Friday, October 5, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

‘Safe, Dignified and Sustainable Return’ of Refugees Not Yet Possible: UNHCR

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 07:17 AM PDT

YANGON–Despite government representatives citing Myanmar's readiness to take back Rohingya refugees at the recent UN General Assembly in New York, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ spokesman Andrej Mahecic mentioned in a statement on Friday that current conditions in northern Rakhine State’s strife-torn Maungdaw District are “not conducive for safe, dignified and sustainable return” of Rohingya refugees currently in neighboring Bangladesh.

This UN agency's statement came after an informal discussion between Myanmar and Bangladesh facilitated by the Chinese foreign affairs minister Wang Yi on the sideline of the General Assembly. The meeting focused on creating a roadmap and timetable for the repatriation of the Rohingya people and implementing the repatriation of the first batch of refugees as soon as possible. After the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)—formerly known as Al-Yaqin (Faith Movement)—sabotaged several dozen government border outposts, Myanmar Army’s counter-operations caused nearly 700,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district.

The UN Fact-Finding Mission labeled the actions of the military during Rohingya crisis as having "genocidal intent" and called for the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw), Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, to be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court for his role in the handling of the Rohingya crisis. The EU recently imposed targeted sanctions against a number of Tatmadaw generals and is currently considering imposing trade sanctions on Myanmar over the crisis. Social welfare minister U Win Myat Aye, a key person in de-facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine, participated the UN General Assembly in New York but could not be reached for comment for this article on Friday.

The UNHCR issued two statements today relating to the recent deportation of seven Rohingya from India and explaining its very first on-ground assessments which were completed a few weeks ago. The UN refugee agency’s officials stated that they noted the efforts of authorities to facilitate initial assessment although agencies were limited in scope and in the locations visited. According to the official, the team has learned the serious effects of the communities, including on the local economy and diminishing livelihoods, which significantly increases the vulnerability of the community.

In Maungdaw post-conflict, the situation remains difficult with restrictions to travel, access to livelihoods and basic services. Residents from different communities that spoke with the UN assessment team expressed that sometimes they felt restricted because of their safety concerns and fears of neighboring communities. Particularly, Muslim communities are not allowed to move freely there. The statement also mentioned that mistrust between different groups also impacts access to education, health and other basic services.

"It also limits interactions between communities, hindering prospects for confidence-building and social cohesion,” Andrej Mahecic was quoted in the statement.

Residents from Muslim, Arakanese and non-Muslim groups, when asked by the assessment team, expressed their hope for peace in Rakhine and willingness to incrementally restore relations. The statement says that confidence-building and improving conditions will be essential to bring people together, to alleviate poverty, to oversee health and education disparities alongside making tangible progress to address root causes. The agency hopes that their assessments also help to identify community initiatives which could assist government efforts to improve the lives of conflict suffered communities, trust-building and social cohesion.

The refugee agency spokesperson added that his agency looks to have effective access and rapid expansions of assessments to all areas in Rakhine covered by the tri-parties Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). As of this morning, UNHCR and UNDP teams have been traveling in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung for their second phase of assessments after gaining travel permissions from local authorities.

Although the UN agencies partly unveiled their firsthand accounts in the statement, it did not explain the condition of physical arrangements made by the government in Maungdaw for the implementation of “model villages for returnees” or village plans for a long-term solution for the returnees. It’s unclear whether the authorities and UN agencies had talks on these issues.

Maungdaw District administrative official U Ye Htoo told The Irrawaddy early this week that they are working on two projects: building modest houses for the refugees and a new model village plan. The structures are being built in 19 locations for Rohingya and some non-Muslim groups and the government has 12 prioritized sites for new model villages with each village expected to include a market, school, public park and clinic.

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China Taking Active Steps to Counter Western Influence in Myanmar: U.S. Report

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 07:04 AM PDT

YANGON—A recent U.S. report portrays China as seeking privileged access and influence inside Myanmar in order to further its geostrategic interests, while taking steps to counter the influence of Western countries—particularly the U.S.—especially along the China-Myanmar border.

In its report "China's Role in Myanmar's Internal Conflicts", the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) mentions that a Chinese ambassador to Myanmar told his U.S. counterpart not to go to conflict-torn northern and eastern Myanmar, where China wields influence over ethnic armed organizations (EAOs).

"In early 2016, for instance, the newly arrived PRC ambassador repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) urged the US ambassador not to travel to Kachin or eastern parts of Shan states because the United States 'should respect China's interests,'" the report says.

It interpreted the statement as implying that "China deserved to have predominant presence and influence in these areas, if not elsewhere in Myanmar, regardless of the wishes or interests of Myanmar, let alone the interests of other countries."

When asked for comment, U.S. Embassy spokesperson Aryani Manring told The Irrawaddy that "U.S. ambassadors are accredited to the entire country, and regularly travel to all parts of the country.‎"

She did not deny the existence of the statement cited in the report, however; nor would she identify the U.S. ambassador to whom it was addressed.

However, the ambassador in question is likely Derek Mitchell, who was posted in Myanmar until March 2016 and was the predecessor to current U.S. Ambassador Scot Marciel. Mitchell, formerly one of the U.S.'s most senior diplomats, also co-chairs USIP's China-Myanmar Senior Study Group. Meanwhile, the "newly arrived PRC ambassador" may be Hong Liang, who has been Beijing's envoy to Myanmar since July 2015.

The Chinese Embassy in Yangon didn't respond to The Irrawaddy's request for comment on Thursday.

The preface of the USIP report highlights the importance of Myanmar's position at the crossroads of South and East Asia, and its coastline stretching along the Bay of Bengal. "Myanmar's location makes the country a unique case, particularly in regard to U.S.-China cooperation," it says. "It's well known that China harbors a singular sensitivity to Western activity along its extensive border."

In 2012, Mitchell became the first U.S. ambassador posted to Myanmar after two decades of low-level bilateral relations. Five months after his arrival in Yangon, he made his first official trip to Kachin State, where fighting between government troops and the ethnic Kachin Independence Army (KIA) was raging, to learn how the U.S. might help refugees there.

He would make at least two more trips to the state, which shares a border with China.

Then-U.S. Ambassador Derek Mitchell visits Kachin State in December 2012.

On the other hand, with several clear strategic interests in Myanmar—ranging from stability on its shared border to access to the Indian Ocean to a wide variety of economic interests—Beijing has been playing a key role in Naypyitaw's internal security affairs and in peace negotiations with ethnic armed groups. It has both a direct and indirect influence on the dynamics of conflict and peace in northern Myanmar. Beijing supports the Myanmar government and its peace process, but at the same time provides shelter, weapons, and other assistance to some of the ethnic armed organizations, according to the USIP report.

Until recently, China had been worried about a possible deterioration in relations with Myanmar under the government led by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, given her longstanding ties to the West. This concern has eased of late, however, as Western governments become increasingly critical of her silence on the Rohingya crisis, while China has shielded Myanmar from international condemnation over the issue at the U.N.

Despite the ongoing peace process initiated by the previous government, several ethnic armed groups including the KIA, the United Wa State Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) have refused to joined the government's Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). Most of the non-signatories are from the northern border with China, in particular Kachin and northern Shan states.

Chinese Special Envoy Sun Guo-xiang has urged the EAOs to attend the government's peace conferences, including groups still engaged in fighting with the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) and who oppose the NCA. In May 2017 and July this year, Sun flew members of non-signatory groups from Kunming, China to Naypyitaw on a chartered Chinese plane. Many representatives of the EAOs said they attended solely because China pressured them to do so, according to the USIP report.

Chinese Special Envoy Sun Guoxiang attends the Panglong Peace Conference along with other international diplomats in Naypyitaw on July 11, 2018. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

To secure its interests, China is attempting to apply pressure not on the U.S. but on the EAOs.

Brigadier-General Tar Bone Kyaw, the general secretary of the TNLA, a non-signatory to the NCA, said the group had held frequent meetings with Sun. During the meetings, he said, the Chinese special envoy stressed border stability and Myanmar's importance to the success of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, while discouraging ethnic armed groups from putting much hope in the West's involvement in the peace process.

"He pressured us to have nothing to do with the West if possible. He urged us to join Panglong [the government's ongoing peace conference] in a positive manner and get along with the government as best as we can," Brig-Gen. Tar Bone Kyaw said.

Myanmar's peace process also receives support from the wider international community, however. The Joint Peace Fund (JPF), set up by mainly Western donors including the U.S. to support peace in Myanmar, takes a holistic approach, supporting a broad range of stakeholders and projects at all levels of society. These donors have collectively pledged just over USD100 million to be disbursed through 2021.

While Chinese involvement in Myanmar's peace process has focused on border stability, as well as economic and geostrategic interests, the U.S.'s approach seems more holistic with a focus on humanitarian aid, and nationwide peace building based on a culture of dialogue aimed at an inclusive, sustainable end to armed conflict.

According to a U.S. Embassy statement issued in November last year, Washington has provided over USD60 million since 2012 to deepen and sustain reform, and to foster legitimate and inclusive peace building nationally, including support to diverse civil society groups. Ambassador Marciel has visited Kachin State at least twice, most recently in February this year to meet war victims and civil society organizations as part of the U.S. support for the peace process, according to media reports at the time.

The USIP report recommends the U.S. government encourage Beijing to be more transparent about its peace strategy and engagement with various players, including the EAOs along its border.

"In the process, China should avoid any actions or policies that obstruct or inhibit furtherance of peace inside Myanmar due to narrow consideration of its own national interests," it said.

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Govt, Military Relations ‘Good’: Govt Spokesman

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 06:37 AM PDT

YANGON — A spokesman for the President’s Office said the government and military were on good terms, citing a forthcoming meeting between State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and selected leaders of the country's ethnic armed organizations (EAOs).

Calling the meeting a “retreat” during a press conference on Friday, U Zaw Htay said the military chief's participation was a clear sign that the military’s relations with the government were positive.

"Why would he be there if the relationship was not good?" he said.

The five-day meeting set to start on Oct. 15 in Poppa, a part of Mandalay Region famous for its lush green flora and dormant volcano, is a chance for the three sides to try and settle disagreements that have lately stalled the country’s peace process.

It will be the first time the top leaders of the government, military and EAOs will have sat at one table since the peace process was launched in 2011 under then-President Thein Sein.

U Zaw Htay said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing have had prior private meetings to discuss issues ranging from the International Criminal Court to the Rohingya crisis even though no press statements were issued.

"Apart from the ‘four eyes meetings,'” he said, referring to the pair’s private talks, “there were also discussions with the president and group meetings."

The spokesman’s news of the unannounced meetings was a revelation. The last publicized meeting between the state counselor and military chief was in June to discuss the Rohingya crisis and was attended by 13 other military officers.

Before that, the two met three times in 2015 and 2016. Those meeting were made public.

In Myanmar, where the military plays a powerful role in politics, relations between the military chief and the country's de facto leader are something of a political barometer for observers at home and abroad. In the wake of the international condemnation of the army for its late-2017 crackdown in northern Rakhine State, speculation mounted that the relationship had soured.

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Rising Burmese Talent: Singer-Songwriter Youn Ni Ko

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 06:30 AM PDT

YANGON—Youn Ni Ko, fresh talent in the Myanmar music scene, is already turning heads, reveling in plenty of praise and love after the online release of her new song called "B" which fuses old school and modern hip-hop with electronic music. Her next move? Sharing stage space and the limelight with Myanmar's most famous music talent later this month.

"B," though only recently unleashed on her official Facebook page has quickly racked up 4,100 reactions, 119,000 views and over 2,000 shares.

The once little-known young singer had previously released a few songs but didn't receive much notice for her talent until she began putting herself out there, performing a series of small gigs and underground concerts in Yangon.

Following the giant leap into fame and success brought about by her latest track, she has a scheduled performance on the same stage as Myanmar's most sensational local hip-hop artists including J Me, Yan Yan Chan, G Tone and others, on Oct. 24.

So who is Youn Ni Ko?

Youn Ni Ko was born in Yangon 21 years ago and her family moved to Cyprus when she was one year old. She grew up and studied in Cyprus before moving back to Yangon three years ago.

"We moved Cyprus for my father's work and I lived there about 17 years. Now my family has moved back to Myanmar and yes, now I'm here," said Youn Ni Ko, who has long black hair, multiple piercings and lots of small tattoos on both hands.

The 21-year-old talent is a newbie in the Myanmar music industry, but a glamorous rising star who is already well-known among Youtube's Burmese audience with her song "B."

It all started out when, on her 13th birthday, she got a guitar as a gift from her dad's friend and promised, "One day, I going to play this guitar and sing my own song."

And so her music journey began.

"I had been into music before but the present made me sure I wanted to make music."

She learned to play guitar using Youtube videos and wrote her first song "Boy" on a visit to Yangon.

"I don't remember my exact age; maybe I was around 16 or 17. When I was on a visit to Myanmar, I missed the one who I had left in Cyprus and wrote 'Boy' for him," she said.

"Boy" is a pretty, indie love song with English lyrics. All of her songs are in English, exact "B" which has both Burmese and English lyrics.

"I can't read or write Burmese because I didn't have a chance to learn it as I studied in Cyprus and spoke Burmese at home only. I can speak Burmese, but not very well. That's why most of my songs are in English," Youn Ni Ko said.

Now she is learning Burmese from the basics, aiming to be able to write songs in Burmese in the future.

"I also want to sing songs in Burmese. I'm learning now. I believe I can create a really good Burmese song if I can write the language so I'll keep trying," she said.

All music and lyrics are her own creations.

"When I lived in Cyprus, I didn't have a chance to make music because I had to study. I just covered some songs and uploaded them on my YouTube channel. After coming to Yangon, my mind was messed up and upset almost all the time and those feelings came out in songs," she said.

When she moved back to Yangon, she experienced a big culture shock and found it difficult to communicate with people.

"As you know, the culture is different. People are honest but hard to communicate with. I don't mean everyone but I didn't have friends and wasn't close with my relatives, so those days were hard for me but I'm ok now. I'm used to Burmese culture now and made many friends from this music industry. I don't want to go back to Cyprus," she said.

She released about seven tracks on YouTube and Facebook in recent years and the song genres are not always the same.

"I don't want to label my music because people will judge it wrongly. I want to make a new fusion music style. My favorite genres are hip-hop and R&B but it depends on my mood," she said.

Explaining why she still hasn't made an album she said, "I have six or seven songs and want to make more. I am waiting for the right timing and a good producer to re-produce my songs. But I will release my EP at the end of this year or the beginning of 2019."

Before releasing her EP, she said she will promote herself on social media to let everyone know who she is.

"If many people don't know me, releasing an album is a waste. No one would buy my songs," she said.

Youn Ni Ko said she doesn't need much time to finish a song if she concentrates on the project.

"If I really want to make music, it won't take too long to finish a song. Sometimes my mind blows away and finishing music takes more time," she said.

She added that, "I'm not in a rush with music, I want to find out what my music taste is and I'm still in the experimental stage."

For example, when she starts out making a pop song the result might come out more R&B. Everything depends on her mood, she said.

"Even though the target and result are different, I still love the final result. That's why I make the music with my emotions and moods," she added.

Myanmar doesn't have too many girls in the hip-hop music industry and most people look down on girls who make street style music. Youn Ni Ko also had those problems at the beginning.

She said, "Hip-hop and rap don't have to be male-only. Girls can do it as well. I do whatever I want and I want to show how strong women can be. That's my main thing, that's my goal."

Even when you do good things, there are people who don't like you and will talk badly about you so do whatever you want, she said.

Currently, she is working at a music management agency called '360beatz' so music is always involved in her daily life.

"Today, the music scene in Myanmar is kind of left behind but we can't blame anyone for that. The country right now is progressing and the new generations are trying out new stuff. I feel like they have potential. Attacking each other is a waste of time and improving together is better."

Mainstream musicians are doing a good job as well, she said, but she wants to collaborate with musicians from the underground music scene because they have more potential, so much talent and passion for their music.

She will make her music as best she can and wants to reach both international and local audiences with her creations.

"I have a vision that I know I will make it someday. That's why I'm not in a rush—because I believe in myself. I try really hard and I'm not saying that I'm over-confident, but I know there's something inside me and I have the passion," she said.

Watch two performances of Youn Ni Ko's songs, "In-Denial" and "Boy," videoed live during her interview with The Irrawaddy below.

 

The post Rising Burmese Talent: Singer-Songwriter Youn Ni Ko appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

TIMELINE: Eight Decades of Myanmar-Japan Relations at a Glance

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 06:07 AM PDT

Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi left Myanmar for Japan on Friday. It is her third visit to the Land of the Rising Sun since 2013. Prior to that she had not visited the country since her sojourn at Kyoto University as a researcher in 1985-86. This year marks the 64th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Myanmar and Japan. But the two countries' modern relations can be traced back further, to the arrival of Japanese military officer Colonel Keiji Suzuki in Rangoon in 1940. The colonel met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's father, Myanmar independence hero General Aung San, who with 29 other youths would receive military training by the Japanese on Hainan Island in 1941 with the aim of overthrowing British rule in Burma. Fast-forward more than seven decades; Japan is one of the countries that has assisted Myanmar most consistently in nearly every sector from development to health to education since it achieved independence in 1948, and the countries continue to maintain warm relations. Here is The Irrawaddy's timeline of the key events that have shaped bilateral relations for the past 78 years.

1940

 

Col. Keiji Suzuki / Public Domain

May: Colonel Keiji Suzuki arrives in Rangoon on a mission that will ultimately lay the groundwork for the Japanese occupation of Burma.

November: Aung San meets Col. Suzuki in Tokyo to request Japanese support for Burmese independence.

1941

Some of the Thirty Comrades: Front row, from left to right: Bo Zeya, Bo Aung, Nagai, Bo Teza, Bo Moegyo, Bo Ne Win and Bo La Yaung / Public Domain

February: Aung San returns to Burma to recruit the Thirty Comrades, with an offer of arms and financial support from the Fumimaro Konoe government of Japan. He returns briefly to Japan to receive more military training, accompanied by the first batch of young revolutionaries, who come to be known as the Thirty Comrades.

Aung San (right) and his colleagues during military training in Japan / Public Domain

Mid-year: Minami Kikan begins training the Thirty Comrades on Hainan Island.

Dec. 8: The Burma Independence Army (BIA) is formally established in Bangkok, headed by General Aung San.

1942 

January: Japanese forces capture Kawthaung, Tavoy, Mergui and Moulmein, assisted by the BIA. Rangoon falls in March. Mandalay and Lashio are captured and the Burma Road is cut. The British end the Burma Campaign.

June: Japan establishes the provisional Burmese government with Dr. Ba Maw as chancellor. The BIA is dissolved and replaced by the Burma Defense Army (BDA), headed by General Aung San.

1943

 Aug. 1: Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo declares Burma's "independence" within the greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

1944

August: General Aung San establishes the Anti-Fascist Organization. It is later transformed into a united front, including communists and socialists, and renamed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL).

1945

March 27: General Aung San leads the Burma National Army in an uprising against the Japanese, accompanied by the British. The day is recognized as Revolutionary Day, and later as Armed Forces Day.

Aug. 15: Japan surrenders. The British-run Civil Affairs Service (Burma) rules the country.

1947

July 19: Gen. Aung San, six of his cabinet ministers, a cabinet secretary and a bodyguard are assassinated by his political rival U Saw.

1948

Jan. 4: The Union of Burma achieves independence from British colonial rule. U Nu becomes the first prime minister of Burma under the provisions of the 1947 Constitution of the Union of Burma.

1954

Nov. 4: Two years after the end of the Allied occupation of Japan, the Union of Burma and Japan sign a peace treaty and reach agreement on war reparations of USD250 million.

Nov. 5: Diplomatic relations between Burma and Japan are established after the signing of the peace treaty between the two countries.

1960

March: The first phase of the Baluchaung hydropower project in Kayah State is completed; the project is funded through the Japanese government's Official Development Assistance (ODA) program.

1962

March 2: General Ne Win overthrows the U Nu government in a coup d'etat. The Revolutionary Council is established and presides over the launch of a state socialist economy.

1963

March 30: Japan and Burma sign the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation and Protocol, addressing Burma's claim to additional reparations. The agreement comes into force after the two sides resolve a conflict over the payment of pure reparations.

1965-77

Japan pays additional war reparations to Burma totaling USD140 million.

 1966

 Chairman of the Revolutionary Council Gen. Ne Win visits Japan, meeting with Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Eisaku Sato. The meeting focuses on Japan's future support for the agricultural sector in Burma. Gen. Ne Win and Sato declare the 1963 agreement a success and hail its contribution to Burma's development.

1967

Sept. 20-22: Prime Minister Sato visits Myanmar at the invitation of Gen. Ne Win.

1970

April: Gen. Ne Win makes his second visit to Prime Minister Sato in Tokyo. They agreed to promote trade and technical cooperation.

1973

November: Gen. Ne Win makes his third visit to Japan. He requests bilateral assistance, as well as Tokyo's support in securing assistance from international financial institutions including the World Bank, the Asia Development Bank (ADB) and major donors. After policy changes in the early 1970s, Burma-Japan relations are quite active with frequent exchanges of visits by officials, business leaders and technical experts on development projects.

1974

Burma joins the ADB, in which Japan is the largest shareholder.

1981

Gen. Ne Win's government awards Burma's highest military honor to seven Japanese for their sacrifices and work on behalf of the country.

1985-1986

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi works as a researcher at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University.

1988

April: Burmese Deputy Prime Minister U Tin Tun meets the Japanese prime minister and finance minister in Tokyo.

March-early September: The 8888 pro-democracy protests erupt in Rangoon and other cities. Also known as the 8-8-88 Uprising, the protests aim to oust the dictatorship of Gen. Ne Win and climax on Aug. 8 1988.

Sept. 13: Tokyo announces an ODA "freeze" due to "political instability."

Sept. 18: The Burmese military stages a coup d'etat. General Saw Maung becomes the leader of the country and a new government, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), is announced.

Sept. 28: Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Ohtaka states that resumption of ODA flows will depend on political stabilization.

1989

Jan. 4: Along with other diplomats, Ambassador Ohtaka boycotts SLORC's Independence Day celebrations.

Feb. 25: Japan formally recognizes SLORC. Some committed ODA funds are released.

July 20: The military places Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.

1989-1990

The sale of part of the grounds of the Burmese Embassy in Tokyo provides SLORC with about USD435 million in much-needed hard currency.

1990

May 27: General elections are held in Myanmar. They are the first multi-party elections since the military dictatorship began in 1960. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) wins the election in a landslide, but the military junta refuses to recognize the results.

Aug. 30: Watanabe Michio, a leading member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, visits Yangon and urges Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release during a meeting with Myanmar authorities.

November: Ogata Sadako, a Japanese diplomat serving as the UN's independent expert on the human rights situation in Myanmar, visits Yangon to inspect the rights situation. An anti-Japanese campaign begins in the state-run media.

1990-2000

Japan extends debt-relief grants to Myanmar totaling USD544 million.

1991

October: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Japanese government urges her release from house arrest.

June: General Khin Nyunt, Secretary 1 of the SLORC, visits Japan.

1995 

July 10: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house arrest.

October: Japan announces a grant of 1.6 billion yen for the renovation of the Rangoon Nursing Institute. 

1996

Direct flights between Rangoon and Kansai Airport near Osaka begin after All Nippon Airways petitions the Japanese government to open the route.

1998

Feb. 28: The Japanese government formally announces 2.5 billion yen in loans for the modernization of Rangoon airport, classified as humanitarian aid.

1997

 "Letters from Burma", a book of essays by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is published in 1997. The book is published in English and Japanese. The essays are published serially in the Monday morning editions of the Japanese newspapers Mainichi Shimbun and Mainichi Daily News from Nov. 27, 1995 to Dec. 9, 1996.

April: The Japanese government formally announces 3.5 billion yen in ODA loans for the repair of the Baluchaung hydroelectric plant following the opening of dialogue between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the SLORC.

2002

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi visits Myanmar.

2003

May 30: Foreign Minister Kawaguchi expresses disappointment over an incident in which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters are attacked by state-sponsored thugs near Depayin.

January: Japanese Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Tetsuro Yano visits Myanmar.

Then Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt (right) meets his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo on Dec. 11, 2003. / REUTERS

December: Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt visits Japan.

Then pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi talks to reporters after meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba (right) at her home in Yangon on Dec. 26. / REUTERS

December: Minister for Foreign Affairs U Win Aung visits Japan.

 2004

June: Japan provides human resource development scholarships worth about USD4.86 million.

July: Tokyo announces an ODA grant of USD3.15 billion to fund a reforestation project in central Myanmar. To date, Tokyo has provided nearly 30 small ODA grants to non-governmental organizations for various operations in Myanmar.

Nov. 5: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi holds a summit meeting with Myanmar Prime Minister Senior-General Than Shwe. Koizumi states his expectation that efforts toward democratization would continue, while noting the role of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Nov. 23-24: The Workshop on Japan-Myanmar Cooperation for Structural Adjustment of the Myanmar Economy is held in Yangon. It is cosponsored by the government of Japan and the government of Myanmar.

2005

May: Minister for Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win visits Japan.

2007

Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai is shot dead in downtown Yangon as soldiers open fire on Saffron Revolution demonstrators.

2008

January: Minister for Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win visits Japan.

May: Japanese Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Hitoshi Kimura visits Myanmar.

2009

November: Prime Minister U Thein Sein visits Japan.

2010

January: Minister for Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win visits Japan.

2011

January: The Japanese-backed Thilawa Special Economic Zone is announced. Located south of Yangon, the project has an estimated cost of USD3.28 billion.

June: Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Makiko Kikuta visits Myanmar (Yangon and Naypyitaw) and exchanges views with both government officials and leaders of the pro-democracy movement including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

October: Minister for Foreign Affairs U Wunna Maung Lwin visits Japan.

Nov. 18: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda holds a meeting with President Thein Sein in Bali, Indonesia, on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit. The bilateral meeting marked the first summit talks between the two countries since the transfer of power to a civilian government in Myanmar.

Dec. 25: Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba visits Myanmar. It is the first visit by a Japanese foreign minister in nine years.

Dec. 26: Gemba holds a morning meeting with President Thein Sein in Naypyitaw to discuss Myanmar's democratization and national reconciliation process. That evening, he meets with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss future free and fair elections, conditions attached to the NLD's political activities, and the release of more political prisoners.

2012

January: Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano meets with NLD chair Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at her home in Yangon.

March: At the invitation of the Myanmar government, Japan dispatches three electoral monitors from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japanese Embassy to observe the legislative by-election in Myanmar scheduled for Sunday, April 1. The Japanese government announces that it expects the by-election to be held freely and fairly.

April: President Thein Sein visits Japan. Tokyo extends grant aid for two projects in Myanmar of up to 583 million yen and 251 million yen, respectively.

May: Upper House Speaker U Khin Aung Myint visits Japan.

July: Minister for Foreign Affairs U Wunna Maung Lwin visits Japan and meets with Foreign Minister Gemba.

Nov. 19: Japanese Prime Minister Noda meets with President Thein Sein in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during an ASEAN summit.

Nov. 21: Japan supplies emergency relief goods (blankets, sleeping pads, plastic sheets and generators) worth 10 million yen (around USD125,000) to Myanmar through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in response to an earthquake in Myanmar.

 2013

January: Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso visits Myanmar

February: A Japan-Myanmar Human Rights dialogue is held in Naypyitaw.

April: NLD chairperson Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visits Japan for the first time in 27 years.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (center) and his wife Akie stand with their delegation as they pay homage at the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon on May 25, 2013. / REUTERS

May: Shinzo Abe makes the first official visit to Myanmar by a Japanese prime minister in 36 years. During the visit leaders agree to further promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Japan pledges USD5.7 billion in loans.

November: Lower House Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann visits Japan.

December: President Thein Sein visits Japan to attend the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting. Prime Minister Abe promises that both the public and private sectors in Japan will support Myanmar in its efforts at reform of various kinds.

2014

March: Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida visits Myanmar.

May: The second Japan-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue is held in Naypyitaw.

The two countries exchange views on the human rights situation including the release of prisoners of conscience, freedom of opinion and expression, democratic transition and establishing the rule of law, the 2015 elections, the activities of the National Human Rights Commission and peace negotiations.

August: Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida visits Myanmar to attend an ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

November: Japanese Prime Minister Abe visits Myanmar to attend an ASEAN summit.

2015

July: President U Thein Sein visits Japan.

Then-President Thein Sein (right) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) prior to their talks at the Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo on July 4, 2015. / REUTERS

September: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso visits Myanmar.

October: The Yangon Stock Exchange opens at the former Central Bank of Myanmar and Myawaddy Bank headquarters in Yangon. (Two Japanese firms, Daiwa Institute of Research—the research arm of Daiwa Securities Group—and Japan Exchange Group, established a joint venture with state-owned Myanmar Economic Bank to set up the exchange in December 2014.)

November: The NLD wins the general election in a landslide on Nov. 8. Two weeks later, U Nyan Win, party spokesman and Central Executive Committee member, visits Japan and meets with Foreign Minister Kishida. Japan seeks to exchange opinions with the NLD in order to support democratization and development in Myanmar and strengthen bilateral relations.

2016

 January: Minister for Foreign Affairs U Wunna Maung Lwin visits Japan to attend a Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

 May: Foreign Minister Kishida visits Myanmar to show support for the newly elected government, whose de facto leader is State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

June: The ADB announces it will lend Myanmar about USD1.75 billion in low-interest loans from 2017 over five years to improve infrastructure, education and rural development.

September: State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi meets with Japanese Prime Minister Abe in Laos during an ASEAN summit.

Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (center), accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, reviews a guard of honor before their meeting at the State Guesthouse in Tokyo on Nov. 2, 2016. / REUTERS

Nov. 1-5: State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi makes an official visit to Japan. Prime Minister Abe pledges a loan provision of up to 10.787 billion yen for the Hydropower Plants Rehabilitation Project. He also announces an 800-billion-yen (USD7.7 billion) aid, loans and investment package to promote development and reconciliation in Myanmar.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake hands after a joint press announcement following summit talks at the Akasaka State Guesthouse in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 2, 2016. / REUTERS

2017

September: Iwao Horii, Japan's parliamentary vice minister for foreign affairs, visits Myanmar to exchange views regarding the situation in northern Rakhine State.

Japan extends emergency grant aid of USD4 million through international agencies to assist those in Myanmar and Bangladesh affected by the Rohingya crisis.

Nov. 14: Japanese Prime Minister Abe meets with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during a visit to the Philippines to attend an ASEAN summit.

Nov. 20: Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Defense Services of Myanmar, meets with Kazuyuki Nakane, Japan's state minister for foreign affairs, in Naypyitaw during the ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

Dec. 14: President Htin Kyaw meets with Japanese Prime Minister Abe during a visit to Japan.

2018

Jan. 12: Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono meets with State Counselor Daw Aung Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw. During his trip he also meets Myanmar military chief Sen-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.

Japan extends Emergency Grant Aid of 330 million yen (USD3 million) to Myanmar to assist displaced persons returning to Myanmar from Bangladesh, in accordance with a repatriation agreement signed on Nov. 23, 2017 by Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Jan. 13: Japanese Foreign Minister Kono visits Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State. He is accompanied by Prof. Dr. Win Myat Aye, Union minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, and Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu.

March 23: Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister Iwao Horii holds a series of meetings in Naypyitaw with military chief Sen-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing; Kyaw Tint Swe, Union minister for the Office of the State Counselor; and Soe Aung, deputy Union minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement. The meetings emphasize the importance of steady implementation of the safe, voluntary and dignified return of displaced persons, the easing of tensions and the promotion of reconciliation between the communities in Rakhine State.

May 28: State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi talks by telephone with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono to discuss the situation in Rakhine State.

July 30: Myanmar establishes a commission of inquiry to probe allegations of human rights abuses in conflict-torn Rakhine State. The President's Office names four people to serve on the commission, include two international experts: Philippine diplomat Rosario Manalo and former Japanese Ambassador to the UN Kenzo Oshima.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono hold talks in Naypyitaw on Aug. 6., 2018. / State Counselor's Office

Aug. 6: Japanese Foreign Minister Kono visits Myanmar. He meets with President U Win Myint and holds a joint press conference with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. He also meets military chief Sen-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin and Union Minister for the Office of the State Counselor Kyaw Tint Swe in Naypyitaw.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi appears at Naypyitaw airport prior to traveling to Tokyo for the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit on Oct. 5, 2018. / State Counselor's Office

Oct. 5-9: State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visits Japan to attend the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit.

Sources: "Burma and Japan since 1940" by Donald Seekins; the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Japan-Myanmar Relations archive; "Myanmar-Japan Relations (1962-74)" by Daw Khin Ma Ma Myo; and "Japan-Myanmar: A 'Special' Economic Relationship" by Chandrima Chaudhuri.

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Dhaka Roundtable Calls Out China Over Rohingya Crisis

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 05:35 AM PDT

DHAKA — Former diplomats and strategic analysts in Bangladesh on Thursday called on the government and the international community to convince Beijing to resolve the Rohingya crisis and warned that China would be among those to feel the fallout of a drawn-out debacle.

In a roundtable titled “Durable Solutions of Rohingya Crisis” hosted by Bangladesh’s National Human Rights Commission in Dhaka, the analysts and ex-diplomats vented their frustrations, claiming that neither “friendly” India nor “trusted” China” have done much to help solve a crisis that was threatening regional security.

They argued that the US and EU were the true champions of a durable solution to the problem and were doing their part.

"We must convince China," said retired Brigadier General M Sakhawat Hossain. "Though it is very difficult to convince China as it has invested a great deal of money in a deep-water port in Myanmar."

Sakhawat Hossain, now a national security and defense researcher, said India did not carry nearly as much weight on this issue as China, and that China would face problems if the Rohingya crises were to drag on for 10 or 15 years.

"If the crisis is not resolved, in 10 years this area will turn into some sort of a proxy battlefield," he warned.

"None of us know how the crisis will be solved," he added. "Myanmar is not going to resolve it unless she is forced.”

"This was a long-planned program by Myanmar," said Sakhawat, a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College.

He said the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army — which launched the attacks on security forces in Rakhine State in August 2017 that triggered the Myanmar military’s crackdown — had few resources, but noted that the country’s armed forces were contending with several other ethnic armed groups at the same time.

Former Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Mohiuddin Ahmed said Dhaka had yet to take a clear position on whether it wanted to see the crisis settled bilaterally or multilaterally.

"China is pushing for a bilateral solution to the crisis. Are we going to listen to China or will we approach it multilaterally?" he asked.

The ex-diplomat suggested that Myanmar had little reason to worry about international blowback over the Rohingya crisis so long as China was in its corner.

Though China has forged friendly relations with Bangladesh over the years, it supplied arms to Pakistan during the 1971 Liberation War that led to Bangladesh’s independence.

According to the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, the value of engineering, procurement and construction contracts going to Chinese companies in the country during the first 10 months of 2017 shot up some 24 percent year on year to $6.4 billion.

Mohiuddin said Chinese companies were winning most of the big contracts in Bangladesh but faced little criticism when they missed deadlines. And he warned that China would try to establish a strategic foothold in Rakhine State after losing one in the Maldives following recent elections there.

While making a strong pitch to hold those responsible for the violence against the Rohingya to account, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a lecture on “Global Challenges, Global Solutions” in New Delhi on Tuesday, said India could help tackle the Rohingya crisis by backing Bangladesh with humanitarian aid and using its influence over Myanmar to promote reconciliation.

"Guterres has to persuade [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi on the issue. It is assumed that our friendly neighbor [India] never pays heed to our calls," Mohiuddin said.

National Human Rights Commission Chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque also criticized China’s behavior over the crisis.

A former Bangladeshi envoy to China, Azizul Hoque, in turn accused Myanmar of breaking all the commitments it makes to other countries. He said Bangladesh should be encouraging the International Criminal Court to prosecute Myanmar’s military officials, believing it would make Myanmar more amenable to a speedy repatriation process.

Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Shahidul Hoque was invited to the roundtable but did not attend.

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Military Road Construction Through UWSA and RCSS Areas Sparks Fear of Attacks

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 04:49 AM PDT

A Shan rights group has reported that the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) is building a new military strategic road in southern Shan State which threatens the safety of 200 Shan internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Loi Lam area, near the northern Thai border.

The Tatmadaw has used a drone to fly over the area of Loi Lam which is under the control of the ethnic armed group Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), and IDPs living in the area fear fighting may break out soon, according to the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) which is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The ongoing road-building project will connect the village of Mong Hta to the Salween River, and is expected to be complete within two months.

"The road construction has almost reached the Salween River. They have been working on it for two or three months," said Sai Yord Luen, a spokesperson for the SHRF.

The Tatmadaw took the opportunity to build this road after the RCSS signed the ceasefire in 2011. The new strategic road will link up to the town of Mong Pan, where the Myanmar army's No. 17 Military Operations Command is based.

The SHRF statement said they are concerned about the safety of the 200 ethnic Shan IDPs living in the camp at Loi Lam.

Members of the Tatmadaw's Infantry Battalion 293, used a drone to fly over the area of the IDP camp in mid-September. On Sept. 23, after Triangle Regional Commander Brigadier-General Khin Hlaing had arrived in a convoy of seven army trucks from the Infantry Battalion 249 base in Mong Taw, they again launched a drone from the same military camp.

"We are worried about the food supply and safety of the IDPs if fighting breaks out between the Tatmadaw and the RCSS," said Sai Yord Luen.

International aid organizations stopped supplying aid to the IDPs last year, he said.

There are also United Wa State Army (UWSA) bases along the new road project, reported the SHRF. The new road project will make it easier for the Tatmadaw to attack the RCSS and the UWSA outposts and could also support contentious investments such as the planned Mong Ton Dam on the Salween River, where Chinese engineers from the Three Gorges Corporation have been surveying in secrecy since early 2018, according to the SHRF.

The Mong Ton Dam, a joint Chinese-Thai investment, is the largest of three dams planned on the Salween River in Shan State. 90 percent of the power produced will be exported to Thailand.

Loi Lam is one of six IDP and refugee camps along the Shan-Thai border, which house a total of over 6,000 displaced people, mostly women and children. International donors cut off food aid to these camps in October 2017, despite ongoing militarization and conflict in Shan State, which is preventing the IDPs and refugees from returning home.

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USDP Will Regain International Respect for Myanmar: Party Chairman

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 03:19 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW—The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will ensure Myanmar can hold her head high on the international stage if it regains power, said party chairman U Than Htay.

In his address to USDP party supporters during a by-election campaign event in Magwe Region's Sagu Township on Thursday, U Than Htay criticized foreign intervention in Myanmar's internal affairs which has increased under the government of National League for Democracy (NLD).

There is international pressure and foreigners are getting involved in the Rakhine issue and other problems of the country, he said. The intervention of international agencies in internal issues of Myanmar is too large to the extent that it harms the dignity of the country, he added.

"There are many foreign individuals in the administrative mechanism of the current government. We are not the ruling party so we can't make a decision on that, so I urge the people to reassign us. We are able to make sure Myanmar can stand tall and that nobody gives us orders," the party chairman told supporters.

The generals and the military-backed USDP have ruled the country and have had a considerable length of time to develop the country if they had genuine goodwill, said a member of the Arakan National Party's central executive committee U Pe Than, adding that what the USDP party chair said is mere rhetoric.

"They have experience in nation-building, but they could not accomplish it successfully. Nobody can say if they will regain power. Even if they do, it is impossible to develop the country, which is facing a lot of challenges, overnight," said U Pe Than, who is also a legislator in the Lower House for Rakhine State's Myebon Township.

People have chosen the NLD and not the USDP mainly because they want honest people, said former Lower House lawmaker U Ye Htun.

"The NLD can have a thumbs up compared to the previous government in that regard. If you ask me if it has shortcomings and weaknesses, there are many. But in the eyes of the people, [their honesty] is the main difference," he said.

U Than Htay said the USDP government had to sell the country's natural resources because of economic sanctions and was branded by the opposition as a party that steals natural resources. He asked if the current government is not selling natural resources.

"If [the NLD] accused us of stealing those [resources], [they] can choose not to do so now. You can see many logs piled by the roadside [at present]. They are not extracted by the USDP government. The jade and gems emporium in Naypyitaw has not stopped [operating] yet. Are those not resources? And don't they sell natural gas? Why did they say USDP sold our natural resources?" he asked.

The foundations of development which the USDP government built over five years are already shaking two years into NLD's administration, he claimed.

USDP leaders told The Irrawaddy that the party would not contest in the November by-election in the ethnic constituencies but hopes to win all the seats it contests in non-ethnic areas.

It appears that the USDP is trying to make alliances with ethnic parties for the 2020 general elections as it is unlikely to win in the ethnic constituencies, said U Pe Than.

"The NLD's image regarding nationalism has not been very good as it is a party that focuses more on democracy and human rights. We rely more on the USDP than the NLD regarding nationalism, the perpetuity of sovereignty, and the Rakhine issue. I believe they will be able to make greater efforts in nationalism with a strong nationalist spirit," he said.

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Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to Meet With Japanese PM Abe During Summit Trip

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 02:00 AM PDT

YANGON — State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will hold a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday evening in Tokyo on the sidelines of the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit, according to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two will discuss Japan's efforts to help Myanmar develop and democratize as well as the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine State.

Japan has been providing aid for the safe return of the 700,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya who have fled military-led violence into Bangladesh. In July it gave Myanmar a 330 million yen ($2.9 million) emergency aid grant to help the refugees who return.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi left for Japan from Naypyitaw Friday morning. On Saturday she will visit a farm in Fukushima Prefecture to learn how Japan's agricultural sector has been tackling a labor shortage, a problem afflicting Myanmar as well.

On Monday she will meet with officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the country’s official aid arm, to discuss its development assistance to Myanmar.

Joining Japan and Myanmar at the summit, to be chaired by Abe, will be Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Discussion will focus on the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, Japan’s plan to counterbalance China’s growing influence in the region via its Belt and Road Initiative by promoting quality infrastructure development in the countries along the Mekong River.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi accepted the invitation to the summit from Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono during his visit in August to discuss ways Japan could help Myanmar resolve the Rohingya crisis. At a joint press conference in Naypyitaw, the state counselor said her trip would strengthen Myanmar-Japan relations. Kono said Japan would continue to help Myanmar solve its problems.

In 2013, while leader of Myanmar's opposition, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited Japan for the first time in 27 years. She conducted research at Kyoto University from 1985 to 1986.

She last visited Japan in 2016, as state counselor. During that trip she met with Abe to discuss economic assistance for Myanmar and the country's peace process.

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Veteran Cubist Adds Street Scenes, Abstracts to His Palette

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 01:36 AM PDT

YANGON — Artist Tin Maung Oo has presented Myanmar with a world of beauty. It is a world of fluttering cubism glittering with colors and cubes. He has made his name as a cubist depicting Myanmar culture and tradition.

His cubist portrayals of rural and traditional subjects such as monasteries, monks, moorings, stilt house, lion statues, rinceau and traditional dancers have won the applause of art lovers and fellow painters alike.

Now, for his 11th solo exhibition, at the OK gallery at Yangon’s Aung San Stadium, the artist has added abstract and urban scenes to his oeuvre.

"Primarily I illustrate rural customs, pagodas, monasteries and markets. But this exhibition features a few urban scenes, for example roadside stalls beneath trees. Those stalls will not exist in the future," said Tin Maung Oo.

He has also added paintings that focus on color rather than subject. The titles he has given those works are quite simple — "Homage to Pink," "Homage to Blue," and so on.

"Sometimes I don't want to draw subjects only. There are abstract paintings focusing on colors and patterns in this exhibition," he said.

The show will run through Tuesday and features more than 30 paintings priced between 1 million kyats and 3.5 million kyats.

Tin Maung Oo studied under the likes of Ko Shwe Aung Thein, Paw Oo Thet and Bo Kyi, all regarded as pioneers of Myanmar modernism. He has devoted himself to cubism for more than 30 years and has held dozens of exhibitions at home and abroad.

"His style is similar to those of Kin Maung [Bank] and Paw Oo Thet but different from them in the way that his paintings include features like romance and abstraction like Western cubist painter Fernand Léger," said veteran artist Aung Myint.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Right to Information and the Need for Reform

Posted: 05 Oct 2018 01:10 AM PDT

We call on the government to address two major issues with governance, the lack of respect for the right to information and the continued existence of unjust and undemocratic laws.

The government has a responsibility to improve access to information. The right to information is a vital part of a democracy and it is critical for civil society to keep an eye on those in power. Despite working on prison issues for almost two decades, I cannot get information on prisons from the government. Information such as prisoner numbers, the location of labor camps and even the recently announced standard operating procedures should not be secret. It is in the public interest that this information is shared with civil society and the public. Not having such information makes it much harder to analyze the situation and see changes in the prison system. Transparency and accountability are all part of good governance.

The lack of information is not just related to government institutions and developments but also laws. Article 505(b) of the widely used Penal Code has a section that states "whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumor or report, with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offense against the State or against the public tranquility."

Yet there are no criteria as to what constitutes fear or alarm to the public. Which words go against public tranquility and which don't? What can be said and what cannot? How does not knowing what a criminal act is benefit society or lead to a stronger rule of law?

These laws are vague and their ambiguity allows for a wide interpretation with the result being a stifling of media and investigative reporting. These laws are inherently wrong and completely out of touch with modern day international standards.

The main reason for this is because Myanmar's penal system is a hangover from the British colonial system, and as such is not a system designed for justice, but rather a system designed to repress and maintain the status quo. Now, 70 years since Myanmar gained independence in 1947, the unjust system remains. How can people follow unjust laws? How do they protect the people?

Reform is long overdue. In 1989, the UK repealed the Official Secrets Act of 1911, which was similar to our own 1923 Secret Act, in order to make it more equitable and to bring it up to date. Their new act still ensures state secrets are kept secret, but it stops abuses of power and the curtailment of basic freedoms under vague notions of national security. It is high time Myanmar's lawmakers do the same.

Reform is not limited to the Official Secrets Act; there is a whole list of colonial-era laws that are out of date and not fit for a democracy. For example, the Unlawful Association Act was designed to suppress rebellion by a colonial power, not with the aim of protecting the public and law and order.

Another issue is that reform takes so long. Talk of reform of the 1894 prison law has been floated, with a draft amended bill being brought to Parliament in 2015, but since then, little has been heard. Moreover, the tabled amendments still fall down short of human rights standards and leave much to be desired. Revamps of the law addressed minor concerns, leaving the anti-democratic norms of it untouched. Parliament and lawmakers must update these laws systematically. They must be updated in a timely and holistic fashion. Minor adjustments cannot turn an undemocratic law into a democratic law.

Bo Kyi is the joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

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Myanmar Torches Illegal Wildlife Stockpile Worth $1.3M to Deter Smugglers

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 09:43 PM PDT

YANGON — Myanmar authorities destroyed hundreds of seized elephant tusks, pangolin scales and other animal parts, worth a total of $1.3 million on the black market, on Thursday as part of a crackdown on illegal wildlife trafficking.

Authorities set fire to pyres stacked with 277 pieces of elephant ivory, 1,544 antelope horns, 180 tiger bones and other confiscated items weighing more than 1.4 tons at a government compound in the capital, Naypyitaw.

"It is crucial to sustainably conserve our country’s natural resources, including land, water, forest, mountains and wildlife, for the sake of our future generations," Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation U Ohn Win said during the ceremony.

Myanmar, which lies in the notorious "Golden Triangle" region bordering Thailand and Laos, is at the heart of the global trade in illicit wildlife, with goods smuggled mostly to China.

A report by conservation group Save the Elephants this week said China’s recent ban on the ivory trade had done little to stop the "prolific growth" in trade in the Myanmar-China border town of Mong La, where there has been a 60 percent growth in new ivory items seen for sale in the past three years.

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Pentagon Sees China as ‘Growing Risk’ to US Defense Industry

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 09:32 PM PDT

WASHINGTON — China represents a “significant and growing risk” to the supply of materials vital to the US military, according to a new Pentagon-led report that seeks to mend weaknesses in core US industries vital to national security.

The nearly 150-page report, seen by Reuters on Thursday ahead of its formal release on Friday, concluded there are nearly 300 vulnerabilities that could affect critical materials and components essential to the US military.

Reuters was first to report on the study’s major conclusions on Tuesday.

The analysis included a series of recommendations to strengthen American industry, including by expanding direct investment in sectors deemed critical. The specific plans were listed in an unreleased, classified annex.

China was given heavy emphasis in the report. It was singled out for dominating the global supply of rare earth minerals critical in US military applications. The report also noted China’s global profile in the supply of certain kinds of electronics as well as chemicals used in US munitions.

“A key finding of this report is that China represents a significant and growing risk to the supply of materials and technologies deemed strategic and critical to US national security,” the report said.

Relations with China are already fraught, with a bitter trade war between the world’s two largest economies adding to tensions over cyber spying, self-ruled Taiwan and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The report could add to trade tensions with China, bolstering the Trump administration’s “Buy American” initiative, which aims to help drum up billions of dollars more in arms sales for US manufacturers and create more jobs.

Vice President Mike Pence accused China on Thursday of efforts to undermine President Donald Trump ahead of the Nov. 6 congressional elections, saying that Beijing was “meddling in America’s democracy.”

Pence’s comments echoed those of Trump himself in remarks at the United Nations last month, when Trump said that “China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election.” Chinese officials rejected the charge.

The report also examined US shortcomings that contribute to weakness in domestic industry, including roller-coaster US defense budgets that make it difficult for US companies to predict government demand. Another weakness cited was in US science and technology education.

“Although its findings are not likely to move markets, they present an alarming picture of US industrial decay driven by both domestic and foreign factors,” wrote defense consultant Loren Thompson, who has close ties to Boeing Co. and other companies.

A senior US administration official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, cited several new steps to ensure US military’s supplies. These include an effort to build up stockpiled reserves of scarce materials and expand US manufacturing capabilities in things such as lithium sea-water batteries that are critical for anti-submarine warfare.

“There have just been market failures here. And so we can create new incentives to drive investment in areas to help diversify ourselves,” said Eric Chewning, a deputy assistant secretary of defense who oversees industrial base policy.

Chinese dumping

Pentagon officials see national security risks from Beijing’s growing military and economic clout and want to be sure China is not able to hobble America’s military by cutting off supplies of materials or by sabotaging technology it exports.

The report noted that 90 percent of the world’s printed circuit boards are now produced in Asia, with over half of that occurring in China, presenting a risk to US defense.

“With the migration of advanced board manufacturing offshore, [the Department of Defense] risks losing visibility into the manufacturing provenance of its products,” the report said.

The Pentagon has long fretted that “kill switches” could be embedded in transistors that could turn off sensitive US systems in a conflict. The report cited the risk of “‘Trojan’ chips and viruses infiltrating US defense systems.”

US intelligence officials also warned this year about the possibility China could use Chinese-made mobile phones and network equipment to spy on Americans.

The report cited what it said were sometimes unfair and unlawful Chinese efforts to undermine US industry through a host of strategies, including by subsidizing exports at artificially low prices and stealing US technology.

The report identified multiple cases where the sole remaining US producer of critical materials was on the verge of shutting down and importing lower-cost materials “from the same foreign producer county who is forcing them out of domestic production.”

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Indian Campaigner Wins Award for Helping Women Facing Violence

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 09:30 PM PDT

LONDON — An Indian campaigner supporting women survivors of violence in northeast India was named on Thursday as one of two winners of an annual award recognizing female human rights workers.

Binalakshmi Nepram shared the Reach All Women in WAR (RAW in WAR) Anna Politkovskaya Award with Nobel literature laureate Svetlana Alexievich, an investigative journalist and writer from Belarus.

The award recognized the women’s bravery in speaking out and defying “injustice, violence and extremism … in ‘forgotten’ armed conflict in their regions”, said RAW in WAR, a UK-based charity supporting women human rights defenders and war victims.

Both women have suffered death threats or persecution that forced them to leave their home countries.

Nepram said she had to leave India about a year ago for her own security and now lives in the United States.

“I do not want to be a statistic in a body bag,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

Nepram, who once worked for Oxfam, co-founded in 2004 the Control Arms Foundation of India (CAFI), a civil society organization working on disarmament and opposing militarization.

Three years later she launched the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network, which has helped more than 20,000 women deal with decades of armed conflicts and ethnic violence in the northeast Indian state of Manipur on the border with Myanmar.

She set the group up after seeing the fallout of the killing of a 27-year-old man in a village in southern Manipur, who left behind his young wife Rebika Akham. Nepram helped Akham buy a sewing machine so that she could secure a living.

But Nepram said the group’s work has extended beyond helping those who have lost fathers, husbands and sons in the violence to also assist women and girls raped and sexually assaulted in the ongoing conflict.

“Every day the violence continues unabated … with our region seeing some of the highest numbers of rape and women trafficked in the country,” she said.

“In this conflict, a lot of girls and women are subjected to sexual abuse and there is a climate of impunity.”

Her co-winner, Alexievich, 70, won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Literature for her portrayal of the lives of Soviet women during World War Two, as well as the impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the Soviet military adventure in Afghanistan.

She lived in exile for many years because of her criticism of the Belarusian government but returned home in 2011.

The award marks the 12th anniversary of the killing of Politkovskaya, a Russian investigative reporter who uncovered state corruption and rights abuses, especially in Chechnya.

She was shot dead in the lobby of her Moscow apartment block at the age of 48 on October 7, 2006.

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Apple, Amazon Deny Bloomberg Report on Chinese Hardware Attack

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 09:18 PM PDT

Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc denied a Bloomberg Businessweek report on Thursday that said their systems had been infiltrated by malicious computer chips inserted by Chinese intelligence agents.

Bloomberg cited 17 unidentified sources from intelligence agencies and businesses to support claims that Chinese spies had placed computer chips inside equipment used by about 30 companies and multiple US government agencies, which would give Beijing secret access to internal networks.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a written request for comment. Beijing has previously denied allegations of orchestrating cyber attacks against Western companies.

Security experts who have worked for government agencies and large corporations told Reuters that they were surprised by the stark discrepancy between the claims in the Bloomberg article and the strongly worded denials from Apple and Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services. Some said that certain allegations were plausible, but that the strong denials from companies cited in the piece left them with doubts about whether the attacks had happened.

“There is no truth” to claims in the story that Apple found malicious chips in its servers in 2015, the said in a statement. “This is untrue,” Amazon said in a blog post.

Bloomberg defended its reporting.

“Seventeen individual sources, including government officials and insiders at the companies, confirmed the manipulation of hardware and other elements of the attacks,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “We stand by our story and are confident in our reporting and sources.”

The report said that a unit of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army infiltrated the supply chain of computer hardware maker Super Micro Computer Inc to plant malicious chips that could be used to steal corporate and government secrets.

Super Micro Computer shares fell 38 percent to $13.26 in Pink Sheet trading.

San Jose, California-based Super Micro strongly denied that it sold servers to customers that contained malicious microchips in the motherboards of those systems. It said it has never found any malicious chips, had not been informed that such chips were found by any customer, and had never been contacted by government agencies on the matter.

Bloomberg reported that Amazon uncovered the malicious chips in 2015 when examining servers manufactured by a company known as Elemental Technologies, which Amazon eventually acquired.

The investigation found that Elemental servers, which were assembled by Super Micro, were tainted with tiny microchips that were not part of their design, Bloomberg said. Amazon reported the matter to US authorities, who determined that the chips allowed attackers to create “a stealth doorway” into networks using those servers, the story said.

AWS told Bloomberg it had reviewed its records related to the Elemental acquisition and “found no evidence to support claims of malicious chips or hardware modifications.”

Bloomberg also reported that Apple in 2015 found malicious chips in servers it purchased from the hardware maker, citing three unidentified company insiders.

Apple denied the account, saying it had investigated Bloomberg’s claims.

Representatives with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. A US National Security Agency spokeswoman said she had no immediate comment.

While the companies disputed the facts in the story, security experts noted that there is growing concern that hackers could launch cyber attacks by inserting malicious chips into hardware sold to government agencies and businesses.

“Extended, complex, global supply chains create a risk for malicious cyber activity that companies must take into account,” said Michael Daniel, chief executive of the non-profit Cyber Threat Alliance.

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Government Building More ‘Model Villages’ to House Rohingya Returnees

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 07:19 AM PDT

YANGON—To house Rohingya refugees expected to return from Bangladesh, the Myanmar government this month began building 12 additional "model villages" in strife-ridden northern Rakhine's Maungdaw Township.

In August last year, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), also known as Al-Yaqin ("faith movement"), staged coordinated attacks against several dozen government border outposts. The series of attacks prompted the Myanmar Army to launch a security clearance operation that caused nearly 700,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, which has become home to the world's largest refugee camp.

The UN said the Army's clearance operations had "genocidal intent" and called for the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw), Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, to be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court for his role in the handling of the Rohingya crisis. The EU recently imposed targeted sanctions against a number of Tatmadaw generals and is currently considering imposing trade sanctions on Myanmar over the crisis.

To facilitate the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees, the Myanmar and Bangladesh governments signed repatriation agreements in early 2018, but not a single refugee has entered Maungdaw through official channels so far. Meanwhile, government ministers keep saying they are ready to accept the refugees. Government representatives including Union Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe and Social Welfare Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye reiterated this position at the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York.

Rohingya rights defenders including Prof. Waka Uddin of Pennsylvania State University, who serves as the director general of the Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU), have claimed in interviews with several news outlets that the government has failed to prepare facilities for the return of the refugees.

According to Maungdaw District administrative official U Ye Htoo, local authorities are working on two projects: building modest houses for the refugees under the supervision of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine (UEHRD); and a new "model village" plan, which is still in progress.

He said that under the management of UEHRD, structures are being built in 19 locations, some of which are earmarked for ethnic Arakanese people. He declined to elaborate on specific numbers of houses being built for Rohingya and non-Muslim groups. At the moment, U Ye Htoo said, the government has 12 prioritized sites and each village will include a market, school, public park and clinic.

While the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government has been implementing resettlement step-by-step on the ground, Arakanese nationalists and politicians have demanded that the Muslim and Rakhine communities be segregated, with southern Maungdaw being declared a "Muslim-free" zone. According to U Ye Htoo, authorities will restore the Muslim communities in both northern and southern Maungdaw.

He explained that northern Maungdaw has more room for people to live in than the south. It's unclear whether the affected areas would contain the same population balances as existed before the 2017 crisis. The refugees will initially be housed at refugee reception camps like Hla Phoe Khaung and Taung Pyo, before being transported to the model villages.

Meanwhile, two UN human rights and development agencies conducted initial assessments of 23 villages in the middle of September. Officials declined to provide details about the assessments, but said the agencies would report the results to the government as agreed in a memorandum of understanding.

A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) communications official confirmed the existence of the survey via email on Wednesday. She said initial assessments had been done in 26 locations chosen by the government in the 23 villages. The site officials met with people and carried out consultations focused on understanding the needs on the ground and also to identify possibilities to work with the government to improve the life of all communities who have been affected, she said.

A UN press official declined to disclose the exact number of Rohingya and non-Muslim villages mentioned in the identified locations. Nor did she discuss the physical arrangements being made by local authorities on the ground.

She wrote in an email: "UNHCR and UNDP are in the process of analyzing the data gathered for the assessment, however it remains too premature to draw any conclusions as of yet."

According to her, the UN agencies plan to start a second round of assessments in new areas soon. They also plan to implement some projects recommended to them by members of the conflict-affected communities during the UN officials' first assessment trips to the area.

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Suu Kyi, Military Chief, EAO Leaders to Sit Down Together This Month

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 05:01 AM PDT

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and selected leaders of the country's ethnic armed organizations will meet this month to discuss ways of resolving the deadlocks that have left the peace process stalled, an official from one of the EAOs said.

Saw Mra Yazar Lin, a peace negotiator for the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the government had proposed a date of Oct. 15 for the meeting, but discussions with the EAOs to finalize the date were ongoing.

She was not authorized to disclose the location of the meeting.

"At the meeting, we will mainly discuss how we can find a solution to resolve the deadlock facing the peace process," she said.

"To find a solution, it is important to bring together decision-makers at the meeting," she said. These included people with the authority to make political decisions on behalf of the Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw), the government and the  EAOs, she said.

This will be first time that leaders of the three main stakeholding groups in the peace process—the government, the military, and the EAOs—will sit at one table since the country's peace process was launched in 2011 under then-President Thein Sein. The meeting was proposed by the EAOs to the government last month.

The EAOs have proposed 12 points of discussion, while the government has at least four points to discuss at the meeting, she said.

One issue on the agenda is the Tatmadaw's insistence that EAOs promise not seek to secede from the Union. Another will be how the Myanmar Army can share power with EAOs, given that the country can have only one army. Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said at the third session of the 21st Century Union Peace Conference earlier this year that the peace process will be complete by 2020. The EAOs intend to ask him how this can be achieved.

The EAOs also want to discuss how the Myanmar Army and government plan to allow self-determination in their respective regions. They will also discuss proposed amendments to the military-drafted 2008 Constitution.

"Our ethnic leaders will engage in the discussions at the meeting based on a future federal system [for Myanmar]," she said, referring to the political system that EAOs have already proposed for the country's future.

The EAO leaders will meet in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Oct. 11 to decide who will meet with the Army chief and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ten EAOs have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). At least another 10 with strong armed forces, included the United Wa State Army, have not signed and are closely observing the current peace process between the NCA signatories and the government.

The Myanmar Army did not allow EAO leaders to discuss political issues at the third session of the Union Peace Conference earlier this year because the ethnic leaders refused to promise never to seek secession from the Union. According to the ethnic leaders, this is the main reason for the deadlock in the peace process.

Ethnic leaders say the current political system in the country is not a genuine democracy, and their people still do not have equal rights. Therefore, they continue to stand together in their refusal to disavow secession as a right.

The EAO leaders said the Army should reconsider this policy, because peace negotiations cannot move forward otherwise.

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Police in Yangon Seize Nearly 10,000 Bullets, Make Arrest

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 03:47 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Police in Yangon have arrested a man in connection with the seizure of some 9,500 bullets in Hlegu Township on Monday, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

On Tuesday the ministry announced that U Zaw Zaw Htet Lu, 45, was apprehended with about 100 bullets at his home in Sanchaung Township. It said the case was filed at the Hlaingtharyar Township police station under articles 19 (d) and 19 (f) of the Weapons Act, which covers illegal weapons possession.

"We received information that he was connected to the seized bullets, but we can't share the details yet because the case is still under investigation," said the duty officer at the Hlaingtharyar police station.

The officer said a man had tried to ship the 9,500 bullets to Muse Township, Shan State, in two boxes by bus from Hlegu.

"The highway bus line contacted us when it found the bullets in one of the boxes, so we investigated and found the connection we used to arrest U Zaw Zaw Htet Lu. There may be other people involved and we are still investigating," the officer said.

Some of the bullets seized by police shortly before U Zaw Zaw Htet Lu’s arrest. / Facebook / Ministry of Home Affairs

Such seizures connected to civilians are uncommon in Myanmar, though Monday’s incident is the second of its kind in the past year.

In October 2017, U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San, owner of the ACE Company and son of the former sports minister, was arrested in the possession pistols, bullets and drugs at Naypyitaw Airport. Police found more drugs and weapons at his home and business properties.

Police have reportedly charged 15 suspects in connection with U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San’s case with illegal weapons possession and drug abuse.

U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San was also charged with Article 67 of the Telecommunications Law for keeping walkie-talkies, Article 8 of the Export/Import Law for keeping drones, Article 61 (a) of the Official Secrets Act for unauthorized use of the National Security Council logo on cars, and possession of bulletproof and camouflage jackets with SWAT badges similar to those worn by the bodyguards of then-President U Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

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Gov’t Seeks Investors for Economic Zones on Chinese Border

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 03:23 AM PDT

YANGON—The Ministry of Commerce will invite local investors to back "economic cooperation zones" on the China-Myanmar border in Shan and Kachin states as part of Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

"The invitation to local investors will be done in a transparent manner," the ministry's assistant secretary, U Khin Maung Lwin, told The Irrawaddy.

"We expect to conclude our final discussions with China regarding the exact locations very soon. After that we will invite local investors," U Khin Maung Lwin said.

According to Kachin State Chief Minister U Khet Aung, Myanmar in July approved three economic cooperation zones on the Myanmar-China border. The zones are in Kanpiketi town, in Kachin State's Special Region 1 (currently under the control of the New Democratic Army-Kachin militia, a border guard force allied with the Myanmar military; Chinshwehaw, in Shan State's Laukkai Township (part of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone); and in Shan State's Muse Township.

U Khin Maung Lwin said the discussions are ongoing and that China has the right to give final approval for the locations.

Each economic cooperation zone will include a taxation center, trade procedure office and currency exchange center, he added.

The two countries plan to construct industrial zones near the economic cooperation zones. The industrial zones will house trade and processing areas, small and medium-sized industrial facilities, a trade logistics center and a quality packing center, according to the ministry.

According to Union Minister of Commerce U Than Myint, the government also plans to build a repackaging factory for agricultural products bound for export to China.

The zones would create local jobs, boost small and medium-sized businesses and support the peace process by promoting stability, he said.

China and Myanmar have signed five memorandums of understanding (MoUs) since 2017, agreeing among other things to build the economic cooperation zones on the border. The plan to build the zones was agreed by the two countries' respective commerce ministries during a visit by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to Beijing to attend a forum on the BRI.

In July, after U Than Myint returned from a trip to China, the ministry convened the first meeting of the Economic Cooperation Zones Central Committee in Naypyitaw. Myanmar's team was headed by U Than Myint, with the chief ministers of Kachin and Shan states and the president of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone serving as his deputies. During the meeting, the minister pushed team members to start the projects as soon as possible.

During the minister's trip to China, Chinese officials said the zones would not only boost border trade, but also help bring "peace and stability" to Myanmar's restive regions.

Last month, Beijing and Naypyitaw signed an MoU on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, a part of the BRI. The corridor will reach from Yunnan Province to Mandalay in central Myanmar, from where it will stretch south to Yangon and west to the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone in Rakhine State.

Launched in 2013, the BRI is Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy project. It aims to build and expand roads, rail lines and shipping lanes linking at least 70 countries from China to Europe through central Asia, the Middle East and Russia to boost trade and investment.

Under the MoUs, the two governments have agreed to collaborate in many sectors including infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, finance, human resource development, telecommunications, and research and science.

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Fifth Airline Launches Flights Between Mandalay and Guangzhou

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 02:32 AM PDT

MANDALAY—The launch of Chinese airline 9 Air's direct flight between Mandalay and China's Guangzhou on Tuesday brings the number of airlines flying directly between Mandalay and China to five, said Assistant General Manager U Nyan Tun Oo of the government's Civil Aviation Department.

Apart from Myanmar Airways International, all other airlines are Chinese, namely China Eastern, Sichuan, Donghai and 9 Air.

"Travelers from the mainland are very interested in Mandalay, which is home to a big jade and amber market, so we have chosen Mandalay as our first international destination," said Ji Guangping, president of the Guangzhou-based low-cost airline at an event to celebrate the launching of the inaugural flight at Mandalay International Airport on Tuesday.

Regular flights will be operated using 180-seater planes every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and the travel time is around 1 hour and 40 minutes.

The airline expects to expand its operations in November with a new route between the commercial capital Yangon and Guangzhou.

Around 3,500 foreigners arrive and depart from Mandalay International Airport daily, and most of them are Chinese tourists, according to the Mandalay Region Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.

"The number of travelers between China and Mandalay is high and we expect to see more trips and more travelers in the future," said Takahashi, director of MC-Jalux Airport Services, the operator of Mandalay Airport.

Ten international airlines and four domestic airlines are currently operating at Mandalay International Airport.

On Monday, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism introduced visa relaxations for Asian travelers to Myanmar, giving visa fee exemptions to travelers from Japan, South Korea, Macao and Hong Kong and visa-on-arrival allowances for Chinese travelers who enter through international airports.

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Trust Building – The Only Solution to ‘Trust Deficit Disorder’

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 02:24 AM PDT

It seems fair to say that the world has an oversupply of problems but in short supply of solutions. Under the circumstances, it came as no surprise when the UN secretary-general portrayed the current global state of affairs as a "trust deficit disorder." But it is no time to despair. Every cloud has a silver lining. Recent developments on the Korean peninsula provide a glimpse of hope.

Key to recent remarkable achievements on the Korean peninsula are the Korean government's tireless efforts to build trust. Trust building and winning hearts are defining factors of the Korean government's peace initiative and its new diplomatic initiative – namely, the New Southern Policy. The policy is about collaborating to strengthen peace and shared prosperity in the region in a way that benefits the people. I laid out why our policies will have a far-reaching impacts around the region and beyond at the recent National Day reception that was help, for the first time, in Naypyitaw on Thursday.

The leaders of South Korea and North Korea sealed another significant deal, the Pyongyang Joint Declaration, at their 3rd summit meeting during on Sept. 18-20. What makes this summit particularly remarkable is that, by agreeing on a set of confidence-building measures in the military domain, it effectively makes our dream of creating a Korean peninsula free of any fear of war come true. A new chapter in our efforts to forge a permanent and sustainable peace has begun. As the world applauded, the most important driving force was the relentless effort of President Moon Jae-in to build trust at the highest level. Tectonic shifts on the Korean peninsula can also inspire Myanmar as it galvanizes collective strength to move its peace process forward.

It is not just peace that strikes a cord between our two countries. As demonstrated in Hanoi during the World Economic Forum on ASEAN, Korea and Myanmar work hard to shape the future path in the age of the 4th industrial revolution. Korea's New Southern Policy provides a timely platform, in this regard, to create a win-win partnership. Particularly, Myanmar's mid- and longer-term economic strategy, the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan, is well placed to yield mutually beneficial effects.

As Korea aims to expand its trade volume with ASEAN to $200 billion and the volume of mutual visitors to 15 million by 2020, next year will be another important turning point in our journey. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Republic of Korea-ASEAN dialogue partnership, our government will host a special summit in 2019. It is highly likely to have mutual visits at the highest level next year, which will in turn provide important momentum in trust building in the relationship between Korea and Myanmar.

Lee Sang-hwa is the Republic of Korea’s ambassador to Myanmar.

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Change the Cabinet, Not the Constitution: USDP

Posted: 04 Oct 2018 01:42 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW—There is no need to change the 2008 Constitution in order to achieve the reforms people have anticipated in Myanmar—simply changing the cabinet will do, said Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) chairman U Than Htay during his party's election campaign in Chin State on Wednesday.

"There is no need to amend or rewrite the constitution. What should be changed is the people," he said, referring to existing cabinet members.

"Just assign those who are able to work according to that constitution in their place. [I guarantee] there will be immediate change," said the chairman in a live broadcast feed on social media during the opposition party's election campaign in Chin State's Kanpetlet Township.

In Myanmar, only the USDP can bring about national development by exercising the 2008 Constitution, he said, adding that his party does not accept the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) holding the Constitution as an excuse to defend its shortcomings.

"The USDP was able to spur national development with the existing constitution," he said.

The NLD came to power with its campaign promises to amend the 2008 Constitution, achieve rule of law and national peace. The USDP will never achieve success as long as it clings on the 2008 Constitution, said the NLD's information officer, Monywa Aung Shin.

"There are certain restrictions imposed by the 2008 Constitution. We can get around some restrictions, but others we can't. That's why we are talking [about amending it]. As long as they cling to the 2008 Constitution, they will never win the support of the people, I am sure," Monywa Aung Shin told The Irrawaddy.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD party accepted the 2008 Constitution and contested in the 2012 by-elections and 2015 general relations. Rather than blaming the restrictions it imposes, they should find ways and means to achieve better results out of it, said political commentator and writer Zarni Soe Htut.

"It is because of the 2008 [Constitution] that U Than Shwe stepped down, and U Thein Sein came to office. [The NLD] should gradually march toward their goal, and move closer and closer to it over time. The army and the USDP won't like it if [the NLD] says the 2008 Constitution is not good. So rather than saying 2008 Constitution is not good, [NLD] should work for the betterment of all," he said.

Citizens should vote for the USDP in November's by-elections if they want a brighter future, said U Than Htay.

"We are not inexperienced people. We have proper experience of running the government so we understand how to manage the country," said the chairman claiming that the country saw more progress under the previous government.

"There are a number of factors—goodwill, willingness and sympathy from those in power toward the public, as well as their knowledge, industry, diligence and many other things. The magnitude of these will decide the outcome. It is nothing to do with the constitution," said U Than Htay.

Amending the constitution requires a minimum 76 percent of votes in the Union Parliament where the military holds 25 percent of the seats.

The post Change the Cabinet, Not the Constitution: USDP appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Driest Ever September Deepens Australia’s Drought

Posted: 03 Oct 2018 09:50 PM PDT

SYDNEY — Australia had its driest September on record last month, and though spring rains are forecast this week across parts of the continent’s east that has seen the worst drought in years, the season is predicted to offer little relief from the dry weather.

The country’s east coast has recorded less than a fifth of its typical rainfall over the last three months to September and is barren, with winter crops having failed and large-scale sheep and cattle farmers buying in grain to feed their herds.

Wheat production has been cut to its lowest in a decade, the wool clip and wine crush are set to drop and the drought has already swung crop protection company Nufarm Ltd to an annual loss.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said on Wednesday the year so far is the second driest recorded in the country’s biggest river catchment, the Murray-Darling, since records began in 1900, and last month was the driest September logged.

That’s pushed soil moisture, which can take months to replenish, "very much below average" across a vast swathe of the continent stretching from the outback Kimberley region in Western Australia to cropping and pastureland in the southeast.

Rain falls of up to 25 millimeters (1 inch) are forecast in drought-wizened central New South Wales state on Thursday, with lighter rain predicted lasting until Saturday, the bureau said, though the coming three months are still forecast to be drier than average.

"For the grain side of things it’s too little too late and I’d imagine it’s probably the same for sheep areas," said Matt Dalgleish, trading manager at agricultural consultant Mecardo.

"There might be some cattle producers, if they’ve still got stock, to get a little bit of growth in pasture but it’s probably not going to be enough to carry them through summer."

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Myanmar Military Shuts Down Chinese-Contracted $500M High-Rise Project

Posted: 03 Oct 2018 09:44 PM PDT

YANGON — The Myanmar military shut down a Chinese-contracted US$500 million high-rise project after the developer breached the memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides.

The Myayeik Nyo high-rise project on more than 13 acres of land in Yangon owned by the military was slated to have 12 buildings with heights ranging from 382 to 412 feet built by the Zaykabar Company. The company chairman U Khin Shwe said the project, scheduled for completion in 2020, was a landmark investment for Yangon and would feature both hotel space and serviced apartments. The project contractor was the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.

On Wednesday, the military announced during a press conference that it had informed the developer since May not to carry out construction-related work, as the project was terminated.

The announcement came more than a week after Hunan Province Vice Governor He Baoxiang and a delegation visited the site late last month and the company suddenly changed the project name to Yangon New World Project. During the visit, U Khin Shwe said 40 percent of the investment was to come from Zaykabar while 60 percent was from the Chinese company.

U Moe Min Win, the secretary of the Yangon Cantonment Board, which manages military-owned land in the city, said Zaykabar Company didn't follow the agreement signed in January 2014 with the Quartermaster's Office.

He explained that in spite of its agreement with the military to pay the land use premium five times in two years in different amounts in order to meet the total US$41.328 million, the developer had only made two payments.

"Even with all of our repeated warnings, they still have not finished the payments," U Moe Min Win said.

The Mayor's Residence being torn down in February by the Zaykabar Company to make way for its high-rise project. / Khin Zaw Latt / The Irrawaddy

Apart from the payment failure, the secretary added that the developer had demolished two heritage buildings on the project site, a breach to the memorandum of understanding that only allowed soil tests rather than site clearing upon the second payment toward the land use premium. He added that no foreign investment for the project was allowed yet.

"We haven't signed a build-operate-transfer agreement yet but the company already built a project-related building on the site. So, we informed them that we have rejected their actions to date and they are no longer allowed to develop land owned by the military," U Moe Min Wi added.

U Khin Shwe was not available for comment on Wednesday evening.

Apart from breaching the agreement, the Myayeik Nyo high-rise project was a source of public concern since the beginning. The site clearing early this year sparked public fears that the construction would collapse the 92-year-old reservoir nearby. At the press conference on Wednesday, the Cantonment Board secretary said the military had mentioned that it was aware of the public's concerns.

U Khin Shwe's Zaykabar Co. Ltd. is one of Myanmar's largest construction companies. His daughter is married to the son of U Shwe Mann, the third most influential person in the former military regime but now an important ally of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leading the military to reportedly see him as a turncoat.

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EU Considers Trade Sanctions on Myanmar Over Rohingya Crisis

Posted: 03 Oct 2018 09:34 PM PDT

BRUSSELS — The European Union is considering trade sanctions on Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis, potentially stripping the country of tariff-free access to the world’s largest trading bloc, three EU officials said.

The sanctions, under discussion at the European Commission, would include Myanmar’s lucrative textile industry and potentially put at risk thousands of jobs there but would not come into effect immediately, giving the EU leverage to stop what the West says is ethnic cleansing of Muslim Rohingya.

Even by triggering a six-month review process on whether to impose trade sanctions, which could be reversed if Myanmar met humanitarian and democratic targets, the bloc would mark a significant shift in policy.

The impetus for the move was a UN report in August that accused Myanmar’s military of carrying out killings of Rohingya with “genocidal intent.” That, and the rare US step of putting sanctions on two entire military units, have put an onus on the European Union to act, officials said.

“We are concerned about the impact on the population from our potential measures, but we cannot ignore a UN report describing the military campaign as genocide,” said one EU official of the debate within the European Commission, the EU executive responsible for the bloc’s trade policy.

Until now, the EU has imposed travel bans and asset freezes on several members of the Myanmar military, but has shied away from slapping sanctions on Myanmar’s commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who the United Nations said should be prosecuted along with five others for genocide and crimes against humanity.

Myanmar has rejected the UN findings as “one-sided.” It says military action which followed militant attacks on security forces in August last year was a legitimate counterinsurgency operation.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay did not answer telephone calls seeking comment on the possible EU move on Wednesday. He said last month he would no longer speak to the media over the phone, only at a biweekly conference.

EU officials believe the formal threat of losing tariff-free access would quickly hit foreign investment in the apparel industry, where European manufacturers take advantage of relatively low labor costs in Myanmar.

“Removing this duty-free access is a measure of last resort, but we must act if other measures are not delivering,” said one EU official involved in the discussions.

“In light of the deteriorating situation on the ground, the Commission is currently assessing possible ways of escalating its political and economic response,” a Commission source said.

European firms sourcing apparel from Myanmar include retailers Adidas, C&A, H&M, Inditex, Next and Primark.

Rights groups say the targeted EU sanctions so far have not forced the military or civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to protect civilians, resettle refugees or stop attacks on press freedoms that have included the imprisonment of two Reuters reporters for breaching a law on state secrets.

The European Parliament last month called for the Commission to review Myanmar’s trade preferences.

Sixth-largest trade partner

Within the Commission there are differences, with the EU Trade Chief Cecilia Malmstrom leaning towards starting the process of imposing trade sanctions while the EU’s top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, is more cautious because of EU policy to avoid economic sanctions that can hurt ordinary citizens, the officials said.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has yet to take a position, they said. A Commission spokesman declined to comment.

Myanmar’s exports to the European Union were worth 1.56 billion euros ($1.81 billion) in 2017, nearly 10 times their value in 2012, after which the bloc gave Myanmar “Everything But Arms” trade status.

That status means it can sell any goods tariff-free to the bloc, except weapons. The EU is Myanmar’s sixth-largest trading partner and an important source of foreign direct investment.

Mynamar’s clothing industry is its top export earner after oil and gas, generating more than $2 billion in exports and 450,000 jobs last year, according to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association.

Trade sanctions would end an economic opening granted to support Myanmar’s transition to democracy after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi emerged from 15 years of house arrest under military rule and led her party to take both the Parliament and the presidency.

One more limited option for the EU could be to exempt textiles, an official said, but given the size of the sector, that would significantly reduce the impact of EU sanctions. Clothing and footwear are worth more than three-quarters of Myanmar’s exports to the bloc.

Both the United States and the European Union want to spur economic development to underpin democracy and diminish China’s influence. Crushing the economy with trade sanctions could allow China to dominate Myanmar, officials said.

Washington imposed sanctions on four military and police commanders and two army units in August. New sanctions are under consideration for half a dozen other individuals and at least two military-run businesses, US officials have said.

A US State Department report released last week accused Myanmar’s military of waging a “well-planned and coordinated” campaign of mass killings, gang rapes and other atrocities against the Rohingya, but stopped short of calling it genocide or crimes against humanity.

Senior State Department officials told Reuters, however, that those findings could be used to justify further targeted US sanctions or other punitive measures.

There appears to be little US appetite, though, for re-imposing broad economic sanctions lifted by former President Barack Obama as the country shifted from decades of direct military rule toward a democratic transition.

Some European companies have already cut business with Myanmar, with Cartier stopping purchasing gemstones from the country on Dec. 8, citing abuses against the Rohingya.

The post EU Considers Trade Sanctions on Myanmar Over Rohingya Crisis appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

India, in a First, Sends Seven Rohingya for Deportation to Myanmar

Posted: 03 Oct 2018 09:26 PM PDT

GUWAHATI — Indian police bused seven Rohingya Muslims to the border on Wednesday to be deported to neighboring Myanmar for illegal entry, officials and activists said, the first such move against the community.

An estimated 40,000 Rohingya, a largely stateless Muslim minority, live in India after having fled violence and persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar’s Rakhine State over the years. The seven men being sent back had been held in prison since 2012 for illegal entry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has described illegal Rohingya immigrants as posing a national security threat, and ordered state governments last year to identify and deport them.

Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, additional director general of police in the northeastern state of Assam, said that the seven men would be handed over to Myanmar authorities on Thursday.

“This is a routine procedure, we deport all illegal foreigners,” Mahanta said.

But a UN human rights official said the forcible return of the Rohingya was a violation of international law.

“The Indian government has an international legal obligation to fully acknowledge the institutionalized discrimination, persecution, hate and gross human rights violations these people have faced in their country of origin and provide them the necessary protection,” the UN’s Special Rapporteur on racism, Tendayi Achiume, said in a statement.

An official at the UN refugee agency said conditions in Rakhine were not conducive for the safe, dignified and sustainable return of the Rohingya.

More than 700,000 Rohingya, according to UN agencies, have escaped Rakhine to neighboring Bangladesh over the past year, bringing accounts of mass killings, arson, and rapes by the Myanmar army.

UN officials described the Myanmar military’s action as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has denied the charges, saying its military launched a counter-insurgency operation after attacks on security forces by Rohingya militants in August last year.

Many continue to flee, saying conditions in Rakhine are no better than last year.

India’s move comes as its top court hears a case filed against the government order calling for the deportation of the Rohingya.

Cheryl D’souza, a lawyer for the petitioners, said it was important that such deportations “aren't allowed to happen under the cover of darkness."

“Many more Rohingya may share this fate.”

Nearly 200 Rohingya are known to be detained in India on charges of illegal entry, according to the UN.

Myanmar's government spokesman, Zaw Htay, did not answer telephone calls on Wednesday from Reuters seeking comment on the handover of the men. Last month, he said he would no longer speak to the media over the phone but only at a biweekly conference.

The Supreme Court in New Delhi has agreed to hear the matter of the seven Rohingya on Thursday, D’souza said.

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Wednesday, October 3, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

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Workers Strike for 44th Day at Chinese-Owned Garment Factory

Posted: 03 Oct 2018 06:43 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand—More than 200 workers from the Fu Yuen garment factory in Yangon Region's Dagon Seikkan Industrial Zone continued their sit-in strike for a 44th day on Wednesday, vowing to stand firm in their demands for labor rights and the reinstatement of fired colleagues.

The workers walked out of the Chinese-owned factory to protest the dismissal of 30 coworkers, said Ma Thet Htar Swe, a leader of the factory's labor union who was among the terminated employees.

All of the expelled workers are members of the factory's labor union. The factory fired them after accusing them of instigating protests to demand better working conditions, and of violating their employment contracts (ECs). On Aug. 14, hundreds of workers staged a protest to demand a number of rights, including that overtime be fair and paid on time, and urging the company to hire enough workers so that their workload would be reasonable.

A week later, on Aug. 20, the 30 workers were terminated. The strike began the following day. The factory's announcement on Aug. 15 stated that the 30 terminated workers "violated the terms and conditions prescribed in the EC" but added that they had been "compensated."

The factory also said in a letter that productivity at the plant had declined due to an increase in the workers' minimum wage in May, while the owners faced greater expenditures. It said, "In the long run, [the factory] will become increasingly unprofitable and it will run at a loss."

The factory said the workers "do not work in line with the EC. The workers have taken many days off without pay. Some workers are inciting others to protest."

The factory finally agreed to seven of the workers' nine demands; however their demand that the fired workers be re-employed has not been settled, said Ma Thet Htar Swe. She started working at the factory a month after it was founded in October 2014, but was targeted for organizing the labor rights movement, she said.

The workers have also sent letters seeking help from the regional and Union governments since Aug. 29, but Ma Thet Htar Swe said they had received no response until a month later.

On Oct. 2, lawmakers representing Dagon Seikkan Township met with the striking workers and company representatives in an effort to settle the dispute, but the talks were unsuccessful.

U Zin Min Tun, a regional lawmaker, said the township authorities and the National League for Democracy's Labor Affairs Committee "are trying their best to resolve the dispute." But he added that the labor arbitration court is ultimately responsible for resolving disputes between workers and employers.

"We want our jobs back, as we were expelled for taking part in the labor union and leading the calls for workers' rights," Ma Thet Htar Swe told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

She said the workers want the factory to acknowledge their rights, adding that they wouldn't seek new employment at other factories. She said they "would keep up the protest until all of our demands are reached."

Fu Yuen garment factory's products include women's wear, children's wear and jackets for export. Their products have been consigned to the Lidl US Trading Company and Joules USA Inc. in the U.S. through Singapore port until August this year.

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Sagaing Gov’t Cracking Down on Illegal Farm Workers and Pesticides, Minister Says

Posted: 03 Oct 2018 06:32 AM PDT

MANDALAY—At least 38 foreigners working illegally on fruit farms in Sagaing were deported in fiscal 2017-18, the divisional minister of agriculture, livestock and irrigation said on Wednesday.

The minister made the comment while answering questions during a session of the regional parliament in Monywa regarding the issue of foreigners working illegally on watermelon and melon plantations, and about the use of illegally imported pesticides and fertilizer.

"In fiscal 2017-18 there were at least 38 foreigners, most of them Chinese, who did not have valid visas, or did not have [appropriate visas for employment] and were deported. One was sued under the Immigration Law," minister U Kam Zamohn told The Irrawaddy.

The minister added that two agricultural companies operating in Sagaing Division were also sued under the Agriculture Law for using pesticides and fertilizer imported illegally from China. He did not disclose the names of the companies.

"The pesticides and fertilizer used on those plantations are not officially recognized by the ministry. In some cases, they over-used the fertilizers. We seized them and sued the companies under the Agriculture Law in order to protect consumers and farmers," U Kam Zamohn said.

Sagaing Division has more than 31,000 acres of watermelon and melon plantations. The fruit is mainly exported to China.

According to U Aung Kyaw, a local lawmaker who raised the issue of illegal foreign workers on Sagaing plantations, about a dozen foreign companies working in the region have brought workers from China illegally. They were also responsible for overusing the unrecognized pesticides and fertilizers, and the practice had affected the health of local farmers, he said.

The lawmaker urged authorities to take legal action against illegal foreign workers and to stop the use of illegal pesticides and fertilizers.

The minister explained that the regional government and the Immigration Department were handling the issue, adding that the Immigration Department did regular checks on foreigners working in the region.

"Our ministry is also doing regular checks and has issued warnings to sellers of agricultural supplies not to sell illegal pesticides and fertilizers," the minister added.

Sagaing is Myanmar's main region for growing watermelons and melons. Most of the produce grown in the region is exported to China via the Mandalay-Muse-Ruli inland border trade route.

In the past, melon plantations were worked by local farmers. As the export of melons to China has increased in the past five years, foreign agricultural companies, especially from China, have set up joint ventures with local farmers, offering them financial and technical support, and providing pesticides and fertilizers.

The post Sagaing Gov't Cracking Down on Illegal Farm Workers and Pesticides, Minister Says appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Audit Says Long-Term Land Leases Costing Yangon Coffers Dearly

Posted: 03 Oct 2018 06:15 AM PDT

YANGON — The Yangon Auditor General’s report for 2016-17 shows that public spaces leased to private businesses under long-term contracts were costing the government billions of kyats.

The report says the city's municipal body, the Yangon City Development Committee, has been leasing out parts of the city's public parks since the previous administration using long-term contracts. In some case the prices were set as low as 32 kyats ($0.02) per square foot, far below the current average price of 1,000 kyats ($0.66), according to lawmakers.

In U Ottama Park, located by the foot of Shwedagon Pagoda’s southern stairwell, more than 180,000 square feet of land have been leased to five restaurants and an amusement park at 56.91 kyats per square foot.

National League for Democracy lawmaker U Zin Min Htwe told Parliament on Wednesday that, using the current average price of 1,000 kyats per square foot, the government has lost more than 2 billion kyats a year. He said if the money were managed properly, the government could put it to good use.

"There are more than 500 people living in the dark at night [in my constituency] because they live a few hundred feet away from a power line. It's very sad for them," he said.

The Auditor General’s report says more than 19 acres of land in Karaweik Park were leased to the Zay Kabar Company in 2010 for 30 years at 47.477 kyat per square foot, also far below the current average market price.

Zay Kabar, one of Myanmar's largest construction companies, is run by tycoon U Khin Shwe. His daughter is married to the son of U Shwe Mann, the third most influential person in the former military regime and now an important ally of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

In another case, 76.36 acres of People's Park, near the western stairwell of Shwedagon Pagoda, were leased to Natural World in 2014 at 32 kyat per square foot.

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Mystery Disease Continues to Claim Cattle in Rakhine

Posted: 03 Oct 2018 05:48 AM PDT

SITTWE, Rakhine State — More buffalo have died in recent days of unknown causes in the Oh Pyin Htaung village tract of Minbya Township, Rakhine State, bringing the death toll to over 60 since late last month.

Local villagers have reported nine more deaths after more than 50 buffalo died of unknown causes in the second week of September while out to pasture in the Arakan Mountains.

Nearly 40 buffalo went missing at the same time, and it is not yet clear whether they were stolen or also died.

Locals still have no idea what is causing the deaths or whether it is something that can spread to other animals or humans.

"One more buffalo of mine died today. So far three have died. I have no idea what disease caused their deaths. Once they got sick their bellies became bloated. Some died within hours and some died the following day," Ko Tun Tun Win, an Oh Pyin Htaung resident, told The Irrawaddy by phone.

Locals also reported similar symptoms among buffalo on some of the farms in the village tract.

"It is a serious cause for concern that buffalo are dying in large numbers. Farmers in my village are planning to sell their buffalo for fear that they might also be infected," Maung Ni Che, another Oh Pyin Htaung resident, told The Irrawaddy.

Locals say symptoms also include breathing difficulty, lumps in the throat and constipation, and that buffalo have continued to die even after being given the vaccine recommended by the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department.

The department visited the affected areas on Sept. 23 and confirmed 46 deaths at the time. Samples from the dead animals and surrounding land and water sources were sent to Yangon for testing, said U Chit Oo Lwin, who heads the township’s Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department.

"The lab test results are not out yet, but we suspect that they died of a throat disease," he told The Irrawaddy, adding that the symptoms were similar to those of hemorrhagic septicemia, an acute infection that can cause pneumonia.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Death of a Politician and Life-Long Fighter of Ethnic Mon Rights

Posted: 03 Oct 2018 05:41 AM PDT

A veteran ethnic Mon leader who fought for equal rights for his people for over 70 years since Myanmar got independence, passed away in Yangon on Tuesday.

Nai Ngwe Thein was once a member of the security forces under Gen. Aung San's leadership. According to his family, he passed away at 6 p.m. in his home in Yangon aged 96 years old. His death was preceded by a long-term illness. His funeral will be held on Saturday, Oct. 6.

Before his death, Nai Ngwe Thein served as chairman of the Mon National Party and worked along with other ethnic groups as a member of the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA). His former political party, the Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF), won four seats in the 1990 elections.

He entered the world of politics when he was 25 years old, later working with the NLD, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as a member of the UNA fighting for human rights and democracy under the suppression of the military regime.

Many of his ethnic Mon comrades who worked with him over the years have expressed sadness at his passing, saying that though he worked hard for many long years, he didn't get to see freedom for his ethnic Mon people.

Min Kyi Win, Mon State's minister for the environment and natural resources, said Nai Ngwe Thein was a good leader who committed almost his whole life to serving his ethnic Mon people.

"He was the first person to start the fight for the freedom of the ethnic Mon. He served his people until he could not move from his bed," said Min Kyi Win.

Min Kyi Win, who once served as general secretary of the MNDF, said he and Nai Ngwe Thein once spent time in prison together after the Myanmar military regime arrested them in 1998.

He went on to say that Nai Ngwe Thein was responsible for the Mon ethnic people gaining official recognition as an ethnic group of Myanmar, at a time when the military regime refused to recognize them.

"The Burmese did not [officially] recognize the ethnic Mon. [Nai Ngwe Thein] fought for it until Burmese had to recognize our ethnic Mon are in the country of Myanmar," said Min Kyi Win.

Nai Ngwe Thein­ envisioned equal rights for the Mon, including their right to self-determination. He joined the Mon National Defense Organization (MNDO) an ethnic armed group and was an executive member for 10 years until 1958 when U Nu's government successfully persuaded the group to disarm and become a political entity.

When Gen. Ne Win's military dictatorship declared Mon State the official home of the ethnic Mon, Nai Ngwe Thein and his Mon comrades were not yet satisfied as they still desired self-determination.

"He died without seeing the fruits of his fight for rights. He could only see the skin [of the fruit]," said Min Kyi Win.

Other Mon politicians must carry on his foundations and fight for equal rights for the Mon, said Min Kyi Win.

Nai Ngwe Thein was born in Thong Ein Village, in Karen State in 1923 to parents Nai Thar Ton Aung and Mi Ngwe Sein. He attended Jackson College in 1942, and participated in the anti-fascist movement alongside the Burmese Independence Army (BIA). He served a member of the BIA's security forces in Kyaik Lat, Yangon Division.

When the BIA reformed as the Burma Defense Army (BDA), Gen. Aung San, the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, invited him to join cadet training and he served as a member of a guerrilla force in Dagon Township, Yangon in 1945 when the BDA attacked Japanese troops who had invaded the country. He resigned as a member of the group when Gen. Aung San was assassinated in 1947.

In his time, he dealt with many generations of Myanmar's military regime including the military governments of U Nu, Gen. Ne Win, Gen. Saw Maung, and Gen. Than Shwe.

Nai Ngwe Thein was sent to prison as a political prisoner four times during his lifetime. He was detained first in 1948 in Moulmein Prison. He was arrested for a second time in 1962 when U Ne Win orchestrated a military coup. After being arrested in 1990, he was sentenced to 21 years in prison. His fourth imprisonment, a sentence of seven years, came in 1998 for writing a letter to the New Mon State Party advising them against signing the ceasefire agreement.

The letter said that as long as the Mon didn't have equal rights or democracy, they should not sign a ceasefire with the military as it would only serve to prolong the success of their regime. After the letter was discovered, he and other Mon political leaders were detained and sentenced to imprisonment.

The post Death of a Politician and Life-Long Fighter of Ethnic Mon Rights appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Oversupply of Drugs in Mekong, E. Asia Puts Younger Users at Risk, UN Says

Posted: 02 Oct 2018 10:46 PM PDT

BANGKOK—Production and trafficking of illicit drugs have reached unprecedented levels in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region and East Asia, the United Nations said on Tuesday, warning that oversupply increases the risks for younger users.

Even as authorities seize larger amounts of illicit drugs, oversupply pushes down prices, bringing some, such as methamphetamine, within reach, an official of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.

"The supply keeps growing as organized crime is ramping up supply and flooding the region with product," Jeremy Douglas, the body’s regional representative, told Reuters ahead of a meeting in the Thai capital to assess the trends.

In Thailand, for instance, the price of a methamphetamine tablet ranged between $1.5 and $4.5 in 2017, down from a range of $4 to $7 in 2014, UN data this year showed.

In the wealthy nearby city-state of Singapore, prices fell to below $6 in 2017, from $20 in 2014.

"The surge in 'yaba' tablet supply has pushed street prices down across the region, making them affordable to younger users who are being introduced to the drug," Douglas added, using a Thai term for the tablet form of methamphetamine.

Police seized more than 14 million meth pills worth $45 million in one of Thailand’s biggest drug busts in August.

Neighboring Malaysia made its largest seizure of crystal meth in May, intercepting nearly 1.2 tons of the drug disguised as tea in a shipment from Myanmar.

Much of Southeast Asia’s meth production comes from lawless parts of Myanmar, in particular Shan State, the UNODC said in 2017.

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No Name, No Rights: The Long Road to Thai Citizenship

Posted: 02 Oct 2018 10:06 PM PDT

MAE LA NOI, Thailand — When Noknoi attended high school in northern Thailand, she dreaded roll call every morning, when the teacher would call her first name and then say “nahm somut”, or “made up name” – the standard suffix for stateless children.

Thai students would snigger, and Noknoi and other so-called stateless children were often teased by students and teachers alike, she said.

“Being stateless meant having no identity,” she said.

“We were reminded of that every day, with even our names taken away – we were nobody,” she said.

Noknoi, who asked that her surname be withheld due to the sensitivity of the topic, was born in a Thai village near the border with Myanmar.

Her four siblings were also born in Thailand. But because their parents were from Myanmar, they were not recognized as Thai citizens until a few months ago – nearly three years after Noknoi applied for citizenship for all five of them.

They were among the 487,000 stateless persons registered with the Thai government this year, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

Activists say the actual number may be more than three million.

Stateless people include indigenous hill dwellers and children of migrants who were born in Thailand. They have limited work options and are barred from voting, travelling outside their province, and from buying land.

They are worse off than the tens of thousands of refugees from Myanmar who live in camps in Thailand where they are registered with the UNHCR and served by aid agencies, activists and analysts say.

“In a school uniform, stateless children can appear and feel undifferentiated to Thai citizen students,” said Janepicha Cheva-Isarakul at the Victoria University of Wellington.

“It is only around the teenage years that they become more aware of the limitations of their status and start learning about possible legal pathways to becoming Thai citizens. But it is a complex system of unevenly applied regulations,” she said.

Changing Borders

Many stateless people in Thailand are from areas where boundaries between its four neighboring countries have changed, or who have crossed the border for work or a better life.

About 100,000 refugees from Myanmar remain in camps along the border in Thailand, according to the UNHCR, after fleeing six decades of war between Myanmar’s military and ethnic armed groups.

“There are some refugees who have lived in a camp all their lives. They have no connection to Myanmar and nothing to go back to because they have lost their homes and land,” said Matcha Phorn-in, an activist who works with stateless people.

“Of those who were born here, few have birth certificates, land titles or other documentation for Thai citizenship, so they remain in limbo,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

In recent years, Thailand has amended its Nationality Act to make it easier for displaced Thais to get citizenship. But it is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which spells out legal obligations to refugees.

Since 2005, Thailand has given all stateless persons access to basic education and health care, and pledged to develop a screening system to curb trafficking, which is a major risk.

State hospitals now issue birth certificates to all children born in Thailand, and there are more job options for stateless people who were once limited to 27 low-skilled occupations.

Thailand’s military government, which took power in 2014, has committed to “zero statelessness” by 2024.

But applying for citizenship remains a “challenging and complex” process, said Janepicha, who has researched stateless people in northern Thailand.

While Thailand recognizes citizenship by descent and by territorial birth, applicants must present birth certificates, their parents’ identity papers, and get the village head to attest they are members of the community.

“A process that relies heavily on documents as absolute proof of identity risks placing blame on the people for not having the documents, rather than questioning why they did not have the documents to begin with,” Janepicha said.

‘Deservedness'

The documentation is comparable to that required in other countries, and applications are considered “on a case-by-case basis”, said Venus Srisuk, director of the Bureau of Registration Administration.

Thailand has given about 100,000 people citizenship since 2008, making it the regional leader, according to UNHCR.

Noknoi applied for citizenship about three years ago, when she started college.

It took her two months to get birth certificates for herself and her siblings, and several trips to the village and district offices to complete paperwork that ran into nearly 50 pages for each, she said.

“I could only do it because I was educated, was aware of my rights, and had help. Most others are not in that position,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Mae La Noi town.

“At times, I thought I would die before we got citizenship. Even now, I am afraid it can be taken from me,” she said.

Changes in the citizenship laws in 2016 opened up a path for some 80,000 stateless persons, with alternate requirements such as loyalty to the king, good conduct and educational achievement.

But the conditions are subjective and based on “deservedness” rather than a fundamental right, said Matcha.

The issue came into focus after the dramatic rescue in July of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in northern Thailand.

Three of the boys, as well as their 25-year-old coach, were stateless, though they were born in Thailand.

Just weeks later, they were granted citizenship after officials fast-tracked their applications.

“Congratulations to those who get citizenship by being deserving, but it is a double standard,” said Matcha, the activist.

“Should everyone have to be rescued from a cave to be found deserving?”

The post No Name, No Rights: The Long Road to Thai Citizenship appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar’s Neighbors Urge Accountability for Rakhine Violence

Posted: 02 Oct 2018 09:58 PM PDT

SINGAPORE — Southeast Asian foreign ministers have urged Myanmar to give a full mandate to an inquiry commission to hold accountable those responsible for the violence in Rakhine State, Singapore said on Tuesday.

The ministers, who met informally on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week, expressed grave concern over the violence, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told Parliament, calling it a “man-made humanitarian disaster."

Over the last year, more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh, according to UN agencies, following a military response to attacks on security posts by Rohingya insurgents.

A recent UN report accused Myanmar’s military of gang rapes and mass killings with “genocidal intent” in Rakhine and called for its commander-in-chief and five generals to be prosecuted under international law.

Myanmar has denied most of the allegations in the report, blaming Rohingya “terrorists” for most accounts of atrocities.

“We expressed our grave concern with these alleged acts of violence… This is a man-made humanitarian disaster and something which should not be happening in this day and age,” Balakrishnan said, referring to the meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar.

“The foreign ministers urged the Myanmar government that…an independent commission of inquiry…should be given a full mandate to investigate and to hold all those responsible fully accountable.”

Singapore chairs ASEAN this year and regional leaders will meet next month in the city-state.

Myanmar’s government spokesman, Zaw Htay, did not answer telephone calls on Tuesday. Last month, he said he would no longer speak to the media over the phone but only at a biweekly conference.

In July, Myanmar established a commission of inquiry to probe allegations of human rights abuses in Rakhine, which includes two local and two international members from Japan and the Philippines.

ASEAN, formed more than half a century ago, has historically struggled with challenges facing the region because it works only by consensus and is reluctant to get involved in any matter deemed to be internal to any of its members.

The group’s recent statements on Rakhine have focused on the importance of the repatriation of displaced persons to Myanmar and reconciliation among communities.

But amid the international condemnation, it appears to be taking a firmer stance.

Balakrishnan said that if left to “fester”, the situation in Rakhine could lead to the spread of terrorism which would threaten “Southeast Asia and beyond."

“They (the Myanmar government) do need to do the right thing…for all the vulnerable, defencsless and innocent victims,” said Balakrishnan.

In a recent interview, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticized Myanmar’s de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi over her handling of the Rohingya crisis, saying, “We don’t really support her anymore.”

The post Myanmar’s Neighbors Urge Accountability for Rakhine Violence appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

More African Ivory Being Smuggled Into China Despite Ban: Report

Posted: 02 Oct 2018 09:51 PM PDT

NAIROBI — More African ivory is being smuggled into China from Myanmar and Beijing’s ban on trade in ivory has failed to dampen imports, a report by conservation group Save the Elephants said on Tuesday.

Wildlife activists said they welcomed China’s ban this year on the ivory trade, arguing the step by a country that is the world’s largest importer and end user of tusks was vital to reducing the slaughter of the endangered species.

But it has not stopped what Save the Elephants called the “prolific growth” in trading in a town in the “Golden Triangle” area, where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers, south of China.

There has been a 60 percent growth in new ivory items seen for sale in the Myanmar-China border town of Mong La in the past three years and 90 percent of buyers are Chinese wishing to smuggle the ivory home, the report said.

It gave no separate figures for the period since the ban was introduced.

Myanmar has the world’s largest population of captive elephants, 5,000 in all, but trade in tusks at Mong La and elsewhere increasingly comes from elephants of African origin, the report said.

Myanmar’s government spokesman Zaw Htay was not immediately available for comment.

“Demand is still very high in China … Myanmar has over 2,000 kilometers of borderline with China which is very easy for smugglers to bring ivory across,” said researcher Lucy Vigne.

She co-authored the report with Esmond Bradley-Martin, a prominent American investigator of the illegal ivory and rhino horn trade who was found dead in his home in the Kenyan capital with an unexplained stab wound in his neck in February.

He had spent decades tracking the movement of animal products, mostly from Africa to markets in Asia.

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