Monday, April 22, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Military Sues The Irrawaddy for ‘Unfair’ Coverage of Rakhine Conflict

Posted: 22 Apr 2019 05:39 AM PDT

YANGON—The Myanmar military has sued The Irrawaddy News under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law for its coverage of recent clashes between the Army and the Arakan Army ethnic armed group in the ancient town of Mrauk-U in Rakhine State.

The military's Yangon Region Command filed the case against the news agency's Burmese edition editor U Ye Ni on April 12 at Kyauktada Police Station. It is the second time the military has taken legal action against The Irrawaddy in the past three years. In June 2017 a reporter from the news organization and two others from Democratic Voice of Burma were detained by the military and charged under Article 17(1) of the Unlawful Association Act during a reporting trip to northern Shan State.

Kyauktada Police Station chief Po Htun told The Irrawaddy on Monday that Lieutenant Colonel Zaw Min Tun of the Yangon Region Command filed the case on behalf of Yangon military commander Major General Thet Pone. The editor was granted bail on the same day.

The secretary of the military's True News Information Team, Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun, told The Irrawaddy on Sunday that media coverage of the Rakhine conflict, including The Irrawaddy's, had not been fair, prompting it to take legal action.

Clashes between the AA, which seeks autonomy for the Arakanese people in Rakhine State, and the Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw) intensified early this year following the rebels' attacks on police outposts in northern Rakhine State on Jan. 4. The government announced that there had been 103 incidents of fighting between the Tatmadaw and the AA since January, resulting in the deaths of 12 civilians. The Myanmar Army admitted there had been casualties on both sides.

Since mid-March, the two sides have accused each other of opening fire on civilians. The Tatmadaw claims such incidents occur because AA troops try to mingle with local residents.

The civilian casualties have dominated the headlines of local publications.

The Irrawaddy has reported extensively on fighting between the AA and government troops since the outbreak of clashes in January, presenting views from both sides, as well as follow-ups on local people displaced by the fighting.

The Irrawaddy's U Ye Ni said the agency has exercised its journalistic rights and ethics as stated in the country's Media Law.

"I feel sorry about the military's misunderstanding of us. Journalism dictates that we reveal the suffering of people in a conflict area. Our intention behind the coverage is to push those concerned to solve the problems by understanding the sufferings of the people," he said.

The editor said he had informed the Myanmar Press Council about the charge and requested its intervention.

Meanwhile, the military's ire has not been limited to the news media. It recently charged an activist, a human-rights film director and student activists with public mischief. In 2017, the military sued the editor and a writer from local paper The Voice over a satirical piece.

The post Military Sues The Irrawaddy for 'Unfair' Coverage of Rakhine Conflict appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Five Members of Thangyat Troupe Jailed for Criticizing Military

Posted: 22 Apr 2019 03:20 AM PDT

YANGON—Five members of the Peacock Generation Thangyat troupe were denied bail and sent to Insein Prison on Monday afternoon for criticizing the military during a performance.

Lieutenant-Colonel Than Tun Myint opened cases against the five members of the Peacock Generation satirical performance group—Ko Zeyar Lwin, Ko Paing Phyo Min, Ko Paing Ye Thu, Ko Phoe Thar and Ma Kay Khine Tun—under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code.

Article 505 (a) makes it a crime to engage in activity that is seen to undermine the military. It carries a maximum two-year prison sentence.

During the Myanmar New Year celebrations, the troupe performed a number of Thangyat songs that criticized the military's role in politics. Thangyat is a traditional Burmese performing art in which a group of performers sing satirical songs criticizing the government and the situation in the country, as well as highlighting the difficulties and suffering of the people.

Defamation cases under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law were also opened against the members of Peacock Generation relating to the same event in Yangon, as well as for their livestreaming of a video of their performance in Irrawaddy Region.

Since the second week of this month, senior military officials have opened cases against several critics. On April 12, prominent filmmaker and human rights activist Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi was arrested for a series of Facebook posts criticizing the military-drafted 2008 Constitution and the political role that it grants to the Army. And on April 19, ex-Army Captain Ko Nay Myo Zin was arrested for giving a speech against the military.

The post Five Members of Thangyat Troupe Jailed for Criticizing Military appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thousands of Downstream Villagers Protest Against Myitsone Dam

Posted: 22 Apr 2019 03:05 AM PDT

YANGON—Thousands of residents of Waimaw Township in Kachin State staged a protest on Monday calling for the suspension of Myitsone Dam and other dams upstream of the Irrawaddy River.

The protest was staged just days before State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is due to travel to Beijing for the 2nd Belt and Road Forum, where Chinese investment projects, including the proposed dams on the Irrawaddy River, are expected to be discussed. The public has raised concerns that a resumption of the suspended dam project, which is worth US$3.6 billion (5.4 trillion kyats), would destroy the country's mighty lifeline river and disrupt the water flow downstream.

The organizers of the protest told The Irrawaddy on Monday that they would continue their opposition to the project until the government announced its termination. They also called for an end to all dams on the Irrawaddy River. Waimaw Township, located some 19 km from the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, is one of the most vulnerable areas downstream. The public has been alarmed over reports that the dam, if it broke, could flood an area the size of Singapore, which would destroy livelihoods and displace more than 10,000 people.

Bawm Sau, who led the protest, told The Irrawaddy the protesters shouted "No Myitsone Dam!" and "Completely halt the Myitsone dam and other dams upstream!" during the demonstration.

As they marched, the protesters also held up signs with slogans such as "The people totally reject Myitsone Dam" and "Let the Irrawaddy flow freely forever."

Some 8,000 to 10,000 local residents joined the march, according to the organizers.

Like people all around the country, local residents are eagerly awaiting the government's decision on whether the project should be resumed or terminated. A meeting of environmentalists, academics, politicians and artists in Yangon on Saturday also called for a halt to the dams, announcing a campaign to raise money from the public to compensate China for the scrapping of the project.

"There shouldn't be any dams on the Irrawaddy River and we are waiting for the government's response. We will keep raising our voices until they announce a permanent halt," said U Waw Lay, a Waimaw resident who took part in Monday's protest.

The post Thousands of Downstream Villagers Protest Against Myitsone Dam appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Anti-Myitsone Campaign to Ask Citizens to Pay $1 Each to Compensate China

Posted: 21 Apr 2019 11:51 PM PDT

YANGON—Prominent civil society leaders, environmentalists and film stars have announced a "One Dollar" campaign to collect money from the public to compensate China in exchange for scrapping the controversial Myitsone Dam project planned for Myanmar's lifeline, the Irrawaddy River. The campaign was announced at a forum on Saturday with the aim of giving State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi a message to convey to Beijing from the Myanmar public, and was backed up by an open letter to the Chinese president.

Four days before the State Counselor's scheduled departure for Beijing to attend the 2nd Belt and Road Forum, a panel discussion under the title "Save the Irrawaddy by Offering Compensation" was held on Saturday at the Novotel Hotel in Yangon. The panel discussion was organized by three of the country's most prominent civil society organizations: the Metta Development Foundation, Paung Ku and the Tharthi Myay Foundation.

In an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, participants said that a dam on the Irrawaddy River is unacceptable to the people of Myanmar.

"So, in line with the [Myitsone project's] contract, the Myanmar people wish to dutifully offer compensation for the official expenditure you have spent on the project," the letter reads.

During her trip, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to discuss a number of controversial Chinese projects in Myanmar, particularly the Myitsone Dam project.

The proposed US$3.6-billion (5.4 trillion kyats) dam on Myanmar's lifeline Irrawaddy River in Kachin State has been suspended since 2011 due to nationwide opposition amid warnings that the project would disrupt the flow of sediment in the country's main waterway, harming agricultural livelihoods, while potentially flooding an area twice the size of Singapore and displacing thousands of people if it collapsed. The then military junta signed a contract on the project with China in 2006, before handing power to a quasi-civilian government in 2011.

However, Beijing's recent efforts to revive the dam have fueled negative sentiment among the Myanmar public. Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang's claim, after a visit to Kachin State in December, that the Kachin people were not opposed to the dam's resumption, prompted a series of protests in major cities calling for the project to be scrapped. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government hasn't made public its view on whether the dam should be resumed or terminated. But recent remarks by the State Counselor suggesting that governments ought to respect the deals made by their predecessors have raised public concerns that the dam project is back on the track.

The Chinese company behind the project says Myanmar will owe it US$800 million in compensation if the government cancels the dam, but could earn US$500 million a year in revenue if it goes head.

Attended by around 700 people, Saturday's forum in Yangon was the latest event called to protest against the project. Panelists included prominent academics, politicians, civil society leaders, environmentalists and film stars. They requested that Myanmar citizens contribute one dollar each to cover the compensation required to scrap the Myitsone Dam. They also plan to send a letter to Xi appealing to him to accept the compensation instead of reviving the dam. A majority of attendees endorsed the idea of offering compensation to China.

It was not the first effort to raise a collective voice against the Myitsone Dam. Prominent environmentalists, writers and civil society leaders on April 1 formed a nationwide committee calling for the total abolition of the project, and warned the government it would face severe resistance from the public across the country if it made the wrong decision.

"There is no time for hesitation. This is the time to make an effort to stop the Myitsone Dam completely," Lahpai Seng Raw, founder of the Metta Development Foundation and a 2013 recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, said on Saturday.

"This is not the time to fear any pressure or threats. The future of our citizens depends on the Irrawaddy River," Lahpai Seng Raw said.

"By offering compensation to the Chinese government from the public, we can save our country's dignity and sovereignty," she said.

U Tun Lwin, the country's best-known meteorologist and founder of Myanmar Climate Change Watch, said, "I cannot accept any dam project on the Irrawaddy River."

In late January, U Thaung Tun, the minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, said the government and a commission were holding serious discussions and considering all possibilities, including downsizing the dam or relocating it.

"The catchment area of the dam is 65 percent to 70 percent of the country. There is no doubt that our sovereignty would be totally surrendered to the Chinese government if we let them build the dam," said U Tun Lwin.

After taking office, the National League for Democracy-led government set up a 20-member commission to review the dam and its likely impacts on the environment and local communities. The commission has produced two reports to date, but the government has yet to make either of them public.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi promised during the 2015 elections that she would make public the project contract signed by the military dictatorship, but has maintained a long silence on her own stance on the dam project.

One of the panelists at Saturday's discussion, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy Secretary U Sai Nyunt Lwin, said, "We all know that the government is facing a crisis. If they make the wrong decision, they will face severe resistance and consequences from the public."

He said, "On Myitsone, we need to be unified. We cannot think about what ethnicity we are, which party we come from. We are just citizens of the Union of Myanmar."

"It is time to protect Myitsone together. I would like to invite all citizens of Myanmar to join the campaign," he added.

Prominent writer Juu said that while manmade monuments can be recreated, natural gifts cannot.

"I want to take back Myitsone no matter what," she said.

Regarding the planned "One Dollar" campaign, the panelists did not reveal how they planned to collect the money from the public.

"We will wait and see how China responds. We will make a move depending on how they react,"

U Sai Nyunt Lwin said.

"Myitsone is under our sovereignty. There is nothing China can do without our [Myanmar citizens'] consent," he said.

Meanwhile, in Waimaw Township, about 19 km from Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, more than 4,000 local people planned to stage a major protest against the dam on Monday. The township is one of the most vulnerable areas should the dam break. Residential areas of the township, which lies downstream of the dam, would be wiped out.

The post Anti-Myitsone Campaign to Ask Citizens to Pay $1 Each to Compensate China appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Day a Pioneer of Care for the Elderly Was Honored

Posted: 21 Apr 2019 09:37 PM PDT

On this day 93 years ago, Daw Oo Zun, the very first Buddhist founder of homes for the aged in Myanmar, was awarded the TPS (Taing Kyo Pyi Kyo Saung), an award for promoting the welfare of the country, by the governor of British India.

Drawing inspiration from Christian homes for the aged in Yangon, the Mandalay-born silk merchant founded her first home for the aged in Mingun, Sagaing Region in 1915 with money she raised by selling her own property. The home for the aged, the first of its kind established by a Myanmar citizen, is located near the historic Mingun Bell.

Between 1915 and 1937 she founded another four such homes in Mon State's Thaton, Bago Region's Paungde, Yangon, and Magwe Region's Pakokku. She herself personally took care of elderly residents of the homes.

In recognition of her endeavors to improve the public welfare, the British government presented Daw Oo Zun with documents allowing her free, lifelong first-class travel via rail or vessel anywhere in the country.

At the age of 62, she renounced the worldly life to become a nun of the Buddhist Order at the Paungde Home for the Aged.

After devoting herself to caring for the elderly for 28 years, she died at her cherished Mingun Buddhist Home for the Aged in May 1944 at the age of 76.

The post The Day a Pioneer of Care for the Elderly Was Honored appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement No Panacea For What Ails Myanmar

Posted: 21 Apr 2019 08:44 PM PDT

Some people, government officials and foreign diplomats in particular, seem to believe that decades of civil war in Myanmar would come to an end if all armed groups were to only sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). They believe that development will make the groups abandon their quest for self-determination.

The international community has spent a great deal of money supporting development and peace talks in Myanmar, though it has been hard to keep track of just how that money has been spent and the peace process has nearly collapsed.

Let’s look at Catalonia in Spain. The region is well developed, yet its people still want independence from Madrid and staged a mass protest last year. What the people want most is to preserve their identity, something development cannot deliver. Development will not help the ethnic minorities of Myanmar preserve their identities either, which is why they need to be able to govern themselves.

The Wa region in northern Shan State shares some similarities with Catalonia and is a good example. Naypyitaw has no influence in the region, which the Wa control themselves and have developed significantly over the past 30 years. Yet they continue to urge Naypyitaw to recognize the region as an autonomous state.

It is time to think about why most ethnic armed groups do not want to sign the NCA, and why the Karen National Union halted formal peace talks with the government.

According to the framework for the peace talks, any important decisions at a Union Peace Conference needs at least 75 percent approval from voting delegates. That makes major decisions hard to approve, one of the reasons the process has stalled.

Some ethnic armed groups complain that their votes do not carry equal weight to those of the government and military on the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee. The committee consists of 48 members — 16 each from ethnic armed groups, political parties and the government, in this case meaning the military and Parliament, so the ethnic armed groups feel outnumbered.

The military and executive often disagree, yet they always find common cause when negotiating with the armed groups.

The government and military want the ethnic armed groups to sign the NCA. Some people criticize the Kachin Independence Army for refusing to sign the NCA, even looking down on its leaders as warlords. They say it is time for the group to join now that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in power.

But some groups are also refusing to sign the NCA because they first want to address security sector reform while the military first wants to settle the matters of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. The groups are negotiating for deals what would let them keep their arms and rule themselves.

Nai Hong Sar, vice chairman of the New Mon State Party, says the Constitution offers only the facade of a federal system and places control firmly with the central government.

In Rakhine State, for example, the Arakan National Party won the majority of votes in the last election yet the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led central government still got to appoint the region’s chief minister. Although the central government has the constitutional prerogative to appoint the chief minister, its decision to install an NLD member upset many ethnic Rakhine.

But under the Constitution, minorities will never get to run their state even if their parties do win. That is why the Arakan Army (AA) enjoys popular support in Rakhine State and why hundreds of young Rakhine have decided to join the rebel group instead of a political party; they believe freedom will only come from the gun.

Some ethnic leaders believe the prospects for democracy in Myanmar are fading and are losing faith in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who promised equal rights for minorities when her party took power. Instead, it has cooperated with the military to try to put down the AA.

But the AA will be difficult to wipe out, and the military has never once defeated an ethnic armed group for good. The military forced the Palaung State Liberation Front to disarm in 2005, but the Ta’ang National Liberation Army soon took its place. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army has had a similar experience.

Understanding ethnic politics in Myanmar means understanding how to solve the country’s armed conflicts. But Myanmar has yet to see a leader who understands ethnic history. And so, as AA chief Tun Myat Naing told The Irrawaddy last week, democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has become not part of the solution but part of the problem.

The post Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement No Panacea For What Ails Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

From Coronation to Commoners, Astrology Everywhere in Thailand

Posted: 21 Apr 2019 08:38 PM PDT

BANGKOK—Pondering whether her job is the right fit and whether her romantic relationship is meant to be, Jarunun Sangjun, 27, does what any typical Thai would do: seek out a fortune-teller for advice.

The fortune-teller, who has a table set up on the side of the road near a temple in Bangkok, asks for the date and time of her birth before drawing up horoscope charts.

"The stars are saying this year you'll change jobs, start a new relationship," says the fortune-teller known as Ajarn Jamras, who said he has been practicing for 30 years.

The roadside divination is a world away from Thailand's elaborate preparations for the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 4.

But astrology plays a key role in the coronation ceremonies this week when the monarch, too, will have his horoscope cast.

The main coronation events from May 4 to 6 will be the first the country has seen since Vajiralongkorn's father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was crowned on May 5, 1950. He reigned for seven decades before he passed away in October 2016.

Thai culture is steeped in astrology and other forms of divination, such as palm reading, tarot cards and Feng Shui, which all sit comfortably in the country’s brand of Buddhism.

Many Thais, like Jaranun, go to fortune-tellers for everything from guidance on career and love to setting dates for important life events like weddings and business ventures.

On Tuesday, royal astrologers will inscribe the king's new name and the horoscope for the new reign on a golden plate. Court astrologers traditionally make predictions about the future at every important transition in the nation's history.

"By showing the horoscope, you’re really showing to those who can read it that this is a legitimate king and this will be a prosperous reign," said Edoardo Siani, a Thai astrology expert and Thailand anthropologist at Kyoto University in Japan.

Thai astrology derives from Brahmanic practices in the royal court and unlike in the West, it is not strictly about planetary alignments but also concerns numerology and omens.

Thais have been urged to wear yellow from May to July, or from the king's coronation to his birthday. Yellow carries a significance in Thailand as it is the color of Monday, the day the king and his father were born on, and also the color of the Sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos.

Thais already actively wear certain colors on certain days to align with the planets they represent, believing it will bring good luck. They also look for numbers in obscure places like tree trunks and clouds, believed to be signs from the universe, before buying lottery tickets.

Divination in Thailand is also heavily infused with the Buddhist concept of karma, which dictates that when people do good or bad deeds, the universe will treat them back in kind. This makes fortune telling in Thai culture more than just about seeing the future, but also having agency to change it, Siani said.

"Everything depends on positive or negative karma, and by engaging in practices like merit-making, you may always hope to change a negative forecast," he said.

"Seeing the future is just the first part. The services of a specialist are also about providing techniques for dealing with a problematic fortune, or with enhancing good luck."

Some fortune-tellers such as Ajarn Jamras say that is why they are in the business, as helping people is their calling. "Ajarn" in Thai means "teacher" and is used as a title to convey respect.

After Jarunun asked how to make her current relationship last, changing the outcome he previously forecast, Jamras told her to pray at a shrine for Guan Yu—a Chinese god—in Chinatown, and to refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays, the day of her birth.

"I'm here to show people the way out of misery so they can make their lives better," Jamras said.

The post From Coronation to Commoners, Astrology Everywhere in Thailand appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Sri Lanka Lifts Curfew after Bomb Attacks Kill 290, Wound 500

Posted: 21 Apr 2019 08:37 PM PDT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Authorities lifted a curfew in Sri Lanka on Monday, a day after 290 people were killed and about 500 wounded in a string of bombings that tore through churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday.

There was still no claim of responsibility for the attacks on two churches and four hotels in and around Colombo, the capital of predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka, and a third church on the country's northeast coast.

A government source said President Maithripala Sirisena, who was abroad when the attacks happened, had called a meeting of the National Security Council early on Monday. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would attend the meeting, the source said.

There were fears the attacks could spark a renewal of communal violence, with police reporting late on Sunday there had been a petrol bomb attack on a mosque in the northwest and arson attacks on two shops owned by Muslims in the west.

Sri Lanka was at war for decades with Tamil separatists but extremist violence had been on the wane since the civil war ended 10 years ago.

The South Asian nation of about 22 million people has Christian, Muslim and Hindu populations of between about 8 and 12 percent.

The island-wide curfew imposed by the government was lifted early on Monday, although there was uncharacteristically thin traffic in the normally bustling capital.

Soldiers armed with automatic weapons stood guard outside major hotels and the World Trade Center in the business district, where the four hotels were targeted on Easter Sunday, according to a Reuters witness.

Scores of people who were stranded overnight at the main airport began making their way home as restrictions were lifted.

The government also blocked access to social media and messaging sites, including Facebook and WhatsApp, making information hard to come by.

Wickremsinghe acknowledged on Sunday that the government had some prior information about possible attacks on churches involving a little-known Islamist group, but said ministers had not been told.

Sri Lankans accounted for the bulk of the 290 people killed and 500 wounded, although government officials said 32 foreigners were also killed. These included British, U.S., Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese nationals.

A British mother and son eating breakfast at the luxury Shangri-La hotel were among those killed, Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper reported.

One Australian survivor, identified only as Sam, told Australia’s 3AW radio the hotel was a scene of “absolute carnage”.

He said he and a travel partner were also having breakfast at the Shangri-La when two blasts went off. He said he had seen two men wearing backpacks seconds before the blasts.

“There were people screaming and dead bodies all around,” he said. “Kids crying, kids on the ground, I don’t know if they were dead or not, just crazy.”

There were similar scenes of carnage at two churches in or near Colombo, and a third church in the northeast town of Batticaloa, where worshippers had gathered for Easter Sunday services. Pictures from the scene showed bodies on the ground and blood-spattered pews and statues.

Dozens were killed in one of the blasts at the Gothic-style St. Sebastian church in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo. Police said they suspected that blast was a suicide attack.

Three police officers were also killed when security forces raided a house in Colombo several hours after the attacks. Police reported an explosion at the house.

The post Sri Lanka Lifts Curfew after Bomb Attacks Kill 290, Wound 500 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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Saturday, April 20, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Day the Radio Advertising Jingles Disappeared

Posted: 19 Apr 2019 07:51 PM PDT

On this day in 1964, the Union Revolutionary Council discontinued a popular program of radio commercials, which had been a source of income for the government. The program had earned nearly 200,000 kyats in the two years since its launch, but the council, led by General Ne Win, scrapped the program as it moved to nationalize all industries as part of its socialist agenda.

The program, which aired commercials for a wide variety of products ranging from food and drinks to household goods and clothing, had attracted a large audience due to the entertaining and creative advertisements and catchy jingles it featured.

Commercials did not reappear on television and radio until the military government came to power through a coup in 1988.

The post The Day the Radio Advertising Jingles Disappeared appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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Friday, April 19, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Bangladesh Gov’t to Hold Jobs Fair for Cox’s Bazar Youth Following Protests

Posted: 19 Apr 2019 07:44 AM PDT

DHAKA—Bangladesh will hold the first-ever employment skills fair in Cox's Bazar district on May 4 following recent protests by host community youths demanding better access to jobs with the many non-government organizations providing relief to Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in Ukhia and Tekhnaf sub-districts.

District administration officials believe the job fair, at which the NGOs will offer job-seeking youth technical assistance, will create awareness among the job seekers and help them to compete in local job markets, which have reportedly begun to shrink in response to a funding crunch.

Cox's Bazar district deputy commissioner Kamal Hossain said that the day-long  “employment skills fair” would be held in Ukhia sub-district, with local and international NGOs and UN agencies setting up stalls.

According to the district administration, the Cox's Bazar-based Inter-Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), which led the coordination of the humanitarian response to the influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar on behalf of the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, will provide technical assistance.

The ICSG's national coordination officer, Saikat Biswas, said the employment skills fair would create opportunities for local job seekers, helping them to develop their CVs and post them online.

Jobseekers who register at the fair will receive automatic alerts when employment opportunities appropriate to their skill sets arise.

According to the office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission in Cox’s Bazar, over 17,000 people are working for more than 120 local and international NGOs and UN agencies in jobs related to the Rohingya crisis.

While there is no available data on how many employment opportunities currently exist in Cox's Bazar, various groups have in recent months mobilized local youths to protest alleged job discrimination and termination by the NGOs.

At the end of January, Adhikar Bastabayan Committee Ukhiya, which bills itself as a rights-implementation committee, organized hundreds of local job seekers in Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya demanding employment by local and international charities working in the district's Rohingya camps. Their 14-point list of demands, issued to the local administration, included taking steps to halt “planned” job cuts within the host community by the NGOs.

Committee leader Imrul Kayes Chowdhury, also a local correspondent for Jamuna television, said the decision to hold the jobs fair was the result of their activities over the past few months.

Imrul Kayes alleged that over 2,500 people were fired from different local and international NGOs in the name of job cuts, when in fact they were let go to make room for more internal hiring.

“We want accountability and transparency in employment,” he said.

He accused the NGOs of nepotism and said hardly any locals were getting senior-level job opportunities.

“Employers are providing jobs to their relatives, compromising equality in the employment process, which made us angry. Finally, we took to the streets,” Imrul told The Irrawaddy.

He also said locals were going without jobs while outsiders were being employed.

The campaigners said 70 per cent of total employment in Rohingya response activities should be from the host community, and called for a reduction of the salary disparity between local and international employees.

Following the protests, the Cox's Bazar-based Rohingya response NGO Platform on Feb. 3 issued a statement saying it had conducted a survey of 102 local and international NGOs that employed 17,275 people in various posts.

Sixty-six percent of the employees were from Cox's Bazar while 34 percent were from elsewhere, but only 2.4 per cent were foreigners.

A number of senior and mid-ranking NGO workers said that a few people were using the jobs campaign for their own ends, and in many cases were pushing for the reinstatement of locals who had been fired for failing to perform their duties or after being disqualified.

Many NGO officials were unwilling to comment formally because they wanted to avoid further escalation of the tension, but said the so-called movement really aimed to drive a wedge between the host community and Rohingya refugees. They accused the campaigners of spreading hate-speech on social media.

Imrul said the campaign sought only to create awareness among the host community. His critics however, told The Irrawaddy he wanted to exploit the movement for his own political purposes.

The Cox's Bazar deputy commissioner said he hoped that the jobs fair would ease concerns among the local job seekers, as it would include a technical workshop and would also try to recruit people on the spot, if suitably qualified candidates were found.

The post Bangladesh Gov't to Hold Jobs Fair for Cox's Bazar Youth Following Protests appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myitsone Dam Roundup

Posted: 19 Apr 2019 07:03 AM PDT

The controversy over whether to resume work on the Beijing-backed Myitsone Dam has intensified since China's ambassador to Myanmar attempted to pressure Kachin political and religious leaders to support the project late last year. But the people of Myanmar are still in the dark on their government's plans for the dam—construction of which was suspended in 2011 by the previous government following a nationwide public outcry—as their leader, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has been silent on the issue. The public is concerned that the US$3.6-billion (5.4 trillion kyats) project will destroy the country's lifeline Irrawaddy River and disrupt its water flow downstream, and are worried about the project's potential to flood an area the size of Singapore, destroy livelihoods and displace more than 10,000 people. Currently, anti-dam sentiment is running high in the country, with prominent environmentalists, academics, writers and artists rolling up their sleeves to save the Irrawaddy by saying no to the dam. At the same time, people are interested to see what the State Counselor will say on the issue when she meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week.

The Irrawaddy has been covering the Myitsone Dam issue since the late 2000s. Here we present some of our recent stories dating back to January of this year, when the dam issue was put back on the table by the Chinese side.

Cardinal Charles Bo Asks Myanmar, Chinese Leaders to Scrap Myitsone Dam

Statement issued Monday is the cardinal's second on the topic this year.

Myitsone—Decision Time for the 'People's Leader'

For State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, saving the Irrawaddy River means saving herself.

Myitsone Dam Is Now a Sovereignty Issue

As the State Counselor prepares to attend the BRI summit in Beijing, the likely political cost of yielding to China is becoming impossible to ignore.

Prominent Activists, Writers Form Group to Oppose Myitsone Dam

More than 200 environmentalists, writers and civil society leaders formed the national committee on Monday to urge the government to cancel the Chinese-backed project.

As China Pushes, Opposition to Myitsone Dam Builds

Politicians, Kachin activists, environmentalists join displaced villagers in taking a stand against the BRI project on the Irrawaddy River.

Suu Kyi Repeats Call for 'Wider Perspective' on Myitsone Dam

She vows a transparent decision that will be socially, environmentally sustainable, but does not offer a personal view or a timeline.

Chinese Company Lobbies Locals on Reboot of Suspended Myitsone Dam Project

Kachin State locals and officials say China’s State Power Investment Corporation is urging them to back the dam, which the government suspended under public pressure in 2011.

Analysis: Behind the Threats and Warnings of Chinese Ambassador's Kachin Visit

During meetings with Ambassador Hong Liang, Kachin leaders felt he pressured them on westerns relations and Belt and Road Initiative projects.

Why Is China In a Hurry to Revive the Myitsone Dam Projects?

The reasons are many. For one, Myanmar’s falling out with the West over the Rohingya crisis gives China leverage to insist on a project neither Naypyitaw nor locals want.

Gov't Working on Final Decision for Myitsone Dam, Minister Says

Minister U Thaung Tun acknowledges 'misguided' project has many environmental, social challenges and is deeply unpopular

Myitsone Dam 'Must Be Stopped': Cardinal Bo

'Mother Irrawaddy' in danger of being lost to the 'greed of a superpower', he warns

Military Chief Discusses IDPs, Peace, Myitsone Dam with Kachin Religious Leaders

He says Tatmadaw wants to get peace talks on track and facilitate IDPs' return; Myitsone Dam 'in Parliament's hands'

One Year On, No Response on Myitsone Impact Assessment

A commission tasked with assessing impacts of hydropower projects on the Irrawaddy River submitted their findings one year ago, but a response is yet to come from the government.

Say No to Myitsone

As the government equivocates, public outrage against the dam project is building.

Police Open Case Against Anti-Myitsone Dam Protest Leader

Ja Hkawn faces lawsuit over 'unauthorized' loudspeakers, headbands at huge rally in Myitkyina

Chinese Officials Again Pressure Kachin Leaders to Back Myitsone Dam

Yunnan officials insist dam will benefit Myanmar, Kachin religious leaders say after meeting in Ruili

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Shelling Injures Two Civilians in N. Rakhine, Villagers Say

Posted: 19 Apr 2019 05:53 AM PDT

YANGON — Two civilians in northern Rakhine State’s Mrauk-U Township were wounded by shrapnel from artillery fire after the Myanmar Army began shooting and shelling in the area on Wednesday night and into Thursday, according to locals.

Mrauk-U resident Ko Than Tun said about 460 people fled Baungdwat Village, about 3 km south of the township’s urban center, on Thursday and have taken shelter at the Myothit monastery in central Mrauk-U.

Daw Khine Sein Hla, one of the villagers who fled, said two light infantry battalions stationed near Baungdwat on Dataw hill, No. 377 and No. 388, began shooting heavily at about 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

She said a shell hit a home and injured a man, U Maung Tun Aye, in the face and his daughter, Ma Htay Htay Aung, 14, in the arm. The shooting and shelling prevented emergency rescue teams from taking them to the general hospital in the center of Mrauk-U right away, she added.

Daw Khine Sein Hla said other homes were also hit by bullets and shells but no one died. Having gone through a similar experience on Saturday, she said, they were quick to head for makeshift bomb shelters.

On the previous occasion one man, U Maung Kyaw Sein, 60, was killed and another man, U Kyaw Thein, was injured. Residents of Baungdwat said U Kyaw Thein was first taken to the general hospital in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, but later transferred to Yangon.

One resident, U Kyaw Hla Sein, said the army has build more than a dozen positions on Dataw hill and claimed that soldiers have periodically been firing randomly and unprovoked into the air since early this month.

The locations of Baungdwat Village and the No. 377 and No. 388 light infantry battalion positions on Dataw hill are show on this Google Earth map. / Google Earth / The Irrawaddy

"The Light Infantry Battalion 377 compound is situated a stone’s throw from my village. Although we did not catch them red-handed, we can sense it," said U Kyaw Hla Sein, referring to the shooting and shelling.

In a statement about the shooting near Baungdwat, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief claimed that the rebel Arakan Army (AA) had ambushed a military base in the area from a government-run school on Wednesday night. It made no mention of any injuries to villagers or damage to homes.

The statement said military officials met with the villagers who stayed behind in Baungdwat, urging them to not support the AA, to inform security forces if the group tried to make contact with them, and to cooperate with authorities to promote peace and stability.

Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Zaw Min Tun could not be reached on Friday afternoon for further comment.

Separately, residents of three villages in Buthidaung Township also fled their homes when the army started shelling in the area on Friday.

The Rakhine Ethnic Congress, a non-government groups, says more than 10,000 people displaced by the fighting between the military and AA are now taking shelter in Mrauk-U alone. The group estimates that more than 32,000 displaced people are taking shelters across northern Rakhine.

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Thangyat Troupe Member Arrested over Performance Satirizing Military

Posted: 19 Apr 2019 04:54 AM PDT

MANDALAY—A member of the Peacock Generation Thangyat ensemble was arrested on Friday for participating in a performance that criticized the Myanmar military, the group said.

Mayangone Township police arrested Ma Kay Khine Tun at the Central Children's Hospital, where she works as a nurse, in the morning.

"The police said she was being charged under Section 505(a) [of the Penal Code] in connection with her performance with Peacock Generation," said Ko Zeyar Lwin, one of the group's leaders.

Section 505(a) makes it a crime to engage in activity seen to undermine the military.

Four other group members—Ko Zeyar Lwin, Ko Paing Phyo Min, Ko Paing Ye Thu and Ma Su Yadana Myint—were sued by Lieutenant-Colonel Than Tun Myint under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Acts in Mayangone Township on Monday for their participation in the same event.

They were briefly detained at Mayangone Township Police Station on Monday and released on bail.

At an event during the Thingyan New Year festival in Yangon, the group performed a number of Thangyat songs that criticized the military. Thangyat is a traditional Burmese performing art in which a group of performers sing satirical songs criticizing the situation in the country, and the government, and highlighting the difficulties and suffering of the people. It is mainly performed during Thingyan.

Some members of the Peacock Generation group wore military uniforms during their satirical performance, which featured Thangyat songs critical of the military and government, and of the country's political and economic situation.

"We were told we were sued because we used the military uniform and we criticized the military," Ko Zeyar Lwin said.

"Freedom of speech and expression in our country is declining dramatically and the military has become more sensitive to criticism. The government can't do anything regarding this matter because the 2008 Constitution bars it from doing so," he said.

The Peacock Generation group comprises current and former members of the Student Union and has been performing for nine years.

The group said that while they have had performances banned and disrupted in the past, this was the first time any of its members had been arrested.

"Last year, we were forced to stop our performances and some pavilions did not allow us to perform. But this year we've faced many kinds of disturbance. We've been forced to stop performances, arrested and sued, so this year is the worst year for us, as we have not been able to perform freely," Ko Zeyar Lwin said.

According to officers at Mayangone Police Station, the police were preparing to release Ma Kay Khine Tun on bail. Her first trial hearing has been scheduled for April 22.

"We are finished questioning her and she will be bailed out soon," said the duty officer, who refused to provide further information.

The Peacock Generation members said they were astonished that their friend was to be allowed bail under Section 505, when other activists detained under the law, such as filmmaker U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, had been denied it.

"If our friend can be bailed under Section 505, we wonder why the courts are not considering allowing bail for U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who is sick and needs medical attention," Ko Zeyar Lwin said.

A military spokesperson could not be reached for comment on the Peacock Generation case.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday urged authorities to drop the charges against the members of the Peacock Generation Thangyat group.

HRW also urged that the charges be dropped against U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who was arrested and sued under Section 505(a) of the penal code for posting comments criticizing the 2008 Constitution on his Facebook page.

The court denied bail for U Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, who is suffering from liver cancer.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, ex-Army Captain Ko Nay Myo Zin was arrested Friday and presented to Tike Gyi Township Court to face a lawsuit under Section 505. He is being sued for giving a speech against the military at an event in Aphyuk Township calling for the amendment of the 2008 Constitution. He was denied bail and sent to Insein Prison immediately following the court session.

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Wa Rebel Group Resists Govt Push to Sign its Ceasefire Deal

Posted: 19 Apr 2019 03:57 AM PDT

PANGHSANG, Wa Self-Administered Zone — The vice chairman of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) criticized the government of the National League for Democracy for pushing the ethnic armed group to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

At a press conference in Panghsang on Wednesday, Zhao Guo An blamed the current administration for not implementing the deal the UWSA, Myanmar’s largest rebel group, struck with the administration that preceded it under U Thein Sein.

“Contradiction is not our problem. It is the problem of the government. There is a contradiction between U Thein Sein's government and [State Counselor] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government. The Wa group has nothing to do with the NCA regarding the implementation of the peace process," he said.

He claimed that the UWSA agreed with U Thein Sein's government to enter into ceasefire deals at the state and union levels but not to sign the NCA, which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government is urging it to do.

The UWSA struck a truce with the military regime running Myanmar in 1989 and signed two ceasefire agreements with U Thein Sein's government in 2011, one in Panghsang and later another in Lashio.

"We have signed agreements at two levels. Why doesn't the government continue with them? We are being asked to sign the NCA, which we have nothing to do with. We reached many agreements with the previous government. We signed state and union level agreements," Zhao Guo An said.

The vice chairman said he was doubtful the truces the UWSA has signed with the government will remain in effect after the next general election in 2020.

“The NCA was discussed [by the government] with other ethnic armed groups, but the Wa group did not participate," he said.

The UWSA held its own peace talks with the government in the past. But in 2017 it allied with the Kachin Independence Army, National Democratic Alliance Army, Shan State Progress Party, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Ta'ang National Liberation Army and Arakan Army to establish the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC). Since then it has demanded to hold talks with the government as a bloc.

The FPNCC refuses to sign the government’s NCA and has drafted an alternative.

“I don't know what he meant, but I have not heard such remarks from signatories or non-signatories to the NCA," U Hla Maung Shwe, an adviser to the government’s Peace Commission and secretary for the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee, told The Irrawaddy.

UWSA Commander-in-Chief Bao Youxiang demanded autonomy for his region at a celebration marking the group's 30th anniversary on Wednesday, vowing that ethnic Wa "will fight for their lives" to make it happen.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing were invited to the event but did not attend.

Analysts speculated that they did not attend because the invitation letter referred to the “Wa State people’s government.” The Union government considers the Wa Self-Administered Zone a part of Shan State.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi did send the Wa a message to mark the event in which she urged the group to sign the NCA, adding that the agreement was a step toward the creation of a democratic federal union that would grant ethnic minorities equal rights and self-determination.

"We have offered to hold talks with Wa Special Region 2," said government spokesperson U Zaw Htay.

Article 56 (f) of the Constitution grants the Wa a self-administered zone covering six townships split between two districts. Although such zones are supposed to be under the control of the central government, the Wa effectively exercise total control over the area with their own government and administration.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Runaway Saudi Sisters Get Help Offer From Georgia

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 09:46 PM PDT

TBILISI, Georgia — Two Saudi sisters who fled their country and appealed for international protection earlier this week saying their lives would be at risk if they were to return to the conservative kingdom got an offer of help from Georgia on Thursday.

Immigration authorities in the former Soviet republic visited the siblings in their temporary apartment in Tbilisi, providing them with information on how to apply for asylum in the country, the Georgian Interior Ministry said.

“The purpose of the visit of law enforcement officers was to offer assistance and security guarantees to the women,” the ministry said in a statement.

The sisters, identified as Maha al-Subaie, 28, and Wafaa al-Subaie, 25, were later taken to the Interior Ministry’s Immigration Office aboard a security van, local media footage showed.

They had taken to Twitter on Wednesday saying they had arrived in Georgia and needed help from the international community to find a new country to call home.

The case is the latest to draw attention to Saudi Arabia’s strict social rules, which force women to obtain the permission of a male “guardian” if they want to work, marry or travel.

Rights groups say the system can trap women and girls as prisoners of abusive families, and the sisters are not the first Saudi women to seek urgent refuge outside their homeland.

“Women and girls in Saudi Arabia who attempt to flee from the control of their families can face very grave consequences,” said Suad Abu-Dayyeh, Middle East consultant for women’s rights group Equality Now.

“They are in danger of being locked at home for the rest of their lives, severely punished, and may even be killed,” he said.

Earlier this year, a Saudi teen who had holed up in a Thai airport hotel to escape her family won asylum in Canada.

And in 2017, a Saudi woman who had sought asylum in Australia, saying she feared violence from relatives, was stopped on a layover in the Philippines and returned to Riyadh.

The sisters said they had become stranded in Georgia after the Saudi government suspended their passports and they feared for their lives, as members of their family had come looking for them.

“We are in danger. We need your support to deliver our voice. We want protection. … Please help us,” Maha said in a Twitter video in which both sisters appeared without the head-covering veil imposed by Saudi social norms.

But on Thursday the Interior Ministry said there were no relatives in the country who posed a danger to them.

And the Saudi Embassy in Tbilisi said the women’s passports were still in effect.

“In reference to what has been said about the cancellation of the passports of the citizens Maha and Wafaa Zayed who are present in Georgia, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirms that their passports are still in force, and there is no truth to the circulated allegations that they have been cancelled,” the embassy said in a written statement.

Rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Georgian authorities to keep the two women safe.

“By interviewing the sisters, the Georgian authorities have made a positive first step,” Giorgi Gogia, HRW associate director for Europe and Central Asia, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“The rest depends on the sisters’ wishes. If they file an asylum request, we hope that this request will be granted quickly,” he said.

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Rights Group Urges Myanmar to Drop Charges Against Satirical Performers, Filmmaker

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 09:18 PM PDT

YANGON — Human Rights Watch urged Myanmar on Thursday to drop charges against four satirical performers and a filmmaker arrested after criticizing the military, as an army spokesman defended “rules and limits” on freedom of expression.

Police arrested four members of the Peacock Generation “thangyat” troupe on Monday after they broadcasted a live show on Facebook during traditional New Year celebrations. Thangyat is a centuries-old tradition of performance that often lampoons ruling powers and social foibles.

“Myanmar's authorities are demonstrating once again their intolerance of criticism, even in satirical form," Linda Lakhdhir, Asia legal adviser at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

During their performance, the troupe criticized the military's role in politics, chanting "it's time to say goodbye."

The military ruled Myanmar for nearly 50 years — tolerating little dissent — until democratic reforms began in 2011. The Constitution still reserves 25 percent of seats in Parliament, and control of several important ministries, for the military.

The troupe members were charged under Section 66 (d) of the Telecommunications Act, which outlaws "defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or threatening any person using a telecommunications network," and later released on bail.

A military spokesman told Reuters authorities planned to bring further charges under Section 505 of the Penal Code, covering public statements, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and does not permit bail.

The arrests follow criticism of authorities over restrictions imposed on thangyat during this year's New Year festivities.

Performers in Yangon, the commercial capital, were required to submit their lyrics to a censorship board, with a spokesman for the ruling National League for Democracy telling Reuters the restrictions were "temporary" as the country moved towards democracy.

“Two governments”

Members of the Peacock Generation did not submit their lyrics to the board before performing under streetlights on a dusty Yangon road on Monday night.

“In my opinion, the military has taken action against us…because the government didn't take action," said Paing Ye Thu, one of the members of the troupe and a youth leader for the NLD, adding that there were "two governments," referring to the army and civilian authorities.

“They are not protecting the interest of the people, they are protecting their own interest," he said, referring to the military. “Whoever pokes them, they will sue and threaten."

Defending the charges, Army spokesman Zaw Min Tun told Reuters freedom of expression was enshrined in the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, but there were "rules and limits."

"Everyone has the right to express themselves but not to insult or disgrace individuals or organizations," he said.

In a separate case, a prominent filmmaker named Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi was arrested last week after posting criticism of the Constitution on Facebook.

He has liver cancer and recently had surgery, his lawyer, Robert San Aung, told Reuters by telephone.

“For his case, the highest punishment is two years in prison," he said. “His family are crying seeing his bad health, with that severe punishment."

President Win Myint pardoned more than 9,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the first day of the New Year on Wednesday, but most were convicted of drug offenses and only two were political prisoners, according to a group that helps political prisoners.

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Authorities Vow Probe as Ivory Coast Destroys ‘Unfit’ Myanmar Rice Shipment

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 06:29 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW—The country's rice industry received bad news this week when it came out that officials in Ivory Coast had destroyed 18,000 tons of rice from Myanmar on Wednesday. The Ministry of Commerce and the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) said they would investigate the incident and publicize the results soon.

On Wednesday, the African News republished a report by BBC Africa that quoted health officials in Ivory Coast as saying they had destroyed tons of rice that had been declared unfit for human consumption.

In the report, which included photos, they pointed out that the destroyed rice had come from Myanmar. In the photos, a truck can be seen dumping rice into a landfill.

According to the report, the rice shipment had been denied entry to other ports in West African countries including Ghana, Guinea and Togo due to quality issues.

Within hours of the report appearing, the destroyed rice issue had become the talk of the town in Myanmar. U Khin Maung Lwin, assistant permanent secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the ministry will check with exporters, the MRF and third party inspection agencies about what happened prior to the shipment's departure for Africa in October last year.

"We received messages from that ship in March, before it took the rice to Ivory Coast, that it would return to Myanmar with some 18,000 tons of rice because it couldn't unload it in Togo. We had been asking them to return to Myanmar since March, but they dropped the shipment in Ivory Coast [despite saying they would return], and [this incident] happened," U Khin Maung Lwin said.

The shipment left Myanmar with 22,000 tons of rice in October 2018. After dropping 4,000 tons of rice in Togo, the crew was unable to offload the rest of the rice in other African countries as it had spoiled.

"Here rice exporters normally export rice using the FOB [Free on Board] system, which means that after sending the rice, they are not responsible; buyers are responsible for the issue. However, we will scrutinize what happened so it does not happen again," U Khin Maung Lwin said.

U Ye Min Aung, secretary general of the MRF, the country's largest rice association, posted on his Facebook account that the federation will scrutinize all the facts and data about what happened in Africa.

He wrote that the African market for rice is very competitive as many other countries such as India, Pakistan and Vietnam also ship rice there. The process of exporting Myanmar rice to Africa is somewhat complicated. Rice exporters normally make contracts under the FOB system with buyers outside Myanmar. When the buyers can't sell that rice on time to their target market, the rice can be in storage for a long time on the ship.

That can leave the rice unfit to consume. In this case, U Ye Min Aung posted that the fact that the shipment had been delayed and passed through four countries could be the major reason the rice was unfit to consume. He said that the buyer is responsible in most cases.

Soe Tun, a member of the MRF's Central Executive Committee and CEO of the Ayeyar Mittar Public Co., told The Irrawaddy that the long storage period was the major problem in this case and he didn't think the problem was connected to the use of chemicals.

"We have been exporting rice to Africa for a long time, but the rice exported there is low quality because of the low price. I think this has become an issue," he said.

He said he heard a ship had been facing problems for the past three months while stopping over in an African country as the rice weight had been reduced. He said it could be caused by a moisture problem.

"The MRF will be checking this issue and will make a public announcement soon. Yes, it is time to issue a caution on how to produce the best quality rice by using technology," he said.

According to Soe Tun, Myanmar exports rice to Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo in Africa. Of the total rice exports of 2 million tons this year, 700,000 tons went to Africa. Some 1 million tons was exported to China through border trade.

However, this is not the first time an African country has rejected and destroyed Myanmar rice. A similar problem was experienced five or six years ago, rice industry sources said. Due to the highly competitive situation, Myanmar could lose market share, they said.

"Some established international traders can easily push out new traders if they want to manipulate the market. However, we must be aware of this and control our quality as well," an experienced rice expert told The Irrawaddy.

The MRF said that it would first contact the BBC and African News to ask them how they received the information they reported.

The MRF said it is attempting to promote Myanmar rice as a good quality product among exporters and third party inspection agencies before exporting. It will also make an effort to contact end buyers apart from other traders.

Myanmar was once known as the "rice bowl of Asia" and was a major industry player until decades of economic mismanagement by successive military regimes sent exports tumbling.

Exports have been shipped to 64 countries including China and Japan, as well as other nations in Asean, Europe and Africa, since 2014.

In 2014, Myanmar experienced a similar issue when China officially banned rice imports from this country, demanding that a trade agreement be signed guaranteeing that most rice is milled and meets certain quality standards. China has long been one of Myanmar's biggest customers for rice, much of which is harvested in the Irrawaddy Delta and shipped over land borders in Shan and Kachin states.

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Journalists in Myanmar Still Under Threat Despite Latest Pulitzer Wins

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 05:57 AM PDT

YANGON — With two more of its reporters winning the Pulitzer Prize this week, Myanmar now has four awardees of the prestigious journalism honor.

Esther Htusan was a part of the Associated Press team to win the Pulitzer for public service in 2016 for uncovering a human trafficking operation in Southeast Asia, becoming the first person from Myanmar to win the prize in any category. Last year, Reuters' Soe Zeya Tun was among the agency's photographers to win the prize for feature photography for its coverage of the mass exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh.

Two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were the latest Myanmar journalists to win when the Pulitzer Center handed out an award for international reporting to Reuters staff on Monday for their investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya men in northern Rakhine State as part of a military-led campaign that began in 2017. The pair led the investigation but they have been in jail for more than a year now after their arrest — and subsequent conviction — for exposing state secrets, which they deny.

On Tuesday, Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler said that despite being thrilled that Wa Lone. Kyaw Soe Oo and their colleagues were recognized for their extraordinary, courageous coverage, he was also saddened.

“I remain deeply distressed…that our brave reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are still behind bars," he said.

Their arrest and conviction highlight the fact that Myanmar journalists face great risks in doing their jobs.

Myanmar climbed 20 places in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index between 2013 and 2017 but has since slipped and is now ranked 138 out of 180 countries.

Journalists are still often prosecuted under Article 66 (d) of the Telecommunications Act, which criminalizes online defamation and hampers investigative reporting. Dozens of journalists have been subjected to criminal prosecution for their work by both the government and military. Among those charged by the military have been journalists from The Irrawaddy and The Voice. Last year, three journalists from Eleven Media were sued by the Yangon government for incitement.

According to Athan, a Yangon-based group that promotes freedom of expression, there have been 23 cases brought against the media under the Telecommunications Act and 31 journalists have been put on trial.

Shawn Crispin, of the Committee to Protect Journalists, told The Irrawaddy that Myanmar’s journalists face an array of threats, from spurious defamation lawsuits to physical assault to imprisonment, all of which impede their ability to freely report the news.

He said hopes that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would usher in a new era of press freedom when her party took power in early 2016 after decades of military-imposed censorship have been dashed. If Myanmar wants to be seen internationally as a functioning democracy, Crispin added, it must stop jailing and threatening journalists and instead respect and protect the media’s role as a check on the government.

"Until that day dawns, Myanmar will be viewed from a press freedom perspective in the same dim light as it was under previous military dictatorships,” he said.

The post Journalists in Myanmar Still Under Threat Despite Latest Pulitzer Wins appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Political Prisoners Miss Out in President’s New Year Amnesty

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 04:47 AM PDT

YANGON—Despite the release of more than 9,500 inmates under the Presidential pardon for this New Year's holiday, many political prisoners remain behind bars, disappointing their families as well as observers.

On Wednesday, President U Win Myint pardoned 9,551 prisoners, including two political prisoners and 16 foreigners, under the New Year amnesty. He pardoned 8,541 prisoners last year, including 36 political prisoners and 51 foreigners.

The President's amnesty order stated that they were given unconditional amnesty, "as a gesture for marking the Myanmar New Year, to ensure the peace of mind of the people and taking into consideration humanitarian concerns."

According to the president's order, "the remaining prisoners are also under consideration for further releases."

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), there are still 44 political prisoners serving time in prisons, 90 detainees facing trial and 228 who are on bail but are required to appear before the courts for their political activities.

Two political prisoners released were Maran Gun from Obo Prison and L Zau La from Myingyan Prison in Mandalay Region. Both had served 19 years of their life sentences, according to the AAPP. The two were both members of the Mongko Defense Army from Shan State's Special Region No. 1, a splinter group of Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army. They were prosecuted in 2000 on narcotics charges.

AAPP secretary U Bo Kyi said, "Political prisoners are not those destroying society; they are the ones who are trying to build a better society. If [the government] wants genuine national reconciliation, all political prisoners should be released without conditions."

He told The Irrawaddy that the National League for Democracy (NLD) government "should learn the lessons of the past. The country is now at a turning point, as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was also released from detention and cooperated. Thus, if the incumbent government released the political prisoners and worked with those relevant persons, better results would be achieved for national reconciliation."

Most of the prisoners released were serving long sentences on convictions related to illicit drugs, according to U Min Tun Soe, the deputy director and spokesman of the Myanmar Prisons Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Although there were 675 prisoners released from Yangon's Insein Prison, the two Reuters journalists Wa Lone (aka Thet Oo Maung) and Kyaw Soe Oo, who are serving seven-year prison terms under the Official Secrets Act, were not among them. The pair, who were arrested in December 2017 and convicted in September last year, were on Monday awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, one of the world's most prestigious journalism prizes.

In addition, U Zaw Zaw, the head of Insein Prison, told The Irrawaddy that the Rakhine political prisoner Dr. Aye Maung and author Ko Wai Hin Aung, who are serving 20-year prison terms; and the former child soldier Aung Ko Htwe, who is serving a two-and-a-half-year term, were not included on the pardon list.

U Myint Kyaw, the joint secretary of the Myanmar Press Council, said he was not surprised that Reuters journalists were not on the pardon list, although he believed charges not be brought against journalists who are doing their jobs.

He said that while the pair has been sentenced to many years behind bars, "It seems [the government] does not consider their cases as political. Perhaps they have not yet been released because their appeals are not yet exhausted."

Family members of political prisoners and other former political prisoners also expressed their frustration with the amnesty order, seeing it as oppression against journalists, politicians and the activists.

U Tin Maung Win, a Lower House lawmaker representing Rathaetaung constituency of Rakhine State and the son of U Aye Maung, said he did not expect a pardon "as it is questionable whether Dr. Aye Maung deserved to be prosecuted."

He added that the verdict was "unfair and the government can do anything, whether it's to arrest or to release them."

U Aye Maung and Ko Wai Hin Aung were each sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for high treason and another two years for defamation, to be served concurrently, by Sittwe District Court on March. 19. They were both transferred to Insein Prison on April 6.

U Thein Win, the brother of Ko Wai Hin Aung, said his family did not expect his brother's release under the pardon, and thus would proceed with his appeal to the higher court this month.

Ma Nay Zar, the sister of ex-child soldier Aung Ko Htwe, said while waiting for any news about her brother in front of Insein Prison on Wednesday that she did not expect justice for him. Aung Ko Htwe was sentenced in March last year after the military charged him over a media interview in which he claimed he was abused by authorities during his first trial.

She said Aung Ko Htwe's term would end in December this year, but another inmate who was sentenced to a longer term than her brother had been released on April 12. "The law is different for each person; if we demand his release, we could also face some other charges," she said, referring to an earlier case in which two supporters of Aung Ko Htwe were sued and sentenced to a year in jail for incitement in September. We expected justice, but now we are experiencing unjust laws," she told The Irrawaddy.

Daw Lay Lay, who was repeatedly sentenced to prison for her political activities

under previous governments as well as the current government, said the government ignored political prisoners even though President U Win Myint himself was once one of them.

She questioned whether two different laws or two governments ruled Myanmar, asking, "Is the President exercising his authority, or is there any pressure [on him]?"

U Tin Maung Kyi, a member of the Movement for Democracy Current Force (MDCF) who was released from prison two weeks ago, said Myanmar should not have any political prisoners under the elected civilian government, and said the government was demonstrating its incompetence.

The post Political Prisoners Miss Out in President's New Year Amnesty appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Year-on-Year Thingyan Holiday Deaths Drop Dramatically

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 03:34 AM PDT

MANDALAY — A total 288 people died and more than 1,000 were injured across the country during the four days of this year’s Thingyan holiday, the Ministry of Information announced Wednesday, marking a significant decrease compared to the year before.

The ministry said 29 deaths and 130 injuries were directly related to festival events, including road accidents, fights, murder and drowning.

Road accidents and fights typically spike in the lead-up festivities to Burmese New Year’s Day as many travel to other parts of the country and celebrate by drinking heavily.

Unrelated to festival events, the ministry counted 115 deaths and 728 injuries from road accidents, 31 deaths from murder, 113 deaths from downing and other incidents, and 144 injuries from fighting.

The figures include the nine people who died when an overloaded ferry headed for a Thingyan event in Sagaing Region’s Monywa Township sank on the Chindwin River on the second day of the festival.

During the 2018 Thingyan, a total 642 people died, 106 of them in road accidents.

The Information Ministry also said that 2,700 people were arrested for drug and weapons possession during this year’s festival and that police were preparing charges against them.

The post Year-on-Year Thingyan Holiday Deaths Drop Dramatically appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Cardinal Charles Bo Asks Myanmar, Chinese Leaders to Scrap Myitsone Dam

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 02:51 AM PDT

YANGON—The Archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Bo, has called on Myanmar and Chinese leaders to permanently terminate the controversial Myitsone Dam project, saying they have a responsibility to protect the rights and lives of Myanmar citizens.

On Monday, Cardinal Charles Bo issued a statement on behalf of the people of Myanmar requesting that Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping, stop their efforts to revive the dam project.

The issue has caused alarm among Myanmar citizens, as China is pushing to restart the dam project, while the Myanmar government has not taken a clear stance.

The proposed US$3.6-billion (5.46 trillion kyats) dam on Myanmar's lifeline, the Irrawaddy River, in Kachin State was suspended in 2011 due to nationwide opposition amid warnings the project would disrupt the flow of sediment in the country's main waterway, harming agricultural livelihoods, and flood an area twice the size of Singapore, displacing thousands of people.

However, Beijing has recently stepped up its pressure on Kachin leaders, saying that Xi is a strong supporter of the Myitsone Dam project as it is needed to implement his ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. There were a series of protests against the project across the country after Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang claimed that the Kachin people were not opposed to its resumption at the end of December.

Prominent environmentalists, activist and writers formed a nationwide committee on April 1 to oppose the project and warned the government of more resistance if it were revived.

In a statement in the Jingpho (Kachin) language, Cardinal Charles Bo expressed his concern at the prospect of losing the most sacred symbol of the Kachin people due to the construction of the dam project.

Moreover, he stressed that as the Irrawaddy River is the lifeblood of the nation, all citizens who rely on it would face a catastrophe if the dam ever broke.

"Our hearts are burdened with the impending risk to millions," the cardinal said.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is scheduled to visit Beijing for the second Belt and Road Forum from April 25-27, where she is expected to discuss controversial Chinese projects in Myanmar including the Myitsone Dam. There is growing concern among people in Myanmar that China will pressure her into restarting work on the dam.

Last month, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged Myanmar citizens to think from a wider perspective about the Myitsone project. She said the final decision would have to be politically, socially, economically and environmentally sound and sustainable. Her comment sparked concern among the people that the Myanmar government would give in to Beijing on the dam project.

In the statement, Cardinal Charles Bo urged Myanmar citizens to pray that all those trying to restart the dam project understand the will of the people and not try to resist it.

It is the second time this year the cardinal has issued a statement on the issue. In January he said the dam project must be stopped to ensure a peaceful future for the country. He also warned that construction of the dam would be a "death sentence for the people of Myanmar". However, the statement did not name any government officials or leaders.

In February, during a meeting with Kachin religious leaders, Sen-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said it would be difficult to oppose the public's will regarding Myitsone Dam. He promised the Tatmadaw would do anything it can, but the final decision would be made by Parliament.

The post Cardinal Charles Bo Asks Myanmar, Chinese Leaders to Scrap Myitsone Dam appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

TikTok Vanishes From Google, Apple App Stores in India After Ban

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 10:06 PM PDT

NEW DELHI — The Chinese video app TikTok is no longer available in Google and Apple app stores in India after a state court prohibited its downloads, a setback for developer Bytedance Technology’s efforts to tap users in a key market.

TikTok, which allows users to create and share short videos with special effects, is hugely popular in India but some politicians say its content is inappropriate.

A court in southern Tamil Nadu State asked the federal government on April 3 to ban TikTok, saying it encouraged pornography and warning that sexual predators could target child users.

The federal government sent a letter requesting Apple and Google to abide by the state court’s order, according to an IT ministry official.

Google blocked access to TikTok in its Play store in India to comply with the court’s directive, a person with direct knowledge told Reuters on Tuesday. The app was not available in Apple’s app store on Wednesday.

Google said in a statement it does not comment on individual apps but adheres to local laws. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesman for TikTok in India declined to comment on the app’s removal, saying the matter was still in the courts.

The company had faith in the judicial system and was “optimistic about an outcome that would be well received by” its millions of users in India, he added.

TikTok had been downloaded more than 240 million times in India, app analytics firm Sensor Tower said in February. More than 30 million users installed the app in January 2019, 12 times more than in the same month last year.

Jokes, clips and footage related to India’s thriving movie industry dominate the app’s platform, along with memes and videos in which youngsters, some scantily clad, lip-sync and dance to popular music.

Bytedance challenged the state court’s ban order in India’s Supreme Court last week, saying it went against freedom of speech rights in India.

The top court had referred the case back to the state court, where a judge on Tuesday rejected Bytedance’s request to put the ban order on hold, K. Neelamegam, a lawyer arguing against Bytedance in the case, said.

The state court has requested written submissions from Bytedance in the case and has scheduled its next hearing for April 24.

Salman Waris, a technology lawyer at TechLegis Advocates & Solicitors, said the legal action against Bytedance could set a precedent of Indian courts intervening to regulate content on social media and other digital platforms.

In its Supreme Court filing, Bytedance argued that a “very minuscule” proportion of TikTok content was considered inappropriate or obscene.

The company employs more than 250 people in India and had plans for more investment as it expands the business, it said.

The post TikTok Vanishes From Google, Apple App Stores in India After Ban appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Malaysia Begins Inquiry Into 2015 Discovery of Mass Graves, Human Trafficking Camps

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:55 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia began a public inquiry on Wednesday into the discovery of mass graves and suspected human trafficking camps in the jungles near its border with Thailand, which prompted a regional crisis in 2015, and accusations over obstruction of justice.

The dense jungles of southern Thailand and northern Malaysia have been a major stop-off point for smugglers bringing people to Southeast Asia by boat from Myanmar, most of them Rohingya Muslims who say they are fleeing persecution, and Bangladesh.

In January, the government had said it would set up a panel to inquire into claims that authorities mishandled an investigation into 139 mass graves and more than 12 campsites suspected to have been run by migrant-smuggling gangs.

Three police from a jungle infantry unit described finding the first of the campsites in January 2015, during a patrol in a heavily forested region on the Malaysian side of the border.

The officials found an area filled with tents and structures made of wooden sticks, some as high as two stories, said one of them, Mat Ten.

“These makeshift houses were surrounded by barbed wire and there were people living inside,” he told the panel.

The men’s testimony confirmed media reports and rights groups’ statements that authorities had known about the camps four months before going public in May 2015.

In a report last month, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission and rights group Fortify Rights said authorities had destroyed one of the camps a day after its discovery, wiping out evidence that could have aided police investigations.

The human rights commission was set up by Malaysia’s parliament but the government is not bound by its findings.

Mat Ten said he returned with a team of 10 police to survey the site the day after the first visit, but they were interrupted after a woman they believed to be acting as a lookout alerted others at the camp, who fled.

Six Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants who were left behind were detained and handed over to immigration authorities, said Mohamad Mossadique Azni, the officer who led the raiding team.

The discovery of similar camps and graves on the Thai side of the border triggered a regional crisis in 2015.

A Thai crackdown on the camps prompted traffickers to abandon thousands of migrants in overloaded boats in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

The hearings continue on Thursday.

The post Malaysia Begins Inquiry Into 2015 Discovery of Mass Graves, Human Trafficking Camps appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Jokowi 2.0 Could Open Indonesia’s Door to Foreign Investors

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:40 PM PDT

JAKARTA — Foreign investors desperate for more access to Indonesia’s huge market can take comfort from the re-election of Joko Widodo as president for a second and final term on Wednesday: according to government insiders he is poised for a splurge of reform.

On the list of areas he might tackle is sagging foreign investment, the troubled education system and restrictive labor rules.

“If the president’s victory ranges from 52-55 percent that would be the sweet spot,” said a senior government official who works closely with Widodo. “That would spur him to continue and maybe even accelerate economic reforms.”

Widodo — popularly known as Jokowi — looked set to hit that “sweet spot” as early election results came in, showing he was set to win the popular vote and come at least eight percentage points ahead of challenger Prabowo Subianto, who investors feared would be a champion of economic nationalism.

Unofficial counts also suggest Widodo’s coalition will increase its hold on the national legislature.

Still, some analysts doubt that Widodo will move much beyond the cautious reform agenda of his first five-year term.

That’s partly because of his own plodding style, but also because conservative Muslims and nativists will remain a potent political force that is hostile to foreign capital, especially from China.

While the contest between Widodo and his challenger, former special forces general Prabowo, was characterized by nationalist posturing on both sides, government officials and advisers say Widodo recognizes the need for more foreign investment to boost growth and raise productivity in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Citing internal government discussions, Mohamad Ikhsan, an economic adviser to outgoing Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, said Widodo was told that economic growth would likely slip below 5 percent without a more liberal approach to foreign investment.

“The president understands this very well. He also understands that it’s not only capital that must be injected, foreign capital … we need to upgrade our human resources,” Ikhsan said.

“He promised that will be in the second term.”

That assessment was backed by the senior government official, who said a big part of Jokowi’s second-term reform drive would be opening education — and particularly universities — to foreign players and making the sector a business. He declined to be identified to speak openly about policy plans.

Legacy

Some analysts suggested that Widodo’s margin of victory in the election, which looks likely to be less than his campaign had hoped for, might be a brake on reformist plans. His predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, took 61 percent of the vote when he won a second term and is widely thought to have squandered that chance to address systemic flaws in the economy.

“We expect Jokowi’s victory, especially as it was not emphatic, to only result in modest economic reform,” said Peter Mumford of the Eurasia Group, a risk consultancy. “(It) will be insufficient to break him free of the constraints of coalition partners and vested interests — elite political, military, religious and state-owned enterprise leaders.”

Australian National University analyst Greg Fealy said Widodo was committed to leaving his mark.

“He’s determined to make the biggest impact on national life that he can. He wants more development. He wants more infrastructure. He wants greater prosperity. He wants that legacy.”

Fealy said Indonesia’s recently negotiated free trade deal with Australia, which includes zero-tariff access on many goods and services and provisions for Australian universities to set up campuses in Indonesia, reflected the free market instincts of Widodo, a former furniture entrepreneur and big exporter.

The first president from outside Indonesia’s political, business and military elites, Widodo prioritized infrastructure development in his first term, building roads, railways, ports and airports across the archipelago of thousands of islands.

His building program has gone some way to address a major deficiency in the Indonesian economy, where logistics costs make many of its exports uncompetitive.

Ikhsan said more foreign capital would be needed to continue the program, and budget-sapping subsidies of petrol and food staples would have to be trimmed.

Human resources

In his final campaign speech at Jakarta’s main stadium, Widodo said the next five years would bring a focus on developing “quality human resources.”

Indonesia’s education system has long been identified as substandard and a drag on development. Although 20 percent of the government budget is allocated to education, international surveys show math, reading and science skills among secondary students badly lag those of the country’s neighbors.

Business leaders say poor schooling and a weak tertiary education sector also deter investment, as do the country’s restrictive labor laws.

According to the senior government official, labor market reform “is something the president is very passionate about.”

“It’s very difficult to terminate or lay off people, therefore people are reluctant to hire. It’s pushed employment dramatically towards informal employment.”

Even so, “it would be the mother of all dogfights in parliament” to get labor reforms passed, he said.

Education reforms are no fait accompli either.

Many academics, nationalists and some Islamic bodies are opposed to liberalizing the university sector and bristle at suggestions that a modern curriculum might be imposed on pesantrens, the network of religious schools.

The post Jokowi 2.0 Could Open Indonesia's Door to Foreign Investors appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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