Friday, October 6, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Abducted Hindu Rica: ARSA Killed My Husband

Posted: 06 Oct 2017 08:19 AM PDT

On Aug. 25, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) launched coordinated attacks on 30 police posts in Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships in Rakhine State.

The Myanmar government released a statement on Sept. 24 saying ARSA abducted around 100 men and women from several Hindu villages in Kha Mauk Seik village tract on Aug. 25 and killed the majority of abductees.

Security forces unearthed 45 dead Hindus, including six children, near Ye Baw Kya village in northern Maungdaw Township on Sept. 24 and 25.

Eight Hindu women, aged between 15 and 25, and eight children who said they were abducted by ARSA arrived back in Myanmar on Oct. 3 and gave their accounts of the massacre.

According to their account, about 500 Muslim villagers of Khamaungseik led by self-identifying Rohingya leader Norulauk and what they described as a "foreign terrorist leader in black dress" came and killed 45 villagers of Ye Baw Kya on Aug. 25.

Rica, 25, one of eight Hindu women whose husband was killed by ARSA told The Irrawaddy about the massacre, how they were abducted and how they eventually escaped:

Ma Rica, how is your health and how are things going with you?

I'm good. Everything is fine. We're now staying at military camp [in Buthidaung]. We don't know how long we have to stay here. We are altogether eight women and eight children.

When did you arrive back in Myanmar?

We arrived back on Oct. 3. We came [back] from Bangladesh. We had to stay one month and five days in Bangladesh at Kutupalong Refugee Camp. Bengalis tried to find us to kill us.

How were you abducted by terrorists?

They came into our village [Ye Baw Kya] around 8 a.m. on Aug. 25. They took all our phones, and surrounded the village. They tied us up and blindfolded the men. They beat the men, and asked how much gold and cash we had. I gave them all my possessions. Then they took all the villagers outside the village to Baw Tala village. Then they put men and women in separate groups. We eight women were put in a separate place. They slit the throat of men first, and knifed children and women. Then they asked eight of us if we would convert to Islam, and we won't be killed if we did. They said the God we believe in is nothing and their Islam is mighty. So, we said we would convert to Islam if they didn't slash us. So, they didn't kill us.

What happened then?

We stayed overnight in Baw Tala village that day. We were forced to eat beef [Hindu followers abstain from eating beef], and study to dress like Muslim [women]. We didn't eat, but the children ate a little.

Didn't you beg terrorists not to kill your husbands?

We did. We went down on bended knees and begged them. We had given them all our gold and made them promise not to kill our husbands. They slashed my husband even after they got gold from us. I told them that I had given them a lot of gold and asked them not to kill him. When they were about to kill my children, I said I won't do as they want if they kill my children. I said I didn't want to survive if they killed my children. [So, they didn't.] We have a gold shop. Bengalis took all 30 ticals of gold and over four million kyats.

How did they take you to Bangladesh?

They took us on foot beyond the mountains in the west of Khamaungseik village. We had to sleep two nights on mountains. We had nothing to eat and it was absolutely terrible. We arrived in Bangladesh on Aug. 28.

Who were the people who attacked your village?

They included villagers of Khamaungseik as well as terrorists. I recognized around ten Khamaungseik villagers. Their leader is Norulauk. While we were detained at Baw Ta La village, five people guarded us. Others left, saying they would attack the government. The five men who were guarding us said this area [Rakhine] is not a Hindu State, not a Bamar State. They said they would turn the area [from Maungdaw border] to Sittwe to their [self-identifying Rohingya] State.  We were brought by those five Bengalis to Bangladesh. The rest were left in Myanmar reportedly to attack the government. Now, they are in Bangladesh. I saw them in clothes which they had taken from our brothers and husbands.

Who came and rescued you from Bangladesh?

We arrived in Bangladesh on Aug. 28 at Kutupalong Camp. Then, they brought Mawlawis and initiated us into the Islam faith. We were asked to repeat Muslim words and shout "Allah." We were also asked to eat beef, and wear Burqas. Then a Muslim boy there reportedly told a Hindu barber at Kutupalong market that eight Hindu women from Myanmar were being Islamized. Hindu elders came and rescued us around 8 p.m. in the evening.

How did the Muslim boy know about you?

As soon as we arrived in Bangladesh, we were given lunch at a house. Then, they interviewed us and video-recorded it. They asked us to say in the interview that Hindus were killed by Arakanese people. They also asked us to say that our husbands, parents and relatives as well as Muslims were killed by the government; and that we would be killed if we didn't.

So, how did you escape?

We contacted [Hindu community leader] U Ni Mal. We sneaked out of Kutupalong Camp. We left for Taung Pyo Letwe in the car of a Hindu man. It took around one and a half hours. On the way, we were inspected by the Bangladesh border guards. The driver said we were going to Deepavali Festival [a Hindu religious festival]. When we got out of the car, we saw government officials waiting for us in Taung Pyo Letwe.

The post Abducted Hindu Rica: ARSA Killed My Husband appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Yangon Launches Water Bus Service

Posted: 06 Oct 2017 04:12 AM PDT

YANGON— After a delay of three months, a water bus service on Yangon's rivers rolled out on Friday, offering a new transport option to the city's 5.2 million residents.

Thirteen boats will connect Bohtataung and Insein townships with seven stops in between under the first phase of the project which launched Friday, Daw Tint Tint Lwin, the chairwoman of Tint Tint Myanmar company which won a tender to provide water bus services in February, said at the launching ceremony.

Three imported boats from Australia which can carry each 180-230 passengers, three boats from Thailand which can carry 60 passengers and seven locally constructed boats which can carry 150 passengers will run between 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day.

The stops include Bohtataung Terminal (Bohtataung Pagoda compound), Nan Thi Da Terminal (Pansodan Street), Lan Thit Jetty (Lan Thit Street), Kyee Myindaing Terminal (Kyee Myaing Kanar Road, near Zay Gyee Street), Hlaing Terminal (Hlaing Station Road, next to Shwe Padauk Fish market), Punn Hlaing (Punn Hlaing Golf Estate) and Insein Terminal (Aung Zay Ya Bridge).

The chairwoman said it takes about two hours to drive from Insein to Botahtaung, but by the water buses, it will only take around 45 minutes.

The initiative falls under the regional government's plans to upgrade public transport services to relieve worsening traffic jams in the former capital and commercial hub, following the new bus system that launched in January.

Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein and officials taking a water bus in Yangon on Friday (Photo: Thet Tun Naing/ The Irrawaddy)

Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said at the launching ceremony that he hopes the new water transport will be helpful for the traffic congestion on Yangon's roads which has caused commuter journeys to lengthen, pledging the government was strict in ensuring the tender-award winning company was up to standard on safety and security.

The service was previously planned to launch in late June. Daw Tint Tint Lwin told The Irrawaddy that there had some delay in importing boats because of bad weather and also in arranging the required documents with the related government departments for the project.

She said based on the customers' demand, the routes and stops will be expanded under the Yangon regional government's instructions.

Two routes along Nga Moe Yeik Creek and Thanlyin Township will follow within three to six months after the jetties have been constructed, she said.

Some 56 to 67 boats are expected to service the full operation, which aims to serve an annual 12 million commuters this year and a projected 24 million by 2020.

"I hope to get full customers on all 13 boats under phase one as even in the trial there was high demand," she added.

She added that Yangon Region Transport Authority is also arranging to expand the bus lines that connect the water bus terminals.

Commuters will use a top-up card payment system with water bus rides costing between 300 and 500 kyats.

The post Yangon Launches Water Bus Service appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mass Exodus of Muslims from Rakhine ‘Not Honest’: Govt Spokesperson

Posted: 06 Oct 2017 04:01 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — The Myanmar government's spokesperson has questioned the motives behind the mass migration of Muslims from northern Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh in the last month, claiming there are no clashes at all in the area.

"We believe that [self-identifying Rohingya Muslims] are plotting against the government by misleading [the international community] that there is mass migration," said U Zaw Htay, who is also director-general of the State Counselor Office.

More than half a million self-identifying Rohingya Muslims have fled Rakhine State since Aug. 25, bringing with them tales of rape, murder, and arson during Myanmar Army security operations the UN's human rights body has labeled "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

The UN's humanitarian aid chief said on Friday they were bracing for a possible "further exodus" from Rakhine State, according to Reuters. An estimated 2,000 self-identifying Rohingya continue to flee Rakhine State daily according to the International Organization for Migration.

"This flow out of Myanmar has not stopped yet, it's into the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya [who are] still in Myanmar, we want to be ready in case there is a further exodus," Mark Lowcock, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday, according to Reuters. "Half a million people do not pick up sticks and flee their country on a whim."

The self-identifying Rohingya Muslims are denied citizenship and classified as illegal immigrants, despite claiming roots in Myanmar that go back centuries, with communities marginalized and subjected to bouts of violence over the years.

Myanmar has denied it is pursuing ethnic cleansing in the state and, according to Reuters, Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on Monday to form a working group to commence plans for the repatriation of refugees.

"It is not honest. [Self-identifying Rohingya Muslims] are fleeing even as we have told them that nobody would cause any harm to them, and [the government] would provide security and social assistance," U Zaw Htay said.

U Zaw Htay said there were also reports of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)—a self-identifying Rohingya militant group which sparked the latest violence with deadly attacks on 30 police outposts on Aug. 25—making threats by phone from Bangladesh to Muslims in Rakhine State, encouraging them to leave for Bangladesh, he said.

"So, it is also possible that they are fleeing because of fear and concerns that they will be alone when renewed clashes occur," he said.

"But then, we also heard reports that Muslims were paid to leave by boat [from Rakhine] and arrive at the camp [in Bangladesh]. Putting two and two together, this has brought into question who are funding them to leave," he added.

During a visit of Myanmar State Counselor's Office Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe to Bangladesh Dhaka this week, Bangladesh said it regarded ARSA as a common enemy of the two countries.

In her diplomatic briefing in September focusing on the Rakhine issue, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged the international community not just to look at problems but also to look at the areas where there were no problems.

She explained that 50 percent of Muslim villages remained intact. Human Rights Watch said last month that more than half of 400 self-identifying Rohingya villages in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships had showed fire damage, according to satellite imagery.

"If those people remain [in Rakhine State] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's statement is valid. At such time, attempts at mass migration is not honest, I think. Because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has called the international community to help find out the reason behind the exodus," said former political prisoner U Tun Kyi who is a Muslim.

"So, I think they are trying to contradict the statement of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."

Since last week of September, thousands of self-identifying Rohingya Muslims from villages in Buthidaung have gathered at the border with Bangladesh. According to the government information committee, there were around 13,000 Muslims at the border.

"Together with community elders, we met them and asked if they needed any assistance. They replied mildly that their relatives [from Bangladesh] called them and they would go and settle with them," said U Tin Maung Swe, secretary of Rakhine State government.

"They said they have no problems. Entire villages are leaving and therefore there are thousands of people," he said.

Though authorities dissuaded them from leaving and promised to provide security, health care and food, they refused to stay, he added.

"But I don't like them breaking through border fences. The border is quite long and they can go [into Bangladesh] through other ways," said U Tin Maung Swe.

U Tun Kyi said he condemned any person or organization which is deliberately forcing a mass exodus. He said he believed that there are persons and organizations that have exerted improper influence over people of poor education-level in the area.

"There are a lot of interests. ARSA also has interests. The government and the Tatmadaw have shown arms seized from ARSA to international diplomats. Those arms are old and broken. Why can't the government defeat ARSA which only have broken guns?" questioned U Tun Kyi.

Upper House parliamentarian U Khin Maung Latt said international laws allow people to flee and it is difficult for the government to stop them.

"Authorities said they would provide security and food, but they don't accept it. They may get more relief supplies and aid there, and they may get into a third country. There are such incentives. So, they were told that they would face troubles if they stay here and were talked into leaving for Bangladesh," said U Khin Maung Latt.

Myanmar's government was facing allegations of human rights violations because of the unfair portrayal of the issue by international media, he said.

The post Mass Exodus of Muslims from Rakhine 'Not Honest': Govt Spokesperson appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ready to Fight Again: The Homeless Muslims Still Backing Myanmar Insurgency

Posted: 05 Oct 2017 10:17 PM PDT

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — For 28-year-old Self-identifying Rohingya Muslim shopkeeper Mohammed Rashid, the evening phone call from organizers of the fledgling insurgent movement came as a surprise.

“Be ready,” was the message.

A few hours later, after meeting in the darkness in an open field, he was one of 150 men who attacked a Myanmar Border Guard Police post armed with swords, homemade explosives and a few handguns. At the end of a short battle, half a dozen men he had grown up with in his village were dead.

“We had no training, no weapons,” said Rashid, from the Buthidaung area of Myanmar’s Rakhine state, who had joined the group just two months earlier.

Accounts from some of those, like Rashid, who took part in attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on dozens of police posts early on Aug. 25 paint a picture of a rag-tag band of hopeless, angry villagers, who were promised AK-47 rifles but ended up fighting with sticks and knives.

Hundreds joined as recently as June, according to the accounts, and membership meant little more than a knife and messages from leaders on the popular mobile messaging app Whatsapp.

Reuters interviewed half a dozen fighters and members of the group now sheltering in Bangladesh, as well as dozens of others among the more than half a million Self-identifying Rohingya refugees who have fled across the border to escape a Myanmar army counteroffensive that the United Nations has branded ethnic cleansing.

ARSA, which emerged in 2016, says in press releases and video messages from its leader, Ata Ullah, that it is fighting for the rights of the Self-identifying Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority that has long complained of persecution in mainly Buddhist Myanmar.

Myanmar says ARSA is a ruthless Islamist extremist movement that wants to create an Islamic republic in northern Rakhine.

Despite the massive suffering inflicted on their communities in the weeks since the August attacks, most of the fighters now stuck in dirt-poor camps said they were determined to continue their fight and some refugees voiced support for the insurgency.

Other refugees Reuters spoke to criticized the insurgents for bringing more misery upon them.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s spokesman, Zaw Htay, said ARSA had killed many Muslims who had cooperated with the authorities and so “people have felt threatened and terrorized” into supporting it. He added that Myanmar’s intelligence showed that religious scholars were prominent in recruiting followers.

ARSA denies killing civilians, and did not respond to a request for comment this week.

Analysts say the violence could galvanize ARSA members and supporters huddled in the refugee camps and among those Self-identifying Rohingya still in Myanmar, as people feel they have even less to lose.

“A militancy like this finds fertile ground because of the desperation of the community,” said Richard Horsey, a Yangon-based analyst and former U.N. official. “They are willing to take suicidal steps because they don’t see any other choice.”

Transnational Islamist groups could also try to exploit the desperation in the camps to radicalise people, Horsey added. Al Qaeda last month called for support for the Self-identifying Rohingya.

Homemade Weapons and Whatsapp

Reuters could not independently verify the individual insurgents’ stories, but there were broad similarities in all of their accounts.

One fighter, 35-year-old Kamal Hussain from a village in Rathedaung in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, said he joined ARSA when a religious teacher stood in his village square in June, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and implored a crowd of hundreds to fight.

“He said we have no choice but to attack Myanmar because our brothers and sisters are being killed day by day. I think everyone joined that day,” Hussain said, as he sat under a tarpaulin in a Bangladesh refugee camp. “We should attack again and again. I would go back to fight if I had the chance.”

Unlike longer-serving fighters, most new joiners had little or no training or contact with the group’s leaders, who communicated using Whatsapp and delivered rudimentary homemade explosives ahead of the assaults.

A third fighter, his account supported by comments from two elders from his village interviewed separately, said he and about 60 men from Myin Hlut signed up three months ago.

The 26-year-old, who asked not to be named because he feared arrest by Bangladeshi authorities, said he was among 200 men who attacked another police checkpost in the early hours of Aug. 25.

“We had only knives and sticks, no guns,” he said. “They promised us AK-47s but we got nothing. The explosives didn’t work. We had two of them for the whole group, but when we threw them nothing happened.”

About 40 fighters were killed, he said, but added that he would do it again if called on.

“I still support ARSA,” he said. “If my leaders call me to go again and fight, I will go back.”

According to two village-level commanders, there were Whatsapp groups restricted to leaders and others to members.

Bigger groups, administered from overseas, were used to build broader community support for ARSA and the Self-identifying Rohingya cause.

On his phone, Shoket Ullah, an uncle of the 26-year-old fighter, scrolled through messages posted in the Whatsapp group “ARSA.G1”, administered through a Saudi phone number, where ARSA press releases, videos of alleged Myanmar military violence and messages of support for Self-identifying Rohingyas were shared.

Another Whatsapp group on Ullah’s phone, “Rohingya Desh Arakan”, is administered by someone using a number from Malaysia. Tens of thousands of Self-identifying Rohingya live in both Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

Local Backing

Self-identifying Rohingya anger at Myanmar has long existed, but this is the first serious armed resistance in decades.

In the crowded Bangladeshi camps, several refugees voice support for ARSA.

“I am disappointed and regret what happened but this was pre-planned by the Myanmar government,” said Shafi Rahman, a 45-year-old Burmese teacher whose village was burned to the ground the day after the attacks. “If ARSA didn’t attack, they would have done this to us anyway.”

Several refugees said some people had begun to sell cattle, vegetables and rice to raise funds for ARSA.

Not everyone was supportive, however. When Kamal Hussain, the fighter, argued that ARSA needed to keep fighting, his neighbors in the camp shouted him down.

“We have lost everything. Violence is not the answer,” shouted one elderly man, as muddy water spilled into the tent he now calls home.

It is not obvious how fighters would regroup and rebuild after so many have fled across the border or disappeared.

Three of the fighters who spoke to Reuters said they had been surprised by the ferocity of the Myanmar military’s response, and within weeks commanders had told their men to put down their weapons and abandon their villages.

Several said Whatsapp groups where regional and field commanders from ARSA, which before a rebranding this year called itself al-Yakin, or “Faith Movement”, would post updates had gone quiet.

“People who blame this on al-Yakin need to realize my people had to flee in 1978 and in the 1990s when there was no ARSA,” said one of the two village-level commanders, who grew up in Bangladesh after his family fled an earlier outbreak of violence, but returned to Myanmar in the 1990s.

“We should continue to attack. Even women can join.”

The post Ready to Fight Again: The Homeless Muslims Still Backing Myanmar Insurgency appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Britain is Still Being Beastly to its Former Colony Myanmar

Posted: 04 Oct 2017 04:35 AM PDT

YANGON—There is usually no harm in reciting lines or verses from your favorite poems. But it can matter what you read, where you read it, and who you are. If you are not careful, you could make a gaffe or insult those around you. Take the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, for example.

When the Foreign Secretary visited Myanmar's Shwedagon Pagoda earlier this year during an official trip to Myanmar, the 53-year old Conservative Party member tolled a huge bell and recited lines from the poem Mandalay by Rudyard Kipling: "The temple-bells they say/ Come you back, you English soldier." (In fact, "Bojo" made a mistake, it's British, not English in the poem.)

His impromptu recital was recorded and featured in a documentary on Britain's Channel 4. In the video, Boris Johnson was interrupted by British ambassador to Myanmar who said "probably not a good idea" and "not appropriate" in a stern voice after reminding the Foreign Secretary he was on microphone.

Yes, it is inappropriate and insensitive for Boris Johnson to recite those lines in a country that was colonized by the British from 1824 to 1948.

To make matters worse, the person uttering "come you back, you English soldier" was not just an ordinary citizen but the Foreign Secretary from the country that annexed Myanmar through three bloody wars and oppressed local resistance.

Were it not for UK Ambassador Andrew Patrick's interruption, the Foreign Secretary may have continued with the lines "Bloomin’ idol made o’ mud / Wot they called the Great Gawd Budd / Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed ‘er where she stud!"

Referring to the Buddha as the "Great Gawd Budd" at one of the holiest Buddhist sites in the country would have been an act of sacrilege.

Who knows why the Foreign Secretary uttered lines from the colonial poem. Probably, he is a great fan of Rudyard Kipling or felt nostalgic for the age of British imperialism. Whatever the case, a British Foreign Secretary's recitation of the colonial poem in the country where they once colonized is an insult to the country and hurts the feeling of its people.

Adding to Myanmar people's dismay, the release of the video footage coincides with a time when Britain, along with many other countries, has been actively criticizing the Southeast Asian country and its popular leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for the country's treatment of the self-identifying Rohingya issue, which is in face the result of a bad colonial legacy left by the British to Myanmar people.

If the British hadn't encouraged Bengali inhabitants from Bengal Province of India (now Bangladesh) to migrate into the then sparsely populated and fertile valleys of Rakhine in the 1800s, Myanmar today would be in a very different position in the controversial issue.

While the British government has been repeatedly criticizing the Lady for her silence on the issue as well as for not doing enough to defend the minority self-identifying Rohingya, St Hugh's college of Oxford University, where she studied politics, philosophy and economics between 1964 and 1967, removed the painting of the Nobel laureate from its main entrance as the college received the gift of a new painting. It's questionable why the portrait was taken down amid criticism on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's on the issue.

On Tuesday, Oxford City Council withdrew an honor granting Aung San Suu Kyi the Freedom of Oxford as it was "no longer appropriate" for her to hold it given to her response to the self-identifying Rohingya issue.

Of course it would be annoying for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to see those kind of responses from the UK, which was in some ways her second home, spending nearly two decades studying and raising a family there with her late British husband.

For the majority of the Myanmar people, the actions of Oxford City Council and Oxford University were deliberate insults to the woman whom they have elected as their leader.

It's interesting to ask why Britain's government and civil organizations are united in humiliating Myanmar and its leader unlike many other western countries like the US, which is taking a much more supportive role by offering assistance to implement the recommendations made by the Rakhine State Advisory Commission to help the country tackle an issue spawned by British colonial rule.

Is Britain under the mistaken impression that it has the right to bully the country because it once colonized it?

Rather than pointing fingers at Myanmar, the British should be mindful that when it comes to the self-identifying Rohingya issue, their forebears were responsible for the encouragement of mass migration from India to Myanmar for cheap farm labor. It should be noted that they did it for the interests of British Empire, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 when rice demand was high in Europe.

Myanmar had no chance to solve the problem of migration encouraged by Britain under authoritarian rule from 1962 to 2010. The former quasi-civilian government made little success in tackling the issue despite their efforts after 2012.

Undaunted, the country's first democratically elected Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government is now trying to fix it amid other problems the country is facing such as bringing peace with ethnic armed groups. Please be aware that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government is just 18 months old.

It is very unfair to today's Myanmar, struggling to cope with the problems the British left behind while being criticized by those responsible who ignored their wrongdoings they did in the country more than a century ago.

The post Britain is Still Being Beastly to its Former Colony Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UK Prince Charles’s Tour of Southeast Asia Leaves Out Myanmar

Posted: 04 Oct 2017 01:44 AM PDT

LONDON, UK — Britain’s Prince Charles will tour southeast Asia and India later this month, but the heir to the throne will not visit Myanmar, after a spate of violence and allegations that authorities are carrying out ethnic cleansing.

Media reports last month said an official visit to Myanmar was being suggested for the trip, which the prince is undertaking on behalf of the British government, and aides acknowledged it had been considered as part of the schedule.

But it was omitted from the final programme issued on Wednesday. Charles and his wife Camilla will travel to Singapore, Malaysia and then to India where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We looked at a range of options in the region and, as we’re announcing today, we’re going ahead with the visit to Singapore and Malaysia,” Philip Malone, Deputy Head of Department at Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, told reporters.

Malone and royal aides declined to elaborate.

More than 500,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh in the past month since insurgents attacked security posts near the border, triggering fierce military retaliation that the United Nations has branded ethnic cleansing.

Last month Britain suspended its training programme for the military in Myanmar because of the violence, and diplomatic relations have deteriorated.

Rights campaigners had argued against a royal visit.

“To have someone of Prince Charles's stature go to visit the country would be seen as a reward, and giving legitimacy to the government and the military that are currently violating international law,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK.

Charles and Camilla will begin their tour in Singapore on Oct. 31 before going to Malaysia, where they will celebrate 60 years of diplomatic ties since the former British colony became independent, before concluding the 11-day tour in India.

The post UK Prince Charles's Tour of Southeast Asia Leaves Out Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Maungdaw Border Guard Police Chief Replaced

Posted: 03 Oct 2017 11:35 PM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Myanmar's Ministry of Home Affairs reshuffled the police brigadier-generals of Myanmar Police Force on Monday, with the Border Guard Police Force commander of conflict-torn Maungdaw Township being replaced.

Former chief of Mandalay Region No. 3 Security Police Command Police Brig-Gen Myint Toe has replaced Police Brig-Gen Thura San Lwin as the chief of Maungdaw Border Guard Police Force, said the latter's personal staff officer Police Lieutenant Lin Lin Oo.

"He has served in Rakhine State for one year, and did his best during his tenure. He was able to put the police force in a state of combat readiness. But not everything was perfect," said police lieutenant Lin Lin Oo.

In the aftermath of attacks on border guard police outposts in Maungdaw last October—in which nine police officers were killed and large amount of ammunition was seized—Police Brig-Gen Thura San Lwin replaced Police Brig-Gen Maung Maung Khin as the chief of the local border guard police force.

Police Brig-Gen Maung Maung Khin and two other police officers were imprisoned for negligence.

Ensuing "clearance operations" in northern Rakhine by the Myanmar Army and police were dogged by allegations of serious human rights abuses including rape, extra-judicial killings, and arson.

In December, a video emerged of police beating self-identifying Rohingya villagers in northern Rakhine's Rathedaung Township.

Police Brig-Gen Myint Toe has taken over the responsibility from Police Brig-Gen Thura San Lwin in Maungdaw on Tuesday, said his personal staff officer.

Police Brig-Gen Myint Toe, who was transferred from the Myanmar Army, served as commanders of police forces in Chin State and Tanintharyi Region before being promoted to lead Mandalay Region No. 3 Security Police Command.

Police Colonel Myo Thant, the chief of Oil Field Security Police Force, was promoted to police Brig-Gen to succeed Police Brig-Gen Myint Toe.

Police Brig-Gen Mya Win, the chief of Yangon Region No. 2 Security Police Command succeeds Police Brig-Gen Htay Aung who has retired as the chief of Rakhien State capital Sittwe No. 2 Security Police Command. Police Brig-Gen Tin Ko Ko of Naypyitaw No. 1 Security Police Command succeeds Police Brig-Gen Mya Win.

"It is usual for the police force to make a reshuffle once a year, an d it is not necessarily concerned with their performance," a retired police officer from Yangon told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity.

Police Brig-Gen Maung Maung Khin was imprisoned for two years after the first attacks on border guard police outposts in Maungdaw last year, but Brig-Gen Thura San Lwin was brought back to Naypyitaw to head Naypyitaw No. 1 Security Police Command after the second attacks in August this year.

Home Affairs minister Lt-Gen Kyaw Swe during his Rakhine State visit after last year's attacks said that Thura San Lwin would be able to put Maungdaw under control as he had achieved the 'Thura' title—a military title awarded for gallantry—during the battle with Burma Communist Party (BCP) troops.

The post Maungdaw Border Guard Police Chief Replaced appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Proposed New Minimum Wage Between 4,000 to 4,800 Kyats a Day

Posted: 03 Oct 2017 11:28 PM PDT

YANGON — The National Minimum Wage Committee has tentatively suggested Myanmar's new minimum wage should fall between 4,000 and 4,800 kyats (US$2.93 to $3.53) for an eight-hour working day.

The committee tasked with determining minimum wage was reformed in February and includes economists, officials of concerned ministries and representatives from labor and employer groups.

Since then it has met three times—the last time was on Monday where minimum wage committees at region and state levels discussed their survey results, and tentatively agreed a new rate of between 4,000 and 4,800 kyats, said economist U Khin Maung Kyo who is a member of National Minimum Wage Committee.

"Region and state level minimum wage committees proposed their rates, and the average was 4,000 to 4,800 kyats," U Khin Maung Nyo told The Irrawaddy.

The National Minimum Wage Committee is set to meet in December to finalize the rate, said U Nyunt Win, deputy director-general of the Factories and General Labor Laws Inspection Department.

"Region and state level minimum wage committees will listen to the feedback of employers and employees in their respective regions about the new proposed rate. We hope to work out a final rate at the December meeting," he told The Irrawaddy.

The new rate will then be put forward to parliament for approval, according to the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population.

The new rate is an appropriate amount because there is little difference between the amounts proposed by employer and labor groups, said U Khin Maung Nyo.

The minimum wage law was enacted in March, 2013, and respective by-laws in July that year. The new wage—3,600 kyats for an eight-hour working day—came into effect on Sept. 1 the same year.

It was applied to workers across all sectors nationwide, except small and family-run businesses that employ fewer than 15 people.

The post Proposed New Minimum Wage Between 4,000 to 4,800 Kyats a Day appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Respected Currency Designer U Aye Myint Dies Aged 87

Posted: 03 Oct 2017 10:21 PM PDT

MANDALAY – Veteran designer U Aye Myint died at his home in Amarapura, Mandalay Region on Tuesday evening after suffering from heart disease for many years. He was 87.

"He was sick because of his poor heart, and it was like he could not stand it anymore," a member of his family told The Irrawaddy.

Born in 1930, U Aye Myint took an early interest in the floral patterns carved into wooden buildings in the ancient capital of Innwa in Mandalay Region and in Sagaing Region and was inspired to become skilled in traditional Myanmar design.

He learnt his craft from veteran Myanmar artists including U Kywe Lay and U Khin Maung (Bank) and began his career in 1954.

In 1970 he was asked by military junta leader Gen. Ne Win to travel to Japan, Germany, and Britain to learn the art and technology of designing currency.

Working at Wazi in Magwe Region, he designed Myanmar currency notes and coins—which were printed with help from German technologies—as well as lottery tickets and stamps.

His designs for the five and 10 kyat notes became famous among the people, especially as they featured the face of independence hero Gen. Aung San.

After a number of years, however, he was forced to retire as Myanmar's ruling generals became suspicious of him and accused him of political activism.

"He told us that one of his design failures, and one of the most memorable points of his life as a currency designer, was that the cluster of toddy palm fruits on the five-kyat note faced upward rather than downwards," said one of his students and disciples Tampawaddy U Wing Maung.

"He said the design and pattern of the note was made in Germany while he was there but due to a rush in the process, he only found the mistake after the notes were printed and distributed."

After leaving Wazi, U Aye Myint struggled as a designer of traditional Myanmar art in Yangon for about 11 years, often drawing cover designs for Buddhist literary magazines.

"He was a passionate artist who always explained every piece of his art work and design in those magazines. By reading his texts and viewing his art works, readers could learn about traditional Myanmar art and design," explained Tampawaddy U Win Maung.

After settling down in Amarapura, U Aye Myint's designs appeared at many Buddhist religious buildings including the ornamentations of the southern stairway of Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda and the golden umbrella of Mandalay's Maha Muni Buddha Image.

In early 2016, on the day of his 86th birthday, U Aye Myint launched a showcase of his works in Mandalay.

During the exhibition, he launched a book named Ancient Myanmar Designs, a collection of Myanmar traditional arts and designs, which he and the late historian Dr. Than Tun had collected over the space of 50 years.

Until his last days, U Aye Myint worked as a consultant at Saung Dar traditional weaving Academy in Amarapura and a consultant for conservation and restoration works of numerous historical buildings around Mandalay, including Mandalay's ancient Shwenandaw Kyaung Temple and Amarapura's famous U Bein Bridge.

"An expert like him should be substituted. However, his disciples will continue to preserve the value of traditional arts and designs and will hand them down to future generations," said Tampawaddy U Win Maung.

U Aye Myint is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. His body will be cremated at Taung Inn Myauk Inn cemetery on Wednesday afternoon.

The post Respected Currency Designer U Aye Myint Dies Aged 87 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Ex-Ministers, Armed Groups Operate Farms in Kachin’s Conflict Areas

Posted: 03 Oct 2017 05:20 AM PDT

YANGON – Fifty-six-year-old father-of-two Bran Li is a former village administrator of Gang Dau Yang village in Waingmaw Township of resource-rich Kachin State.

He has been sheltering, for the last six years, in Mu Yin camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

He is one of 100,000 people in Kachin State displaced after a 17-year ceasefire agreement between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar Army broke down in 2011.

When clashes erupted along the Waingmaw-Laiza highway in 2011 and 2012, villagers fled their homes and farms and have still not returned as the two armies fight over territory.

Unbelievably, however, people are profiting from cultivating large-scale plantations on land deserted due to conflict, while those that once worked the land survive in deprivation inside IDP camps.

The Irrawaddy found huge plantations around the villages of Shwe Nyaung Pin, Ga Ra Yang, Hsa Mar, Gang Dau Yang, Nansem Yang—inside the conflict zone.

IDPs are unaware of the fate of their land—which many IDPs have cultivated for generations but do not always have official ownership documents—and hope to return at some stage.

Farming in the 'Grey Area'

This Irrawaddy reporter took Bran Li and other locals to Gang Dau Yang village, near a Myanmar Army base, in early August.

On the road to Laiza we passed hundreds of abandoned houses, some already reclaimed by the jungle. Other concrete structures had been put to use as army fortifications and checkpoints.

Journalists are not usually permitted to visit the area, a government soldier told The Irrawaddy that, at night, they see flashes of light, but there have not been any clashes for months.

On the road from Waingmaw town to Gang Dau Yang, The Irrawaddy saw thousands of acres of banana plantations, produced through cutting and planting tissue culture, with warning signs saying: "Military-Owned Land."

Businesspeople are clearly making millions of kyats from agriculture in these conflict areas: Who are they and how were they permitted to farm the land?

Kachin displaced person Bran Li points out his abandoned house in Gang Dau Yang village in Waingmaw Township. (Moe Myint / Irrawaddy).

Vacant Land Law

Over the past six months, The Irrawaddy received classified documents from Waingmaw Township's Department of Agricultural Land Management and Statistics which shows the previous government issued ownership documents of 170,000 acres of land in Waingmaw Township to companies and individuals between 2013 and 2014 under the Management of Vacant, Fallow, or Virgin Land Law of 2012.

The list of owners includes: Former Kachin State chief minister Lajon Ngan Sai, senior KIA official Dr. La Ja, relatives of KIA generals, and Shan Yin Hku company which is owned by Zahkun Tin Ying of the Border Guard Force (BGF) that was previously the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K). The land permits were issued by the Union government.

The list also features a person named U Aung Min. Local community groups told The Irrawaddy this could refer to a former Union minister who founded the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) but The Irrawaddy was unable to independently verify this.

The document shows Dr. La Ja applied for 5,900 acres and Lajon Ngan Sai was granted 2,700 acres.

KIA official Dr. La Ja has cultivated at least 670 acres of land and the former chief minister has begun working 530 acres of land, though the document does not specific which crop.

Shan Yin Hku applied for 10,000 acres of land and has begun working 3,500 acres of it in Man Dwang and Man Waing villages of Waingmaw Township.

The Irrawaddy spoke to Dr. La Ja in Chiang Mai last month and he confessed to operating 500 acres of plantations growing cassava—used to make tapioca—in Gang Dau Yang but that he later abandoned the land before the government revoked the license a few months ago.

His name may still appear on official documents, he said, even though he is no longer operating a plantation. The Irrawaddy was unable to observe the land itself to verify.

On Aug. 11, The Irrawaddy contacted the land records department of Waingmaw Township in order to confirm the details and implementations of the land, but was refused permission.

"It is too dangerous for us [to provide the document], you know the situation here," said a junior clerk, adding that he was once threatened with dismissal by a cabinet member.

A banana plantation nearby Shwe Nyaung Pin village, Waingmaw Township, located on the road to Laiza. (Moe Myint / Irrawaddy).

Opium Poppy Substitutes

Last month, The Irrawaddy spoke to Kachin State Chief Minister Hket Awng who officially confirmed the list above.

According to him, Dr. La Ja received 5,000 acres and former chief minister Lajon Ngan Sai received 2,700 acres of land as approved by the previous government.

He said the U Aung Min listed "probably" referred to the former Union minister.

Hket Awng explained that individuals and companies can apply to use vacant land but must implement their proposals within four years in line with the 2012 Land Law—failure to do so can result in the land being repealed.

He said the Central Committee for Vacant, Fallow, and Virgin Land Management and Kachin State authorities handed over 1.2 million acres of land to companies, armed organizations, and politicians over the past few years with the purpose of decreasing the amount of opium produced in the state.

Only 100,000 acres are currently being cultivated, he said.

Local authorities allocated land to 525 individuals and businesses while the central committee granted 301 permits. It's unclear how much of the 1.2 million acres was deemed vacant due to displacement of villagers into camps.

The land grows rice, sugarcane, rubber, and bananas, according to local parliamentarian Naw Li who said more than 30,000 acres of banana plantations had been established in Waingmaw Township alone—mostly with Chinese owners producing fruit for the Chinese market.

Both the member of Kachin State parliament and the chief minister claimed all such projects were approved under the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)-led government.

A sign reading 'Military-Owned Land, No Trespassing' nearby Waingmaw town. (Moe Myint/ Irrawaddy).

Advantages and Disadvantages

The government acknowledges that planting banana through tissue culture damages the soil quality but ignores the activity encourage more jobs in the area and to avoid formers reverting to poppy cultivation.

According to the Kachin State chief minister, 10,000 acres of banana plantations were handed to BGFs and their relatives to halt opium poppy cultivation.

The chief minister claimed the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government had reduced 10,000 acres of poppy cultivation in the border regions to just 3,000 acres, though he had no official data to support this claim.

Workers in remote regions such as Che Phwe and Sar Law switched from working on poppy plantations to bananas since 2015, he said.

Parliamentarian Naw Li provided a different perspective, pointing out banana plantations did not provide decent revenue and the soil would soon lose its nutrients unless a lot of fertilizer was used.

The Irrawaddy met with a banana expert from China overseeing a 2,000-acre banana plantation in Nanwa forest of Waingmaw Township—an area protected by the Forestry Department and close to KIA outposts. After nine years, the soil became so damaged he is now seeking a new location to farm.

The project is operated by local businessman U Nyunt Aung but two Chinese workers supervise the plantation and hired 22 migrant workers from Rakhine State.

One of the Chinese nationals Xiao Li told The Irrawaddy his boss exports at least 300 truckloads of bananas to China annually, each carrying 20 tons.

He sells one banana stalk for 36 Chinese Yuan (US$5.4) across the border in China.

Naw Li said the move to cultivate bananas rather than opium poppy did not bring benefits to locals who are not taught new agricultural techniques and said he estimated the state government received just 60,000 kyats for each lorry load of bananas in taxes.

Although he agreed with the project's intention, he said opium fields had not been significantly reduced as bananas are usually grown on flat land with more water, rather than the hills which support poppy crops.

"Poppy growers are not interested to work in banana gardens," said parliamentarian Naw Li.

A militia leader in Sudung, Waingmaw Township told the Irrawaddy that opium production has not been dramatically reduced in border areas as locals could not get as much money from other harvests such as bananas, rice, rubber, rambutan, dragon fruit, and cassava.

A mother and her daughter in Sudung camp for internally displaced persons, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State. (Moe Myint/ Irrawaddy).

Further burdens

After one-and-a-half years in office, the NLD still do not have proper statistics on the implementation of projects under the vacant, fallow, and virgin land policy.

Regional lawmaker Naw Li said even regional ministers are not allowed to enter restricted areas without permission from regional border affair ministers due to safety concerns.

"Even cabinet members keen to interact with local people, they can't reach out to the people on the ground," said Naw Li.

Kachin State Chief Minister Dr. Hket Aung told The Irrawaddy they have received land dispute complaints claiming land belongs to IDPs.

He ordered the state office's secretary to establish a land scrutiny commission in order to establish the amount of redistributed land and how much of it belongs to IDPs.

He declined to give a time frame for the scrutiny process and the resettlement of IDPs but acknowledged it could be a growing problem in the area.

"Our government is working for peace. The IDPs must return to their origins when we have peace. We will not let official land confiscation happen in future," he said.

Trucks queue in the border town Sudhung in Waingmaw Township. (Moe Myint/ Irrawaddy).

The post Ex-Ministers, Armed Groups Operate Farms in Kachin's Conflict Areas appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Two ANP Members Submit Party Resignation Letters

Posted: 03 Oct 2017 05:05 AM PDT

Two members of Rakhine State Parliament who represent the Arakan National Party (ANP) requested resignation from the party this week.

U Than Maung Oo, a state lawmaker representing Ramree Township Constituency No. 2, submitted his resignation letter on Oct. 3. A day earlier, U Khin Maung Htay, a lawmaker representing Ann Township Constituency No. 2, submitted his resignation.

Three lawmakers have requested to leave the ANP this year, within a three month period. Upper house lawmaker Daw Htoot May sent her resignation letter to the ANP in late July to rejoin the newly re-registered Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) party.

The ANP was formed in June 2013 with the merger of two Rakhine political parties, the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) and the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), to consolidate votes in the 2015 general election. The latter formed for the 1990 election and the former was established in 2010 and has contested in the elections since then.

Due to the friction within the ANP, the ALD decided to re-establish its party early this year.

In their resignation letters, U Than Maung Oo, 57, and U Khin Maung Htay, 33, said they resigned as members and central committee leaders of the ANP.

Regarding his decision, U Than Maung Oo told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that even though they had merged the parties, the two party's political aims were opposing and they "could no longer work together." He was one of the people who had initiated the party merger in 2013.

U Khin Maung Htay did not comment on his resignation.

ANP vice chairman U Khine Pyay Soe said the decision on the resignation letters would have to wait until the central committee leaders meeting, which will be held next week, either on Oct. 13 or Oct. 14.

"As the central committee leaders are selected through the ANP's congress, the decision to approve the resignation letters will have to come from the central committee meeting," explained U Khine Pyay Soe.

The ANP is the third largest party in the country and it won 45 out of 1150 seats in November 2015, following the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party and the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

It contested 63 seats in Rakhine and Chin states, and Irrawaddy and Yangon regions; and won 10 seats in the Upper House, 12 in the Lower House, 22 in Rakhine State Parliament and one seat for the Rakhine ethnic affairs minister post in Yangon.

Despite its majority win in the state Parliament, the party did not get to lead the state government, as the heads [chief ministers] of the state and regional governments were appointed by the president, according to the military-drafted 2008 Constitution.

The ANP strictly imposed that its members abide by its regulations and those who did not follow party rules were expelled. There have been about seven ANP members, (who were strong ALD members) expelled from the party for "violations of party regulations" since 2016, according to U Tun Aung Kyaw, a general secretary of the ANP.

U Kyaw Lwin, the Rakhine State minister for agriculture, livestock, mining and forestry, and U Mya Than, the deputy state speaker, were among those expelled for collaborating with the National League for Democracy in the formation of the state cabinet and Parliament – as the ANP had a policy that it would not collaborate with the NLD.

U Aung Mya Kyaw, a secretary of the ANP, told The Irrawaddy, "These latest two resignation letters will be the last to resign from the party, as those who wanted to leave the ANP were all strong ALD members."

But none of the three have officially left the ANP yet, he said, as they will have to deal with any issues related to them with the party before their resignations are accepted.

"For instance, Ma Htoot May sent her resignation months ago, but she is still on the party list and she can leave only when she has dealt with the issues she needs to," said U Aung Mya Kyaw.

Chit Min Tun contributed to this report.

The post Two ANP Members Submit Party Resignation Letters appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Illicit Drugs Seized from Myanmar Army Privates in Maungdaw

Posted: 03 Oct 2017 04:31 AM PDT

YANGON — Police seized more than three billion kyats (US$2.2 million) worth of yaba pills from two Myanmar Army soldiers in Rakhine State's Maungdaw, according to the state government.

Combined forces of the Maungdaw Township police and drug enforcement squad seized more than 1.8 million yaba pills from two soldiers on Monday as they checked a suspicious Toyota Hilux which broke down near the entrance gate to Maungdaw. The two soldiers belong to No. 828 Supply and Transport Unit of Myanmar Army, according to the state government.

"The two soldiers said they were from No. 828 Supply and Transport Unit based in Buthidaung. The drug squad has opened case against them. But according to law, they will be brought to military tribunal since they are soldiers," said U Min Aung, the municipal minister of Rakhine State.

The two are privates Lu Shae and Kyaw Sein Tun and charged with drug possession, according to U Min Aung.

"The market price of the seizure is estimated to be around 3.7 billion kyats. The pink and yellow pills have WY logos and were carried in jute bags," he said.

Drug seizures have been frequent since last year in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. Last year, more than 50 million yaba pills were seized in two separate drug busts in Maungdaw.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Illicit Drugs Seized from Myanmar Army Privates in Maungdaw appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Bangladesh and Myanmar Agree To Treat ARSA As Common Enemy: State Counselor’s Office

Posted: 03 Oct 2017 02:43 AM PDT

YANGON — Bangladesh expressed its position during a visit of Myanmar delegations to regard the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) as a common enemy of Myanmar and Bangladesh, Myanmar's State Counselor's Office said on Tuesday.

Myanmar declared the ARSA an extremist terrorist group in accordance with the country's Counter-Terrorism Law after violent attacks on security outposts on Aug. 25.

Myanmar State Counselor's Office Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe visited Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, from Sunday through Tuesday and met with the Bangladeshi Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Hassan Mahmood Ali to draft plans for the repatriation of Muslim residents who had fled to Bangladesh escaping military clearance operation after the attack by the ARSA in northern Rakhine.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the exodus of more than 500,000 Rohingya since late August has become the "world's fastest developing refugee emergency, a humanitarian and human rights nightmare" at the UN Security Council meeting last week.

The Myanmar government claimed more than 500 people have been killed since Aug. 25, most of them insurgents, whom it has accused of attacking civilians in northern Rakhine State.

Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe was accompanied by permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U Kyaw Zeya.

Bangladesh also stressed its policy of zero tolerance against terrorism, according to a Tuesday statement issued by the Myanmar State Counselor's Office on its official Facebook page.

Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in an address to the nation and international communities last month that "refugees from this country will be accepted without any problem" under the 1993 agreement with Bangladesh.

According to Reuters' report, the two countries had agreed on Monday to form a "working group" to commence plans for repatriation.

"We are looking forward to a peaceful solution to the crisis," the Bangladeshi foreign affairs minister was quoted in the report.

Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe said during the meeting with Bangladeshi officials that Myanmar was "ready to begin the verification and repatriation of refugees," according to the statement.

Myanmar's State Counselor's Office said a total of 236,495 people from 46,993 households had been repatriated from Bangladesh to Myanmar between September 1992 and July 2005 in accordance with the agreed criteria set out between the two countries on April 28, 1992.

The post Bangladesh and Myanmar Agree To Treat ARSA As Common Enemy: State Counselor's Office appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Hindu Organizations Condemn ARSA Attacks

Posted: 02 Oct 2017 10:48 PM PDT

YANGON — Two of the largest Hindu organizations in Myanmar condemned Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacks that claimed the lives of residents in Rakhine State including Hindu people, and urged the community to maintain amity and avoid hatred of followers of other faiths.

The All Myanmar Hindu Central Council, an umbrella association of Hindu groups across the country, and Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh, one of country's prominent Hindu organizations, released a joint statement at a prayer ceremony for Hindu victims in Rakhine State held in Yangon on Sunday.

"In the worst circumstance, many Hindu villagers, including children, were brutally murdered and mutilated. Some Hindu women were kidnapped to a neighboring country with the alleged purpose of deceiving the international community and forceful religious conversion. For such actions, we strongly condemned the ARSA," the statement read.

Hundreds from the Hindu community prayed for the victims and expressed condolence for the family members.

"We view this incidence as an organized terrorist attack [by the ARSA] on innocent civilians, not as a religious conflict between the two religions and so we urge our followers to maintain amity and avoid hatred with followers of all the other faiths," the statement read.

The groups also objected to the term "Rohingya Hindu" used by some international media and asked for it not to be used.

"The term never existed in the history of Hindus in Myanmar," U Hla Htun, a Hindu religious leader and the coordinator of Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh, told The Irrawaddy.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera reported "Rohingya Hindus now face uncertainty in Myanmar" on September 21 and Bangladesh-based Dhaka Tribune reported "Who really attacked the Rohingya Hindus in Rakhine?" on October 1.

U Ragu Nay Myint of the central council said at the ceremony, "We noticed the usage of the term in international media. We would let them know that there is no such in Myanmar Hindu community."

U Hla Htun told The Irrawaddy that the groups announced that they condemn the international organizations and international media who are making unbalanced reporting of the events and turning a blind eye to violent acts on local people by terrorists.

"They are talking like only the Rohingya were attacked when actually, our Hindu people were also murdered and attacked," he said.

The All Myanmar Hindu Central Council and Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh also called the government to restore law and order in the region urgently, saying they would collaborate with the government on any immediate or long-term rehabilitation works for the Hindus in Rakhine State.

The post Hindu Organizations Condemn ARSA Attacks appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Top Myanmar Official Says ‘Young Democracy’ Facing Challenges

Posted: 02 Oct 2017 10:34 PM PDT

UNITED NATIONS – A top Myanmar official appealed on Monday for democracy in the country to be given "a chance to survive" amid international anger over a military campaign against self-identifying Rohingya Muslims that the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing.

Some 507,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslim have fled to Bangladesh since insurgents attacked security posts near the border on Aug. 25, triggering fierce Myanmar military retaliation. Myanmar says more than 500 people have been killed, most of them insurgents.

National Security Adviser Thaung Tun told Reuters that he has spoken with his US counterpart, H.R. McMaster, on the phone and visited members of the US Congress in Washington last week. He said sanctions were not specifically discussed.

The United States called last week on countries to suspend providing weapons to Myanmar’s military, but it stopped short of threatening to reimpose US sanctions, which were suspended under the Obama administration.

"We need to ensure that democracy has a chance to survive in Myanmar. This is a young democracy," Thaung Tun told Reuters in an interview at the United Nations, noting that government leader and Nobel peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has only been in office for 18 months.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi assumed power following a landslide election win after former military leaders initiated a political transition. For years, the United States and others imposed sanctions on Myanmar in support of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s campaign for democracy.

"We have a lot of challenges and these challenges cannot be overcome in a day. Rome wasn’t built in a day. So we can’t undo 50 years of challenges," said Thaung Tun, adding that he hoped to meet in person with McMaster, President Donald Trump's national security adviser, to brief him on the current situation.

“Nobody Above the Law"

A Trump administration official said last month the violence made it harder for the United States and Myanmar to build warmer ties, and there would likely be some "easing" in the short term, but he did not expect a return to sanctions.

Thaung Tun said he had not met privately with US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley but had spoken to her briefly on the sidelines of other meetings in New York.

The UN Security Council met publicly last week on Myanmar for the first time since 2009. Haley said the Myanmar authorities appeared to be carrying out "a brutal, sustained campaign to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority."

She said countries should stop supplying weapons to Myanmar until the military has sufficient accountability measures.

Thaung Tun said "action has been taken against a number of policemen who exceeded their bounds in dealing with detainees."

"We have very strict instructions for the security forces to carry out their duties within the bounds of the code of conduct," he said. "Nobody is above the law."

He said that ethnic cleansing or genocide was not happening in Myanmar.

The Myanmar government has said that there have no military operations since Sept. 5. But Thaung Tun said that since then security forces have responded when attacked.

"Under the cover of night there have been some sporadic attacks and the police and the security people have been required to respond in self-defense," he said.

The Rohingya are denied citizenship and classified as illegal immigrants, despite claiming roots in Myanmar that go back centuries, with communities marginalized and subjected to bouts of communal violence over the years.

Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed on Monday to set up a "working group" to plan the repatriation of those who had fled.

The post Top Myanmar Official Says 'Young Democracy' Facing Challenges appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 02 Oct 2017 06:55 PM PDT

Iron Cross

Myanmar rock band Iron Cross plays on the Full Moon Day of Thadingyut.

Oct. 5, 7.30 pm. Kandawgyi Hmaw Sin Kyun, Tickets are 10,000 kyats at City Mart outlets. 

Youk Shi: Mob Scene

Big Bag and J Me perform at the National Theater.

Oct. 7, 7 pm. National Theater, Myoma Kyaung Street. Tickets between 15,000 and 30,000 kyats at 09-977009157.

Tin Zar Maw: Seven Concert

Accomplished singer Tin Zar Maw will perform a solo show.

Oct. 7, 7 pm. Thuwunnabhumi Event Park. Tickets are priced between 10,000 and 70,000 kyats at 09-5077244.

Yangon Connection Hip-Hop Show

Sai Sai Kham Leng, Snare, Hlwan Paing, Bunny Phyo, Ye Yint Aung, Shwe Htoo, X-Box, and G Fatt perform at this event.

Oct. 4, 6 pm. Thuwunnabhumi Event Park. Tickets 9,000 to 20,000 kyats at 09-425557668, 01-8619029, 1876

Chinese Film Festival

The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar hosts a Chinese Film Festival featuring two films Xuan Zang and Kung Fu Yoga alternately.

Oct. 3-8. 6:30 pm. Nay Pyi Taw Cinema. Free tickets on a first-come-first-served basis.

Orchestra for Myanmar: An Evening of American Music

This performance is organized by the UK-based charity Live4Music in partnership with the US Embassy in Myanmar.

Oct. 4, 7 to 9 pm. National Theater, Myoma Kyaung Street. Free Admission

Concert: Music from Taiwan

This performance features Taiwan folk classics and popular songs with wind instrument accompaniment.

Oct. 7, 4:30 pm to 6 pm. Cheng-Yu Language & Business Center, 41st Street, Middle Block.

Golden Art: Shwe Yoe Yar

Artist Shwe Yoe Yar's solo exhibition will showcase works depicting Myanmar's culture and traditions.

Oct. 5-7. Myanmar Art Center, Chin Chaung Nan Daw, Kabar Aye Pagoda Road.

Farmer Live Solo Show: Dawei Lay

This art exhibition features paintings depicting the lives of farmers.

Oct.1-28, Eternal Art Gallery, Yuzana Garden Housing.

Eleven Watercolor

This group art exhibition will showcase watercolor paintings on various subjects.

Oct. 7-11. Hninzi Myaing Art Gallery, Hninzigon Home for the Aged.

The post Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, October 2, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Diplomats, UN Witness Northern Rakhine Devastation

Posted: 02 Oct 2017 08:57 AM PDT

MAUNGDAW, Rakhine State— Twenty diplomats who visited conflict-torn areas of northern Rakhine on a government-sponsored tour on Monday called on Myanmar authorities to fully investigate allegations of human rights violations, allow unimpeded humanitarian access and urged the government to allow the UN fact-finding mission to visit.

Diplomats and UN officials visited conflict-torn areas of northern Rakhine for the first time since more than 500,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslims, hundreds of ethnic Rakhine and others fled the area since Aug 25.

The tour on Monday was joined by 66 people from foreign embassies, European Union organizations, UN agencies, the cabinet and local news outlets, including from The Irrawaddy.

They were divided into three groups and flown to Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships to meet with local people—Rakhine, Muslims, Mro and Hindu—from six villages in the areas.

The collective statement by embassies including the US, UK, Australia, Indonesia, Turkey, and Germany, released after the trip on Monday afternoon said as friends of Myanmar they remained ready to work with the Myanmar government to help Rakhine reach its potential and supported the full implementation of the recommendations made by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.

Myanmar government has refused entry to members of UN fact-finding mission to investigate previous allegations of killings, rape and torture by security forces against self-identifying Rohingya Muslims during operations late last year.

The foreign embassies encouraged the government to enable the "voluntary, dignified and safe" return of more than a half a million refugees in Bangladesh to their places of origin.

"We call once more for unimpeded humanitarian access to northern Rakhine and resumption of life-saving services without discrimination throughout the state," it added.

The Turkish Ambassador to Myanmar Kerem Divanlioglu welcomed the Myanmar government's invitation to diplomats and journalists inspect the scene on the ground and said that Muslim, Hindu, and Arakanese Buddhist communities were all deeply affected by the conflict.

The Turkish government will continue to provide humanitarian assistance in the region, he said.

Switzerland's Ambassador to Myanmar Paul Seger said the situation was different to what he had expected as whole villages had been burnt down. He described the situation as a "human tragedy" and that he had spoken to some Hindu, Muslim, and Arakanese who had wanted to live together peacefully.

The trip was arranged after Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's diplomatic briefing last month on the Rakhine State situation in which she said despite a large number of people fleeing the area, there were people who stayed behind.

"We can arrange for you to visit these areas, and to ask [remaining villagers] for yourself, why they have not fled, why they have chosen to remain in their villages, even at a time when everything around them seems to be in a state of turmoil," she said on Sept. 19.

The UN said "it looks forward to strengthening trust and cooperation with all communities and Myanmar government" in a statement released after the trip on Monday afternoon.

Three UN representatives—the UN Resident Coordinator, a WFP representative and a senior UN High Commission for Refugees official—joined the trip.

The statement said the UN stands ready to provide its full support to the authorities in responding to the humanitarian and human rights crisis in northern Rakhine as well as the implementation of the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.

Border affairs minister Lt-Gen said: "We have carried out what the diplomats requested of us and we have not hidden anything or set anything up. The State Counselor instructed me to show places in the community regardless of race or religion."

The Union government is working on a "roadmap" on Rakhine State after meeting with all concerned agencies and government ministries.

The post Diplomats, UN Witness Northern Rakhine Devastation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Magwe Govt Sues Individual over Mob Recruitment

Posted: 02 Oct 2017 05:08 AM PDT

YANGON —Magwe regional government filed a lawsuit at the Magwe District Court last week against the alleged recruiter of mobs to instigate unrest in Rakhine State's Ann Township, according to the regional General Administration Department (GAD).

Regional GAD director and plaintiff U Than Swe told The Irrawaddy on Monday he filed the lawsuit against a man named U Aung Kyaw Myint on Friday and that the court accepted the case, but is yet to charge the man.

Magwe Region's Chief Minister Dr. Aung Moe Nyo told press members last week there had been an attempt to recruit people in his region to form anti-government mobs in Ann Township.

According to the chief minister, the recruiter offered people an incentive of 500,000 kyats (approximately US$370) for completing the job in Ann Township.

He did not mention why perpetrators wanted to create instability in Ann Township, why they tried to recruit people in Magwe Region or how many people had been recruited.

Since his allegations, there have been rumors on social media that U Han Maung, a member of the main opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)'s Magwe regional office, was behind the recruitment and was the one who hired U Aung Kyaw Myint.

Secretary of the party's regional office U Sann Nyunt Maung has denied any association with the alleged recruitment.

"Our party has no history of [creating] such unrest. We won't do it in the future and we won't accept [attempts to create unrest]," U Sann Nyunt Maung told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

Regarding the rumors specifically naming U Han Maung, U Sann Nyunt Maung said there was no need to respond to rumors since the party sees no evidence, adding he was aware of the lawsuit but didn't know of the accused person.

The Irrawaddy was unable to independently verify the association between U Han Maung and the accused U Aung Kyaw Myint.

Earlier this month, a group of 400 people—some armed with swords and bamboo rods—attacked a mosque and property owned by Muslims in Magwe Region's Taungdwingyi Township. The mob was later dispersed by riot police with rubber bullets and 30-year-old Ko Hnin Ko Ko Lin was arrested for taking part in the attack.

According to the government's Information Committee, he was acting because of the "disappointing situation in Rakhine State."

The post Magwe Govt Sues Individual over Mob Recruitment appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Yangon Water Buses Launch on Friday

Posted: 02 Oct 2017 02:50 AM PDT

YANGON — Yangon's commuters will now have the option to take water buses on the city's rivers starting Friday.

After some delay, Tint Tint Myanmar company, which won a tender to provide water bus services in February, announced that the company would begin operating its fleet on Friday at 7 a.m. at Botahtaung jetty.

The service was previously planned to launch in late June.

The company's chairwoman Daw Tint Tint Lwin told the media at a press conference in June that she was confident the initiative to ferry passengers along the city's waterways would succeed.

About 16 boats will connect Hlaing Tharyar and Botahtaung townships with eight stops under the first phase of the project which targets about 20,000 commuters. Two routes along Nga Moe Yeik Creek and Thanlyin Township will follow, she said at the press conference.

The water taxis will run every 20 minutes from 6 a.m. to about 6.30 p.m., with tickets from 300-500 kyats, according to the chairwoman.

Some 56 to 67 boats are expected to service the full operation, which aims to serve an annual 12 million commuters this year and a projected 24 million by 2020, she added.

Last week, Yangon chief minister U Phyo Min Thein and officials from Yangon Region Transport Authority tested the water bus before its launch.

The initiative falls under the regional government's plans to upgrade public transport services to relieve worsening traffic jams in the former capital and commercial hub, following the new bus system that launched in January.

The post Yangon Water Buses Launch on Friday appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UNFC Peace Talks With Govt Postponed

Posted: 02 Oct 2017 02:16 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand – The seventh round of formal talks between the ethnic alliance the United Nationalities Federal Council and the government peace commission has been postponed until after the second anniversary of the signing of the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) on Oct. 15, leaving the bloc unable to sign the NCA on the anniversary as expected.

The upcoming talk is planned to reach an agreement between the government and the UNFC bloc on its eight-point proposal, according to peace negotiators on both sides.

Only after the UNFC's proposal is negotiated and agreed to, will the ethnic alliance sign the NCA.

Nai Ong Ma-Nge, the UNFC spokesman, said the government would be unable to meet on the bloc's proposed date of Oct. 7 due to the Thadingyut holiday, postponing the date until later this month.

He added that the proposal needed to be thoroughly discussed and agreed to before signing the ceasefire agreement.

The government wants to see the bloc – which now includes the New Mon State Party (NMSP), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), Arakan National Council (ANC) and Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) – become signatories, in addition to the current eight ethnic armed groups, in order to further its peace process.

The SSPP, which is also a member of a northeastern alliance led by the United Wa State Army, requested to leave the bloc last month. But the resignation can only be accepted at the UNFC congress, held every two years. SSPP representatives have been present at ongoing talks with the government.

The first four points of the UNFC proposal were agreed to in principle at the sixth round of formal talks on August 11, according to U Aung Soe, a member of the peace commission.

"But the rest need to be reviewed and decided on by not only us, as it is related to the Joint-ceasefire Implementation Committee Meeting (JICM) and Joint-ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC)," he said.

Due to instability and Myanmar Army pressure on ethnic armed groups, including frequent engagements between the Tatmadaw and the northern alliance in northeast Burma; the Tatmadaw's interference in restricting a military parade on Mon Revolution Day in August; and its reluctance to allow NCA-signatory the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) to hold national-level political dialogue in the Shan State capital Taunggyi – observers have noted that the peace process is in a predicament.

The bloc will not deviate from its stance in signing the NCA, said the UNFC spokesman, despite peace expert and stakeholder views during UNFC stakeholder consultations at the end of September that the peace process was deadlocked and the bloc should rethink its approach.

The northern alliance, whose members are actively engaged with the Myanmar Army has said it prefers an alternate approach in which the NCA is replaced.

The government said it is trying to negotiate with all ethnic armed groups in the country to build peace and prosperity, yet talks with other groups have not been held since June.

"We are trying to meet with other ethnic armed organizations, of which that are 21 recognized by the government," U Aung Soe said last week.

But the government does not recognize the new northern alliance or its Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), and will only meet with the groups individually and not as a bloc, hindering a meeting.

Among the 21 ethnic armed groups, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) has said it is willing to sign the NCA only if it covers all Naga people including those living across the border in India.

The post UNFC Peace Talks With Govt Postponed appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, October 1, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Egypt’s Hasm Militants Claim Attack Targeting Myanmar Embassy

Posted: 01 Oct 2017 08:20 AM PDT

CAIRO, Egypt — Egyptian militant group Hasm claimed responsibility on Sunday for a small explosion at Myanmar's embassy in Cairo, saying it was in retaliation for that country's military crackdown on self-identifying Rohingya Muslims.

Egypt's interior ministry has not commented on Saturday's blast, which local residents and media initially reported as probably the result of a faulty gas pipeline, but two security sources told Reuters that traces of explosives had been found at the scene.

"This bombing serves as a warning to the embassy of murderers, killers of women and children in the Muslim Rakhine State, and in solidarity with the sons of this weakened Muslim population," Hasm said in its statement.

It was the first time that Hasm, a group blamed for several attacks targeting judges and policemen around Cairo since last year, has claimed an attack on a civilian target.

"[We have used] utmost caution to ensure that there were no civilian casualties or innocent people [hurt] during the operation, or else you would have seen a burning hell you could not have stopped," the Hasm statement said.

Myanmar's embassy could not be reached for comment.

The latest wave of violence in western Myanmar's Rakhine State began on Aug. 25, when Muslim insurgents attacked police posts and an army camp, killing about 12 people.

The Myanmar military response has sent more than 410,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh, escaping what they and rights monitors say is a campaign aimed at driving the Muslim population out of the majority-Buddhist country.

Egypt accuses Hasm of being a militant wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group it outlawed in 2013. The Muslim Brotherhood denies this.

Hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police have been killed fighting an Islamist insurgency in Sinai, which has gained pace since mid-2013 when General-turned-President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood after mass protests against his rule.

The post Egypt's Hasm Militants Claim Attack Targeting Myanmar Embassy appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)