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Saturday, April 4, 2015

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Suu Kyi Says Boycott of Burma Election an Option
At Kvas, a Culinary Moscow Medley
An Uneasy Alliance
‘Youth is the Force That Will Shape the Future’
The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Apr. 4, 2015)

Suu Kyi Says Boycott of Burma Election an Option

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 07:57 PM PDT

Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the 50th anniversary of the founding of Kawhmu Township in Rangoon Division. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy)

NAYPYITAW— Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said boycotting an upcoming historic election was an “option” if a military-drafted constitution that bars her from becoming president remains unchanged.

In an interview on Friday, the Nobel laureate told Reuters that her opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party was “ready to govern” but that President Thein Sein was insincere about reform and might try to postpone the election.

She also said U.S. praise for Burma's semi-civilian government, which took power in 2011 after nearly 50 years of brutal military rule, had made it “complacent” about reform.

While scathing about what she called Thein Sein’s “hardline regime”, Suu Kyi emphasised the need to reconcile with the military which detained her for 15 years until her release from house arrest in 2010.

“We don’t think that boycotting the election is the best choice,” said Suu Kyi, when asked whether her party would run with the constitution unchanged. “But we’re not ruling it out altogether. We are leaving our options open.”

However, she stressed the importance of the November general election, describing it as “the real test of whether we are on the route to democracy or not.”

The NLD won Burma's last real election in 1990 by a landslide, but the military nullified the result.

The party boycotted the 2010 poll, widely regarded as rigged, which installed Thein Sein, a former general and junta stalwart.

His government launched a series of political and economic reforms. Many people now feel the reform process has stalled, and the military – its immense power largely unchecked – again casts a shadow over the voting.

Suu Kyi said Thein Sein was “sincere” about reform during their first meeting in 2011. But now, he was not.

“Because if he had been sincere about reform, then we would be much further ahead than we are,” she said, speaking in a meeting room in Burma's sprawling parliamentary complex in the capital Naypyitaw.

She expressed concern that Thein Sein might use peace talks with ethnic rebels as a pretext to delay the election.

BURMA’S HOPE

For Suu Kyi, who turns 70 in June, this is a pivotal year.

She and 42 other NLD members entered parliament after a 2012 by-election. Since then, say critics, Suu Kyi has lent her hard-won democratic credentials to a questionable government that has given little in return.

But many more in this large, poor and ethnically diverse nation still see Suu Kyi as Burma’s best hope. Reforms have raised expectations among its 53 million population but left most people’s lives unimproved.

The constitution, drafted by the former junta, reserves a quarter of parliamentary seats for military delegates, which effectively allows them to veto any constitutional change.

It also bars presidential candidates with a foreign spouse or child. Suu Kyi’s late husband and two sons are British.

She said the presidency was still within her reach. “Why not?” she said. “Constitutions are not permanent.”

But changing it, she admitted, depended upon a government she repeatedly described in the interview as a “regime” of hardliners.

“They are not interested in negotiations or in amending the constitution or taking seriously the will of the people…you could hardly say they are moderates.”

Suu Kyi said she questioned U.S. praise of Burmese government in the hopes of encouraging further reforms.

“I would ask whether it actually encourages them to do more or it simply makes them more complacent,” she said.

“The United States and the West in general are too optimistic and a bit of healthy scepticism would help everybody a great deal.”

A U.S. official told Reuters in November, ahead of President Barack Obama’s second visit to the country, that Washington had decided not to press for changes to Burma’s constitution in a bid to maintain influence with its government.

But Suu Kyi said she did not feel abandoned by the United States and had “good friends” there.

MILITARY MANOEUVRES

One “absolute necessity” was mending relations with the military. “We can’t have a country that is split between the military and the rest of the people,” she said.

In 2012, Suu Kyi upset many supporters by saying she had a “soft spot” for the military. It was founded by her father Aung San, Burma’s independence hero, whose portrait hung on the wall behind her.

Now, she rejects criticism that she had been outmanoeuvred by Burma’s generals.

“We’ve always known that they would not give up their privileges easily,” she said. “There’s a time when we have to stand up for our principles and there’s a time when one of the principles should be national reconciliation rather than digging up the past.”

Suu Kyi also denied claims she had failed to speak up for the Rohingya Muslims, a mostly stateless people living in wretched conditions in western Burma after deadly clashes with majority Buddhists in 2012.

“When I talked about rule of law and the fact that we condemned all forms of violence, nobody was interested,” she said. “This wasn’t news.”

The post Suu Kyi Says Boycott of Burma Election an Option appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

At Kvas, a Culinary Moscow Medley

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 06:30 PM PDT

Click to view slideshow.

The story goes like this: Four people move to Rangoon, and after a number of years, they become friends and commiserate over the dishes from home that they all miss. There is simply no good Russian food in Burma's biggest city, so why not take matters into their own hands? None of them have any previous restaurant experience, but they're all passionate about the idea; so much so that they even recruit a chef who travels from Russia to train the staff and man the kitchen. It sounds like the making of a promising film, but is it the start of a great restaurant?

Tucked into sleepy Yanshin Road, just outside the many iterations of the foreigner-friendly Shwe Ohn Bin housing complexes, Kvas immediately stands out amid the area's 24-hour convenience stores and impersonal pastry shops. What the owners have managed to achieve with the same kind of space that neighbors have turned into uninspiring, neon-lit fashion stores is impressive.

The restaurant has an unassuming feel and the high-backed leather booths offer patrons an unexpected feeling of privacy, given the fact that the venue is small and that glass walls are all that separate indoor diners from those sitting on Kvas's popular outdoor patio. What's more, the harsh-sounding whispers and exclamations that emanate from the kitchen lend this place a distinctly Russian feel, as if you could well be sitting in some little corner joint within sight of the Red Square.

The owners also have a good, healthy sense of Russian drama. "This is my life!" explains Zoriggo Gomboev. "Not only my life," he adds, pointing to two of the co-owners who are enraptured in lively conversation involving plenty of gurgled Rs—"it's their life." Well, if Chef Timu Bovayez's life depended on it, he would serve customers one of the grilled dishes on the menu, and specifically the pork shashlik. The tender cuts of marinated pork are served above a bed of lettuce and tomato, and are topped with pickled red onions. The pork is decidedly rich and satisfyingly salty, and the cuts themselves are surrounded by generous bits of fat that add to the flavor, as well as to the heart attack potential of the dish. (If only you could walk it off by taking a stroll around the Kremlin in -8°C weather afterward.)

Not for the faint-hearted or sensitive of stomach—not to mention the lactose intolerant—the mushroom Julienne was by far the most well-balanced appetizer of the night, and this particular foodie is fighting the temptation to melt into its creamy, cheesy perfection every night until she turns into a jolly, chubby old babushka. The borscht, even if a bit heavy on the oil, subtly combines beets, carrots, tomatoes and pork with the odd bit of sharp garlic or pickled onion. It set the stage for the chef's love of tomatoes, which were in everything from the borscht to the pork shashlik, to sauce adorning a beef stroganoff that was oddly sweet and red in color.

It's surprising that such rich food, designed to warm up the heart and insulate from the cold, could be so appetizing on one of Rangoon's hottest and most humid nights. It might be due to the fact that the chef is slowly adapting traditional Russian cooking to cater to local palates; heightening the flavors so the salty is saltier, the spicy spicier and so on.

Personally, I don't believe the dishes need too much tweaking, and as long as the chef doesn't change a thing about the beautifully glazed piroshky that are baked in-house to perfection, Kvas might just turn out to be one of those gambles where everyone—the chef, the diners, the owners—come out winning.

The post At Kvas, a Culinary Moscow Medley appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

An Uneasy Alliance

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 06:00 PM PDT

President U Thein Sein shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 27, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

Myanmar and China have long stressed the "pauk-phaw" or "fraternal" nature of their bilateral relationship. But the comforting catchphrase belies the often uneasy reality. While at pains to maintain strong ties with its giant neighbor, successive Myanmar leaders have often viewed the country with which they share a 1,250 mile border as a potential threat.

On March 13, relations faced their latest source of tension when, according to Beijing, a Myanmar aircraft dropped a bomb on a sugarcane field in Yunnan province, killing five civilians and wounding eight others. The Myanmar military has been engaged in heavy fighting with a Kokang rebel group, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, in the town of Laukkai, close to the Chinese border, since Feb. 9.

Some observers have voiced concern that the ongoing conflict in the Kokang Special Region, right on China's doorstep, would ratchet up tensions between the two nations. This is possible, but leaders on both sides will likely seek to hose down concerns and protect their shared economic and strategic interests.

While Naypyitaw obviously remains the younger sibling in the so-called fraternal relationship, equally, China cannot afford to lose or neglect its weaker yet strategically invaluable neighbor.

Chinese economic interests in the country run deep and Beijing is acutely aware of the importance of keeping Naypyitaw on-side. Beijing-backed projects in Myanmar include the Kyaukphyu to Kunming oil and gas dual pipelines; a string of planned controversial dams; the Letpadaung copper mine project; and the now suspended Myitsone dam.

Many of these projects were signed off under the previous military regime, when Myanmar was still perceived as a villain on the world stage.

Kyaw Zwa Moe is editor (English Edition) of
the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at kyawzwa@irrawaddy.org.

Naypyitaw's old guard may in fact retain a sense of gratitude toward China, which continued to funnel investment into the country while the Myanmar Army was internationally ostracized for committing gross human rights violations against its population.

For its own geopolitical motives, China was one of the country's few staunch supporters and served as a shield—both economically and in international forums such as the UN Security Council—to protect the repressive military regime.

While a Western bloc led by the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions for more than two decades, China built up ties extending not only economic support but also military weapons and training. Without Beijing, the junta would have struggled to survive.

Old Ties

In December 1949, Myanmar was the first non-communist country to recognize the communist-led People's Republic of China, shortly after it was proclaimed. Under Prime Minister U Nu in the early 1950s, a few years after Myanmar regained its independence from the British, the term pauk-phaw was first used to describe the brotherly Sino-Myanmar relationship.

Behind the rhetoric, Myanmar leaders were always attuned to the pragmatic realization that the country's much larger, stronger neighbor could seek to assert its influence through threats or force. The researcher Maung Aung Myoe wrote in his book "In the Name of Pauk-Phaw: Myanmar's China Policy Since 1948" that in December 1970, dictator Gen. Ne Win had remarked that "the real threat for Myanmar was China."

Maung Aung Myoe wrote that Gen. Ne Win cautioned the military to maintain a defensive posture in its military operations along the border with China and to avoid provoking any direct Chinese military intervention. The general insisted that the military should not launch any offensives near the Sino-Myanmar border.

This chronic distrust was one of the reasons that the country pursued a foreign policy of neutrality and non-alignment; it was an assurance that Myanmar would not become entangled in alliances hostile to Beijing.

Getting Closer

After 1988, relations with China entered a new, stronger phase. Respective violent crackdowns against pro-democracy demonstrators—Myanmar in 1988 and China's Tiananmen Square in 1989—brought to mind the "birds of a feather flock together" phrase. The post-1988 military regime in Myanmar tried to strengthen its position by allowing China to exploit the country's natural resources while generals reaped the profits.

But a relationship built on this kind of shared despotism left fertile grounds for anti-Chinese sentiment in Myanmar.

After President U Thein Sein's government assumed power in 2011, relations shifted again. The military-turned-civilian government began a reform process which has opened the door to the West.

U Thein Sein's decision to postpone the China-backed Myitsone dam project after facing widespread public opposition shocked Chinese leaders who, perhaps for the first time, felt they might lose a long-term partner.

Since then, China has actively tried to engage with the public as well as opposition groups to ensure its ongoing economic primacy in the country. As Myanmar courts more partners abroad, perhaps Beijing has calculated that the old ways of courtship, based primarily on economic inducements, will no longer suffice.

Despite the often fractious nature of relations, brought to light not least by the recent ongoing conflict along the Sino-Myanmar border, leaders from both sides of the political spectrum in Myanmar will endeavor to maintain pauk-phaw relations with Beijing while simultaneously reconnecting with the West.
The intersecting economic and geopolitical imperatives of both sides mean the stakes could hardly be higher.

Kyaw Zwa Moe is the editor of The Irrawaddy English edition. This article originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.

The post An Uneasy Alliance appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘Youth is the Force That Will Shape the Future’

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:23 PM PDT

Aung Zaw, founding editor of The Irrawaddy, is joined by Tin Maung Maung Aye of the Myanmar Mobile Education Project for this week's edition of Dateline Irrawaddy. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

On this week's edition of Dateline Irrawaddy, Tin Maung Maung Aye discusses his efforts to educate Burma's child laborers.

Aung Zaw: This week, I am joined by U Tin Maung Maung Aye, director of the Myanmar Mobile Education Project, will join me for discussion. I am Irrawaddy Magazine Editor Aung Zaw.

You left Myanmar after the 1988 uprising, and you lived in US for around 26 years. You missed your country and you were watching developments from there. Then you began a project—an education project for child laborers—when you came back. It is a mobile classroom for working children. The project has received accolades from the international community and labor activists since it launched. Before we discuss your work, let's touch on your homecoming. Before talking about this project, let's start with your homecoming. Why did you come back? Did you feel any culture shock?

Tin Maung Maung Aye: I lived and learned in US for more than two decades. While I was there, I always missed my country and its people. I always wanted to come back. I had to adapt with great difficulty to the situation here, as the reality on the ground was quite different from my imagination. It is like looking at a picture from a distance. You can't see color or shapes clearly. You get closer and closer to the picture and finally you get into it, and you find that the details are more complicated. The major culture shock for me was seeing so many people struggling for their livelihood every day.

AZ: Myanmar before 1988 and Myanmar after 1988. From my point of view as a returnee, Myanmar is suffering from poverty, Yangon's population has become more crowded, and cultural values have diminished a great deal. Do you feel the same?

TMMA: When I left Myanmar in 1989, there were nearly so many people and cars on the road. The environment was more friendly, people were more friendly and supportive toward each other. At that time, Yangon did not have people from so many various walks of life, various regions and various backgrounds. When I came back, I found that Yangon was very populous and there were many, many cars. Everywhere, people are struggling hard to sustain their lives. To get 4000 or 5000 kyats in their pockets when they get back home is all they are thinking about. Some families have to cook dinner when they get back home from work while others have to redeem pots from the pawnshop to cook dinner. The majority of the faces I saw were overwhelmed by worry and stress.

AZ: I feel that the faces of both young and old men here are hopeless and demoralized. Don't you think?

TMMA: Yes, that's right. The majority of people are leading a hand-to-mouth existence. A safety net and fundamental human rights are almost non-existent for them. As such, everyday, they have to struggle all the time for their day-to-day survival.

AZ: There is the problem of internal migration. People come to urban areas to find jobs and opportunities and to support their families. When we sit at teashops, we see school-aged children of around 10 working there. How did you get the idea to provide education for them?

TMMA: As we have said, it is a culture shock to see child workers working at teashops, restaurants and roadside eateries. When I left Myanmar in 1989, there were almost no working children. Then I came back and when I sat at teashops together with my friends, I saw them and wondered why there are so many children working at these places, where they come from and what they do each day. As I talked to them, to teashop owners and with my friends and families, I came to know that 80 or 90 percent of them came from rural areas, the delta and central Myanmar. They have come to big cities like Yangon and Mandalay as they were facing hardship in their home regions.

Some are called to cities by their friends, relatives and siblings. And some are brought by middlemen. They have to do whatever job is available and send back their daily wages to their parents. Child workers have to work from dawn to night at teashops, seven days a week, so they have no time to learn. Then, a thought came to me. While Myanmar is opening up—by opening up I mean higher degrees of freedom and increased rights compared to the past—and as the country has millions of youths, and if we did not play a part in their intellectual advancement and improvement of their lives, then where and what will they be in the next five to 10 years?

We don't need to ask an astrologer how much they will be able to contribute to their families, villages and the country. Every one can predict what they will be. From that, I got the idea to play a part and carry out this mobile education project to provide a practical education for them.

AZ: So, you bring the school in buses to working children, and there are donors for the buses.

TMMA: It is not that they don't have access to schools; rather they don't have time to go to school. Unlike other countries, Myanmar does not have part-time schools. So, if they are to go to school, they have to attend half the day. And they don't have that much time. The break they get is mostly two or three hours. I thought about how I could provide education to them during that short period. Then I got the idea of turning old buses into schools. I put desks and tables and also equipped the buses with solar panels so that we don't need a power source when we teach at night. As you know, electricity is always off and on in Myanmar, depending on the location. So, with this in mind I equipped the buses with solar panels, projectors and computers, and now I am preparing to bring the internet to mobile classrooms. I had to negotiate first with teashop owners before I could teach them.

AZ: The teashop owners accepted it willingly?

TMMA: In Myanmar, though shop owners fight for the survival of their businesses every day, most of them have a philanthropic spirit. What we teach is also practically useful for their shops. For example, we teach the children the English names for menu items. As Myanmar is undergoing a transition, many foreigners are coming into the country. When foreign customers come to those teashops, child workers can deal with them to a certain extent. So, it is beneficial to shop owners. Secondly, we teach them about interpersonal skills.

AZ: So you teach them skills training.

TMMA: We teach them what is practical. We teach them things like interpersonal skills, personal hygiene. They will know how diseases like dengue fever and HIV can develop. So, they can bring with them these skills and knowledge when they move to another shop or when they go back to their villages.

AZ: And they can open their own shops when they go back to their home villages?

TMMA: Yes, they can. People with good interpersonal skills will have many friends, won't they? What we teach is things for their development. We divide levels in teaching them. Level 1 is about interpersonal skills and health awareness, Level 2 is about basic computer skills and internet, as well as using Facebook and mobile phones. Level 2 also teaches them knowledge about occupations, for example from where raw materials come and how finished products are manufactured in a garment factory, what skills and experiences are needed to work at a garment factory. Again we teach spoken English for service industry businesses like hotels and restaurants. There are three levels—basic, beginner and further.

AZ: Your organization to help these children is relatively small. But then, there are international organizations that have a mandate for such projects, like UNICEF and the ILO as well as internationally well-known NGOs like Save The Children. They have huge budgets and implement big projects.

TMMA: Mine is small compared to theirs.

AZ: Last year, the media reported that UNICEF rented an ex-general's house to use as their office for US$87,000 per month. I think your budget is much smaller than that amount.

TMMA: I wish I got that amount. Then I could teach all working children effectively.

AZ: What is government the doing with regard to the issue of child labor? There are underage workers in Myanmar. According to international and local laws, children under 13 or 14 must be spared from work. But the government is not doing anything or can't do anything to ensure underage workers are not working, while shouting from the rooftops rhetoric about poverty alleviation national development. What is your opinion of the size of the issue?

TMMA: Child labor is a big issue. Not only Myanmar but also in many other countries. There are also many ways to address this. It is important that either the current government or the next government addresses it, as it is an important issue. Youth is the force that will shape the future. If we do not address these problems right now and fail to provide the education and knowledge they deserve and they are interested in, I am afraid they will not be able to play a part in rebuilding the country five to 10 years from now.

AZ: Is there a risk these children will take the wrong path?

TMMA: There is a large chance that they could, considering that they don't have knowledge and experience, and they are not taught proper ethics while living away from their parents. Often, employers will put their business first and not consider assisting and supporting the moral development, education and health of their employees. If authorities fail to make due consideration and support and assist them effectively, we would see many difficulties in our country and our society.

AZ: The director of Myanmar Mobile Education Project, Ko Tin Maung Maung Aye, joined me for discussion in this week's edition of Dateline Irrawaddy. We will return to the subject of child labor next week. I am Irrawaddy Magazine Editor Aung Zaw.

The post 'Youth is the Force That Will Shape the Future' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Apr. 4, 2015)

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:00 PM PDT

Mitsubishi's joint venture with local instant coffee maker Capital Diamond Star Group will focus on food production and distribution. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

EU Investment Deal Could Keep Garment Sector Wages Low

London-based charity ActionAid has warned that a trade deal currently being negotiated by the Burmese government and the European Union could negatively impact female garment workers in the country.

The Bilateral Investment Treaty would set terms and conditions for foreign direct investment into Burma, and provide legal protection to European companies. Critics warn that such agreements can undermine the ability of governments to regulate business practices.

Talks on the deal were conducted in February and further negotiations are expected in May.

A post on Action Aid's website compared the deal to the controversial Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TIPP, that would govern trade between the United States and European Union member states. The charity called for the Burmese government to ensure laws were in place to protect workers' rights as investment from overseas ramps up.

"[T]he government of Myanmar hasn't had time to put the right laws and policies in place to make sure this investment benefits its own citizens," said the post by Ruth Kelly, ActionAid's program policy manager.

"Some investors are trying to improve conditions for workers in their factories and for the local businesses they work with. Unfortunately, such investors are few and far between."

It highlighted the garment sector, where the vast majority of workers are women and are make wages that are low even relative to other popular sourcing countries. A minimum wage law has been passed, but the lower limit for salaries has not yet been agreed.

"Most investors go to Myanmar because they can pay workers low wages. If the minimum wage goes up, investor profits go down," the post said. "If the deal with the EU goes through, investors will be able to sue for compensation for the increased cost of wages."

Kelly also warned that investors have sued governments around the world for billions of dollars for breaching the terms of trade deals. In some places, democratically elected governments find themselves unable to change the law due to the risk of upsetting investors. "This is not OK," Kelly wrote.

Calls for Investment Law to Be Delayed for More Consultation

The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) has urged the government to delay submitting a new investment law to Parliament amid "confusion" over the law's scope.

The Investment Law is intended to combine existing legislation on foreign and local investment in order to assuage concerns over the lack of clarity in a highly complex regulatory environment governed by numerous overlapping laws.

In a letter to Burma's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, MRCB director Vicky Bowman welcomed the agency's willingness to consult on the law demonstrated by holding an open consultation period. The consultation was originally set to close on Mar. 31 but has reportedly been extended by one month.

However, Bowman, a former UK ambassador to Burma, said that significant "further consultation and refinement"—including on regulations that will follow the law—would improve the legislation.

She said discussions on the law held in Rangoon in March had demonstrated that "there is scope for confusion about what the law does and does not seek to regulate, including specific sectoral issues as well as the interplay with other regulation."

"Further development of supporting explanatory material would help to address this," she added. "We therefore suggest that further time is taken to prepare the law and accompanying regulations before submitting it to a parliament with a fresh mandate in 2016.

"Such a timetable would be more likely to result in a law in which investors had confidence, and whose implications had been fully considered in a transparent process."

New York-based Human Rights Watch also called for more consultation on the law last week.

"During the minimal consultation that did take place with independent groups, local community members raised concerns about the government's regulation of major international investments.," the group said in a statement. "They noted that local people often have no means for redress when an investment goes wrong."

Toshiba to Provide Turbines for Shan State Hydropower Project

Japan's Toshiba has announced that a subsidiary will supply the turbines and generators for a Chinese-led hydroelectric dam in Burma's northern Shan State.

The project known as the Upper Yeywa dam is expected to begin operating in 2018, according to an Apr. 1 statement from Toshiba, which said the firm's Chinese subsidiary Toshiba Hydro Power Hangzhou Co Ltd had won the contract. The 308MW dam is being developed on the Myitnge river in Kyaukme district by Zhejiang Orient Engineering (a Chinese "state holding enterprise," according to its website.).

The firm would begin delivering four 77-megawatt hydropower turbine and generator units in Mar. 2016, it said.

"Toshiba Group previously supplied a hydraulic turbine for the 28.4MW Sedawgyi hydroelectric power plant in 1989, making this the second commission from Myanmar. Hydroelectricity is currently Myanmar’s primary source of electricity, accounting for approximately 75% of the country’s power supply," the statement said.

"There are plans to build more power plants in Myanmar to meet growing energy needs triggered by the country’s strong economic growth."

Hydropower dams are controversial in Burma and have faced opposition in the past over their social and environmental impact.

The Chinese-backed Myitsone project in Kachin State was suspended in 2011 after widespread protests over the plan to dam the Irrawaddy River. Like Kachin State, northern Shan State has been wracked by fighting between the government and ethnic armed groups in recent years, adding further concerns about large-scale development projects.

Investment, Expertise Needed in Airport Services

While ambitious expansions are underway at Burma's two busiest airports, more investment is needed in services at the country's aviation hubs, including maintenance, according to British consultancy Oxford Business Group.

In an update on Burma's airports this week, the firm highlighted the upgrade currently underway at Rangoon's airport.

Rangoon's international airport—operated by a subsidiary of local conglomerate Asia World—is expected to complete a new international terminal by the end of this year. The terminal is part of an upgrade to a "business airport" that will see annual passenger capacity increased to 6 million to handle soaring numbers of international visitors, the update said.

"Despite only being listed as having the capacity for 2.7m passengers a year, Yangon International handled 4m passengers last year, with some other airports also working above capacity," Oxford Business Group said.

In Mandalay, Japanese companies Mitsubishi and Jalux, alongside Surge Pun's Yoma Strategic Holdings, last year won the right to operate the airport for 30 years, and plan to spend $100 million on upgrades. A brand new $1.5 billion airport to serve Rangoon is also planned in Pegu Division.

However, Oxford Business Group pointed out that previously announced plans to upgrade as many as 30 domestic airports had been "put on the backburner for now."

The group also said there were calls for more investment in services at airports, citing an official at Myanmar Airlines International (MAI). The state-run airline's managing director, Si Thu, reportedly told the Oxford Business Group that the areas of freighter services, cargo and maintenance, repair and operations all needed a boost.

"We need foreign expertise and investment in these areas," Si Thu was quoted saying. "We need investment in infrastructure—new aircraft hangers and other facilities—and more importantly, capacity building to have qualified professionals in aviation."

Mitsubishi to Enter Joint Venture With Instant Coffee Maker

Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation will enter a joint venture with local firm Capital Diamond Star Group (CDSG), which makes popular instant coffee brand Premier.

In a joint statement on Monday, the firms announced they would form a food manufacturing and distribution company in Burma named Lluvia.

The deal involves Mitsubishi taking a 30 percent stake in CDSG's existing businesses, which include producing wheat flour, tea mix, milk powder and instant coffee for the domestic market.

The new company will invest more than $200 million over the next three years, and "will leverage Mitsubishi Corporation's international network to expand aggressively in the region and aims to be one of Myanmar's first homegrown regional companies," the statement said.

Mitsubishi is one of three major Japanese corporations who between them hold a minority stake in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Rangoon. The statement did not say whether Lluvia would establish a plant in the zone, which is set to open this year.

"The investments Lluvia intends to make across the food value chain in Myanmar will significantly benefit the country's food and agriculture industries," the statement said.

"In the upstream activities, Lluvia intends to work closely with farmers to facilitate better access to capital and enhance their farming techniques through knowledge transfer from Mitsubishi Corporation and its network of partners.

"Lluvia will also play a role in connecting the farmers to regional and international markets. In the downstream activities, Lluvia will also contribute to better food safety through technology transfer and help reduce Myanmar's reliance on imports through local production of ingredients."

The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Apr. 4, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Friday, April 3, 2015

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Photo of the Week (April 03, 2015)
Air Mandalay to Return to Skies in May
Kachin Group Says Its Investigation Could Reveal Killers of Teachers
‘I Don’t Think it is Possible to Scrap the Entire System and Build a New One’
20 Burmese Feared Dead After Russian Trawler Sinking: Reports
Rights Activist Back to Insein on Peaceful Assembly Rap
Lawyers Network to Offer Advice, Representation for Journalists
Fishermen Rush to Be Rescued Amid Indonesian Slavery Probe
Three Indian Soldiers Killed in Ambush in Arunachal Pradesh
Chinese Influence in Cambodia Grows With Army School, Aid
North Korea Expels Chief of German Food Aid Organization: NGO
UN Rights Chief Slams Thai Junta’s Use of Repressive Law

Photo of the Week (April 03, 2015)

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:53 AM PDT

The post Photo of the Week (April 03, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Air Mandalay to Return to Skies in May

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:39 AM PDT

A chartered Air Mandalay plane taxis on the runway at Thandwe Airport in Arakan State on Friday. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

Locally owned Air Mandalay expects to resume international flights later this year, following a resumption of domestic routes in May, according to Kham Park Pha, chief operations officer for the carrier.

The joint venture Air Mandalay suspended all flights in December 2014 due to unmet upgrade requirements and as it waited to receive new planes. Charter flights to some domestic destinations resumed last month.

"Scheduled domestic flights will resume on May 1 and we will resume international flights including Chiang Mai, Thailand, at the end of this year," Kham Park Pha told The Irrawaddy on Friday

The airline had operated a Chiang Mai-Rangoon route until mid-2014.

Air Mandalay is 70 percent privately owned, with the government holding a 30 percent stake. The carrier recently purchased two Embraer ERJ 145 jets to service domestic routes including Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Thandwe, Heho, Tachileik, Dawei, Sittwe, Kyaungtong and Nyaung Oo from May 1.

"More aircraft will arrive soon for new scheduled flights. We are happy to reenter the air industry," Kham Park Pha said.

Air Mandalay also signed an aircraft purchase agreement last year with Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation for at least additional five planes.

Air Mandalay said in a statement on Friday that the challenges it has faced in recent months had not deterred the company, which "remains committed to best serving both the local population of and visitors to Burma."

"We know that these past few months have been difficult but it has brought out the best in all of us," Kham Park Pha said in the statement.

Air Mandalay Limited was incorporated in 1994 to operate as Burma's first privately owned airline, based in Rangoon. Until it grounded its fleet late last year, it had serviced almost all major tourist destinations in Burma.

Currently, only two domestic airlines fly international routes out of Burma: state-owned Myanmar Airways International and Golden Myanmar Airlines.

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Kachin Group Says Its Investigation Could Reveal Killers of Teachers

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:11 AM PDT

The bodies of two Kachin schoolteachers lie in wake in Muse, northern Shan State, in January. (Photo: Facebook / Maran Naw Di Awng)

RANGOON — The Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) said it has carried out an independent investigation into the killing of two ethnic Kachin schoolteachers in northern Shan State in January and found two people who could help reveal the identity of the killers.

KBC said it took the initiative because a police investigation into the double murder has so far yielded no suspects and raised fears among the Kachin community that possible involvement of government soldiers is being covered up.

"We are still carrying out an investigation into it, but we found some people who we think could tell the truth. In the case of the killing, they knew about it, but not as an eye witnesses," said Zau Ra, a KBC spokesperson based in Muse, a town on the Burma-China border.

Zau Ra declined to elaborate when asked about further details of the investigation results, saying KBC's lawyer had advised him not to discuss it. He added that KBC would discuss the results with Shan State police when it had completed its investigation.

"We are still doing more investigation in order to get more evidence," he said. "KBC interviewed all villagers for the investigation. Our KBC may also interview some Burmese Army soldiers who were in the village during the time that the schoolteachers were killed."

KBC has been closely involved with local communities and authorities following the Jan. 20 killings of the two young women, who had been working for KBC in Kutkai Township as primary school teachers.

Col. San Lwin, who heads Taunggyi Police Station, told The Irrawaddy the police were continuing their investigation. Asked about the KBC investigation, he said, "We cannot arrest anyone on accusations of murder unless there is strong evidence."

"We have done an investigation among the villagers, but we continue to check more," San Lwin said.

Last month, the investigation, which is being carried out by a joint team of police, township authorities and members of the Burma Army, produced a group of suspects comprising both civilian villagers and soldiers. Results of post-mortem medical examinations on the victims and potential matches from DNA samples taken from the suspects have not been disclosed.

KBC and the wider Kachin community have voiced concern over the lack of a fair and independent investigation into the killings, which they believe are linked to members of the Burma Army's Light Infantry Battalion 503 that was sent to the area shortly before the murders.

The army remains powerful in Burma and has been accused in the past of influencing local authorities and the judicial system in order to cover up crimes by its soldiers against ethnic minority civilians.

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‘I Don’t Think it is Possible to Scrap the Entire System and Build a New One’

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:05 AM PDT

Political activist Aung Din. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

A former second vice-chairman of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, Aung Din was incarcerated from 1989 to 1993 for participating in the pro-democracy uprising in 1988. After traveling to the United States, he worked as executive director of the US Campaign for Burma between 2003 and 2012, and was also involved with the Free Burma Coalition for two years. In this interview with Kyaw Zwa Moe, editor of The Irrawaddy's English edition, Aung Din discusses recent reforms in the country, the evolution of the United States' foreign policy towards Burma, and the prospects of free and fair elections in the next decade.

How much has the foreign policy of the international community changed toward Burma since the new government took power?

Many years ago, the United States determined its policy on Burma would depend on the human rights situation in the country. But these days, the US takes three factors into consideration. Human rights is still an important factor, alongside economics and geopolitics. The US would like to have a government that is friendly towards it in Burma, while it is trying to counterbalance the rise of China in the Asia-Pacific region.

Considering these factors, they believe that their engagement policy is right. There may be unexpected difficulties and setbacks in pursuing this policy, but they will not reverse from it, they will only push ahead. At the same time, they are expecting a free and fair election in 2015. If the election were free and fair, the legislative landscape will be stronger in 2016. There will be larger democratic forces and ethnic forces in the parliament. Then the parliament will be stronger than it is in its current term—at least, I expect so. To make it happen, US administration is taking steps to support the 2015 election.

From Washington's point of view, what kind of country is Burma?

I recently talked with a senior figure in the US administration. He said they regard our country as a normal one. We have a government, opposition, government supporters and supporters of the opposition. There are conflicts, and sometimes violence and crackdowns, but that these are however quite normal for many countries of the world. That there are protests happening daily in his country. That they no longer regard our country as a failed state where there is conflict between the oppressed and the dictators. That they regard our country as a normal state because things happening in our country are not unusual. That the Burmese government now understands that they can't demonetize banknotes, use the army in dispersing demonstrations, and that the army can't launch a coup, and if they do not break these rules, the international community has no reason to interfere in the country's affairs.

At the same time, many student protesters have been arrested recently, with the government reacting in the same manner as it did 20 years ago.

The international community, including the US and UN, opposed this brutal crackdown. But, there is something we need to think about with regard to their choice of words. Their declarations only chose to use words like "regret" and "disappointment". No statement uses the words "condemn" or "denounce". In declarations, the choice of words expresses severity.

You mean that the international community has completely toned down its voice?

They have changed the way they think. They will engage constructively with the government. They will tell the government secretly that it is doing wrong, but they will not publicly condemn it.

What are the major achievements and the major failures of the reform process?

There has been the creation of institutional mechanisms. The government is responsible to the parliament, the judicial system is responsible to the president and the parliament. These institutions are not perfect, but they have a framework. This is a very good thing. The military regime in the past was responsible to nobody.

Political prisoners have been released and opposition forces including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were able to join the political fold. There has been an emergence of civil society organizations. The government has admitted the need for internal peace and to fight poverty.

The bad things are there are opposing factions within the government and USDP, even as the top leaders wish for change. The president is not decisive. There are many bad guys in the cabinet. In fact, some of the cabinet members are tarnishing the president's dignity and he can't take decisive action against them. There are people who are corrupt or abuse their positions of power in the cabinet. Racial and religious tensions are very high and they may break out into riots.

Many have questioned that if the reform process has been stalled. Nepotism still thrives in these administrative mechanisms and the government fails to address it. Though the government admits that the country is in poverty, it has no economic policies to improve the lives of the poor.

In my view, reforms can't be completed in three or four years. It takes a longer period. During that period, it may go forward, reverse and stall from time to time. All players must take responsibility. What can we do if we want to remove the influence of evil forces acting upon the president? If civil society organizations view him as an enemy, he would respond in kind. We are calling for national reconciliation. How much the two sides are willing to bury the hatchet is questionable.

The political atmosphere today is in accord with what was set out by the military regime. In many ways it seems things will not change at all and those in charge have always maintained the upper hand.

It is difficult to say that. They have divided themselves. In the past, the military was a single entity. Now it has divided between the military and the USDP. The USDP has been divided in government. Under the constitution, the president and ministers are not allowed to discharge party duties once they join the cabinet. Even if the influence of former Snr-Gen Than Shwe still prevails, it is not that big. Now I see some USDP members who would like to listen to the voices of the people. We need to mobilize more of them. This is something we need to think about. We need to be prepared to cooperate with anyone, should they be the active generals or former military members in the USDP, if they have a desire for the development of the country.

You are a former political prisoner. During your time in the US, you were very critical of the Burmese government. How do you assess the government now?

As I became an individual activist, I took a look at both sides—the government and the democratic forces. And I found that there are both good and bad people in the government. Previously, I thought it was full of bad guys and I was surprised to see that there are also good guys. And this is welcoming. Then I take a look at the democratic forces, which I had joined with in the past. In the past, all of them were good guys. Now, there are shades of grey in both sides.

Now is the time we need to rebuild the country. If we went on like this with these tensions, it would only delay the rebuilding of the country. We are obliged to make things better, building on the current situation. We can't just be sitting, doing nothing but blaming. Now is the time we need to grasp any available opportunity out of current situation and make things better. We have got breathing space, which is beneficial to both sides.

Do you see any possibility of a true civilian government in the next five to ten years that will be elected through free and fair elections?

I think it is unlikely. We might need to wait 20 more years. I myself was a hardliner. I studied revolutions in Eastern Europe. In those cases, the dictators were toppled by public uprisings, then elected governments came into power. But, those elected governments are not competent and there are corrupt persons among them. The problems left by the former dictators grew larger and the expectations of people diminished. This was followed by economic decline. Finally, people overthrew the governments they had elected themselves and the country became unstable. Egypt is the closest example. I don't want our country to end like that. I don't think it is possible to scrap the entire system and build a new one. Even if the new system could be built, there is a high risk the system will return to dictatorship, like in the case of the Soviet Union.

The two sides must make compromises, coordinate and cooperate. There should not be a 'winner takes all' concept anymore.

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20 Burmese Feared Dead After Russian Trawler Sinking: Reports

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 03:37 AM PDT

Russian Emergencies Ministry members help survivors from the Dalny Vostok fishing vessel on Friday. (Photo: Alexander Krylov / Reuters)

RANGOON — 20 Burmese nationals are believed dead after a fishing trawler sunk off Russia's eastern coast on Thursday morning, according to reports from the Burmese embassy in Moscow.

Phone Lin Kyaing, the Burmese ambassador to Russia, said the embassy was still working with Russian authorities in order to provide assistance to survivors.

The embassy has provided a full list of the names and passport numbers of the 42 Burmese citizens aboard the vessel, and will speak to the press on Monday to advise which crewmembers had died in the sinking.

The Dalny Vostok trawler sank at around 4am local time off the Kamchatka Peninsula with a crew of 132, including 78 Russian nationals. The remaining 12 crewmembers were citizens of Latvia, Ukraine and Vanuatu. Investigators believe the ship sank in less than 15 minutes after colliding with drifting ice.

Rescue efforts are ongoing.

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Rights Activist Back to Insein on Peaceful Assembly Rap

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 03:11 AM PDT

Naw Ohn Hla at a Dec. 29 protest against the Letpadaung copper mining project, held at Rangoon's Maha Bandoola Park. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Naw Ohn Hla was sentenced to four months in prison on Thursday, after the Bahan Township court found her guilty of violating the Peaceful Assembly Law during a Sept. 29 protest.

The long-time activist, a prominent advocate for land rights and political prisoners, has been in and out of prison for the last decade for her role in leading several protests.

"The court sentenced her to four months for a protest calling for the release of political prisoners, including the student Phyu Hnin Htwe and slain freelance journalist Par Gyi," prominent lawyer Robert San Aung, who has represented Naw Ohn Hla both during the trial and earlier proceedings, told The Irrawaddy.

Phyu Hnin Htwe, a young member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, was detained for over a month for her alleged role in the kidnapping of two Wanbao contractors at the company's Letpadaung copper mining project, before the company dropped charges against her in October. Par Gyi was shot to death in the same month while in military custody.

Robert San Aung said his client, who has been in detention since Dec. 30, is still facing upcoming trials in five different township courts across Rangoon.

Naw Ohn Hla and five other activists were arrested late last year for a demonstration held outside the Chinese embassy in Rangoon, urging an investigation into the shooting death of Letpadaung farmer Daw Khin Win by local police during a protest against the mining project.

The six defendants will face charges of violating the Peaceful Assembly Law at the Pabedan, Kyauktada, Latha and Lanmadaw Township courts in relation to the embassy protest. The Dagon Township court will also charge Naw Ohn Hla for violating Penal Code articles 505(b), which prohibits statements likely to harm "public tranquility" and 353, which covers the use of "assault or criminal force" to hinder a public servant. Both charges carry a maximum prison term of two years.

She will appear at Dagon Township court next Tuesday, according to her lawyer.

In August 2013, Naw Ohn Hla was sentenced to two years imprisonment for her involvement in a protest at Letpadaung. Her sentence was commuted after a presidential pardon four months later, which also dropped 33 pending charges against her.

In early 2014 she was again brought before the courts, this time in relation to a prayer service held for Aung San Suu Kyi while the opposition leader was under house arrest in 2007.

Naw Ohn Hla had repeatedly been subjected to brief periods of detention under the previous military regime. According to her colleague Ma Thandar, herself a former political prisoner and widow of Par Gyi, the activist was imprisoned for two years in 2009 after she delivered a document to a monastery condemning the crackdown on the Saffron Revolution, on the date of the uprising's one-year anniversary.

The Rangoon-based Democracy and Peace Women Network, co-founded by Naw Ohn Hla and Ma Thandar in 2012, has been internationally recognized for its work in raising awareness of land rights among farmers and its campaigns against domestic violence.

Robert San Aung told The Irrawaddy he had no hope that her trials would conclude before the general election, slated for October or November this year.

"It looks like the authorities want strong activists to stay behind bars as the election approaches," he said.

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Lawyers Network to Offer Advice, Representation for Journalists

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 03:03 AM PDT

A protester disrupts the International Press Institute World Congress in Rangoon on March 27, 2015. (Photo: Khaung Htet / Facebook)

MANDALAY – Lawyers from across Burma have teamed up to create a network offering legal assistance to journalists and media agencies, in response to a surge in suits filed against members of the fourth estate.

The new Lawyers Network for Journalists and Media, officially launched in Rangoon on Wednesday, comprises about 80 lawyers working in various parts of the country, and plans to extend initial services to Irrawaddy, Magwe, Mandalay, Pegu and Rangoon divisions.

"There has been an increase in legal charges against journalists and media agencies, and there is still a lack of legal protection for them," said Than Zaw Aung, a lawyer and secretary of the network. He said the new association will be there to provide legal advice and, in some cases, representation.

The group also plans to carry out educational discussions for media workers and lawyers to promote awareness of Burma's legislative framework regarding the media, he said.

A member of Burma's interim Press Council, Myint Kyaw, welcomed the network, saying that it could offer much-needed services at a time when press freedom is under threat.

"We really need that kind of group," Myint Kyaw said. "Since legal cases against media professionals, this kind of legal group can help advise them in legal matters or even to write news related to the Media Law."

Since President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian reformist government assumed power in 2011, at least 20 journalists have been arrested, and one has been killed.

Twelve media are workers are currently serving prison sentences, while several others are awaiting trial. Many were arrested under legal provisions that experts call outdated and unjust, such as colonial-era laws covering state secrecy, defamation and incitement.

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Fishermen Rush to Be Rescued Amid Indonesian Slavery Probe

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 02:52 AM PDT

Migrant workers from Burma unload fish as a Thai buyer takes notes at the port of Mahachai near Bangkok Feb. 23, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

BENJINA, Indonesia — Hundreds of foreign fishermen on Friday rushed at the chance to be rescued from an isolated island where an Associated Press report revealed slavery runs rampant in the industry. Indonesian officials investigating abuses offered to take them out of concern for the men’s safety.

The men, from countries including Burma and Cambodia, began getting the news as a downpour started, and some ran through the rain. They sprinted back to their boats, jumping over the rails and throwing themselves through windows. They stuffed their meager belongings into plastic bags and rushed back to the dock, not wanting to be left behind.

A small boat went from trawler to trawler picking up men who wanted to go and was soon loaded down with about 30 men.

The director general of Indonesia’s Marine Resources and Fisheries Surveillance initially told about 20 men from Burma that he would move them from Benjina village to neighboring Tual island for their safety following interviews with officials on Friday. However, as news spread that men were getting to leave the island, dozens of others started filing in from all over and sitting on the floor.

When the official, Asep Burhundun, was asked if others hiding in the jungle could come as well, he said, "They can all come. We don’t want to leave a single person behind."

Fishermen who are Thai nationals will remain on the island. Most of the boat captains are from Thailand.

The Indonesian delegation began interviewing men on boats and assessing the situation on the island this week, and have heard of the same abuses fishermen told The Associated Press in a story published last week. They described being abused at sea, including being kicked and whipped with stingray tails and given Taser-like electric shocks. Some said they fell ill and were not given medicine; others said had been promised jobs in Thailand and then were taken to Indonesia where they were made to work long hours with little or no pay.

The delegation said security in Benjina is limited, with only two people from the Indonesian navy stationed there. Out of security concerns they decided to move the fishermen to Tual — a 12-hour boat ride away — where they will stay at a Ministry of Fisheries compound where their identities can be verified.

"I’m really happy, but I’m confused," said Nay Hle Win, 32. "I don’t know what my future is in Myanmar."

Win Win Ko, who ended up in Indonesia four years ago after leaving Burma, opened his mouth to smile and revealed four missing teeth. The 42-year-old said they were kicked out by a boat captain’s military boots because he was not moving fish fast enough from the deck to the freezer hold.

"I will go see my parents," he said. "They haven’t heard from me, and I haven’t heard from them since I left."

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Three Indian Soldiers Killed in Ambush in Arunachal Pradesh

Posted: 02 Apr 2015 10:56 PM PDT

A security personnel stands guard as people line up to cast their vote outside a polling station in Nakhrai village in Tinsukia district in the northeastern Indian state of Assam April 7, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

NEW DELHI — Three Indian soldiers were killed and four wounded in an attack by suspected separatist militants in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday, military and police officials said.

The soldiers died when suspected rebels of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) opened fire on a military convoy traveling in the remote Tirap district, said a senior military official, who declined to be named.

India’s mountainous northeast is home to dozens of ethnic groups, many of whom are campaigning for greater autonomy, statehood or even secession.

But attacks on the Indian military are rare in the area, intelligence sources told Reuters.

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland has been fighting for decades for an independent ethnic Naga homeland in parts of India’s northeast and Burma, where it runs a government-in-exile.

New Delhi has deployed troops in the area, which shares borders with China, Burma and Bangladesh.

China does not recognize Indian sovereignty in the region, and calls it “south Tibet”.

In February, Beijing was irked when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the region to mark the anniversary of its foundation as a state and inaugurate a train line and power station.

Modi has repeatedly emphasized the need to develop the far-flung state, easing restrictions on building roads and military facilities as a counter to the infrastructure boost China has made in recent years on the other side of the border.

Separately, one soldier and one special police officer were killed in a gunfight between Indian troops and militants in Kashmir on Thursday. Two soldiers and one civilian were injured in the fighting.

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Chinese Influence in Cambodia Grows With Army School, Aid

Posted: 02 Apr 2015 09:51 PM PDT

A Chinese army advisor, center, puts rank on Cambodian army graduates during a graduation ceremony at Army Institute in Kampong Speu province on March 12, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

THLOK TASEK, Cambodia — When Defense Minister Tea Banh addressed graduates last month at Cambodia's prestigious Army Institute, he directed his thanks to the guests who made it all possible: a group of crisply dressed officers from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The institute, established in 1999 around 80 km (50 miles) from Phnom Penh, is part of China's rising military aid to Cambodia. Interviews with serving officers and a senior Cambodian government official shed light on how far the school's influence has grown in recent years.

Military aid, alongside arms sales and billions of dollars of investment, have strengthened China's ties with Cambodia, and analysts see it as part of a push to extend regional influence, including in the disputed South China Sea.

During his speech at the institute in Kampong Speu province, Tea lavished praise on the "luxurious" facilities—a rarity for Cambodia's often ramshackle armed forces.

Addressing the Chinese, he added: "We are grateful to them for understanding our difficulties."

Since 2009, roughly 200 cadets have been admitted annually to four-year courses devised by China's Defense Ministry and Chinese advisers who oversee a local teaching staff, three officers said.

This includes compulsory six month stints at military academies in China.

The 190 students who graduated in March were the third such cohort from the school.

"Graduates have already been put into influential positions, including the head of army brigades," said the senior government official, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject.

"They're in fighting forces in positions where they can make decisions."

The school also admits about 200 students a year for a shorter six-month course.

The official said China paid for the majority of the institute's construction and covers most of the operating costs.

About half of all Cambodia's officer trainees now come through the institute, according to an officer with close knowledge of the school, who also declined to be named.

The institute appears to be China's first attempt to build a large-scale facility of this kind in Southeast Asia, said Carl Thayer, a Southeast Asia security expert at the Australian Defense Force Academy.

"For China, it's the beginning of a long-term strategy of winning influence in the Cambodian military by cultivating these people. And China keeps very, very deep intelligence files on everybody," he said.

"Nowhere in Southeast Asia is the Chinese influence as great as what you're talking about."

The growth of the school comes amid a significant rise in Chinese arms sales and military aid to Cambodia. China also invests billions into the country's economy.

In 2013, Cambodia took delivery of 12 Harbin Z-9 helicopters using a US$195 million Chinese loan. The next year, it received a donation of 26 Chinese trucks and 30,000 military uniforms.

Chinese-funded construction at the school has proceeded apace. Since an infusion of funds in 2002, more than 70 buildings have been erected on the roughly 148 hectare (366 acre) site, according to an institute document seen by Reuters.

Officials at Cambodia's Defense Ministry did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment for this article.

China's Defense Ministry said in a statement responding to questions from Reuters that it would "continue to increase its level of support for the institute, to help the Cambodian side raise its teaching abilities and level of personnel training."

"This aid has no political conditions attached, and will not harm the interests of any third party," it said.

Splitting Asean?

According to Lao Mong Hay, an analyst and adviser to Cambodia's opposition, China's military largesse contributed to Cambodia, as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2012, playing spoiler in efforts by Southeast Asian states to create a maritime "code of conduct" with Beijing.

"The strategic interest of China is also to split Asean, and Cambodia is used for this purpose," he said.

Military aid also counterbalances the influence of Vietnam, Lao added.

Vietnam, embroiled in a row with China last year over an oil rig Beijing parked in disputed waters, has long provided training to Cambodian soldiers and police, as well as military equipment. The neighbors' navies conduct regular joint patrols.

Chinese aid dwarfs that of the United States, which canceled delivery of 200 surplus military vehicles in 2010 after Cambodia deported a group of Uighur asylum seekers to China in late 2009.

Two days after that deportation, China and Cambodia signed deals worth an estimated $850 million.

In 2013, Cambodia announced the suspension of some military cooperation with the United States after criticism by American lawmakers of Cambodia's elections.

Washington made available around $1 million for military financing and training in Cambodia in 2014, according to the State Department, and 12 Cambodian military personnel received training in the United States on human rights and "maritime capacity building."

Meanwhile, graduates of the Chinese-funded Army Institute are moving up the ranks.

"They want us to see China as a superpower that helps Cambodia in times of crisis," said an officer graduate, posted on Cambodia's volatile border with Thailand.

The post Chinese Influence in Cambodia Grows With Army School, Aid appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

North Korea Expels Chief of German Food Aid Organization: NGO

Posted: 02 Apr 2015 09:25 PM PDT

A North Korean boy works in a field of a collective farm in an area damaged by summer floods and typhoons in South Hwanghae Province on Sept. 30, 2011. (Photo: Reuters)

SEOUL — North Korea has expelled the country director of Welthungerhilfe, one of the few foreign aid groups to operate in the isolated country, the German organization told Reuters on Thursday.

A devastating famine in the 1990s left hundreds of thousands of North Koreans dead or dying from starvation. The food situation has improved since, but Pyongyang still relies on support from foreign aid organizations.

Without warning or saying why, North Korea asked Welthungerhilfe country director Regina Feindt to leave the country in late February, the non-government body said in a statement.

Feindt's colleague Karl Fall, who had worked in the country for 12 years, left of his own volition the next month, it said.

"Welthungerhilfe does not see anything in Mrs Feindt's behavior that would have justified an expulsion," it said in the statement.

It said Feindt left North Korea on Feb 26 and that Fall left on March 19. Feindt and Fall were not available to comment, Welthungerhilfe said.

The abrupt departures came as a surprise to members of the small foreign community in Pyongyang, according to a regular visitor to the North Korean capital who wished to remain anonymous, citing the sensitive nature of working there.

Welthungerhilfe would not comment on the events leading up to Feindt's deportation.

"We don't know why this has happened," spokeswoman Simone Pott told Reuters by telephone.

The NGO is one of a handful of foreign aid groups to operate within the isolated country.

Welthungerhilfe, whose name means "World Hunger Aid", is one of Germany's largest non-governmental aid organizations and has been working in North Korea since 1997, spending more than 60 million euros (US$65 million) on projects designed to improve food, sanitation and water supply.

The NGO, previously known as German Agro Action, still has a skeleton presence in North Korea, despite the expulsion of its country director. According to its statement, activities to improve water and sewage systems in cities were unaffected.

"At the moment we are in discussions with the North Korean authorities to secure a basis for continuing our development work in the country for the benefit of the people of North Korea," the group said in the statement.

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UN Rights Chief Slams Thai Junta’s Use of Repressive Law

Posted: 02 Apr 2015 09:17 PM PDT

Thailand’s PM Prayuth Chan-ocha gets in his car after the merit-making ceremony in Bangkok on Thursday. (Photo: Damir Sagolj / Reuters) REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

BANGKOK— The United Nations joined international rights groups Thursday in criticizing a decision by Thailand’s military government to invoke a law that gives the junta chief near-absolute authority without any accountability.

Junta chief and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Wednesday lifted martial law, which he imposed shortly before taking power in a coup last year, and instead invoked Article 44 of a junta-imposed interim constitution, which allows him to take any measures to promote public order and unity. Thai officials said martial law was lifted because of foreign pressure.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said giving Prayuth unfettered authority "clearly leaves the door wide open to serious violations of fundamental human rights." His statement, issued in Geneva, noted that Article 44 not only effectively allows Prayuth to issue any legislative, executive or judicial order, but "also annihilates freedom of expression" by giving him extensive censorship powers.

"In effect, this means the sweeping away of all checks and balances on the power of the government, rendering the lifting of martial law meaningless," he said.

Both martial law and Article 44 provide legal underpinnings for actions taken in the name of law and order. But while martial law defines acceptable actions, such as arrests without warrants, censorship and bans on public gatherings, Article 44 is vaguer and more broadly worded, allowing the junta chief to take any action he deems necessary not only to maintain order but also "for the benefit of reform in any field and to strengthen public unity and harmony."

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, a legal expert, said at a news conference Thursday that the junta, called the National Council for Peace and Order, will use Article 44 for three purposes: unity and reconciliation, reforms or preparation for reforms, and prevention of plans to harm the country’s security.

"If the normal measures to create unity and reconciliation are slow or ineffective, and there is a need to create unity and reconciliation, the head of the NCPO might invoke Article 44 to issue an order to make unity and reconciliation happen," he said. "But how will he order, I don’t know, because the situation has not happened yet."

The junta’s efforts at reconciliation so far have gone little beyond holding street fairs in the early days of its rule. It summons critics for what it calls "attitude adjustment" and has a handpicked committee secretly drafting a new constitution.

Wissanu explained that the junta considered employing less draconian statutes than martial law, including the country’s International Security Act and a declaration of a state of emergency, but they also sounded severe to foreign observers. Thailand’s tourism industry has been especially concerned about the image such terms evoke, even though military rule has had little day-to-day effect on tourists.

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International called the replacement of martial law with Article 44 "little more than a cynical exercise in the preservation of military power."

"Nothing has changed — this is an attempt to cast a veil over its determination to continue using military might to crush dissent," Richard Bennett, the group’s Asia-Pacific director, said in a statement Thursday.

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