Wednesday, August 29, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Military Chief Wastes No Time Finding New Home on Social Media

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 07:31 AM PDT

YANGON — Less than 48 hours after the Myanmar military chief's Facebook account was shut down, a similar page appeared on VKontakte (VK), Russia's most popular social networking service. The new page had already attracted more than 2,000 followers as of Wednesday.

The page "Senior General Min Aung Hlaing" — the same name as the old Facebook page — featured posts on the latest activities of the military boss, including the senior general's Wednesday visit to Bago Region's Swar Township to observe the severe flooding situation there and inspect an Army-constructed bridge.

The posts on the new page are consistent in style with those that had appeared on Facebook. Military spokespersons were not available to verify the authenticity of the page on Wednesday afternoon when contacted by The Irrawaddy.

California-based Facebook announced on Monday that it had deleted the pages and accounts of a total of 20 organizations and individuals, including Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who "committed or enabled serious human rights abuses in [Myanmar]." The statement follows a recent report by the UNHRC's Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar that found the Facebook accounts and pages of these individuals and organizations directly or indirectly contributed to human rights abuses, especially regarding northern Rakhine State's 2017 Rohingya crisis.

The UNHRC announced on Monday that a report by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar urged that top Army generals, including commander-in-chief Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, be prosecuted for genocide and crimes against humanity in northern Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states. Members of the mission also demanded the resignation of the senior general.

The new page also featured posts about the military chief's recent visit to Russia to attend the Army 2018 International Military Technical Forum and National Security Week, organized by the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to pictures on the page, he met with military officers who are studying for master's and doctoral degrees in Russia. Since 2001, the military has sent officers to further their education in the country.

Some posts on the new page were published in both Russian and Burmese.

The VK platform provides multiple languages for its users, including Burmese, Russian and English. Its functions are similar to those available on Facebook, allowing users to share information, post photos, create pages and engage in free instant messaging. Users need to supply an email address to register. According to VK's webpage, it has more than 97 million active users every month.

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Myanmar Govt Faces Accusations of Whitewashing Army War Crimes

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 06:07 AM PDT

YANGON – According to the recent UN fact-finding report, Myanmar State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government has contributed to the commission of crimes of atrocity by covering up war crimes by the military in Rakhine, Shan and Kachin states.

The report highlighted four points: civilian authorities being allowed to spread false narratives; denying military war crimes, blocking independent investigations, including of the fact-finding mission; and overseeing the destruction of evidence.

"Through their acts and omissions, the civilian authorities have contributed to the commission of atrocity crimes," the report said.

The report said the state counsellor has not used her de facto position as head of government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events, or seek alternative avenues to meet her responsibility to protect the civilian population.

However, the report did not specify how the Myanmar government spread false narratives or how it was involved in destroying evidence of where crimes were committed.

The UN report said Myanmar's top military generals, including Commander-in-Chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, must be investigated and prosecuted for genocide which took place in northern Rakhine State, as well as for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Kachin and Shan states.

The investigators found patterns of gross human rights violations and abuses committed in those states which "undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law", principally committed by Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw, but also by other security forces, the report said.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh since last August, as a result of Myanmar military's clearance operations which followed attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on military and security outposts in northern Rakhine State.

Despite the government signing an MoU with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the repatriation of refugees, human rights observers have said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government has failed to acknowledge the seriousness of the gross human rights violations in all conflict zones. The government did not cooperate with the UN and the international human rights community's constant demands for access or to allow investigations in the conflict zones.

Instead, the government set up its own investigation team with international experts rather than relying on the UNHRC fact-finding team.

"Though Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was not involved directly in human rights crimes committed by Myanmar's military, her position as the (de facto) leader of this country makes her sort of responsible for the crime," said U Aung Myo Min, a human rights activist and director of Equality Myanmar, to The Irrawaddy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused entry to members of a United Nations investigation team last year, saying the establishment of an international fact-finding mission would do more to inflame, rather than resolve the issues.

U Aung Myo Min said, "As a de-facto leader of the civilian government, she has the highest accountability for what her offices have done."

So far, Myanmar has rejected two UN reports on human rights violations by security forces, one by former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee and the latest one by the UNHRC. The government also dissociated itself from the UN Human Rights Council's resolution last year.

U Aung Myo Min explained the rejections therefore resulted in the government being accused of 'overseeing destruction of the evidence' in the recent UNHRC fact-finding mission report that says the government has hidden the truth about what they found on the ground.

An independent analyst working on conflict, peace and human rights issues in Myanmar David Scott Mathieson told The Irrawaddy, "I do not think the Daw Suu government is responsible for war crimes anywhere in Myanmar."

"Blaming Daw Suu will have little if any impact, her government has consistently refuted reports of atrocities and their denials have been in line with military denials, but this doesn't make them culpable, it makes the NLD complicit," he said.

It rightly criticizes government and military investigations as whitewashes that lack credibility, he added.

Observers see the State Counselor's information committee Facebook page as playing a major role in spreading news during the period of intensified conflict in Rakhine State.

The Rakhine State Information Committee was formed in 2016 at the request of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, to release timely information on the on-going conflict in Maungdaw Township in Rakhine State. The State Counselor's Office deputy minister U Khin Maung Tin took the position of chair of the committee, Major-General Soe Naing Oo from the Ministry of Defense as a vice chair and the President's Office spokesman U Zaw Htay as secretary of the committee.

The team ran the Facebook page distributing up-to-date news and responding to international rights groups' accusations of extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses by security forces in Rakhine State. Later, the name was changed to 'Information Committee' after many critics pointed out the team is spreading one-sided news under the state counsellor's name.

The UNHRC report pointed out the constitutional powers of the civilian authorities afford little scope for controlling the actions of the Tatmadaw but civilian authorities did not use their limited powers to influence the situation in Rakhine State. Under the 2008 Constitution, the military controls three ministries — Defense, Border Affairs and Home Affairs.

This grave international criticism is not the first for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as she maintains stable relations with the military in order to move forward with national reconciliation and the peace process, constitutional amendments and other complex issues within the country.

"All the failings show the civilian government do not have full power in this country. They only have partial power," U Aung Myo Min said.

“However, it is a lesson (for Myanmar's government). The international condemnations will not end if you just deny requests [like the UN investigation] and there will be consequences and more pressure on us (Myanmar). At least, we need to collaborate with them for investigations if we have nothing to hide,” he said.

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Senior UWSA Military Leader Aik San Dies, Aged 62

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 05:24 AM PDT

MON STATE—Senior United Wa State Army (UWSA) leader Aik San died at the age of 62 on Aug. 25 at a hospital in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, where he had been undergoing treatment for lung cancer.

Aik San, who held the position of military vice chief of staff, was a member of the UWSA's central committee and a former member of the Communist Party of Burma.

Nyi Rang, a UWSA spokesperson based in Lashio town in northern Shan State, said a funeral would be held on Thursday. The UWSA had invited representatives of other members of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee alliance, as well as other ethnic armed groups, he said.

Aik San was a devout Buddhist, Nyi Rang said.

"He was the greatest advocate of Buddhism in Wa State," Nyi Rang said, adding that many ethnic Wa Buddhists were saddened by Aik San's death.

Aik San was born in 1956. He joined the CPB in 1970. As an ethnic Wa, he stayed with the UWSA when it split from the CPB in 1989.

According to a statement from his son, Aik San joined the CPB's Battalion 4045 in February 1973. He served as a deputy platoon leader between 1977 and 1979, when he went to Mangshi City, Yunnan Province, China to study. In 1980, he served in Battalion 4042 as a deputy political instructor.

In 1983, after the establishment of Infantry Division 418, he was shifted to Battalion Unit 082 and worked in the united front area. He served as deputy battalion commander of the unit. At the end of 1986, he was appointed as the head of the division.

In 1991, he served as chief of staff of 418 Division. In 1993, he served as deputy division commander of 418 Division. In 2001, he became division commander. In June 2005 he was made commander of 468 Division. In 2009, he was transferred to the General Political Department and served as deputy chief of staff.

He served with the CPB in 1981 on the west side of the Salween River, which was the first time the CPB had been active in central Shan State.  He was deputy commander in charge at CPB Battalion 082 at that time. Then, he cooperated with other ethnic armed groups based in southern Shan including the Karenni Nationalities People's Liberation Front, the Shan State Nationalities Peoples' Liberation Organization, and the Kayan New Land Party.

Saw Nyar Maw Meh, a patron of the Karenni Nationalities People's Liberation Front (K.N.P.L.F) who fought alongside Aik San, offered his recollections of the man.

"He used to work with us as part of a joint force. We fought the enemy [the Myanmar Army] together at that time. He was chief of the joint force along with our K.N.P.L.F.," Saw Nyar Maw Meh said.

During his time in southern Shan State, he lived with his first wife, who is mixed ethnic Shan and Pa-O. When he moved to northern Shan in 1989, however, he lived with his second wife. He returned to UWSA headquarters in Pangsan when his organization signed a ceasefire agreement with the Myanmar military regime in 1989.

"He was always friendly toward others. He could speak several languages including Shan, Pa-O, Burmese and Wa. He could read and write Burmese very well. He always had a smile when talking to us. He was very friendly," Saw Nyar Maw Meh said.

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Bagan Earthquake Repairs Will Take ‘Longer than Expected’

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 04:22 AM PDT

MANDALAY — The Bagan branch of the Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library said the renovation of earthquake-hit temples and pagodas in the Bagan archaeological zone of central Myanmar will take more time than expected to complete.

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Bagan on Aug. 24, 2016, and damaged almost 400 of the area's 3,252 pagodas.

Although the restoration of more than 200 pagodas with minor damage was completed within two years of the quake, ones that suffered major damage like Sulamani and Thatbyinnyu are still being repaired.

"We are halfway through repairing the major damages. The work will take longer than expected. It will be complete by 2020," U Soe Soe Lin, the deputy director of the department's Bagan branch, told The Irrawaddy.

The deputy director said that the department received technical assistance from UNESCO, the Association of Myanmar Architects, the Myanmar Engineering Society, seismologists, and technicians from technological universities to restore the temples and pagodas.

"Since the repair of these ancient temples is delicate work, it is time-consuming. The teams have to take care not to affect the original cultural and historical value and to strengthen the structures to prevent future damage at the same time," explained U Soe Soe Lin.

The department said that the renovation work was categorized into three priority levels based on the severity of the damage and the heritage value.

Emergency restoration was done a few weeks after the earthquake, continuing restoration work is 90 percent done and strengthening work is 50 percent completed.

Bagan is the country's major tourist attraction, housing more than 3,000 ancient pagodas and temples dating from the 9th to the 13th centuries.

Bagan's bid to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is underway, with expert teams visiting the region in mid-September to do a ground inspection. The result of the inspection will be submitted to the World Heritage Site convention in 2019 for Bagan's candidacy.

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Businesspeople Urge State Counselor to Reduce Tax And Loan Interest Rates

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 02:50 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Leading businesspeople urged State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to reduce tax and bank loan interest rates during a meeting in the administrative capital Naypyitaw on Tuesday.

Potential investors are maintaining a wait-and-see attitude and Myanmar's economy is experiencing a slowdown, said leading builder U Maung Weik.

Reducing bank loan interest and tax rates will attract investors, he said.

"As the interest rate on bank loans is 13 percent, businesses find it hard to profit. There is a need to reduce this rate temporarily to 8 or 9 percent. We believe many investors will come back into the market then," said U Maung Weik.

"An investor has to buy equipment to start a business and then pay a 30 percent tax. They have not even started the business but have paid a 30 percent tax already. So, we'd like that the tax rate be reduced to 5 percent for one to two years," he added.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi replied that she would consider the request. However, she said that economists had suggested that too many tax exemptions are not good for the economic growth of a country.

"The government has to listen to various sides and strike a balance. We can't just look at the economy. We can't just look at the needs of our country. We have to look at global trends," she said.

"We'll seriously consider these two points. But I can't make a decision right now," she added.

The state counselor said that tax is levied for government expenditures and asked the businesspeople to cooperate, saying that she does not want to sell the country's natural resources to tackle the deficit.

The tax rate should be realistic, said U Shein Win, chairman of the Federation of Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association, who also called for a tax reduction.

"The government should record its tax revenues for 2018. If its tax earnings next year are less than this year after reducing the tax rate, we will fund the deficit. Even if other members of the federation don't pay, I will give the needed funds by selling my property," he said.

The state counselor said that the government would set a fair rate for both sides. "No country sets fixed tax rates. Tax rates have to be adjusted as necessary," said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Adviser to Kanbawza Bank U Than Lwin also supported reducing tax and interest rates.

"Rather than thinking that tax reduction will lead to a decline in tax revenues, the government should think about the economic benefits. Tax reduction will facilitate economic recovery and generate more tax revenue in the long run," he said.

"I don't mean the tax rate should be kept low for all time, but just a tax incentive to attract investors," he added.

He also compared the bank loan interest rates in Myanmar and Thailand. "The interest rate is just 1.5 percent in Thailand. Interest is cost and the competitiveness is low if costs are high," he said.

President of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry U Zaw Min Win also urged the government to adopt necessary policies to attract foreign investment and to boost exports in order to stabilize the kyat-dollar exchange rate.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Bridge on Yangon-Mandalay Road Damaged as Dam Overflows

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 02:25 AM PDT

YEDASHE TOWNSHIP, Bago Region — The road across the Swar Bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay highway in Bago's Yedashe (Yaytarshay) Township

was buckled on Wednesday after being hit by a surge of water from the Swar Creek Dam, whose sluice gates were breached earlier in the morning, according to the Ministry of Construction.

This part of the route, at miles No. 165/166 on the new highway, was temporarily closed after water overran it. A stretch of the old Yangon-Mandalay highway at mile No. 199, faced same situation in the township.

The 810-foot-long Swar Bridge was built by military engineers under the Ministry of Defense in December 2006 and opened in October 2008.

The section of the bridge's road surface between Pillars 5 and 7 were damaged. U Kyaw Lin, the deputy minister of construction, said engineers would repair it overnight "and then we will be able to allow [all] vehicles to cross, including trucks and buses."

The road was under about 4 feet of water at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, so the road was temporarily closed, he said.

"After 10:50 a.m. it dropped, and we allowed small vehicles to cross.  The most important thing is that vehicles can keep moving and there is no delay to land transport," he told The Irrawaddy.

Casualty figures were not yet known, but residents were evacuated from more than a dozen villages. The water immersed rice fields in the area, as well as a monastery and areas where cows and buffaloes are held, according to residents of Kyot Pin Thar village in Yedashe Township.

Local resident U Hla Tun, who came to inspect the situation near the Swar Creek bridge, told The Irrawaddy he was worried about a friend's family who lived on the other side of the dam and were not reachable by phone Wednesday.

The dam began overflowing on Monday, according to state media. It said there was no cause for concern about a collapse as the structure is strong, citing the Taunggoo irrigation and water management committee.

The Bago Region government on Wednesday warned residents of villages near Sittaung village to stay alert. Bago Region has been hit by floods since July.

Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye; the Minister of the Office of the State Counselor, U Kyaw Tint Swe; Vice President Henry Van Thio, who is also chairman of the National Natural Disaster Management Committee; and Myanmar military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing visited the affected areas on Wednesday morning.

Htet Naing Zaw and Kyaw Myo contributed to this report from Yedashe Township.

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The Tatmadaw’s Political Might

Posted: 29 Aug 2018 01:25 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Myanmar's political system is a new structure with old connections that has been dominated by the military, said Dr. Yoshihiro Nakanishi, an associate professor at Kyoto University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies, at his talk on Myanmar's civil-military relations at Chiang Mai University last Friday.

He wrote his first book on Myanmar's military (Tatmadaw) and its influence on the administration in 2009. It was published in Japanese in 2009 and English in 2013, and is one of the few books written about the Tatmadaw. He is currently working on his second book about Myanmar.

He discussed his experience researching under the former military government as well as the current administration, his perspectives on shifting military leadership and the National League for Democracy-led government with The Irrawaddy's senior reporter Nyein Nyein.

What interested you in researching Myanmar's military when you wrote your first book "Strong Soldiers, Failed Revolution?"

I entered graduate school in 2001 and read books and articles on Myanmar politics. Many were about the political conflicts between the military government and [Daw] Aung San Suu Kyi. But there have been very few books written about the military. In 2001, Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest. The military was controlling the government and the social order. But there was little analysis of how the military government worked. I understood that the military was politically strong, but it was unclear how the military controlled the whole government or how it made daily organizational decisions.

Fortunately, at my graduate school in Kyoto, some professors had studied military politics in Indonesia and Thailand. They had deep knowledge on the issue and were very helpful in analyzing military politics and relationships between the military and state building. At the time, I thought that Myanmar studies needed different perspectives. Not only should we look at the country's politics from the oversimplified view of "democratic forces versus military rulers" but also through the political dynamics of intra-state power struggles. Otherwise, it is hard to explain why the military has remained politically influential for so long.

I did the fieldwork for my thesis in 2003-05. At that time, 15 years had already passed since the military launched a coup in 1988. Someone had to explain why the military's rule is so durable in Myanmar. Because I was young and innocent in a sense, I thought I could say something original. Obviously I was overly confident at the time. Of course, some exceptional work helped me, such as Professor Robert Taylor's "State in Burma" and Professor Mary Callahan's "Making Enemies." Originally, I wanted to focus on the military government from 1962 to 2002-03, but it was impossible to conduct research on contemporary politics at that time. It was very sensitive, so I focused on Ne Win's rule between 1962 and 1988. After finishing my Ph.D., I published the book.

Have you continued writing about the situation in Myanmar after 1988?

I have written some papers and articles on the military rule after 1988 in Japanese. It was extremely difficult to conduct fieldwork in Myanmar after the mass demonstration in 2007, so I expanded my perspective to compare Myanmar with other countries. Luckily, I had opportunities to visit countries like Pakistan and Indonesia.

Then, Myanmar's reform started, which I did not expect at all. My prediction was that we should not expect too much from the transition and that it would just lead to a different version of military rule. I wrote that in my book. Years later, I learned I was wrong.

Now, I am writing a book about the political, economic and diplomatic transition in Myanmar. One of my motivations for writing the manuscript is to understand why I was wrong. During my research, I found that many people involved in the reform process expected the same. The drastic change was the result of both intentional and unintentional dynamics between different actors. I want to examine this.

How different is it doing research now as opposed to before?

Totally different! I was in Yangon for a year until this April as a visiting professor at the University of Yangon. When I was a Ph.D. student, I was not allowed to enter the university campus without permission. But now, many foreign scholars can visit the university to meet local scholars and students. I taught undergraduate students a political science course for a semester. I did not have any instructions or limitations about what I could talk about in the class. I could freely design the course and discuss any topic with bright, young students. I know there is still some difference in academic autonomy between Myanmar and developed countries like Japan but it is clear that the freedom on campus has improved markedly. I cannot imagine this current university atmosphere existing prior to 2011.

You have done research on the military's social media usage, but have you talked to current military commanders?

I analyzed the Facebook posts of Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing to get a feel for his public relations strategy or how he built the image of the Tatmadaw. Most of the former commander-in-chiefs liked to keep a low profile, even when they ruled the country. I asked a Burmese audience at Chiang Mai University, "Have you heard Snr-Gen Than Shwe's voice on TV on the radio or quoted in other media?"Nobody raised their hand.

Since Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing's media exposure is exceptional in the country's history, my Burmese colleague and I read all of his Facebook posts between 2013-17 and categorized them according to topic. Because Facebook now banned him, this research might be rare.

Some retired officers kindly accepted my interview offer. Because of the change in government in 2016, people who were involved in the reform process after 2011 could speak with me. And there are scholars, analysts and research organizations that work on Myanmar security issues and civil-military relations. There are also memoirs of retired military officers. Discussions with them and study of this material helped me examine the current political role of the Tatmadaw.

As you know, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been talking a lot about amendment of the military-drafted Constitution, which will not be possible without cooperation from the military. Is there any way to persuade them to cooperate?

It is very difficult, of course. Even under U Thein Sein's administration, the proposals for constitutional amendment were refused by the Tatmadaw. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi seems cautious in her relationship with them. This does not surprise me because the Tatmadaw is highly autonomous. She has to manage these delicate relations to run the government. It must be tough trying to amend the Constitution to create a more democratic political system at this time.

But I think there is room for both sides to agree of some technicalities regarding the Constitution. It has more than 450 articles, many of them having nothing to do with democratization. One possibility is to discuss amending these articles to adjust the Constitution to the environment in which the state operates.

In Japan, constitutional amendment is also always controversial. One of the reasons is that many are still afraid of unpredictable consequences. But discussion of it is not taboo anymore. Myanmar people can broaden the focus of constitutional amendment to create shared a platform to engage the public in constitutional discussions from various perspectives.

As you wrote, the military played a key role in the administration from the 1960s to the 2000s. What is your assessment of the military's current political role in the country?

The military is still politically powerful, as everyone knows. However, its role in daily administration declined after the transition in 2011. After the NLD came to power, interesting changes began happening at the local level even though the local administrations, especially at the township level, are basically under the control of the General Administration Department (GAD) of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The home affairs minister is an active military general, so he is unlike other ministers in terms of the military's influence. But some NLD members of Parliament are trying to change local administrations by encouraging adjustment in the relations between the public and the GAD. If Parliament can encourage dialogue between these two sides, it could help improve the government's capacity and undermine historical distrust in the government. This could gradually and fundamentally change the nature of politics in Myanmar.

Human rights groups globally blamed Myanmar Army Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing as the person behind military operations in northern Rakhine State. Bur the West, including the US, imposed sanctions on other senior commanders. To what extent are these sanctions effective?

The current sanctions will not affect the economy or people's lives in Myanmar. There is the possibility that Western countries and international organizations will put more pressure on Myanmar's government and military soon. The current sanctions are the beginning of harsher ones.

If strong evidence is found of human rights violations committed by Tatmadaw troops in Rakhine State, and it is thought that the government does not have the intention of capacity to investigate the issue, Myanmar will face diplomatic trouble internationally. Japan, China and ASEAN countries are adopting more constructive approach on the issue, but I am not sure that they do not expect an escalation of trouble in Rakhine and in international relations.

You said the NLD government had "policy miss-prioritization," when prioritizing peace over the economy. Could you elaborate on this?

I think they should have prioritized both. When I was invited to a small debate at a local NLD office last year, the party members were discussing whether to prioritize peace or economic development. I think the government could have done both. The approach is different.

For making a nationwide ceasefire agreement, you need complex coordination among very different stakeholders including ministries, the Tatmadaw, ethnic armed organizations and so on. I think coordination capacity is one of the government's weakest points regarding policy. Relatively speaking, policy coordination for economic reform would have been easier than for a ceasefire agreement.

And Myanmar's advantage is that the more economically developed central Burma is safer while there are violent conflicts in other states. I don't think we should accept economic disparity in regions and state, but economic development in the central area could affect other regions in a positive way through job creation and increasing government revenue. People in the government are now aware of this. I hope they will create an efficient division of labor within the government to tackle both issues.

The majority of the general public in Myanmar is very generous to the NLD and its rule. It is, of course, because of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's charisma as a political leader. But also people know that the NLD had to spend most of its resources and energy for surviving under the suppressive political situation for two decades.

As many observers say, they are less experienced in running the government. It is true, but we need to remember that few chances have been provided for them to gain experience in politics and administration. With popular support and strong unity inside the party, the current government has the potential to speed up the momentum of the reforms. Post-transitional countries usually do not expect such a consolidated and stable ruling force, even though it is based on personal rather than institutional leadership. It is time for them to strategically tackle the difficult challenges without fearing confrontation.

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In a Posh Bangkok Neighborhood, Residents Trade Energy with Blockchain

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 10:47 PM PDT

BANGKOK — Residents in a Bangkok neighborhood are trying out a renewable energy trading platform that allows them to buy and sell electricity between themselves, signaling the growing popularity of such systems as solar panels get cheaper.

The pilot project in the center of Thailand’s capital is among the world’s largest peer-to-peer renewable energy trading platforms using blockchain, according to the firms involved.

The system has a total generating capacity of 635 kilowatts that can be traded via Bangkok city’s electricity grid between a mall, a school, a dental hospital and an apartment complex.

Commercial operations will begin next month, said David Martin, managing director of Power Ledger, an Australian firm that develops technology for the energy industry and is a partner in the project.

“By enabling trade in renewable energy, the community meets its own energy demands, leading to lower bills for buyers, better prices for sellers, and a smaller carbon footprint for all,” he said.

“It will encourage more consumers to make the switch to renewable energy, as the cost can be offset by selling excess energy to neighbors,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Neighborhoods from New York to Melbourne are upending the way power is produced and sold, with solar panels, mini grids and smart meters that can measure when energy is consumed rather than overall consumption.

The World Energy Council predicts that such decentralized energy will grow to about a fourth of the market in 2025 from five percent today.

Helping it along is blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that underpins bitcoin currency, which offers a transparent way to handle complex transactions between users, producers, and even traders and utilities.

Blockchain also saves individuals the drudgery of switching between sending power and receiving it, said Martin.

For the pilot in Bangkok’s upmarket Sukhumvit neighbourhood, electricity generated by each of the four locations will be initially used within that building. Excess energy can be sold to the others through the trading system.

If there is a surplus from all four, it will be sold to the local energy storage system, and to the grid in the future, said Gloyta Nathalang, a spokeswoman for Thai renewable energy firm BCPG, which installed the meters and solar panels.

Thailand is Southeast Asia’s leading developer of renewable energy, and aims to have it account for 30 percent of final energy consumption by 2036.

The energy ministry has encouraged community renewable energy projects to reduce fossil fuel usage, and the regulator is drafting new rules to permit the trade of energy.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Electricity Authority forecasts “peer-to-peer energy trading to become mainstream for power generation in the long run,” a spokesman told reporters.

BCPG, in partnership with the Thai real estate developer Sansiri, plans to roll out similar energy trading systems with solar panels and blockchain for a total capacity of 2 megawatts by 2021, said Gloyta.

“There are opportunities everywhere – not just in cities, but also in islands and remote areas where electricity supply is a challenge,” she said.

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Haley says US Rohingya Report ‘Consistent’ with UN Findings

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 10:38 PM PDT

UNITED NATIONS — Findings of a US State Department investigation into Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis are “consistent” with those of a report by UN investigators released this week that called for Myanmar’s commander-in-chief and other generals be tried for genocide, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Nikki Haley said “the world can no longer avoid the difficult truth of what happened.” She did not use the term “genocide” and the State Department has said it had not yet concluded whether it shared the determination of “genocidal intent” that Monday’s UN report attached to the attacks on Rohingya Muslims.

However, Haley said that of the more than 1,000 randomly selected Rohingya Muslims surveyed in the State Department’s own report, “fully one fifth” witnessed more than 100 victims being killed or injured. She said 82 percent had seen a killing, more than half had witnessed sexual violence and 45 percent had witnessed a rape.

“The report identifies one group as the perpetrator of the overwhelming majority of these crimes: the Burmese military and security forces,” Haley said, referring to the US report.

She said the Security Council must hold those responsible for the violence to account and added, “The whole world is watching what we do next and if we will act.”

Haley’s comments provided the first details of the State Department report compiled from 1,024 interviews at refugee camps in Bangladesh and completed in late April.

It remained unclear when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to issue the full US report, which could have legal implications of committing Washington to stronger punitive measures against Myanmar, particularly if Washington concluded there was genocide.

The findings were originally due to be announced ahead of Monday's UN report but have been held up by internal deliberations.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said “genocidal intent” was “a very specific legal designation.”

“It is not one that is easily made,” she told a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

Critics have accused Washington of an overly cautious response to the Rohingya crisis, but a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday that the UN findings could increase pressure for tougher US action.

The release of Monday’s UN report marked the first explicit UN call for Myanmar officials to face genocide charges over their campaign against the Rohingya. It said the military carried out mass killings and gang rapes with “genocidal intent” and the commander-in-chief and five generals should be prosecuted.

Limited Sanctions

Washington, which had previously imposed sanctions on only one regional general over the crisis, targeted four more military and police commanders and two army units this month, but Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was again spared.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the UN meeting that the UN report deserved serious consideration and that accountability was essential for genuine reconciliation between ethnic groups in Myanmar.

Also without using the word genocide, Guterres said the report by the independent UN experts found "’patterns of gross human rights violations and abuses' committed by the security forces, which it said ‘undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law.'”

He said international cooperation would be “critical” to ensuring accountability.

Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, Hau Do Suan, repeated his government’s contention that the Myanmar military had carried out a “logical response” to Muslim militant attacks. He said action would be taken against anyone responsible for human rights violations if there was sufficient evidence.

Guterres said the UN Security Council needed to continue to press for the release of journalists arrested for reporting on the Rohingya crisis, a reference to two Reuters reporters on trial in Myanmar.

Haley said the United States expected to see the two, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, acquitted of all charges.

Also on Tuesday, US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who Washington has championed as a voice of democratic change, could not be blamed for atrocities as she did not have the powers necessary to stop military actions.

Haley made no mention of Suu Kyi, who the UN investigators said had failed to use her “moral authority” to protect civilians.

China, which has been vying with Washington for influence in Myanmar, said on Tuesday that “unilateral criticism or exerting pressure” was not helpful in resolving the Rohingya issue.

Some 700,000 Rohingya have fled the crackdown in Myanmar and most are living in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

Guterres said an international humanitarian appeal for the refugees remained significantly underfunded at 33 percent and more must be done to alleviate the threats to life from the current and impending monsoons.

He said it was clear conditions did not yet exist for the safe return of the Rohingya and called on Security Council members to join him in urging Myanmar to cooperate to ensure access to U.N. agencies and partners.

“There can be no excuse for delaying the search for dignified solutions that will allow people to return to their areas of origin in safety and dignity, in line with international standards and human rights,” Guterres said.

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After Flood, Tourism in India’s Kerala Left Mud-Bound

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 09:49 PM PDT

NEW DELHI/ALAPPUZHA — More than a week after the floodwater began subsiding, animal carcasses are still floating in Kerala’s backwaters, and in places a nauseating stench rises like a wall when the wake from a passing boat breaks the surface. These inland lagoons running parallel to the coast are one of the biggest tourist draws in India’s most southwesterly state, but the stain of death and devastation wrought by Kerala’s worst flood in a century will take longer than a season to wash away. The quaint towns and villages scattered between the lush forests and paddy fields bordering the backwaters are now communities in despair.

Houses in low-lying areas are still submerged, roads are waterlogged and the sewage from drains has washed into channels that are too slow-moving to effectively flush out the effluent.

Sudarsanan T.K., a houseboat owner in the town of Alappuzha, had been looking forward to the peak tourist season, but as his home disappeared under 2.5 meters (eight feet) of water his family now have to live aboard the boat he would otherwise be renting to tourists from Europe, China, Malaysia and India. “I’ve nothing left, but this houseboat. I don’t know how I can repay my bank loan in this condition. The bank may take back my boat. I will have nothing at all then,” Sudarsanan, a 64-year-old father of two, told Reuters.

Some 1,500 houseboats are tied up at Alappuzha, going nowhere, with many of the owners still paying off loans taken to buy the boats. Sudarsanan owes about $8,600 on the loan taken eight years ago to buy the boat, and he could have earned up to $7,000 by December if the deluge hadn’t washed away his hopes. Hundreds of people perished in the flood and more than one million of Kerala’s 35 million people were forced to abandon their homes and take shelter in relief camps.

Blessed with natural beauty, fertile land and bountiful seas, Kerala has been dubbed “God’s own country” by its people, but the Marxists running the state government reckon it will need $3.57 billion to rebuild over the next two years.

“Kerala’s GDP growth may fall by 2 percent,” state Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac told Reuters, forecasting growth of 6 percent for the financial year ending next March.

Crops have been lost, the construction industry was dead for a month, and tourism, which contributes 10 percent of the state’s economy but accounts for about 25 percent of jobs creation, has been badly hit.

Festival Washout

For discerning tourists looking for a more laidback Indian experience, Kerala has it all – long sandy beaches, lazy waterways, charming, historic towns like Kochi and the cool, forested hills of the Western Ghats.

Kerala doesn’t draw numbers like the northern tourist circuit, the so-called “Golden Triangle” running from New Delhi to the Taj Mahal in Agra, and Jaipur’s palaces in the desert state of Rajasthan, but it has carved out a sizable niche.

Last year, one million foreigners visited Kerala, along with 15 million domestic tourists, but state government and industry officials reckon the flood will result in losses for the tourism sector of $357 million.

The floods struck just as Kerala was gearing up for Onam, the harvest festival that is one of the highlights of the state’s cultural calendar.

Festivities, including the spectacular Vallam Kali races involving traditional war canoes, some manned by more than 100 paddlers, were postponed.

“Kerala has lost out on one of the best seasons, as the calamity struck during the 10-day run up to Onam,” said Ranjini Nambiar, who heads a travel consultancy.

Thousands of volunteers have joined a cleanup campaign mounted by the state, and Shilendran M., an executive with the CGH Earth luxury hotel chain, expected some kind of order to be restored within the next few weeks.

“The state administration is working on a war footing,” said Shilendran, whose group has more than a dozen properties in Kerala. “We are limping back to normal.”

Hardly anywhere in the state escaped the calamity.

Ernakulam district, the biggest industrial and tourism contributor to Kerala’s economy and home to the historic city of Kochi, suffered major damage, and its busy international airport was shut for nearly two weeks.

Munnar, a hill resort overlooking the tea and cardamom plantations high in the Ghats was cut off, as bridges were washed away and landslides blocked roads.

Once every dozen years a bright purplish-blue bell-shaped flower called the Neelakurinji, blossoms on the slopes around Munnar – and this was one of those years.

The state tourism had marketed 2018 as the Kurunji year, but people in Kerala are more likely to remember the mud.

The post After Flood, Tourism in India’s Kerala Left Mud-Bound appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Vietnam Sentences South African Drug Smuggler to Death

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 09:39 PM PDT

HANOI — A Vietnamese court has sentenced a South African man to death for smuggling cocaine from Brazil into the Southeast Asian country, state media reported on Tuesday.

Tyron Lee Coetzee, 34, was arrested at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport in June, 2016, carrying 1.46 kg of cocaine in his luggage, the Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper reported, citing a copy of the indictment.

“He confessed to Vietnamese investigators that he had been hired by a Nigerian man to smuggle cocaine into Ho Chi Minh City from Brazil, via a transfer in Dubai,” the newspaper reported, adding that Coetzee had been offered $3,500 to carry the drugs.

Coetzee’s trial began in May last year but was temporarily suspended after the 34-year-old said he suffered from schizophrenia, according to the newspaper.

A group called Missing Children South Africa reported him missing in June last year, the group said on its Twitter page. Coetzee was “last seen on his way to Port Elizabeth” in May 2016, the group said.

The South African Embassy in Hanoi was unable to provide any immediate comment on the case.

Drugs like marijuana are illegal yet consumed widely in Vietnam, but transporting 100 grams or more of cocaine is a criminal offence, punishable by death.

In recent years, Vietnam has sentenced several foreigners to death for drug trafficking offences, but the Communist-ruled country keeps a tight lid on information and it is not clear if their executions have been carried out.

Police tackled over 13,000 drug-related cases in the first half of this year, an 8.7 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Public Security’s counter-narcotics department.

Vietnamese authorities arrested 18,500 drug traffickers, seized 880 kg of heroin, 414 kg of methamphetamine and 1.3 tons of marijuana and opium during that period, the department said.

Separately, border guards in the central province of Quang Tri arrested a man from Laos on Tuesday who was attempting to bring 65,800 synthetic drug tablets into Vietnam, the Ministry of Public Security said.

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Tuesday, August 28, 2018

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Government Quickly Distances Itself from Facebook Bans on Military

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 08:18 AM PDT

YANGON—The government moved quickly on Monday to deny that it had any role in or advance knowledge of Facebook's decision to ban the pages and accounts of several senior Myanmar military officials including Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Speaking to reporters in Naypyitaw late on Monday evening, President's Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay said that soon after Facebook made the announcement, he received calls from military officials, including a number of lieutenant-generals, asking if he had any information about the account closures.

Amid heavy condemnation for failing to combat hate speech against Rohingya and other Muslims, the social media giant on Monday announced it was removing 18 Facebook accounts, one Instagram account and 52 Facebook pages of military individuals and organizations "to prevent the spread of hate and misinformation" on the platforms.

Military commander-in-chief Sen-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and Myawady TV — the military's propaganda television network — were among those whose pages and accounts were banned.

"Neither the government nor [the government's] social media monitoring team played a part in [the decision by Facebook]," U Zaw Htay said.

"We are concerned that misunderstandings that the government played a role in the decision will hinder the government's efforts on national reconciliation," he said.

The government has asked Facebook to more fully explain the bans.

Facebook's action came hours after the UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission on Myanmar released its report, which found that the actions of Myanmar's military leadership against the Rohingya had "genocidal intent".

"We want to prevent them from using our service to further inflame ethnic and religious tensions," Facebook said in its announcement. The pages and accounts' content violated its Community Standards, it added.

Former Lieutenant-General U Thaung Aye, a Lower House lawmaker for the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), described Facebook's move as "one-sided", given that the military had launched several investigations into accusations of human-rights violations and taken action against the perpetrators.

"The Tatmadaw [Myanmar's military] is a really strong institution in our country. Those [Facebook] accounts were used by this institution to report its good activities. Myawady TV is also a news agency reporting in line with the [media] policy for all people… To me, it is like insulting the sovereignty of our country. The government should respond decisively," he said.

Veteran journalist and Myanmar analyst Bertil Lintner said the Army chief would likely be much more upset about being excluded from Facebook than at the prospect of being brought before the International Criminal Court, because the ban is something that really impacts him directly.

Followed by millions of the Army chief's supporters and other members of the public, the removed accounts and pages were the military's main channels of communication with the people.

Some believed the Facebook ban would make it more difficult for observers to monitor the military, the military chief and the activities and interactions among its supporters. However, U Myint Kyaw, a member of the Myanmar Press Council, downplayed the move's impact, pointing out that the military already has its own websites.

He added that one positive impact of the ban is that it would remove a platform for lobbying by certain groups who were trying to influence people.

In his view, Facebook's removal of the military's accounts and pages was a political move aimed at an organization, rather than an attempt to curb hate speech and disinformation in Myanmar.

"The impact won't be significant. But it could harm their dignity. And if the military assumes the government was behind it — as there were meetings between Facebook and the Myanmar government before — it won't be good for military-government relations," he said.

Ma Mon Mon Myat, a doctoral student at the Institute of Religion, Culture and Peace at Payap University, said Facebook's removal of the blue checkmark verifying Sen-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing's account was intended as an act of "naming and shaming". She said that taking such action against an individual for being accused of human rights abuses in a UN report was childish, despite its stated aim of targeting hate speech.

However, she added that she welcomed the closure of other propaganda accounts with millions of followers that were spreading hate speech and contributed to the promotion of disinformation in the country.

Yangon regional lawmaker Ko Nay Phone Latt, a free-speech advocate who has campaigned against online hate speech, pointed out that it was a weakness that Facebook has been used as the primary official channel for news releases and public communications, adding that the government should also consider the need to strengthen the country's independent media.

He didn't think Facebook's removal of military accounts would reduce the spread of hate in the country.

"Indeed, hate speech mainly spreads via fake accounts and pages, rather than verified accounts. Without monitoring those accounts systematically and taking action against them, [hate speech] won't be reduced," he said.

Moe Moe contributed additional reporting from Naypyitaw.

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Myanmar Govt Rejects UN Report on Military Human Rights Violations

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 06:07 AM PDT

YANGON—A spokesperson of the Myanmar government has rejected the UN fact-finding mission's report which calls for genocide charges against the country's military leadership for attacking Muslim Rohingya and which also blames the country's de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to intervene.

The UN Human Rights Council released its 'Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar' on Monday. The council set up the mission in March 2017 based on its resolution "to establish the facts and circumstances of the alleged recent human rights violations by military and security forces, and abuses, in Myanmar, in particular in Rakhine State.'

A member of the mission Christopher Sidoti told media on Monday the mission has concluded that criminal investigation and prosecution is warranted, and should focus on top Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) generals in relation to three categories of crimes under international law: genocide, crime against humanity and war crimes.

"The Security Council should act to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or to establish a special ad hoc tribunal on Myanmar," he said.

The report names the Myanmar Army's commander-in-chief, Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, and five other generals who should face justice.

A few hours after the report was launched on Monday, U Zaw Htay, the spokesperson of Myanmar President Office told media that the government had "a clear view" on the fact finding mission's report.

"Precisely speaking, Myanmar didn't accept the UNHRC's resolution, so we reject the mission's actions to implement the resolution," he said.

The spokesperson said Myanmar has dissociated itself from the UNHRC's resolution (since last year) and rejected the formation of fact finding mission.

"When the mission asked for permission to visit Myanmar, we didn't allow it and we replied we wouldn't collaborate as we didn't agree with the resolution," he said.

The report said the mission had requested in-country access four times from September last year through to March 2018 but received no official response.

"This report was shared with the government prior to its public release. No response was received," the report stated.

On Monday, the mission's chairman Marzuki Darusman told media that the single most significant factor had been addressed in the report.

"There's the role of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing and the only way forward is to call for [his] resignation and stepping down immediately," he said.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, also a member of the mission said, "We are deeply disappointed with the State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as [she has] not used her position or her moral authority to stand up, prevent or condemn the unfolding events in Rakhine State."

Regarding the events in Rakhine State, the report names military leaders to be prosecuted, namely Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, as well as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Vice Senior-General Soe Win; Commander, Bureau of Special Operations-3, Lieutenant-General Aung Kyaw Zaw;  Commander, Western Regional Military Command, Major-General Maung Maung Soe; Commander, 33rdLight Infantry Division, Brigadier-General Aung Aung, Commander; and 99th Light Infantry Division, Brigadier-General Than Oo," says the report.

This is not the first call for their prosecution. In June this year, the same individuals were named in Amnesty International's report which also stated that the senior leaders along with their subordinates should be tried for crimes against humanity for the military's actions against the Rohingya community in northern Rakhine State last year.

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Investigation into Land Allegedly Owned by U Thein Sein, Ex-Ministers Suspended

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 05:35 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — An investigation into the ownership of some 900 acres (364 hectares) of land allegedly acquired illegally by former President U Thein Sein and his cabinet members in administrative capital Naypyitaw has been suspended due to legal barriers.

A task force was formed by the Naypyitaw Council to launch an investigation after 169 local farmers filed a complaint that 16 individuals including former President U Thein Sein and ex-ministers acquired lands near the village of Za Laung in Ottarathiri Township without going through the proper channels.

Under the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law, the government can inspect if lands are being used or remain inactive four years after land use permits are issued. If inactive, the government can confiscate unused lands four years after permits are issued.

According to the documents seen by the task force, those lands were applied for in 2016. So, it has only been two years and it is impossible to investigate, said Upper House lawmaker U Maung Maung Swe, who is leading the task force.

The task force has therefore suggested to the Naypyitaw Council that the government's confiscated land review committee could launch an investigation, he told The Irrawaddy.

The land, located near milepost 211 on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway, was previously owned by the Forest Department and had been used by local farmers for decades.

Ex-ministers acquired those lands in 2010, and the previous government created the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law in 2012 to legitimize their acquisition of those lands, claimed U Tin Min Naing, a representative of local farmers.

"We asked the Naypyitaw Council chairman on August 21 to assign the Naypyitaw confiscated land review committee to inspect those lands," U Maung Maung Swe told The Irrawaddy.

President U Thein Sein applied for and got land-use permits, known as Form-7, said U Tin Min Naing. According to the procedure, the former president should also have applied for other forms at the concerned ward administration office to make sure there was no objection to his acquisition of those lands. But U Thein Sein got Form-7 without following the procedure, said U Tin Min Naing.

In June 2010, people living on those lands, now a mango plantation zone, were asked to leave from, apparently ordered by the former president.

Local farmers claimed that parts of their farmland along with crops and water wells were bulldozed when U Thein Sein fenced off his would-be mango plantation.

"Our farms were destroyed for no reason. About 15 acres of my land were confiscated. I had 0.5 acres of paddy fields and got a compensation of 250,000 kyats. But I didn't get compensation for land used for growing crops," said local farmer U Min Tun.

The land was permitted for growing mangos, agarwood and rubber, and a minimum 50 acres of land had to be bought at a price of 50,000 kyats ($33.25) per acre at that time, said a source close to the accused ex-ministers.

He claimed that the farmers had been compensated twice — once by the Forest Department and again by the former ministers.

"Farmers now want to get more as land prices near the expressway have increased with time," he said.

"My 20 acres of land were confiscated. I got compensation for three acres of paddy fields—1.5 million kyats. But, I didn't receive compensation for lands used for growing other crops," said U Zaw Lin.

According to locals, military officials from the ranks of captain to general as well as former government officials transferred from the military own those lands.

According to U Tin Min Naing, others who have acquired those lands are ex-ministers U Hla Tun, U Kyaw Kyaw Win, U Tin Naing Thein, U Thein Tun, U Kyaw Has, Major General Aung Than Htut, Attorney General U Aye Maung, Major General Ye Aung, Major General Ko Ko, Major General Kyaw Swe, Major General Kyaw Htay Win, Major General Htay Oo and current Labor Minister U Thein Swe.

"Farmers have not received compensation from U Soe Naing, U Maung Maung Swe, Major General Kyaw Htay Win, Major general Htay Oo, Captain Pyae Sone, Major General Ko Ko, Major General Kyaw Swe, former Home Affairs minister U Maung Oo and Major General Aung Than Htut," he said.

"Farmers want the land returned. They will only take compensation if they can't get the land back," he added.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Govt Refuses to Allow Shan Coalition to Hold Meeting in Taunggyi

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 05:14 AM PDT

MON STATE — The Myanmar government has denied the Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU) permission to hold a scheduled two-day meeting in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, Shan sources said.

The CSSU is a coalition of civil society organizations, political parties and two armed groups, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progressive Party. The organization holds periodic meetings as a forum for all ethnic Shan leaders to discuss politics, economic and social issues, security, and issues relating to land and the environment.

A director of the government's National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) informed the chairman of the CSSU yesterday by phone that the government would not allow the September meeting to proceed. The NRPC conducts peace negotiations with ethnic armed groups on behalf of the government.

"They would not give us permission for our meeting, but they did not give a reason. Why?," CSSU Chairman Sai Aik Pao said.

He said he was told the NRPC would send a letter soon explaining the decision.

The CSSU last week sent a letter to the NRPC requesting permission to hold the meeting. Planned for Sept. 3 and 4 in Taunggyi, the aim of the meeting was to support the peace process in the country, according to the coalition.

"We had already arranged a hotel for the meeting. We're really disappointed. We have no idea why they did not give us permission. We all are ethnic brothers," he said.

This is the second time the government has taken action to block a CSSU meeting. Thai authorities refused to allow a CSSU meeting to proceed in Chiang Mai last July after the Myanmar government objected to it.

Still smarting from the break-up of the meeting in Thailand, the CSSU leaders decided to hold an event in Taunggyi in September, expecting that the National League for Democracy-led government would consent to it.

The CSSU has only been given permission to hold one of the three meetings it has sought permission to hold since the NLD came to power. Sai Aik Pao said it was actually more difficult to deal with the current government than with the former government under U Thein Sein.

Many ethnic Shan leaders expressed disappointment at the decision. Some said the Myanmar government was using its power to suppress ethnic rights.

Sao Khun Sai, a political adviser to the RCSS based in Chiang Mai, said the Myanmar government gave out favors to certain groups and withheld them from others it did not like, including the Shan.

He said such actions by the government were at odds with its goal of achieving peace. He urged the government to treat all parties equally for the sake of unity.

The RCSS is a signatory to the government-brokered Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. Sao Khun Sai said that the group signed the agreement in the belief that the Myanmar government and army would not use armed force or state power to solve political conflicts.

However, in this case the Myanmar government had used its authority to prevent the CSSU from holding the meeting, he said. Rather than taking steps to encourage ethnic Shan to strengthen ties with the Union, it seems as if the government is trying to push ethnic Shan to secede from it, he said.

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State Counselor Tells Education Minister to Improve Library Access

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 05:04 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told the education minister to ensure that students always have access to libraries during a literature talk with 22 university students in Yangon on Tuesday afternoon.

This is the second literature talk she has held with university students this month. The first was in Mandalay on Aug. 11.

"Dr. Myo Thein Gyi," she said, addressing the education minister, "please make sure the libraries are not locked." She made the comment after students told her about how difficult it was for them to use libraries when they needed to, as the important books are often locked away.

The state counselor said the culture of using libraries for reading and research has been slowly fading in Myanmar's education system and in society. She said that people in Myanmar are full of enthusiasm about reading, but lack sufficient books to read. She cited her experience with the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, established in her mother's name. Since 2012, the foundation has created libraries and distributed books.

"Books are getting rare for the public to read, it is not that they have less appetite to read," she said, adding that everyone must participate to create an environment in which books for both children and adults are available. She said children should be nurtured to love reading from early childhood.

Since the National League for Democracy came to power, it has organized a number of literature discussions for adults and kids in most towns. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi added that the government had also opened mobile libraries in 11 townships so far.

The university students, whose majors included education, medicine, information technology, architecture, foreign languages and international relations, shared their thoughts on literature and how it had influenced their lives.

The state counselor encouraged the participants to develop their analytical and critical thinking skills.

Earlier this month she urged youth to read more literature and spend less time playing games on mobile phones.

Tuesday's talk was an active one, with the participants having arrived well prepared to discuss certain talking points.

Comparing the event with previous public talks held since 2017, a commenter wrote under a live stream of Tuesday's discussion that, "This discussion has been the best."

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been holding talks with different groups in various locations on a range of topics including peace, youth affairs, business and literature since January 2017. She held a business talk with various economic stakeholders in Naypyitaw on Aug. 27.

As this discussion concerned literature, thoughts on poetry, novels and the role of literature in Myanmar's education system dominated.

In her introductory remarks, the state counselor said the aim of holding such literary discussions is to develop "soft power" as a tool for changing minds and attitudes. She cited the influence of Korean dramas around the world — including in Myanmar — as an example of this type of soft power. She added that it was a discussion about soft power with the information minister that led her to organize the literature talk.

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Record Arrests in Drug Bust in Kyaukse Township

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 03:53 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Kyaukse police arrested 82 alleged drug users on Monday in a record high number of arrests for drugs in Kyaukse Township, Mandalay Region.

As part of 'Operation Eagle,' an anti-narcotic and anti-crime operation being carried out in Mandalay Region, police stormed Lattpan Village located about two miles north of Kyaukse, and arrested 74 men and 2 women, and seized a minivan and 43 motorcycles.

"We've arrested a total of 76 suspects from Lattpan village and 6 more from other areas in Kyaukse, together with some amount of drugs," said the duty officer of Kyaukse Township police office.

The police said the suspects who were found at Lattpan and Tho Tan villages had traveled there to use drugs and most of them are from Mandalay.

"Only twelve of them are from Kyaukse and the rest are from Mandalay. They are still being questioned and we will file a lawsuit against them under anti-narcotics law," said a police representative.

On Tuesday morning, police arrested a drug dealer with 2,000 yaba (methamphetamine) tablets and are currently searching for other related persons.

The seized drugs found as part of ‘Operation Eagle.'  / U Ko Ko Lwin / The Irrawaddy

"The arrest of all 83 is the highest record for Kyaukse Township so the small detention building in Kyaukse Township police station could not accommodate them," said the police officer. "We divided them into groups and sent them to police stations in Myittha, Sintgaing and Tada-U townships to keep them before we send them to Obo Prison to face the lawsuit from there."

According to the locals, Lattpan and Tho Tan villages are famous for their drug houses where users from nearby regions gather to use drugs. However, until now the police had not been able to take any action due to the risk of violence.

"Those villages are legendary for their drug houses where thugs are operating and nobody dares to approach the area. The police couldn't even approach them. There were attempts by police to storm into the area, however, they didn't arrest anyone because the news would usually get out and the drug dealers and users would run away before the police arrived," said U Ko Ko Lwin, a local member of political group 88 Generation Peace and Open Society.

He said there have been many police officers who took bribes from drug dealers and thugs and neglected addressing the drug abuses in the town.

However, movements in anti-corruption that have seen punishments for members of the Kyaukse police force who took bribes from timber smugglers have alarmed corrupt police officers.

"Thanks to President U Win Myint's instructions on anti-corruption and anti-narcotics, corruption among police officers seems to be reducing and [the police] are working more efficiently, especially on the anti-narcotics movement," said U Ko Ko Lwin.

"We hope drug abuse cases in our town will decline and soon completely vanish," he added.

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Restrictions on NGOs in Rohingya Camps Trouble Aid Workers

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 03:37 AM PDT

DHAKA — Reported restrictions imposed by the NGO Affairs Bureau on the operations of 41 non-governmental organizations working in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh upsets aid workers as they fear their work will be hindered without reason.

The list of NGOs was not made public but a few were listed in various dailies since Aug. 17, stating that their operations in Ukhiya and Teknaf were "banned."

NGO Affairs Bureau director-general KM Abdus Salam said the restricted 41 NGOs would be allowed to finish their ongoing projects.

"We will be strict with these NGOs when they apply for new projects," Salam said.

Abdus Salam declined to disclose the names of the NGOs or explain the reason for the restrictions.

Currently, 86 local and 36 international NGOs are implementing various projects along with 11 UN agencies at various Rohingya camps in Bangladesh.

Authorities in Cox's Bazar, however, said they only heard about the restrictions from newspapers and that they were in the dark.

Cox's Bazar deputy commissioner Kamal Hossain on Sunday said that he had heard about the ban from the media but that he had received no instructions regarding it.

"I do not know how or why the decision was made," said refugee relief and repatriation commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam, the lead officer coordinating refugee and Rohingya issues in Cox's Bazar.

According to media reports, the 41 NGOs were operating food, sanitation and health services in the camps, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are living in grim conditions.

On March 6, the NGO Affairs Bureau set a framework for the local and international aid organizations to bring "transparency and accountabilities" to their activities.

In the framework, the NGOs were asked to provide all information to the Cox's Bazar district administration and the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission regarding development activities, project implementation, funding and employees.

The bureau also asked the organizations to focus on humanitarian activities and to not work after dark unless providing medical or emergency services.

The instruction also forbade any NGO workers from becoming involved with anti-state, anti-government or anti-repatriation activities.

Help Cox's Bazar executive director Abul Kashem said, "We had been following all instructions as prescribed and are not involved with any kind of crime. I am shocked."

"I do not know why our name is listed. This is damaging for our local organization. We are currently implementing five projects," he added.

Dhaka Ahsania Mission management reported that it was also surprised to see its name in newspaper reports. It is still continuing operations while in communication with local administrative officials.

"We have received no letter or instruction from concerned authorities. We want to work as a development partner of the government," said Ahsania Mission spokesperson Saiful Islam.

The list was prepared by recommendations from an intelligence agency, NGO workers said.

In early 2018, 12 NGOs including Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Dhaka Ahsania Mission and the Teknaf-based Society for Health Extension and Development (SHED) were barred from operating in the camps.

"We have now been given clearance although we were not told the reason behind the restriction,' said SHED executive director Muhammad Umra.

An intelligence report by the district special branch of police in Cox's Bazar in June stated that many local and international NGOs and UN agencies were indirectly discouraging the Rohingya from returning to Myanmar.

"If there are specific allegations, they should be prosecuted independently. Otherwise, NGOs should not be restricted," said human rights activist Nur Khan Liton.

Amid the confusion, 46 local and international NGOs working in Rohingya camps in a joint statement on Monday called on the Bangladesh government to "widen humanitarian space to further enable operations of NGOs delivering life-saving assistance to refugees and their host communities."

The groups also urged the government to reduce delays in granting permission for humanitarian projects, in registering NGOs and in granting visas for humanitarian workers.

"We remain committed to work with the Government of Bangladesh and the rest of the humanitarian community in country. At the same time, following the will of refugees we assist, we urge the Government of Myanmar to create conditions for their safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable return," the joint statement read.

The post Restrictions on NGOs in Rohingya Camps Trouble Aid Workers appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lawmaker Resigns, Citing Lack of Trust in Regional Govt

Posted: 28 Aug 2018 01:43 AM PDT

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — An outspoken lawmaker of the Irrawaddy Region Parliament has handed in her resignation, citing her lack of trust in the regional legislature and government.

Daw Myint Myint San, who represents Wakema Township Constituency 2 in the regional Parliament, submitted her resignation through a third party, confirmed the speaker of the regional Parliament U Aung Kyaw Khaing.

"I heard that she is still performing her duties as a lawmaker despite her resignation. So, we've not yet decided what to do," the speaker told The Irrawaddy.

The lawmaker applied for leave and did not attend the entire 12th regular session of the regional legislature from July 25 to August 3, according to the candidacy scrutiny committee of the regional Parliament.

The Irrawaddy was unable to contact Daw Myint Myint San. U Aung Kyaw Khaing said he would ask her about her resignation when the parliamentary session resumes next month. But he did not mention what he would do if the lawmaker does not attend.

"She is an active and shrewd lawmaker," he praised.

According to parliamentary law and by-laws, a lawmaker can resign of her own volition.

"Daw Myint Myint San has served as a lawmaker since 2012 and she is an example to us. We don't want her to resign," Daw Ni Ni Moe, a lawmaker representing Nyaungdon Township Constituency (1), told The Irrawaddy.

Daw Myint Myint San was arrested by the military regime in 2009 due to her political activities. She spent nearly three years behind bars in Insein Jail in Yangon and Katha Jail in Kachin State.

After she was released from prison in 2011, she contested the by-election for the National League for Democracy party and won a seat in the Lower House of the national legislature to represent Irrawaddy Region's Wakema Township.

Daw Myint Myint San also served as a member of the ethnic affairs committee, and the judicial, legal affairs and government's guarantees, pledges and undertakings vetting committee of the regional Parliament.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Lawmaker Resigns, Citing Lack of Trust in Regional Govt appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘Scanning’ the Imagination of a Veteran Artist

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 11:15 PM PDT

YANGON — Artist Lynn Wunna's 10th solo exhibition showcases abstract paintings he says are the products of the depths of his imagination.

"It's a record of my constantly changing mind. I have read—or 'scanned'—my mind, so I named the exhibition 'Scanning,'" the artist said.

Lynn Wunna made his name with a series of paintings drawing on Myanmar's cultural traditions, so this exhibition is something of a departure and will give the viewing public a chance to see a different side of him.

The exhibition, which will be on display at OK Art Gallery through Wednesday, features over 50 abstract paintings and two installations.

"Shake It" and "White Cave", the two installations, represent peace of mind, spiritual purity and freedom, he said.

Born in 1973, Lynn Wunna studied under Bagyi Aung Soe, widely regarded as the father of modern art in Myanmar. He held his debut solo show more than 20 years ago.

The post 'Scanning' the Imagination of a Veteran Artist appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Experience an Aussie Dining ‘Sensation’ at Sule Shangri-La

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 10:25 PM PDT

YANGON — Sule Shangri-La is offering an "Australian Sensation" buffet prepared by Australian guest chef Mike Tafe of Mulwarra Export. The dinner buffet is available at their all-day dining venue, Café Sule, for one week only.

Modern Australia is a multicultural "melting pot" of influences and as such does not have a "traditional" cuisine of its own in the usual sense of the word.

Seafood counter. / Supplied

But in addition to indigenous ingredients and the familiar Anglo-Australian fare, the country's cooking now draws on its rich migrant history, which over the years has seen waves of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Dishes can be found featuring premium Australian beef, lamb, goat meat, veal, Wagyu beef, seafood, game meat, pork and specialty cheeses.

The "Australian Sensation" buffet offers diners a chance to savor a smorgasbord of these famous Australian premium ingredients, drawing on this multicultural background.

Seafood, beef, lamb, pork and vegetable dishes are served up grilled, fried, steamed and boiled, followed by a variety of desserts.

The opening night of the 'Australian Sensation' buffet at Cafe Sule, Sule Shangri-La. / Supplied

What I liked most about the buffet was the Mulwarra beef tenderloin; every bite of this medium-grilled steak was tender.

Another favorite was the roasted lamb leg. Some Myanmar people may find that lamb tastes and smells a bit too gamey, but in the hands of a chef as talented as Tafe this is not an issue; the pinkish meat was extremely tender.

Kitchen staff are on standby near the counter, ready to carve you a choice piece of roast lamb on request and serve it up with its own sauce.

Sushi and sashimi. / Supplied

Customers can choose the mashed potatoes or potato wedges to eat with the steak and roasted lamb leg—both were awesome.

Mulwarra grilled salmon was another really good choice.

The buffet costs US$39 net per person, including three dishes (all made from Australian Premium Products).

The last stop is the dessert counter. A wide range of desserts is on offer including cakes, crepes, pudding, ice cream, cookies and more. Don't forget to try at least one; Sule Shangri-La is famous for its desserts.

A wide range of desserts is available. / Supplied

The buffet is only available for dinner, from Aug. 24-30.

Mulwarra Export is Australia's leading supplier of premium Australian beef, lamb, veal, Wagyu beef, venison, seafood, game meat, charcuterie, poultry, goat meat, pork and specialty cheese to the international five-star hotel market. Chef Mike has traveled all over Southeast Asia, North Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and is known for making the best use of the very best of Australian products.

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Japan says North Korea Still Poses a Dire Threat to its Security

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 10:24 PM PDT

TOKYO—Japan said on Tuesday North Korea still posed a dire threat to its security despite a halt to ballistic missile tests and a pledge by leader Kim Jong Un to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

“North Korea’s military activities pose the most serious and pressing threat our nation has faced,” said an annual white paper published on Tuesday by Japan’s Ministry of Defense.

The document outlines security concerns about nuclear-armed North Korea, China’s growing military might and territorial ambitions, and Russia’s intent to rebuild its power that paint a picture of Japan surrounded by potential adversaries in East Asia.

The latest security assessment also comes after US President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled a planned fourth trip by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang this week as part of a fresh bid to push North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles following the unprecedented summit between Trump and Kim in Singapore in June.

Trump hailed his meeting with Kim as a success and agreed to halt joint military exercises with South Korea. The North Korean leader reiterated an earlier pledge to work towards removing nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula.

However, negotiations have since ground to a halt with Washington demanding tangible steps and Pyongyang asking for US concessions first.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said since the Singapore meeting that his country would not change its military stance towards its belligerent neighbor until it saw concrete, irreversible and verifiable steps towards disarmament.

“We need to keep a careful watch on North Korea to see what concrete action it takes to abandon its nuclear weapons and missiles,” the Japanese defense paper said.

It noted that North Korea had conducted three nuclear tests and fired 40 ballistic missiles since the start of 2016, some of which have passed over Japan.

North Korea has derided Abe’s government as a “cult” bent on derailing Pyongyang’s diplomatic outreach in recent state media comments. State-run newspapers, which once slammed Trump, have recently switched to praising the US leader.

Japan said last month it planned to buy two Aegis Ashore air defense radar tracking stations from the United States to bolster its defense against North Korean missiles. The equipment, which will be deployed along with interceptor missile batteries, could also be turned against any potential threat from China from 2023 onwards.

“As Chinese power grows, its military strength is rapidly burgeoning,” the white paper said.

The post Japan says North Korea Still Poses a Dire Threat to its Security appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mahathir Takes Aim at Country Garden’s Giant Development in Southern Malaysia

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 10:14 PM PDT

FOREST CITY/KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday declared that foreigners will not be granted visas to live in the giant Forest City real estate project on the country’s southern tip, a major threat to the marketing strategy for the development. It is not his first broadside against the plan by Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co to create a new city that was envisaged to eventually house 700,000 people on reclaimed land near Singapore, but it could be his most damaging. The company has been targeting foreigners more than Malaysians for sales of the apartments.

A top official at the project told Reuters last week that in the weeks immediately after 93-year-old Mahathir came back into power, through a shock election victory in May, demand for the apartments had weakened, and that the uncertainty remained a concern.

Mahathir’s latest comments are likely to exacerbate those concerns.

“One thing is certain, that city that is going to be built cannot be sold to foreigners,” Mahathir said at a news conference on Monday in Kuala Lumpur in response to a question from Reuters. “We are not going to give visas for people to come and live here.”

Mahathir, who was Malaysia’s leader from 1981-2003, said the government’s objection was “because it was built for foreigners, not built for Malaysians. Most Malaysians are unable to buy those flats.”

Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd, the joint venture between Country Garden and the Johor state government that is developing Forest City, said in a statement it is in touch with Mahathir’s office as it seeks clarification. It said it believed Mahathir’s comments “may have been taken out of context in certain media reports” as they do not correspond with the content of a meeting between the prime minister and Country Garden Holdings Chairman Yeung Kwok Keung.

In that meeting on August 16, Mahathir “reiterated that he welcomes foreign investments which could create employment opportunities, promote technology transfer and innovations that could benefit Malaysia’s economic growth and job creation,” Country Garden Pacificview said.

It also said that it has complied with all Malaysian laws and regulations concerning approvals to sell to foreign purchasers.

Shares in Hong Kong-listed Country Garden, which rose as much as 3.9 percent on Monday morning, trimmed their gains to 2.5 percent after Mahathir’s comments.

Country Garden Chinese buyers now make up about two-thirds of the owners of the Forest City apartments that have been sold so far, with 20 percent from Malaysia and the rest from 22 other countries including Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea.

Mahathir had capitalized on popular disquiet about Chinese investment pouring into Malaysia during his election campaign. He even suggested in a speech last December that he hoped Forest City would become an actual forest with baboons and monkeys as residents, according to local media reports.

Since becoming prime minister he has put the brakes on a number of China-backed projects, including the $20 billion East Coast Rail Link project and a natural gas pipeline project in Sabah. Plans for a high-speed rail link from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, which was expected to be a big boost to the Forest City project, have also been suspended.

“Ghost Town" Questions

Forest City’s sales have picked back up in recent weeks, and the developer has been seeking to change the project’s image. Country Garden is trying to make it appear more Malaysian and less Chinese, according to the official, Ng Zhu Hann, who is head of strategy for Country Garden Forest City.

Country Garden is also willing to acknowledge for the first time that if demand does falter it will have to slow down the building of the development. It is eventually intended to be a $100 billion city, with apartment blocks, houses, office towers, hotels and shopping centers on four man-made islands.

“If the demand is there, we will build. If it’s not there, we will slow down,” Ng said in an interview at the gleaming Phoenix Hotel, one of the finished new structures on the first of the reclaimed islands. “So there’s no worry of a ghost town, oversupply – If the demand is not there, we won’t be building.”

Mahathir’s victory is the second big threat that the development – which is a partnership between Country Garden and the Sultan of Johor – has faced in the past couple of years. Beijing’s moves to stem capital outflows imposed after the yuan plummeted in late 2016 hurt mainland Chinese demand for the apartments.

“Chinese Stigma"

Ng said what he called the “Chinese Stigma” is the biggest hurdle facing the project.

“What the Malaysian government does not want is a Chinese enterprise coming to Malaysia, taking government contracts, affecting the project opportunities of local developers, making the money and going back,” Ng said.

This has prompted a change in hiring strategy as Forest City seeks to recruit more Malaysians like Ng into senior management positions.

“My predecessor was a Chinese. In the past, our management had only one Malaysian, which was head of legal. This (my) position is usually held by a Chinese, but now I’m here,” said Ng, who is ethnic Chinese but from Malaysia.

Ng said that the political uncertainty had hurt investor sentiment.

“It’s not that people don’t want to invest, but people are now: ‘Let’s wait and see. What if they change their policy again?’ Political stability is one, policy stability is another.”

After Mahathir’s comments, Ng defended the local nature of the project.

"There are many Malaysians in this project," Ng told Reuters. "1,100 out of 1,545 of the total workforce are Malaysians.”

Skyscrapers Above Mangroves

At the end of a thirty-minute drive from the crossing from Singapore through palm oil plantations and jungle, the once sleepy town of Gelang Patah known for its mangroves and fishing villages now has a skyline of skyscrapers.

This futuristic development is only half of the first of four man-made islands envisioned for the development – only 2.7 square kilometers of the planned reclamation of 20 square kilometers.

Work to build more high rise residential towers, town houses and commercial buildings is continuing full steam, with dozens of heavy duty trucks carrying sand and materials while cranes dot a skyline that is growing taller and denser as high-rise apartments rapidly approach completion.

Forest City is barely inhabited, with only a handful of staff living at its service apartments and guests at its hotel.

But earlier this month, an international school opened its doors to the first 60 students – mostly from China and also from South Korea – to its 22-acre campus planted with “vertical gardens,” an Olympic-size pool and three yoga studios.

They will be knocking about the Shattuck St Mary’s school campus designed to accommodate 1,000 students as construction roars on in the backdrop.

Liang Ri Sheng, 44, who runs an electrical services company in Guangzhou, said he hopes Forest City will be the gateway for his son to an international life, riding on the strength of China’s Belt and Road regional infrastructure push.

“It will give both eastern and western exposure for my son. I think it’s good for my son’s growth and development,” Liang told Reuters. He was speaking before Mahathir’s latest remarks.

His family will be one of the first 482 to get the keys to their new homes by September.

Another buyer, Jackie Chan (not related to the actor of the same name), who bought an apartment in Forest City last year for around $140,000, said he hadn’t expected such a twist.

“When I bought it I was betting on long-term appreciation and didn't expect there would be such a policy risk. But I'm not aiming for their immigration visa so there's no impact for me. The investment amount is small so I'm just going to keep it as a vacation home,” said Chan, who lives in Hong Kong.

The post Mahathir Takes Aim at Country Garden’s Giant Development in Southern Malaysia appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rising Carbon Levels Threaten Diets of Hundreds of Millions of Poor

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 10:01 PM PDT

NEW YORK — Rising carbon emissions could make vital food crops from wheat to rice less nutritious and endanger the health of hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest, scientists said on Monday.

Certain staple crops grown in open fields with elevated carbon dioxide levels had up to 17 percent lower levels of protein, iron and zinc compared to those grown amid less of the gas, according to a study in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Global emissions of carbon dioxide, largely from fossil-fuel use, are at record highs and the primary cause of global average temperature rise, which countries are seeking to curb to avoid the most devastating effects.

Nearly 200 countries reached an agreement two years ago in Paris to curb emissions.

The research found that by 2050, nearly 300 million people could lack enough zinc or protein and 1.4 billion women and children will be vulnerable to iron deficiency – all linked to carbon emissions – fuelling the risk of disease and early death.

While carbon emissions and global warming disrupt food production through extreme weather such as drought and floods, these findings warn of a direct yet mostly invisible impact on people’s diets, said Matthew Smith, an author of the study. “It’s more hidden … most people wouldn’t necessarily notice if they lost 5 percent of iron or zinc from their wheat, but it could have broad ranging health effects,” said the research associate at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

The main theory behind the link is that carbon dioxide makes plants grow faster and create fewer micro-nutrients, he added.

By mid-century, areas at highest risk of growing less nutritious food are some of the world’s poorest – India, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia – which rely on grains most vulnerable to the effects of carbon, such as wheat and rice.

People with zinc deficiencies, especially children, can have impaired immune systems and are more susceptible to get and die from malaria and respiratory infections, Smith said.

Iron deficiency raises rates of maternal and newborn deaths and lowers cognitive abilities, while a lack of protein is linked to stunting, wasting and low birth weight, he said.

“Climate change is not good for health,” Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“It’s more evidence that something really needs to be done to reduce carbon emissions.”

Global energy-related carbon emissions rose to a record high of 32.5 gigatons last year, after three years of being flat, due to higher energy demand and the slowing of energy efficiency improvements, according to the International Energy Agency.

The post Rising Carbon Levels Threaten Diets of Hundreds of Millions of Poor appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 27 Aug 2018 07:03 PM PDT

Falling Walls Lab 2018

Entrepreneurs from various fields will present their ideas at this contest.

Sept.1, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Goethe-Institut Myanmar, corner of Kaba Aye Pagoda Road and Natmauk Street.

Jam It!

The most exquisite underground singers and bass players will perform with the band members of Kultureshock.

Aug. 31, 6:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Mr. Chan Music & Bar, Yu Za Na Garden Branch, Alan Pya Pagoda Street, Yuzana Garden Hotel. Tickets are 3,000 kyats.

Japan Culture House

There will be games and fun as the Japan Culture House celebrates its second anniversary.

Sept. 1-2, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Japan Culture House, Room 322B, 2nd Floor, Building C, Pearl Condo, Kaba Aye Pagoda Road. Free admission.

 

World Food Market

Foods from various parts of the world can be tasted.

Aug. 29, 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Novotel Hotel. Tel: 09-251185989.

Music Sensation

There will be music, games and interesting programs.

Aug. 31, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. The Beat Bar and Restaurant, corner of Bo Myat Tun Street and Merchant Street. Tel: 09-762671569.

Friday Wine Night

Free flow of wine, imported cheese, cold cuts buffet and more.

Aug. 31, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Thiripyitsaya Sky Bistro, 21st Floor, Sakura Tower. Tickets are 25,000 kyats per person. Tel: 01-255277.

Book Sale

Over 40 publishing houses will offer 20 to 40 percent discounts.

Sept. 1-9. Yangon Book Plaza, Thazay Market, Lanmadaw Township.

Southern Waves Art Exhibition

Thirty artists will showcase their works.

Aug. 29 – Sept. 2, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MAOC Art Gallery, No. 188 Bogyoke Market.

Wild Eye Contemporary Art Exhibition

Sept. 3-8, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. OK Art Gallery, Aung San Stadium (north wing).

Reproduction of Peace

More than a dozen artists will showcase their works in this exhibit.

Sept. 1- 3, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pasuriya Gallery, Bogalayzay Street.

The post Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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