tun Oo, a former USDP lawmaker of Amarapura Township in the Lower House of Parliament. "Our party therefore has concerns about the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country. We want our territory to be peaceful and stable," he said. "I haven't seen any country that can solve their problems peacefully after international bodies come and interfere as if they were their own internal affairs," he added. Rakhine affairs analyst U Maung Maung Soe said that although he welcomed Myanmar government's cooperation with the UN, there was a need for caution when it came to interaction with UN agencies. "It is important to make sure that their decisions and actions are not biased. You may notice that even the United States has resigned from the UNHRC," he said. An NLD lawmaker said on condition of anonymity that Scharner Burgener's attitude towards the Rakhine issue is different from that of former UN special envoy Ms. Yanhee Lee. "She (Scharner Burgener) can't overstep existing laws in Myanmar," said the lawmaker. The mandate of the UN special envoy is to investigate alleged human rights violations in Myanmar and to report to the UN secretary general, said U Thein Tun Oo, spokesperson of the USDP. She is not authorized to give orders to the Myanmar government, he added. "Most of the countries that allowed interference by such [international] persons have ended up breaking up or losing territory." Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post NLD Will 'Not Defend Any Human Rights Violators' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

USDP to Contest Upcoming By-Election Posted: 25 Jun 2018 02:30 AM PDT NAYPYITAW — The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has not made preparations although it has decided to contest the upcoming by-election in November, said party spokesperson Dr. Nanda Hla Myint. "As a major party, we acknowledge that the election is our political stage. We have a policy to contest. We'll hold a CEC [central executive committee] meeting to decide in which constituencies we'll contest," Dr. Nanda Hla Myint told The Irrawaddy on Saturday. The CEC meeting is scheduled to be held the last week of June, he said. The USDP will hold a press conference regarding the Rakhine crisis, the November by-election, and a bill that would allow impeachment proceedings on June 29, and the CEC meeting will be held before that, he said. The credibility of the Union Election Commission (UEC) is one factor that the USDP considered when deciding whether or not to contest the by-election, he added. He said that the election body formed under the USDP government did not favor the party. In a 2012 by-election, it decided in favor of the National League for Democracy (NLD) regarding four complaints made by the USDP. In the 2015 general election and the 2017 by-election, the USDP filed a total of 31 complaints and lost all of them, said Dr. Nanda Hla Myint, who questioned the credibility of the commission. The commission and the USDP met recently after the latter said at a press conference that it had no trust in the commission. U Myint Naing, a member of the UEC, responded that the commission is free and independent. "We have always acted freely and fairly in line with the law. We will continue doing so," he told The Irrawaddy. Four seats in the Lower House, one seat in the Upper House, eight seats in the regional parliaments, totaling 13 seats will be up for grabs in the Nov. 3 election, according to the election commission. The four seats vacant in the Lower House are Chin State's Kanpetlet Township, Shan State's Laihka Township, Mandalay's Myingyan Township and Yangon's Tamwe Township. The vacant seat in the Upper House is Kachin State Constituency 2. Vacant seats in the regional parliaments are Chin State's Matupi Township, Sagaing's Tamu Township, Bago's Oktwin Township, Rakhine State's Rathedaung Township, Magwe's Minbu Township, Yangon's Seikkan Township and the ethnic Shan constituency for Mandalay's regional Parliament. The NLD will contest all of the vacant seats, said party spokesperson U Myo Nyunt. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post USDP to Contest Upcoming By-Election appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Government to Ignore ICC Request for Response on Rohingya Case Posted: 25 Jun 2018 01:46 AM PDT NAYPYITAW — The government will not respond to a request that the International Criminal Court (ICC) consider opening a case over the alleged deportation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh, government spokesman U Zaw Htay said. "The ICC has nothing to do with Myanmar. Whatever [steps toward] prosecution the ICC has made, Myanmar has no reason to respond," U Zaw Htay told The Irrawaddy on Friday. The President's Office called the ICC's demand a deliberate attempt to increase international attention and pressure on the Myanmar government. It said the ICC's demand is not in line with international law, rules, regulations or procedures. In a decision published on Thursday, the ICC asked Myanmar to respond by July 27 to a request made in April that the ICC exercise jurisdiction over the alleged crimes. The ICC asked Myanmar to submit its views on the court's jurisdiction and the circumstances surrounding the movement of Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh. "Considering that the crime of deportation is alleged to have commenced on the territory of Myanmar, the chamber deems it appropriate to seek observations from the competent authorities of Myanmar on the prosecutor's request," the ICC said. Around 700,000 people, mostly Rohingya, have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh since a military counterinsurgency operation in August 2017 that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing. The 1998 Rome Statute establishing the ICC was signed and ratified by 123 member states. The statute establishes the court's functions, jurisdictions and structure. The ICC does not have automatic jurisdiction in Myanmar because it is not a member state. However, prosecution could be possible through Bangladesh, which is a member. Myanmar signed a bilateral agreement in November providing for the repatriation of Rohingya from Bangladesh. The process has stalled, however, with officials on both sides citing a lack of preparations. On June 6, the UNHRC and UNDP signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar to establish a framework for cooperation to create conducive conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of refugees from Bangladesh and for helping to create improved and resilient livelihoods for all communities living in Rakhine State. The government also announced plans to form a three-member investigation commission, including an international member. The Lower House of the Union Parliament approved establishing the commission over opposition from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the Arakan National Party (ANP). U Pe Than, a central executive member of the ANP and a lawmaker representing Myebon Township in the Lower House, said the ICC's intervention will only worsen the problem. "It is the Bengali organizations that triggered the problem. The accusations that security personnel created the problem are unreasonable," he said. Some lawmakers from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) told The Irrawaddy that the Myanmar government has no reason to respond to any demands from international agencies including the ICC. "The United States has resigned from the UNHRC because of its accusations. Even a country like the US, which has championed human rights, has resigned from it because of its prejudice. This explains everything," U Zaw Htay said. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Government to Ignore ICC Request for Response on Rohingya Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Buddha’s Teaching and the Problems in Rakhine State Posted: 25 Jun 2018 01:30 AM PDT As someone who has reached the third phase of life, "the age of seeking Dhamma," according to Buddhist custom, I have realized that the world's other major religions must also have some positive contributions to make to humanity. Based on this idea, I have been studying these other major religions in recent years. On modern media platforms such as YouTube, as well as in recent publications, I have come across several debates and discussions on religion, centering on what it has contributed to human society in positive as well as negative ways. I find many such debates in the Western media are open and frank, contrary to our way — a result of our nation's British upbringing — that "one should not discuss religion." Many such debates, as well as academic studies, also address the issues of religious extremism and religious fundamentalism, which have become a serious global security threat, especially to the Western world, over the past 20 years or so, along with other issues that European countries are currently facing as the result of migration crises. Many of the scholars and religious leaders involved in these debates and discussions offer amicable criticisms and defenses of each side, based on the relevant teachings and scriptures, as well as on the historical deeds and conduct of the followers of the respective religions. They also offer comparisons with other religions, including Buddhism. Concerning Buddhism, most authors and debaters express amicable opinions, as Buddhism has no place for violence or belligerence in its teachings or in the historical accounts that result from or are stimulated by the teachings. On the other hand, during more heated debates, just to show that other religions are capable of spawning religious extremism and terrorist attacks, terms like "Buddhist Extremists," "Religious Conflicts in Myanmar," "Karma and the Killings" etc. are used to indicate that we, though in a Buddhist country, are also capable of such behaviors and conduct. As an academic, I surely have no suggestions regarding the ways and means of solving our dilemma and predicament, which our nation has inherited from the events of 19th and 20th centuries. However, as a Buddhist I certainly have objections to fallacies and mistaken assertions. Simply put, my reasoning is as follows: The problems our country is facing are connected with immigration and legal matters; these are not by any means associated with religion or concerned with Buddhism. I shall support this statement with concrete data. It is a historical fact that the areas of the Rakhine Kingdom, before it was integrated into the rest of the Burmese Kingdom in 1785, covered the Chittagong District and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, presently in Bangladesh. For this reason, of the approximately 160,000 people who live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, 48% are Theravada Buddhists according to the 2011 Bangladesh census, including three semi-autonomous regions within Bangladesh: Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban.(1) Of the Buddhist community of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, a large percentage is of the Marma ethnic group, the descendants of the Bago-Hanthawaddy Dynasty of the 16th century. (The details of this history can be studied in the relevant literature.) It is also clear that there was a Bengali population on the Myanmar side before both our countries came under British rule. Among them were Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist Bengalis. Rakhine State became the first part of Myanmar to be annexed to the British Empire, after the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1826. Owing to the administration system introduced by the British, reliable demographic data for Rakhine can be found in the 1872 census, according to which the population of Sittwe District was 276,671, of which 58,255 or 21% were Bengali-Muslims. It is a known fact that population movement was practically free all throughout the colonial period. As a matter of fact, this was the case, with a few restrictions, until the 1980s. Due to this essentially free migration, along with different customs and behaviors, the Bengali-Muslim population of Sittwe District increased 2.7 fold to 33.7% of the total Sittwe population by 1901 (versus only a 1.7-fold increase in the overall population of Sittwe District during the same period). It appears that, regrettably, the last reliable data on the Muslim population of Sittwe District is from the 1931 census, in which the Bengali-Muslim population had increased to 38% of the total population of Sittwe. (Data for 1931-2014 is incomplete; see table below.) According to the latest data from several media sources, in 2014 there were between 1 and 1.3 million Bengali-Muslims in Sittwe District, in addition to around 1 million living abroad; this gives a total so-called Rohingya population of around 2.3 million. (2) This implies that the so-called Rohingya population increased more than nine-fold between 1931 and 2014, whereas the Sittwe District population itself saw a 1.8-fold increase during the same period. Obviously, this discrepancy and inconsistency can only be attributed to immigration from other regions. Overall population and Bengali-Muslim population growth in Sittwe District Source: Census data. (Sittwe District population includes nine townships, as in the British colonial period: Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Yathedaung, Mrauk U, Kyauktaw, Minbwa, Maungdaw and Bothidaung. What is now Taungpyoletwe Sub-township was formerly part of Maungdaw) Concerning the term "Rohingya", and the issue of whether they are an indigenous race or not, this term was not known and not used even by Bengali-Muslims themselves until the late 1950s. The British administration was exact and systematic; starting from 1872, the decadal censuses included precise information on race, religion, and indigenous or foreign status. (For example, the Indian population was divided into nine groups, the Chinese into five, etc.) Data was collected in all townships. There was no mention of this race called Rohingya. Another source of information on the indigenous races of Myanmar is the 1931 book "Races of Burma" by Major C.M. Enriquez. (3) He counted and described all the national races of Myanmar, right down to the minute details of their physical stature and appearance, and even the mental characteristics of the national races of Myanmar. The book makes no mention of this race. Concerning linguistic affiliation, I have dedicated myself considerably to studying the languages and peoples of this region from the time I lived there in the 1980s while working for the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat). One of my assignments was the planning of the Ramu region. (Ramu is an upazila, or sub-region, of Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar District. The Burmese name is Pan Wa — the location of the Battle of Pan Wa during the First Anglo-Burmese War.) The Bengalis in Sittwe District speak a kind of Bengali dialect, the same one that is spoken in Ramu and in Cox's Bazar. It is a branch of the Chittagong-Bengali dialect, considerably different from the standard Bengali that one hears on Bangladesh's national radio or television. The dialect is spoken by the Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu Bengalis in these areas. Buddhist Bengalis from these areas usually have family names like Barua; a common surname of Hindu-Bengalis is Chakrabarti; and Muslim-Bengalis normally have Arabic/Islamic names. Regardless of the faith or which side of the border they live on, the Bengali population in these regions all speak the same dialect. Educated people can also speak standard Bengali. The truth is that this term, Rohingya, was never widely known, or even used by most ordinary Muslim-Bengalis. I have tested this myself several times during my stay in these areas in the 1980s and also later on during my official duties in Rakhine State in the 1990s. When asked, "What is your ethnicity [lu myo]?" they immediately answer "Bengali." This term "Rohingya" was simply invented by the educated upper class Muslims of this area. Furthermore, it is not logical for any group of people to have such a name, as "Rohin" simply means "Rakhine" in the Bengali language. The serious animosities in Rakhine started during World War II, in connection with the endeavors to separate Pakistan from India. In the face of the Japanese invasion, the retreating British Army gave weapons to the Bengali-Muslims. In March 1942, there were killings by both sides in northern Rakhine State, in Minbya and Mrauk-U townships.(4) After the war, the Muslim leaders of Rakhine founded the Arakan Muslim League in Sittwe and contacted Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, asking for his assistance in incorporating the Mayu region of Rakhine into Pakistan. The proposal was turned down and never initiated by Jinnah, as that would have been tantamount to interference in the matters of a neighboring country;(5) Jinnah also mentioned this matter to General Aung San during their meeting in 1947, while on his way to England to participate in independence negotiations. (6) Shortly afterwards, some Sittwe Muslims started a rebel organization named "Muja-Hid" prior to Myanmar's Independence in January 1948. (7) In short, these are the main points that prove that immigration is the main source of the issues and the problems that later on resulted in undertakings to achieve separation. To rebut the accusations that these are religious conflicts, we should remember that Buddha in his lifetime, as Prince Siddhartha or afterwards as Buddha Gautama, never held a sword or any kind of weapon in his hand. There are several verses in the Sutta Pitika concerning hatred and vengeance, and all his teachings and actions are based on tolerance rather than "fighting back". Buddha was once on a battlefield where the armies of two states, the Shakyas and the Kolis, were about to start a war over the use of the water in the Rohni River that ran between Kapilayastu and Koli. Buddha engaged himself between the armies and asked the two warring parties to consider and compare the value of water and that of human blood. This convincing argument ended the matter. The following are a few of Buddha's teachings concerning war and hatred. Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world; by non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This a law eternal. Happy indeed we live, friendly amidst the hostile. Amidst hostile men we dwell free from hatred. Victory begets enmity, the defeated dwell in pain. Happily, the peaceful live, discarding both victory and defeat. (From Dhammapada, Verses 5, 197 and 201, from the text translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita) Kyaw Lat is an urban planner and has worked for the United Nations Center for Human Settlements, UN-Habitat in Rakhine State. Notes: Chittagong Hill Tracts, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia Rohingya people, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia Major C.M. Enriquez, "Races of Burma", Delhi Publishing 1931 Ibidem no. 2 Ibidem no. 2 Bo Gyoke Aung San Ahmat Taya, by Takatho Nay Win Tint Swe, Kyor Po Eikalay ko Chikar Lway   The post Buddha's Teaching and the Problems in Rakhine State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD Stands by Commitment to Amend 2008 Constitution Posted: 25 Jun 2018 01:21 AM PDT YANGON — The National League for Democracy stands by its commitment to amend the 2008 Constitution, said a vice chairman of the NLD on Sunday at a press conference following its second congress. Another aim of the NLD's party congress is to push for the success of nationwide peacebuilding, continued Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, the No. 2 vice chairman of the NLD, who is also the Mandalay Region chief minister. Dr. Zaw Myint Maung highlighted that the government is trying to solve political problems through political means and peace conferences, where negotiators are trying to achieve democratic federal principles through the Union Accord as a way to amend the Constitution. In May's conference last year, negotiators including the government, Tatmadaw and ethnic armed organizations who are NCA signatories, reached 37 basic principles for the federal Union and labeled this part one of the Union Accord, but these were criticized for lacking key federal principles. "Not achieving peace is an obstacle to a flourishing democracy in Myanmar, so we aim to support peace. It is important for our people," Dr. Zaw Myint Maung added. Under the incumbent NLD, two more ethnic armed groups became signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in February, which now has 10 signatories. The government is trying to add more and is holding talks with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and armed forces based along the Sino-Myanmar border. U Aung Soe, a member of the government Peace Commission and an NLD lawmaker, also told The Irrawaddy on Sunday that the group is hoping the KNPP will become a signatory to the NCA during the third session of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference slated to be held in mid-July. He did not elaborate, stating that "things could go wrong" if he elaborated on the details while negotiations were still ongoing. The NLD's peacebuilding efforts and progress were shared with party delegates at the congress, where senior party leaders shared political and public organizing activity reports. The NLD then elected six additional central executive committee (CEC) members and dozens of new central committee members nationwide from its 1,056 delegates on Saturday. The following day, 176 central committee leaders, both old and new, held a discussion on future party activities including the president's aim to develop people's livelihoods, rule of law, peace and national reconciliation, and amending the military-drafted 2008 Constitution. The ruling party also aims to win the upcoming by-election in November and the general election in 2020, and to strengthen the party. Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, U Nyan Win and Dr. Myo Nyunt, all members of the CEC, answered reporters' queries regarding future NLD activities, progress on the amendment of the 2008 Constitution, promoting the well-being of the public and a younger generation of NLD leadership. More Needs to Be Done to Fulfill Public Needs The NLD has been criticized for the economic hardship felt by the general public, as well as its failure to bring peace, particularly in northern Kachin, northeastern Shan and western Rakhine states. Party leaders stated that they are well aware of the issues they face and that they try to adjust to the needs of the people. "We are not worried about the criticism as it keeps us informed," said U Nyan Win. "The public is not saying that democracy is going backward," he replied to a reporter's question. "They are complaining that change is taking too long and that they are in poverty. We need to have real progress in the democratic transition as well as nationwide economic development." There are some obvious achievements but others are unnoticeable, added U Nyan Win. "We are working toward the policy that we set from the beginning," he said. U Kel, a member of the Sagaing Region Parliament representing Lahe Township, told The Irrawaddy that he believes the NLD government will continue performing well during its remaining two years in office. "We cannot say that the NLD has completely lost public support. It has until 2020 to improve its image," said U Kel, an ethnic Naga who is sympathetic toward the leadership and optimistic about overcoming the challenges they face. The party's senior leaders who are cabinet members stated that they are satisfied with their performance to date but that much remains to be done to fulfill the needs of the public. "We are satisfied with our performance because we work with good intention," said Dr. Zaw Myint Maung. NLD Highlights Freedom of Expression The NLD leaders did not elaborate on successes in relation to campaign promises they made prior to the 2015 election. "One thing we can highlight is progress in freedom of expression as people take to the streets to voice their demands and criticisms. We welcome this constructive criticism," said Dr. Zaw Myint Maung. However, the NLD government has been criticized for police forces detaining protesters and charging them under the Unlawful Assembly Act. The government has said that this is because according to the Constitution, the Ministry of Home Affairs is controlled by the military. Putting the Ministry of Home Affairs under the elected government is one of the key amendments the NLD wants to make, added Dr. Zaw Myint Maung. "As the home affairs minister is appointed by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and not directly appointed by the government, it is not easy to address [affairs related to his tasks]. However, it is not that we are not watching over the works of the minister. Our Parliament is monitoring all of the cabinets." The post NLD Stands by Commitment to Amend 2008 Constitution appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US Plans Limits on Chinese Investment in US Technology Firms Posted: 24 Jun 2018 09:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON — The US Treasury Department is drafting curbs that would block firms with at least 25 percent Chinese ownership from buying US companies with “industrially significant technology," a government official briefed on the matter said on Sunday. The official, whose comments matched a report by the Wall Street Journal, emphasized that the Chinese ownership threshold may change before the restrictions are announced on Friday. The move marks another escalation of President Donald Trump’s trade conflict with China, which threatens to roil financial markets and dent global growth. Tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods, the first of a potential total of $450 billion, are due to take effect on July 6 over US complaints that China is misappropriating US technology through joint venture rules and other policies. The Treasury investment restrictions are expected to target key sectors, including several China is trying to develop as part of its “Made in China 2025” industrial plan, the US official said. Among its objectives, the plan aims to upgrade China’s capabilities in advanced information technology, aerospace, marine engineering, pharmaceuticals, advanced energy vehicles, robotics and other high-technology industries. The Wall Street Journal also said the US Commerce Department and National Security Council were proposing “enhanced” export controls to keep such technologies from being shipped to China. Spokespersons for the Treasury, Commerce Department and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the proposed restrictions. The government official said the Treasury would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) to devise the restrictions. The act gives the president sweeping authority to restrict assets based on national security concerns. IEEPA was invoked broadly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 to cut off financing for terrorist networks. The Journal said the administration would look only at new deals and would not try to unwind existing ones, adding that the planned investment bar would not distinguish between Chinese state-owned and private companies. The White House on May 29 said the Trump administration would press ahead with restrictions on investment by Chinese companies in the United States as well as “enhanced” export controls for goods exported to China, with details to be announced by June 30. It also said it would unveil a revised list of Chinese goods for tariffs, which it did on June 15. The post US Plans Limits on Chinese Investment in US Technology Firms appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Singapore Says Trump-Kim Summit Cost Just $12M, After Some Question Expenses Posted: 24 Jun 2018 09:12 PM PDT SINGAPORE — Singapore said on Sunday it spent S$16.3 million (USD$12 million) on hosting the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, less than earlier reports that had angered some locals. Most of the money went to security, the foreign ministry said, without giving a detailed breakdown. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had earlier estimated the event cost Singapore S$20 million. Foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan had said that included the cost of Kim’s hotel room. Those reports drew anger from some Singaporeans on social media – though one commentator said it was a small price to pay – the cost of a chicken-rice dish for each citizen – to contribute to regional peace. Marketing experts said the publicity generated from hosting the summit could be worth more than 10 times the cost to the tiny Southeast Asian city-state. Trump and Kim spent each spent three days in Singapore for the June 12 summit where the two pledged to work on ending North Korea’s nuclear program and improve ties. The post Singapore Says Trump-Kim Summit Cost Just $12M, After Some Question Expenses appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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