Wednesday, December 26, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Christians, Buddhists Brawl in Southern Rakhine on Christmas Eve

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 04:34 AM PST

YANGON — At least two ethnic Chin preparing for a Christmas Day event were injured in a mob attack led by Buddhist monks on Monday in southern Rakhine State’s Ann Township, according to a local priest.

Rev. Thing Be, who heads the township’s Christian mission, said their pavilion was also vandalized.

He said the dozen or so Chin families of Sappie Village, who make up the small community’s Christian community, were erecting a modest pavilion just outside the village to celebrate their first Christmas Day in the area when about 40 locals led by three monks showed up at about noon and ordered them to stop, at which point a fight broke out.

Rev. Thing Be said he had asked the village administrator for permission ahead to time but decided to proceed with construction of the pavilion before it arrived.

He said Vicar Aung Lan was being treated at the township hospital for wounds he sustained in the attack to his head, and that another member of the Christian community, U Soe Thein, was also injured. He said they were preparing to file a complaint with police.

“As far as I know, an abbot of the Sappie monastery led the attackers. I have video evidence and will use it if the case proceeds to court,” the priest said.

Village administrator U Soe Thu confirmed that there was a fight between local Buddhists and Christians but claimed that no one was seriously injured because township police intervened in time and dispersed the crowd. He said the organizers had failed to heed his advice to apply for permission from him and township authorities in a timely manner.

“They came to me to get approval after the confrontation began and I gave it to them. That’s too late,” he told The Irrawaddy.

U Soe Thu said three abbots from Kan Oo, Sappie and Mae La Maung villages had ordered the event organizers to raised their pavilion somewhere else because the predominantly Buddhist community had never had a Christmas Day celebration before. He also said that the abbots did not have the legal authority to give such an order.

U San Gyi, a member of Sappie’s Christian community who said he witnessed the attack, said monks led the mob and ignored pleas to mediate.

“They told us there was no X-mas celebration in this village before. They would not allow a Christian event on Buddhist land,” he said. “We are very upset about losing our religious freedom and about the restriction of our religious beliefs. We want to celebrate happily like other people.”

U San Gyi said the monks should have tried the mediate the dispute but instead stepped aside when the fighting began.

Numbering only a few families, he said, the local Christian community had no church in the area and has been gathering for prayers in their homes with visits from a priest from neighboring Chin State.

“We can’t afford to buy land for a church, and even if we had land it would be very tough to get approval for construction,” he said.

Last week, people in Magwe Region’s Gangaw Township stoned and broke into a home while local Christians were gathered inside for a religious event. Local police have opened a case under articles of the Penal Code covering trespassing and property damage.

The post Christians, Buddhists Brawl in Southern Rakhine on Christmas Eve appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

More Villagers Flee Fighting Between Rival Armed Groups in Northern Shan

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 03:12 AM PST

Mon State — More than 600 people have fled their homes in northern Shan State’s Hsipaw Township since Monday to escape fighting between rival ethnic armed groups, according to a volunteer aid worker.

The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) were fighting on Monday and Tuesday in Twan Kyaing Village, about 32 km from the town of Hsipaw, said Sai Tun Aye, a volunteer aid workers helping families taking shelter at a Buddhist monastery in Namakhar Village. He said residents from three other villages have also fled their homes.

"The first group of about 10 IDPs [internally displaced persons] arrived at the monastery on Dec. 24. Then more and more people arrived yesterday, and there are now a total 686 people," Sai Tun Aye said.

The volunteer said the first 10 were all tending their farms when the fighting broke out in their village and could not gather any supplies from their homes before fleeing. He said the villagers had no reports of fighting there on Wednesday morning but were not sure it was safe to return yet.

Sai Kham Maung, a lawmaker who represents Hsipaw in the state legislature, said the fighting was interrupting the seasonal rice harvest.

"They should stop fighting each other because it only hurts the local people," he said.

The SSPP says it is trying to prevent the RCSS from establishing a foothold in northern Shan State because it has no right to operate in the area. The RCSS, which is based in southern Shan, claims the right to operate across the state.

Colonel Sai Oo, a spokesman for the RCSS, told The Irrawaddy that some SSPP fighters have defected since Monday and that some were captured.

The Irrawaddy could not reach the SSPP for comment.

The two groups, erstwhile allies in their fight against the Myanmar military, have been fighting each other regularly since October in Namtu, Kyaukme, Hsipaw and Lashio townships, with the SSPP sometimes joining forces with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army against the RCSS.

The SSPP withdrew the troops it had in Namtu, Kyaukme, Hsipaw, and Lashio townships in 2015 before moving them back later that year to fight off a Myanmar military offensive on its headquarters. The RCSS has been moving into the area since signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, also in 2015.

The post More Villagers Flee Fighting Between Rival Armed Groups in Northern Shan appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Arakan League for Democracy Founder Murdered

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 02:00 AM PST

SITTWE—A member on the central executive committee of the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) was murdered at his residence in Kyar Inn Taung village in Rakhine State's Myebon Township on Monday.

U Khin Than Maung, who was also a founder of the party, was shot dead while watching television alone at his house, said ALD general secretary U Myo Kyaw.

"His family members went to a donation ceremony at their village. He was left alone at his house. They found him dead from gunshots when they came back home around 9 p.m.," U Myo Kyaw told The Irrawaddy.

U Myo Kyaw condemned the assassination of U Khin Than Maung and called for the arrest of the culprit.

Police have opened a case under Section 302 of Penal Code for murder, Myebon Township police chief Capt. San Lwin told The Irrawaddy.

"We don't know yet who shot him. We are hunting the killer," he told The Irrawaddy.

The ALD announced its founding member's assassination on Tuesday and strongly condemned those behind the violence.

Some senior ALD members are concerned about further political assassinations among Rakhine political circles, frightened by the fate of U Khin Than Maung who was murdered even though he always tried to avoid getting involved in issues relating to armed conflict in the state. Some locals told The Irrawaddy that many residents from Kyar Inn Taung Village were once rebels and smugglers who also still own firearms nowadays.

Accusations have been flying on social media despite no information being found yet on who is responsible for the crime. A number of controversial Facebook posts have pointed the blame at the Arakan Army (AA) as, several weeks before the murder, a number of AA supporters used Facebook to share accusations that U Khin Than Maung is "leaking the information to the army."

After the death of the senior ALD member, some AA supporters shared opinions on social media like, "this is the reward of traitors."

On the other hand, some AA supporters have accused the Myanmar Army's intelligence officials of the killing by linking them to the murder through the nine-millimeter pistol with one empty round which was left at the scene, saying that this firearm is most commonly used by army-related personnel.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had yet to release any updates on the case as of Wednesday.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Arakan League for Democracy Founder Murdered appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

DKBA Chief Shares Views on Peace Process and Development

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 01:48 AM PST

YANGON—The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), an ethnic armed group which broke away from the Karen National Union (KNU) in 1994, is currently a stakeholder and signatory of Myanmar's Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). Originally known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, following further splinters in the group in 2010, the group officially changed its name swapping "Buddhist" with "Benevolent" in 2015.

The DKBA has more than 10 battalions with troops based in Myawaddy and Kawkareik townships and the area of Three Pagodas Pass in Karen State, Kyain Seikgyi and Kyaikto in Mon State.

The DKBA is currently lead by Commander-in-Chief Gen. Saw Mo Shay, who took up the post three years ago after the death of the late Gen. Saw La Bwe. He has been part of the Karen revolutionary movement since 1987, and was a KNU soldier until 2003.

During events organized to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the formation of the DKBA, Gen. Saw Mo Shay said that negotiations are the only means of solving Myanmar's long-running civil wars as the people of Myanmar have many differing perspectives.

The DKBA, along with the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC) went under the political leadership of the KNU after signing the NCA in October 2015. After the KNU's decision to step back from formal peace negotiations in November, these two smaller groups said they would move forward with the talks with or without the KNU.

In mid-December, The Irrawaddy's reporter Nyein Nyein spoke to Gen. Saw Mo Shay at the DKBA headquarters in Myawaddy about his views on the peace process and the DKBA's efforts in the development of their areas.

Thinking about the past 24 years of the DKBA, what are the changes the group needs to make now? 

[The DKBA's split from the Karen National Union] was based on a religious dispute, but it has changed and we are now a democratic movement. Following the split, we are able to connect better with people in the communities.

In 2010, while under the command of the [late] Gen. Saw La Bwe, we refused the government's order to become border guard force. He led us on the principle that we should move forward based on our national interests rather than religious beliefs because if we continued putting our faith first, there would be more splits. We, Karen, believe in different faiths. Thus we took the [new] name.

With further splits from the DKBA prompted by your taking part in negotiations with the government, how do the group's actions impact the DKBA?

As we shifted our principles from faith-based to the interest of our nationality, we changed the name of our organization [from Democratic Karen Buddhist Army to Democratic Karen Benevolent Army] but the initials are the same so it confused people. When there was fighting, people thought it was between the government forces and us so they questioned us on why we were fighting despite signing the NCA.

Despite the acronyms of the two groups being the same, we are not related to [the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army]. People are not able to distinguish between us. We haven't had any clashes with the KNU after changing the name too (as there were reports of clashes between the DKBA splinter group and KNU over the last couple of years).

Since the DKBA is under the political leadership of the KNU, what are your expectations for 2019 given the KNU's temporary postponement of formal peace negotiations which has brought the talks to a halt?

The DKBA and the KNU/KNLA-PC haven't had political leaders who can take up political affairs since we signed the NCA, so we followed the KNU leadership. We don't think the KNU has [permanently] stopped those talks, and they also said they haven't. The main problem is that the [KNU] was not able to share the results of their discussion with the people on the ground. They have halted the talks in order to bridge the information gap on the negotiation process.

Either way, we can only move forward when we are at opposition. When things are smooth, it does not get us anywhere. So the current postponement is a good move. We know that every successful peace process faces such rough times in every country that goes through peace negotiations. A simultaneous ceasefire [with the Myanmar military and all ethnic armed groups] may not work for the whole country; it would have to go group by group because each group's situation is different. If we all agree to a ceasefire, it would be excellent. Therefore, this delay is a good sign, because nobody wants to violate the NCA, which has national and international acknowledgement.

Has your policy to follow the KNU's political leadership changed?

The KNU statement [on the postponement of formal talks] is their own decision. They didn't consult with us, so if there are further talks [initiated by the government], we will go ahead.

How do you spread awareness about the NCA within your group? 

We distribute small booklets on the NCA to our officers and we hold training sessions and workshops on the NCA and its principles, ethics and dos and don'ts. We hold these trainings together with the Chin National Front. We also held a workshop related to the [Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee] and distributed booklets containing the code of conduct between troops and the ethics of dealing with the public.

This area, Karen State, is home to people of many different religions. How do you make sure people know your organization is not faith-based? 

We do not have that kind of specific message. During our reform, we changed our organization's name, insignias and symbols. We treat different religions equally: I think people understand that although we don't have any official policies on it.

Regarding the illicit drugs trade, because the news often doesn't distinguish which group is involved, what role does the DKBA play in it?

We do take part in anti-narcotics activities. Of the many non-state armed groups in Karen State—the KNU, the KNU/KNLA-PC, the DKBA and the DKBA-turned-BGF—we are the most cooperative organization with the government in their fight against illegal drugs. Since we signed the bilateral ceasefire with the Karen State government in 2011 we have even helped to uncover some of the drugs cases and assisted [the government] in catching drug-dealers.

We have two anti-drugs programs in our areas. We raise awareness among the community members that drugs are a danger to them. We need our children to be freed from drugs and they need to grow up with healthy brains so that we can have more educated people. We do public awareness-raising together with the township general administrative department as well as with healthcare providers.

We also create spaces for the young people to play sports. Previously, we had very few sports activities but now we have sports competitions and youth festivals. We prioritize physical development and have formed sports associations. When [young people] become interested in sport, they can develop physically and mentally. We also find job opportunities for them as unemployment can interrupt their minds [and lead them to become interested in dealing drug].

The other activity is punishments for drug users. If members [of the DKBA are suspected of] using drugs, they have to go through a drugs test. If they fail the test twice, they are detained and sent to a rehabilitation program. If they commit more offenses, we refer them to the police in accordance with the law as we don't have the authority to take legal action.

We used to hear that the DKBA collected money from people. Does that continue today?

We do not directly control taxation. There are some basic rules of the area though. We stand on our own feet in this area, but we would sometimes ask some people for help. It is not formal taxation. Since 2015 we only have security checkpoints which do not collect money.

In most of the ethnic areas, the use of ethnic language is encouraged. At the DKBA ceremony, however, most of the programs were conducted in Burmese. What do you do to maintain the mother tongue? 

We have an ethnic literature association and literature is taught at summer [courses]. We have one Karen language teacher at each school. We used Burmese language for this commemoration as we are a democratic force and we have troops of many ethnicities. Also, people in this area have different ethnic backgrounds. We Karen have many sub-tribes and different dialects, so we use Burmese as a common language. In that way, everyone from near and far can understand what the DKBA is.

The post DKBA Chief Shares Views on Peace Process and Development appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Tatmadaw Ceasefire Poses Risks For Armed Group Alliance

Posted: 26 Dec 2018 12:32 AM PST

The Federal Political Negotiation Consultative Committee (FPNCC), an alliance of the strongest ethnic armed groups in Kachin and Shan states, has won a truce with the Myanmar military.

The military, or Tatmadaw. has tried to split the FPNCC for a long time but so far failed. Whenever it offered to meet with members one-on-one, the alliance insisted on engaging as a group.

Divide-and-rule is a common Tatmadaw tactic. It hasn’t always worked, but on occasion it has. The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), the first alliance of armed groups, collapsed under just such pressure.

The Karen National Union (KNU) and some other members of the UNFC abandoned the alliance after signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), marking a victory for the Tatmadaw. KNU Chairman Mutu Say Poe subsequently held several meetings with Tatmadaw chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, but this October abruptly suspended his group’s participation in the peace process, reportedly to settle internal differences about how to proceed.

Ethnic Mon leaders had predicted that the KNU would eventually back away from the process after growing wary of the Tatmadaw’s tactics. Their prediction has now come true. And now that the KNU has indefinitely left the peace talks, the Tatmadaw’s tactics look to have failed.

The Tatmadaw was worried the KNU would rejoin the UNFC or try to form a new alliance in southern Myanmar. For now the KNU is trying to build unity among all ethnic Karen armed groups, including the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council and the Karen border guard force. Any alliance it builds would be with the New Mon State Party and the Karen National Progressive Party.

The four-month ceasefire the Tatmadaw called last week in northeast Myanmar looks like a Plan B for the military. Yet some FPNCC members are worried that the move might split their alliance yet.

The ceasefire notably excludes Rakhine State, where the Tatmadaw is currently fighting with the Arakan Army (AA), an FPNCC member.

The AA’s allies in the FPNCC now have to figure out how to stay united and enter peace talks with the Tatmadaw while one of its members is effectively being excluded. The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army have been fighting hard with the Tatmadaw since 2015; they may want to give negotiations a chance and let their soldiers rest.

TNLA Brigadier General Tar Phone Kyaw said the ceasefire poses many risks for the FPNCC.

"Since the Tatmadaw ceasefire covers a limited area for a limited time, we will wait and see how strongly we are united, to what extent the FPNCC can provide leadership and foster unity," he told The Irrawaddy.

"We will wait and see what comes of Min Aung Hlaing’s move. It could cause a great deal of confusion among us. So, in my opinion, what he has done is quite dangerous. But if the FPNCC can provide good leadership, and if it is united, the move will be good for us."

David Mathieson, an Independent analyst on conflict and peace issues in Myanmar, said “ceasefire” was too grand a term for the Tatmadaw’s move and called it more of an “operational pause,” cautioning the international community against investing it with too much credibility.

Mathieson said there were many reasons the Tatmadaw announced its ceasefire.

He said it follows the failure of the NCA’s ceasefire monitoring mechanism, which he blamed mostly on the Tatmadaw but also on the current administration for lacking an effective plan, meddling by foreign interests, and the fact that most of armed groups that signed the NCA are bit players.

He said the Tatmadaw and its top leaders may also be trying to divert attention from the war crimes allegations it is facing over their crackdown against Rohingya communities in Rakhine State.

Mathieson said he did not believe the Tatmadaw’s claim that it was excluding Rakhine from the ceasefire because of the persistent threat from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army as it wasn’t strong enough to warrant such a decision.

He said the international community should not endorse the ceasefire if it does not come with unfettered humanitarian access to all conflict zones, and that they would be complicit in any subsequent violence the Tatmadaw commits if they do otherwise.

Finally, he said, if the Tatmadaw were serious about peace, it should have also issued a call to respect human rights. If it wants to be taken seriously, he added, it should stop detaining people for violating the Unlawful Associations Act and free unconditionally those it has. Then, its gambit may start to look more genuine.

The post Tatmadaw Ceasefire Poses Risks For Armed Group Alliance appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chinese Police Lock Down Court For Trial of Prominent Rights Lawyer

Posted: 25 Dec 2018 08:40 PM PST

TIANJIN, China — Chinese police locked down a courthouse on Wednesday at the start of the trial of a prominent rights lawyer accused of inciting subversion of state power whose case has attracted widespread concern in Western capitals.

Wang Quanzhang, who took on sensitive cases of complaints of police torture and defended practitioners of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, went missing in August 2015 during a sweeping crackdown on rights activists.

Most cases from that summer, known as the 709 cases for the first day of detentions on July 9, 2015, have concluded. Wang, however, was incommunicado for more than 1,000 days.

An investigation said he had “for a long time been influenced by infiltrating anti-China forces” and had been trained by overseas groups and accepted their funding, according to a copy of the indictment seen by Reuters.

Police outside the court in the northern city of Tianjin told reporters they could not get near the building because it was a closed trial.

One supporter stood outside the courthouse shouting “Wang Quanzhang is a good person” and “I support Wang Quanzhang” before police forced him into a car and drove him away.

There were also several Western diplomats outside the courthouse who were likewise not allowed in.

The indictment says Wang worked with Peter Dahlin, a Swedish rights worker who was detained in China for three weeks before being deported in 2016, and others to “train hostile forces” and actively provide investigative reports overseas.

It also says Wang had hyped up and distorted the facts in his online statements about the case of a policeman who killed a petitioner in Heilongjiang in 2014 and of “cults” that he had defended.

Dahlin, now in Madrid, said on Twitter they had kept all documentation dating back to 2009 “and will release anything needed to dispel that it constitutes subverting state power.”

Calls to the court seeking comment went unanswered. The trial could last just a single day, although a verdict may not come immediately.

Wang’s wife, Li Wenzu, says she has been unable to visit her husband since he went missing. She said seven lawyers she appointed to try to represent Wang had also been unable to visit him.

Li said in a statement sent to Reuters that state security agents had followed her when she left her Beijing home and blocked off the six entrances to her compound.

She decided she would be unable to go to Tianjin after more than an hour spent trying to leave, she said.

It was not possible to reach the State Security Ministry for comment because it has no website or publicly available telephone number.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has strengthened efforts to quash dissent since coming to power six years ago, with hundreds of rights lawyers and activists detained and dozens jailed.

China routinely rejects foreign criticism of its human rights record, saying all Chinese are treated equally in accordance with the law and that foreign countries have no right to interfere.

The post Chinese Police Lock Down Court For Trial of Prominent Rights Lawyer appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand Approves Medical Marijuana in New Year’s ‘Gift’

Posted: 25 Dec 2018 08:18 PM PST

BANGKOK—Thailand approved marijuana for medical use and research on Tuesday, the first legalization of the drug in a region with some of the world’s strictest drug laws.

The junta-appointed parliament in Thailand, a country which until the 1930s had a tradition of using marijuana to relieve pain and fatigue, voted to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 in an extra parliamentary session handling a rush of bills before the New Year’s holidays.

“This is a New Year’s gift from the National Legislative Assembly to the government and the Thai people,” said Somchai Sawangkarn, chairman of the drafting committee, in a televised parliamentary session.

While countries from Colombia to Canada have legalized marijuana for medical or even recreational use, the drug remains illegal and taboo across much of Southeast Asia, which has some of the world’s harshest punishments for drug law violations.

Marijuana traffickers can be subject to the death penalty in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

But in Thailand, the main controversy with legalization involved patent requests by foreign firms that could allow them to dominate the market, making it harder for Thai patients to access medicines and for Thai researchers to access marijuana extracts.

“We’re going to demand that the government revoke all these requests before the law takes effect,” said Panthep Puapongpan, Dean of the Rangsit Institute of Integrative Medicine and Anti-Aging.

Some Thai advocates hope that Tuesday’s approval will pave the way for legalization for recreational use.

“This is the first baby step forward,” said Chokwan Chopaka, an activist with Highland Network, a cannabis legalization advocacy group in Thailand.

The post Thailand Approves Medical Marijuana in New Year’s ‘Gift’ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Masked Youths Attack Bangladeshi Journalists Covering Election Campaign

Posted: 25 Dec 2018 08:09 PM PST

DHAKA—Around two dozen masked youths attacked a group of Bangladeshi reporters with hockey sticks and batons, injuring about 10 of them, when they were resting at a hotel after covering an election rally, the journalists said on Tuesday.

The incident, which occurred late on Monday in the town of Nawabgonj about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital Dhaka, is the latest in a series of violent attacks that have marred campaigning for a national election on Dec. 30.

The youths, whose identity remains unclear, also smashed hotel windows and vandalized more than a dozen vehicles belonging to media outlets or privately owned, the journalists said.

“Some of us had to take shelter inside the toilet out of fear,” Abdullah Tuhin, a journalist with a local TV channel, told Reuters. “The attackers threatened our colleagues and asked us to leave the place immediately or face serious consequences.”

Dhaka Reporters Unity, a union body, said many of its members had been “seriously injured” in the assault. Reuters could not immediately confirm the nature of the injuries.

Dhaka district’s top police official, Shah Mizan, said a police team sent to the hotel after the incident had not been able to immediately determine who the attackers were. No arrests have so far been made in the case.

Opposition parties have complained of violent attacks against their workers by ruling party activists and the arrests of candidates on what they say are trumped-up charges during the election campaign.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, which is seeking a third straight term in power, has denied accusations of trying to intimidate opposition candidates and journalists.

One opposition lawmaker, Salma Islam, whose husband owns a leading newspaper and a TV channel, said she would file a police complaint soon over the hotel attack.

“It’s unfortunate and unwanted. They also tore off my banners. We will lodge a written complaint,” said Islam, who is contesting the election as an independent after quitting her Jatiya Party, which is part of the ruling coalition.

While Hasina’s administration has won plaudits globally for welcoming hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in neighboring Myanmar, critics accuse her of cracking down on free speech and adopting an increasingly authoritarian style.

In interviews Reuters conducted with 32 local journalists and editors in recent weeks, the vast majority said a recent strengthening of defamation laws had spread a climate of fear in Bangladesh’s media.

The government denies freedom of speech is under attack in the country of 165 million people.

The post Masked Youths Attack Bangladeshi Journalists Covering Election Campaign appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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Tuesday, December 25, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Why the Military Has Declared a Unilateral Ceasefire

Posted: 24 Dec 2018 07:30 PM PST

In a surprise move on Friday, the Myanmar military declared a unilateral four-month ceasefire, its first ever. This after it failed to heed an order from then-President Thein Sein to stop its offensive against the Kachin Independence Army in December 2011.

Materializing as it has in the midst of a stalemate in the peace process, the ceasefire has come about for a number of reasons.

First, the military, or Tatmadaw, wants to rebuild the diminishing trust of the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), in particular those that have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), namely the Kayin National Union (KNU) and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS). The KNU decided to temporarily withdraw from the peace process in October. The following month, the RCSS said recent high-level meetings with the government and military had failed to achieve a breakthrough on key obstacles to a peace process.

The Karenni National Progressive Party, meanwhile, is in a “sit and wait” posture on the NCA, which it has not signed, while the Tatmadaw has shown a willingness to negotiate with it.

So the Tatmadaw wants to rebuild trust with NCA signatories and non-signatories alike in hopes of reviving the peace process.

Second, the Tatmadaw wants to forge good relations with the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), which comprises the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Shan State Army (SSA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Arakan Army (AA).

The AA, MNDAA and TNLA recently expressed interest in joining the peace process. The Tatmadaw wants to grab the opportunity to build a rapport with the FPNCC — non of whom have signed the NCA — via these three groups. The two largest and strongest FPNCC members, the UWSA and KIO, issued statements welcoming the Tatmadaw's announcement.

Third, the unilateral ceasefire may be a tactic of the Tatmadaw to convince EAOs outside of the NCA to sign on. Non-signatories regularly clash with the Tatmadaw, and those in Shan State urged the Tatmadaw to declare a unilateral ceasefire after the armed groups met in early December.

The Tatmadaw wants non-signatories to sign the NCA by the end of April. The tactic is similar to the government’s handling of the Land Law enacted on Sept. 11. The law requires everyone occupying land classified as vacant, fallow or virgin to apply for a land-use permit within six months of its enactment and reiterates the penalties for trespassing.

Similarly, the Tatmadaw is pushing non-signatories to join the NCA within four months. After that, the Tatmadaw can criticize any group that hasn’t.

Last but not least, the Tatmadaw wants to repair its damaged image both at home and abroad.

At home, the Tatmadaw's image appears to have been eroded by its land confiscations, lawsuits and arrests of political activists and other human rights abuses. Abroad, it faces pressure over its treatment of the country’s Rohingya minority. Achieving peace is the only way for the Tatmadaw to end the pressure and restore its image.

Coincidentally, the Tatmadaw will soon transfer the military-controlled General Administration Department to the Ministry of the Office of the Union Government, which is under the control of the civilian government, though the minister is a retired colonel.

It is also worth keeping in mind that the new ceasefire explicitly excludes Rakhine State, where the Tatmadaw and AA have been fighting since October, though the Tatmadaw claims it is because of an ongoing threat in the area from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army.

In a nutshell, the Tatmadaw's ceasefire was welcomed by EAOs and is a positive step toward stability. In the best-case scenario, 2019 will be a year of peace, something not seen in the past two years despite promises from the government that a year of peace was coming in 2017. In the worst-case scenario, those living in areas not under government control can celebrate Christmas Day without the sound of bullets and bombs.

Joe Kumbun is the pseudonym of an analyst based in Kachin State.

The post Why the Military Has Declared a Unilateral Ceasefire appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 24 Dec 2018 06:33 PM PST

Music Concert

Many singers will perform at this concert, held in memory of late vocalist Khine Htoo.

Dec. 29, 7 p.m. National Theater, Myoma Kyaung Street. Tickets 10,000 kyats to 40,000 kyats at Mann Thiri Recording.

 

Myanmar Countdown

A New Year’s Eve party with celebrated singers, games and street food.

Dec. 31, 4 p.m. Minder Grounds. Free admission.

Yangon New Year’s Countdown

Enjoy celebrity appearances, an ethnic food buffet, music, traditional ethnic dances, hot air balloons and a night market.

Dec. 31, 6 p.m. Thuwunna Stadium 1. Tickets 20,000 kyats to 50,000 kyats at 09-43020145.

Myanmar Premium Countdown

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with DJs, fun activities and a fireworks show.

Dec. 31, 4 p.m. Thuwunnabhumi Event Park. Tickets 35,000 kyats to 80,000 kyats at H-Life Ticket Counter, Myanmar Plaza.

Chatrium New Year's Eve Party

This party features the Mamma Mia story.

Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. Chatrium Hotel. Tickets start at $150 at 01-544500.

Waterboom New Year’s Celebration

Dance with DJs to welcome the New Year.

Dec. 31, 6 p.m. Waterboom, Shu Khin Thar. Tickets 15,000 kyats to 35,000 kyats at 09-445151010.

New Year's Eve Rock Event

Dress like a rock star and win a prize. There will be live music, a beer competition and more.

Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. Hard Rock Café, 4th Floor, Myanmar Plaza. Tickets start at 10,000 kyats at 09-458261390.

Book Sale

Seikku Cho Cho Publishing House will offer 20 percent discounts on all books.

Dec. 29 to Jan. 6. Seikku Cho Cho book shops.

Pure Gold Upcycling and Design Exhibition

This exhibition showcases rubbish transformed into useful, sometimes even beautiful, objects. Visitors can try their own hand at transforming waste "into gold" at several do-it-yourself counters.

Through Jan. 6. Secretariat Building. Free admission

December 58

Min Wae Aung's watercolor exhibition depicts rural scenes in December.

Dec. 28 to Jan. 5. New Treasure Gallery, No. 84 (A), Thanlwin Street, Golden Valley, Bahan Township.

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Monday, December 24, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Govt Won’t Punish Health Officer Probed For Criticizing Training Course

Posted: 24 Dec 2018 05:09 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — A senior public health officer who was placed under investigation by a team of top officials for criticizing a civil servant training event on social media will not be punished, Myanmar's health minister said.

Dr. Soe Thuya Zaw, head of dental health at the  Mogok Township Public Health Department in Mandalay Region, was placed under investigation last week after criticizing the rules and regulations that trainees need to follow, pointing out the faults of lecturers and claiming the training was a waste of government money.

The dentist attended a compulsory training session for mid-level civil servants at the northern branch of the Central Institute of the Civil Service in Zee Pin Gyi, a town near Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay, from October to early December. He shared a series of posts on his Facebook page about his experiences at the event. He said one lecturer had accused the government of lacking enthusiasm for the national peace process and that another discouraged them from marrying or buying things from non-Buddhists, Muslims especially, because they posed a threat to monogamous Buddhists.

His posts went viral and attracted much discussions online about the trainings being conducted by the Central Institute of the Civil Service, which was once widely regarded as a system for teaching government employees military doctrine and giving them military training. Those who commented on Dr. Soe Thuya Zaw’s investigation mostly condemned it and stood by the doctor.

On Monday, Health Minister Myint Htwe told The Irrawaddy that the ministry would not take any action against the dentist.

"He is a disciplined civil servant. We won't take action against those who give their service to the people," he said.

The minister added that the investigation was authorized by a deputy director general and directors without a prior, mandatory review of the allegations, and that the ministry would take “proper measures” against them without elaborating.

Founded in 1965 under the military regime of Ne Win, the Central People's Service Training School in Phaunggyi, on the outskirts of Yangon, was intended to train civil servants in socialist ideology. Basic military training was also included for a time so that they could be called on in case of war with Myanmar’s power neighbors, namely India and China.

The school was transformed into an institute in 1977 and later renamed the Central Institute of the Civil Service. A second branch was established in Zee Pin Gyi to serve the north of the country.

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Analysis: Four-Month Ceasefire Prompts Cautious Optimism

Posted: 24 Dec 2018 04:44 AM PST

Positive news came at the end of the year with the military's announcement of a temporary ceasefire effective in conflict areas in the north and northeast of Myanmar which prompted notes of welcome from some ethnic leaders and observers. The unprecedented move has been hailed as a constructive gesture but is also met with cautious optimism prompting further questions among ethnic groups. Kachin, Karen and Karenni groups have welcomed the news but have collectively called for a nationwide ceasefire.

The ceasefire order covers the Northern Command in Kachin State, the Northeastern, Eastern and Central Eastern commands and the Triangle Command in Shan State. Despite recent outbreaks of fighting between the Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army (AA) in northern Rakhine State, the ceasefire order does not cover Rakhine State, home of the Rohingya crisis and where the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) are said to operate. This decision upsets the AA leaders. However, the military leaders' strategic thinking is to deter ARSA and threat of migration along the border with Bangladesh.

Over the past few months, the government and military held a number of informal talks with three armed groups in Kunming, China including the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army. These three are part of a four-member military coalition, the Northern Alliance. The talks have had their ups and downs, but in recent months some progress has been made.

It was reported that at a Dec. 12 meeting held in China with members of the government's Peace Commission, three groups—the MNDAA, the TNLA and the AA—pledged to lay down their arms and seek political resolutions to conflicts.

Following this gesture, the military-backed down on its six-point policy, saying that all ethnic armed organizations need only to comply with four of them: "to respect the agreements, not to exploit the peace agreements, not to burden local residents and to abide by the existing laws."

The two policy points omitted are "to have a keen desire to reach eternal peace" and "to march towards a democratic country in accord with the 2008 Constitution."

This change of stance will no doubt allow for more open and constructive dialogue at the discussion table—but not at the frontline.

The Arakan Army remains to be the concern. The AA was established in northern Myanmar but has now moved to northern Rakhine territory and is actively recruiting more soldiers on the ground there. AA members are estimated to be around 5,000 in number and the group claims to receive overseas funding from the diaspora, tax and black market trade. In fact, powerful Wa leaders are behind the AA and China has a certain influence over both the Wa and AA.

The United League for Arakan is the political wing of the AA and aims to implement "Rakhita," meaning to build an independent Rakhine State and achieve self-determination.

There have been clashes between the Myanmar Army and the AA in recent weeks in northern Rakhine State. The military is accused of employing helicopter gunships and fighting is likely to intensify in the area in spite of the ceasefire in the north.

The real concern is that some top army generals suspect the AA is in contact with ARSA and it is believed that both are involved in the lucrative drug trafficking trade.

During talks between the government and the AA, questions on the latter's stance on ARSA has been raised. The generals in Naypyitaw want to see the AA taking a tough stance against ARSA and helping to deter their threat. "If the AA genuinely wanted to protect its Rakhine kingdom," as a senior officer put it, "they must not communicate with ARSA."

Political observers familiar with the situation on the ground said the leaders of the AA will not take any soft stance on ARSA and they will not tolerate their existence.

ARSA is regarded as a terrorist armed group in Myanmar and the army is determined to continue to hunt down ARSA members in northern Rakhine State.

In July and August 2017, ARSA insurgents killed several dozen civilians and village headmen in northern Rakhine State and on August 25, they launched attacks on police and security outposts.

The army sent out about 2,000 reinforcement troops and launched a clearance operation across the northern part of the state, driving hundreds of thousands of Rohingya living in that area to the Bangladesh border.

In August this year, a damning UN report accused the military of genocide against the Rohingya and accusing the army of war crimes and crimes against humanity and against minorities across the country.

It called for Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for the crackdown that drove over 800,000 Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh and for the alleged crimes committed by security forces in other ethnic areas.

In an effort to reduce mounting international pressure, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing called the temporary ceasefire in the north, earning himself some praise.

But he probably doesn't lose sleep over it. At his recent meeting with members of the Myanmar Press Council, the commander-in-chief showed who is the real boss: he is media savvy and up to date with current affairs—he impressed the press corps and treated them with respect. The irony remains, however, that in the recent past the army was behind the detention and charging of several reporters and journalists.

Suspicion lingers over his motives, however. Some ethnic leaders believe the army is buying time to recharge itself before it strikes again after the ceasefire period is over. And it will. Often when the monsoon season rains ease off, the military launches offensives in ethnic regions, but this time they called a truce. Top ranking generals said that ethnic leaders would appreciate this gesture, but many ethnic leaders remain wary and some are hoping to reopen peace talks.

Leaders of ethnic armed groups also have a continued frustration with government heads, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the peace commission team. They complain that the government doesn't understand the grievances of the ethnic struggle and accuse them of not being proactive and of condescension. They found the previous government led by former president U Thein Sein and the previous peace team more receptive.

It is likely that after the four-month ceasefire, the military will take a tougher stance towards the remaining armed groups who refuse to enter ceasefire talks and have shown no real interest in reaching a ceasefire before 2020.

China has also been a key player in recent ceasefire talks with several meetings held in Kunming, Yunnan Province which borders Myanmar's Kachin and Shan states.

In November, Song Tao, minister of the international department of the Communist Party of China had a meeting with Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw and the meeting produced some positive outcomes according to inside sources: a top-ranking general remarked "relations are much better."

Indeed, China holds a key to Myanmar's peace process. In recent meetings, China pushed the members of the Northern Alliance to be more pragmatic with the Myanmar government and military.

Chinese special envoy to Myanmar Sun Guoxiang also reportedly warned Arakan Army leaders not to have any links with ARSA. China suspected that ARSA members reached out to Uighurs, a Muslim minority mostly based in Xinjiang, northwest China. Some radical Uighurs have carried out terrorist attacks in recent years and in 2009, ethnic riots resulted in hundreds of deaths in the region. China is greatly concerned by the threat of Uighur separatism and extremism and has long feared that Uighurs will attempt to establish their own national homeland in Xinjiang.

With growing challenges and impending international intervention in northern Rakhine, it is no surprise that China and Myanmar leaders are seeing eye to eye in order to maintain some stability in the state.

Whatever the case, in the next four months, if talks are going to be successful, bilateral ceasefires with some ethnic groups in the north are necessary. The ongoing talks with Wa leaders have been seen to produce some good outcomes so far.

But there has been uncertainty with leaders of Kachin ethnic armed groups. Top Myanmar military leaders claim to have solid proof that there are foreign elements playing a role behind the scenes to disrupt the peace process but they haven't named any names. They also suspect that the same group recently approached Karen and Shan insurgents in the south to stir up more tension and misunderstanding between them. However, both the military and government leaders are hoping that Kachin leaders will be pragmatic as they signed a ceasefire in 1994 under the previous military government. The Kachin were one of the earliest ethnic armed groups to sign a ceasefire agreement and participated in the national convention at which military representative's army and ethnic groups drafted the 2008 Constitution.

Peace won't be easy to achieve in Myanmar and the military's latest gesture shouldn't be taken lightly.

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Arakanese Arrested for Intelligence Officer’s Murder, Beaten in Custody: Friends, Relatives

Posted: 24 Dec 2018 04:25 AM PST

YANGON — A member of the Arakan National Party (ANP) was arrested in Yangon on Dec. 15 in connection with the murder of a military intelligence officer and is in poor health after four days of interrogation by the Military Security Affairs Unit, according to a friend and a relative.

Ko Ni Aung Zaw, also known as Ko Ye Zaw, was arrested while attending an event with friends at the National Races Village in Thaketa Township and transferred to Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, on Dec. 19, according to a friend who declined to be named for fear of reprisal from security forces.

The friend said he visited Ko Ye Zaw at the Sittwe Hospital, where he was receiving medical treatment and was shackled by the hands and feet. He said his friend was arrested as a suspect in the fatal shooting of Corporal Win Htike in Sittwe on Sept. 25.


Video footage shared with The Irrawaddy shows him being escorted to the hospital on Monday.

Ko Ye Zaw’s brother, Ko Aye Tun Oo, said Sittwe police are suing his sibling under Article 302 of the Penal Code for murder. He claimed that his brother was beaten with sticks while in custody, forced to stand for hours on end while being interrogated, and made to confess to shooting Cpl. Win Htike.

“Because of the pain and harsh interrogation both day and night, he is now seriously ill and receiving medical treatment at Sittwe Hospital,” said Ko Aye Tun Oo.

The Arakan Youth Conference (AYC) released a statement on the condition of Ko Ye Zaw, one of its members, on its Facebook page on Monday. It said Ko Ye Zaw had hypertension, jaundice and a backache. It said he received an x-ray exam at about 3 p.m. and that three police officers were stationed at the hospital to watch him.

The AYC sad Ko Ye Zaw was innocent of the crime and that he was traveling from Sittwe to Yangon when the shooting occurred.

Police in Sittwe arrested two AYC members and an ANP member in October in connection with the intelligence officer’s murder, but they were later released on bail by a court.

The ANP said it was trying to arrange a defense lawyer for Ko Ye Zaw.

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Hundreds of Villagers Continue to Flee Fighting in Rakhine

Posted: 24 Dec 2018 12:14 AM PST

SITTWE, Rakhine State — More than 1,500 people across three townships in northern Rakhine State have been displaced by fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) since clashed broke out in October, according to local civil society groups.

The fighting in Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun and Buthidaung townships has intensified since late November.

Kyauktaw, where more than 1,000 people have fled their homes, has been hit hardest.

On Friday, more than 400 ethnic Khami in Kyauktaw fled Pinnyawa Village to the villages of Thalu Chaung, Taung Min Kalar, Kan Sauk and Nga Sarine Kine after artillery shells landed near their homes.

"Two artillery shells fell just about 20 yards from the village. So villagers did not dare to stay,” said U Wai Kyaw Sein, the administrator of Pinnyawa.

Locals reported hearing artillery fire through Saturday near the village. The AA blamed the shelling on the military, which it said had also attacked by air earlier.

On Tuesday, the entire population of Pyinnagyi fled the village following clashes near the border of Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun townships.

Most of the women and children in the area have fled their villages. Many of the men have stayed behind to mind their farms and cattle.

The military is inspecting all boats travelling between Pinnyawa and Thalu Chaung villages, including those transporting displaced families and relief supplies.

Civil society groups said boats ferrying relief supplies need permission from the state government or the township General Administration Department.

The Irrawaddy could not reach state security officials or Border Affairs Minister Colonel Phone Tint for comment on the reported boat inspections.

On Friday the military declared a unilateral four-month ceasefire, except in Rakhine State. Many have welcomed to move as a chance to make progress on the peace process.

In a joint statement on Dec. 12, the AA, Ta'ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army offered to suspend armed hostilities with the military for a chance to join the process. The government's Peace Commission welcomed the statement and said it would negotiate with all three armed groups in hopes of reaching bilateral ceasefire agreements with each.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Digging Deep: Singapore Plans an Underground Future

Posted: 23 Dec 2018 08:52 PM PST

SINGAPORE—From its towering “supertree” vertical gardens to a Formula 1 night race, Singapore is known for many attractions; underground space is not one of them.

But that may soon change, as the city-state prepares to unveil an Underground Master Plan in 2019.

With some 5.6 million people in an area three-fifths the size of New York City—and with the population estimated to grow to 6.9 million by 2030—the island nation is fast running out of space.

Singapore has been reclaiming land for decades, but that is increasingly unsustainable due to rising sea levels and other impacts of climate change. So the city is going underground.

Singapore has already moved some infrastructure and utilities below ground, including train lines, retail, pedestrian walkways, a five-lane highway and air-conditioning cooling pipes. It also stores fuel and ammunition underground.

Now, the city wants to go further.

“Given Singapore’s limited land, we need to make better use of our surface land and systematically consider how to tap our underground space for future needs,” said Ler Seng Ann, a group director at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

“Currently, our focus is on using underground space for utility, transport, storage and industrial facilities to free up surface land for housing, offices, community uses and greenery, to enhance livability,” he said.

The Underground Master Plan will feature pilot areas, with ideas including data centers, utility plants, bus depots, a deep-tunnel sewerage system, warehousing and water reservoirs.

There are no plans to move homes or offices below ground.

Singapore joins only a handful of cities that are mapping their subterranean space, said Peter Stones, a senior engineer with the consultancy Arup, which did a study for URA comparing its use of underground space to other cities.

“Globally, underground spaces are still back of mind; it’s a Wild West of development, with a first-come, first-served system,” he said.

“Singapore wants to look at it holistically and have a master plan so it can plan and manage the use of its underground space, and avoid potential conflicts,” he said.

Heat, humidity

From the catacombs of ancient Rome to step wells in medieval India and World War Two bunkers, underground spaces have been used for a variety of reasons.

Helsinki and Montreal are considered leaders in underground urbanism, a movement focused on innovative ways to use underground spaces.

Arup’s study found Singapore’s underground rail density is slightly behind Tokyo’s, and that it has the lowest density for underground pedestrian links.

The study also found Singapore trailed Hong Kong and Tokyo in underground road density as of 2014.

Of 180 kilometers of urban rail, nearly half are located below ground, as is about 10 percent of Singapore’s expressway network.

Besides the space crunch, the other driver for tapping underground space in Singapore is the weather, said Stones.

“You have rising heat and humidity, and increasingly heavy rainfall. People want to avoid that,” he said.

“Plus, utility networks are subject to more wear and tear in these conditions, so placing them underground is a viable option,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Advanced technologies and careful design also mean planners are able to alleviate the monotony and claustrophobia of underground spaces, he said.

But since building underground is generally more expensive and complex than on the surface, Singapore will only do so “where it is meaningful and practical,” URA’s Ler said.

“In many cases, it does make sense to build underground, considering benefits such as land saving, improving the quality of the environment and better connectivity,” he said.

“Our underground MRT (mass rapid transit) network and expressways in the city area are some examples where the benefits of going underground outweigh the higher construction cost and technical challenges.”

Storing fuel in rock caverns freed up more than 60 hectares, or 84 football fields, of space. The city’s reservoirs occupy about 5 percent of Singapore’s land, so moving them underground could create more space.

Full potential

By 2050, more than 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities, according to United Nations estimates.

In developing countries, where most of this growth will take place, it will strain infrastructure and resources, and stoke conflict over scarce land, analysts say.

Meanwhile, ageing populations in wealthier nations will make other demands of city planning and infrastructure.

“With rising urban populations and demands for a better quality of life, there is a need to integrate the underground cityscape to keep our cities livable,” said Wout Broere, an assistant professor at Holland’s Delft University of Technology.

But moving infrastructure and other facilities underground is often considered as a last resort only when surface space is exhausted and no other options exist, said Broere, a specialist in underground space technology.

This makes it more expensive than it would be if the space above and below ground are developed simultaneously, he said.

“So making an underground master plan and assigning zones for different functions will help integrate the underground early on, and ultimately help to realize the full potential of a compact and livable city,” he said.

Singapore has among the highest percentages of public green spaces in the world. Under its Land Use Plan 2030, one-third of surface land is allocated for industrial, transport infrastructure and utilities.

The government in 2015 made legislative changes that enable it to buy land beneath private blocks, and limit private owners to 30 meters of space below their properties.

That will help avoid potential conflicts, and make it easier to move some “nuisance neighbors” underground, Stones said.

The Underground Master Plan uses 3D technology, allowing the visualization of space that otherwise cannot be seen.

It is part of the “Virtual Singapore” plan, a 3D model that will be fed by big data, and could assist in everything from urban planning to disaster mitigation.

It is not just Singapore that is interested in its underground space.

Last week, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk unveiled a 1.83-kilometer tunnel segment as a breakthrough in low-cost, fast-digging technology, and a first step in developing a high-speed subterranean network in Los Angeles.

The launch of Singapore’s Underground Master Plan next year may be less glamorous, but no less significant.

“The space is there, it’s an asset, and we should use it. Having a detailed and rigorous plan is crucial,” said Stones.

The post Digging Deep: Singapore Plans an Underground Future appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Says Policeman Found Dead Near Border With Bangladesh

Posted: 23 Dec 2018 08:32 PM PST

YANGON — The body of a missing Myanmar policeman was found on the country’s troubled border with Bangladesh, state media and officials said on Sunday after a clash with unknown gunmen last week.

Private Aung Kyaw Thet had been missing since his patrol was fired on from the Bangladesh side of the border on Dec. 17, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar.

His body was found on Friday with “gunshot wounds in his face, arm and leg,” the newspaper said, adding that another policeman was wounded in the incident.

The newspaper said the clash occurred in a rugged section of the border in Maungdaw Township, the epicenter of violence in August 2017 that drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims out of Myanmar and into Bangladesh.

Myanmar’s military had responded to attacks by a Rohingya insurgent group with a campaign that U.N.-mandated investigators said involved killings, rape and arson carried out with “genocidal intent” against the wider Rohingya population.

Major Mohammad Iqbal of the Bangladesh border guards said his men were not involved in the Dec. 17 incident, but they had heard the exchange of gunfire on the border.

Bangladeshi guards joined a patrol with their Myanmar counterparts to investigate, he said, adding that Aung Kyaw Thet’s body was found on Friday.

Lt. Colonel Tin Han Linn, of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police in Maungdaw, said they knew the location of the body several days before it was recovered on Friday, but had to arrange a joint Myanmar-Bangladesh team to retrieve the corpse.

The identity of the attackers was unknown and police are still investigating, he told Reuters.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group claiming to represent the Rohingya, launched the August 2017 attacks on more than two dozen security posts, killing 13 members of Myanmar’s security forces.

ARSA “continues to have a prominent presence” in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh and could launch cross-border raids on Myanmar forces, the International Crisis Group said in a November report on the proposed repatriation of Rohingya refugees.

Fighting between the Myanmar army and the Arakan Army — a group that says it fights for the Rakhine Buddhist ethnic group — has flared this month in areas of northern Rakhine state further from the Bangladesh border, displacing more than 700 people.

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Japan Emperor Draws Huge Birthday Crowd Before Abdication Next Year

Posted: 23 Dec 2018 08:16 PM PST

TOKYO — More than 82,000 well-wishers paid their respects to Emperor Akihito, who turned 85 on Sunday, his last birthday celebration at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace before stepping down next year.

The birthday of the emperor, whose position is ceremonial with no political power, is traditionally marked by a national holiday and an address at the palace, which opens to the public on the day.

The crowd of 82,850, according to the Imperial Household Agency, was the largest birthday attendance during Akihito’s three-decade reign, known as the “Heisei” era, which means “achieving peace” in Japanese.

Flanked by his wife, eldest son Naruhito and other members of the imperial family on a balcony, Akihito addressed well-wishers waving small Japanese flags and holding up smartphones.

“My thoughts go out to those who have lost family members or those close to them, or have suffered damage and whose lives are currently impaired,” he said, referring to the natural disasters that hit Japan in the past year.

Earthquakes, severe storms and heatwaves killed hundreds of people, destroyed homes and disrupted supply chains, clouding the outlook for Japan’s export-reliant economy.

Along with Empress Michiko, Akihito has spent much of his reign addressing the legacy of World War Two, which was fought in the name of his father, Hirohito, and consoling victims of natural disasters.

“I would like to thank him for standing by us, the Japanese people, and would like him to rest and enjoy his time from now on,” said 46-year-old Kazuyo Toyama from Nagoya.

Akihito, who has had heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, is scheduled to step down on April 30, passing the Chrysanthemum Throne to 58-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito.

The last time a Japanese emperor abdicated was in 1817.

Although he cannot directly influence government policy, Akihito has created a broader consciousness of Japan’s wartime past throughout his symbolic reign, experts said.

In comments made to the media ahead of his birthday, Akihito said “it is important not to forget that countless lives were lost in World War Two…and to pass on this history accurately to those born after the war.”

His conciliatory stance contrasts with gestures made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has adopted a less apologetic tone over Japan’s past military aggression.

Akihito also referred to foreign workers, saying he hoped that “the Japanese people will be able to warmly welcome as members of our society those who come to Japan to work.”

Japan enacted a law this month to let in more foreign, blue-collar workers to ease a labor shortage, despite criticism it was too hastily crafted and risked exposing the workers to exploitation.

The post Japan Emperor Draws Huge Birthday Crowd Before Abdication Next Year appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rescuers Dig Through Rubble for Survivors After Indonesian Tsunami Kills 280

Posted: 23 Dec 2018 08:09 PM PST

LABUAN, Indonesia—The death toll from a tsunami that hit the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra after the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted rose to at least 280 on Monday, officials said, as rescuers using heavy machinery and their bare hands searched for more victims.

Hundreds more were injured when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday. More than 3,000 coastal residents were forced to evacuate to higher ground, with a high-tide warning in place until Tuesday.

The vast archipelago, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” has suffered its worst annual death toll from disasters in more than a decade. Earthquakes flattened parts of the tourist island of Lombok in July and August, and a double quake-and-tsunami killed more than 2,000 people on Sulawesi island in September.

Search and rescue officials used their bare hands and some heavy machinery to clear the remains of buildings on Monday. Government and non-government aid trickled in to Pandeglang, the worst-affected area on Java’s west coast.

Indonesia’s disaster agency had put the death toll at 222 on Sunday, with about 850 injured and 28 people missing, but raised it to 280 early on Monday. A disaster mitigation agency official in Banten Province named Jhony told reporters most victims were Indonesian holidaymakers.

Dudi Dwiriadi, a district military commander, said personnel and volunteers had been briefed to sweep at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) of coastline in search of victims.

The timing of the tsunami over the Christmas holiday season evoked memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake on Dec. 26, 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 14 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

Roads blocked

Some roads remained blocked by debris and traffic, with families streaming out of the area for fear of further tsunamis.

President Joko Widodo, who is running for re-election in April, was scheduled to visit the area on Monday.

Television images showed when the tsunami hit the beach and residential areas in Pandeglang, dragging with it victims, debris, and large chunks of wood and metal.

Many coastal residents reported not seeing or feeling any warning signs, such as an earthquake, on Saturday night before waves of 2-3 metres (6-10 feet) washed ashore.

Yuni, a resident of Lampung in Sumatra, was watching television at home when she heard the water coming.

“I heard a rumbling sound and I thought it was the wind. After I opened the door, water came in quickly and dragged me out. When I saw outside, the sea was receding. I decided to run and go as the water came again for the second time,” she said.

Roman, a resident of the area who operates tours to Anak Krakatau, said by text message the weather had been fine when the waves struck, although residents had become wary of the rumbling volcano.

He said many others had taken refuge in his elevated village of Tahura Carita, which is about 100 meters from the sea. Evacuees were relying on instant noodles, he said.

Heavy equipment was being moved in to help with rescue efforts, as well as water and sanitation equipment. The military said it was deploying troops to distribute aid and blankets, as well as sending in medics.

The western coast of Banten province in Java, Indonesia’s most populated island, was also badly hit, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency.

At least 48 people were reported dead in Lampung in southern Sumatra, he said.

With the exact cause of the disaster still unknown, authorities were wary of the risk of a recurrence. Public works minister Basuki Hadimuljono said emergency operations would be carried out continuously but “would stop at the first sign of possible high tides”.

"Washed away"

Television footage showed how the tsunami washed away an outdoor stage where Indonesian rock band Seventeen was performing for hundreds of guests at an end-of-year party for state utility company PLN.

At least four band members and support crew were killed, lead singer Riefian “Ifan” Fajarsyah told followers in a tearful Instagram account. The band’s drummer was among the missing.

Another 29 PLN employees and relatives were also killed.

Anak Krakatau, roughly halfway between Java and Sumatra, has been spewing ash and lava for months. It erupted again just after 9 p.m. on Saturday and the tsunami struck about 30 minutes later, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

The tsunami was caused by an undersea landslide resulting from volcanic activity on Anak Krakatau and was exacerbated by abnormally high tides because of the full moon, Nugroho said.

Ben van der Pluijm, an earthquake geologist and professor at the University of Michigan, said the tsunami may have been caused by a partial collapse of Anak Krakatau.

“Instability of the slope of an active volcano can create a rock slide that moves a large volume of water, creating local tsunami waves that can be very powerful. This is like suddenly dropping a bag of sand in a tub filled with water,” he said.

The eruption of Krakatau, previously known as Krakatoa, in 1883 killed more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunamis.

Anak Krakatau, which means child of Krakatau, is the island that emerged from the area once occupied by Krakatau, which was destroyed in 1883. It first appeared in 1927 and has been growing ever since.

The post Rescuers Dig Through Rubble for Survivors After Indonesian Tsunami Kills 280 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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