The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Six Rohingya Workers Killed in Army Helicopter Attack
- Myanmar Media Outlets Threatened over Rakhine Coverage
- Australian Firm Seeks to Reassure Locals on Gas Drilling off Rakhine
- The Renaissance Man
- AA Says Construction Company Employees it Abducted Were Military Spies
- ADB Forecasts Myanmar’s Economy to Resume Growth This Year
- Yangon Timeout
- World’s Biggest Water Fight Cancelled in Thai Tourist Haven for King’s Coronation
- Pad Women — The All-Female Business Easing Period Poverty in Sri Lanka
- Reddit, Telegram Among Websites Blocked in India: Internet Groups
- China’s Financial Hub Dream for Shanghai 2020 Still Distant — AmCham
- A Call for a Coup
| Six Rohingya Workers Killed in Army Helicopter Attack Posted: 04 Apr 2019 08:03 AM PDT YANGON—At least six Rohingya casual laborers in northern Rakhine State's Buthidaung Township were killed and more than 10 were wounded in an attack by Army helicopters on Wednesday afternoon, according to a military spokesman and witnesses. Ahmad Ramahi (name changed for his safety) from Kin Taung Rohingya village said three neighbors from Tha Pyu Chaung were shot to death and one wounded; two from Hpon Nyo Leik were killed and three wounded; one from his village was killed and three injured; while four from Hteik Tu Pauk village were wounded by in the helicopter attack. Others from different villages were also injured, he said. He said most of Rohingya villagers rely on bamboo harvesting in the summer season as the main traditional small business in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships. They normally store the extra bamboo cuttings near the Saidin waterfall in order to make bamboo rafts, which are the only way to transport the bamboo to markets and urban areas. As usual, the Saidin Waterfall area was crowded with several hundred Rohingya casual laborers on Wednesday, and the region was peaceful until noon. At about 2 p.m, a helicopter fired machine gun rounds and hellfire missiles into the crowds twice, witnesses said. Ahmad Ramahi said, "There was no armed engagement with the Arakan Army [AA] before the Army attack helicopter flew over the Saidin River.” Another Kin Taung villager, Abu Sayyaf, corroborated that there was no fighting between the AA and Army troops in the region. He claimed that several hundred Rohingya villagers were making a bamboo raft for floating down the river and some were carrying bamboo from the forest to the foot of waterfall, when the workers were abruptly fired upon by a helicopter for no apparent reason. “The rest of the workers are Muslim,” Abu Sayyaf said. A worker who was wounded by shrapnel and received medical treatment at Buthidaung Hospital said, "The helicopter shot at us for about half an hour.” A village administrator from Hpon Nyo Leik told The Irrawaddy over the phone from downtown Buthidaung that a total of five bodies were transported to Buthidaung General Hospital on Thursday morning. An Arakanese from Kyar Nyo Pyin village said that a helicopter flew from the direction of Myo Ma Chaung to the Saidin waterfall. Since last week, as several villages were attacked by military convoys, most of the villagers from that region fled to urban areas. Regarding the deaths of civilians in Sai Din valley, Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, said that about 150 members of the AA reached the region on Wednesday and clashed with the Myanmar Army at noon. And then at about 7 p.m. the AA members attacked a military base situated near Hpon Nyo Leik. When asked whether the rest of the dead civilians and patients in hospital were Rohingya Muslims, he said, "As Bengalis were together with the AA there, about six were killed and nine wounded. At the moment, we are providing them medical treatment at a Tatmadaw [Myanmar military] hospital.” The term "Bengali" is widely used in Myanmar to refer to Rohingya. In 2017, Myanmar military clearance operations in Rakhine State following a series of deadly attacks on security forces by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army caused about 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. The post Six Rohingya Workers Killed in Army Helicopter Attack appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Myanmar Media Outlets Threatened over Rakhine Coverage Posted: 04 Apr 2019 05:20 AM PDT YANGON—The Irrawaddy and several other independent media outlets in Myanmar have received anonymous threats since late last week over their coverage of the ongoing fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and government troops. Clashes between the AA, which seeks autonomy for Arakanese people in Rakhine State, and the Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw) intensified early this year following the rebels' attacks on police outposts in northern Rakhine State on Jan. 4. The government announcedlast week that there had been 103 incidents of fighting between the Tatmadaw and the AA since January, resulting in the deaths of 12 civilians. The Myanmar Army admitted there had been casualties on both sides. Since mid-March, the two sides have accused each other of opening fire on civilians. The Tatmadaw claims such incidents occur because AA troops try to mingle with local residents. The civilian causalities have dominated the headlines of local publications. Early this week, prominent local media including The Irrawaddy, Eleven, 7 Day, the Voice, Mizzima and others received threats, either verbally by phone or digitally via fake email accounts, over their coverage of the fighting in Rakhine. On Tuesday, Yangon-based Eleven Media reported it had received more than one email on Monday threatening employees' safety regarding their coverage of the AA. An email sent to Eleven reads: "AA is not a terrorist organization but fighting for the Rakhine fatherland. Media outlets have to stop [spreading] wrong information that could lead to misunderstandings between the AA and Rakhine, and other ethnic people. If it does not, news outlets will face damage. We can't guarantee the safety of media houses and their reporters. If there [appears] anything bad about AA despite our warnings, we will blast your organization." Shortly before other media outlets received the threats, security staff at the The Irrawaddy office received a threat from an anonymous phone caller on Saturday night. According to the threat report submitted to the editorial team on Wednesday, a male voice on the other end of the line said sternly: "You guys have to watch out. We will send you bullets very soon. Wait and see." Then the line went dead. The Irrawaddy has reported extensively on fighting between the AA and government troops since the outbreak of clashes in January, presenting views from both sides, as well as follow-ups on local people displaced by the fighting. None of the threats claim to have originated with the AA, but their contents are clearly related to the organization. In December, the AA sent warning letters, each accompanied by a bullet and the official AA stamp, warning the recipients—including a police station head, village administrator and a businessman—against disturbing those who are "implementing the Way of Rakhita"— a concept with self-determination at its core. Last month, the head of Taung Nyo Police Station in Mrauk U Township was shot dead by an unknown gunman. The victim and another police officer at the same station were sent warning letters accompanied by a bullet from the Arakan Army (AA) on Jan. 6. U Ye Ni, The Irrawaddy Burmese Edition's senior editor, said the threats were aimed not only at journalists, but at anyone seeking the truth. "We won't be deterred by the threats. We will inform the Myanmar Press Council, Ministry of Information and President's Office as well as international journalists associations about it," he said. Apart from national publications, the Rakhine-based Development Media Group has also received threats from an organization identifying itself as the Pro-Army Group or Patriotic Army Group, calling on the media outlet to stand with the Myanmar Army, otherwise the safety of its journalists couldn't be guaranteed. Both the AA and Myanmar Army have denied making threats. The threats were made shortly after the AA invited members of the media on a tour of the conflict areas on Friday. Shawn Crispin, the Committee to Protect Journalists' Southeast Asia representative, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that CPJ calls on both the Myanmar government and Arakan Army to respect the right of journalists to cover the news without fear of reprisal. "We are alarmed to hear of reports that anonymous actors have threatened news groups over their news reporting on the conflict. We call on these threats to stop immediately and unconditionally.” The post Myanmar Media Outlets Threatened over Rakhine Coverage appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Australian Firm Seeks to Reassure Locals on Gas Drilling off Rakhine Posted: 04 Apr 2019 05:11 AM PDT YANGON—Australian energy giant Woodside is stepping into war-torn Rakhine State with a plan to begin drilling in two oil-and-gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal. This week the company sought to reassure residents in southern Rakhine State's Kyaukphyu that there was a need for the projects, citing the potential economic benefits and pledging to minimize the environmental impacts on the site, located about 52 miles offshore. Kyaukphyu resident and Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) member U Tun Lwin told The Irrawaddy that Woodside held a meeting with local residents at the Hotel Kyaukphyu on Wednesday. He said Woodside and a Chinese company will jointly drill the two offshore projects, each holding a 50-percent stake. Woodside is expected to begin drilling in two oil-and-gas blocks, AD 1 and AD 8, soon. The initial process will likely take at least 45 days. U Tun Lwin explained that company officials promised to carry out the drilling in such a way as to have the least harmful environmental impact possible on the ocean environment. It also vowed not to disrupt local fishing. Woodside has already determined that gas exists in AD 1 and AD 8, but needs to drill to assess whether extraction would be commercially viable. It was unclear whether the shareholding agreement covers only the capital investment in drilling activity or extends to profit sharing. Upper House lawmaker U Kyaw Than, who represents Kyaukphyu constituency for the Arakan National Party (ANP), attended the meeting. He said the company elaborated on the results of its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)/Social Impact Assessment (SIA) report. Locals requested copies of the EIA/SIA report from Woodside but company staff did not hand any out, saying it was only available in English. U Kyaw Than said locals would not be opposed if the project brings tangible positive results. Although some local activists questioned the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) signed between the Myanmar government and Woodside, company staff avoided answering questions on this. U Kyaw Than said Kyaukphyu residents had previously had a negative experience with the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC)'s pipeline project, also known as the SHWE gas project, which cuts 480 miles across Myanmar and connects Kyaukphyu's Maday Island to China's Yunnan Province.  During the pipeline's construction, thousands of plots of farmland were confiscated from locals, among other rights abuses. The project has earned billions of dollars for the Union government but locals have seen little benefit in terms of regional development, critics say. All income from the SHWE gas project goes into the Union government's coffers, a source of irritation for regional ministers who say Rakhine State has not received a fair share of the annual budget allocation under the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government in recent years. "We urge them to implement the project transparently. As a major Australian firm, they should act with dignity and not seek to take advantage of loopholes," U Kyaw Than said. Company representatives' failure to provide precise information to meeting participants led some locals to criticize what they saw as a lack of transparency and to say they didn't trust the company. Some social activists expressed their dismay on Facebook, saying that once again a huge financial windfall from Rakhine State's resources will go the to the Union government, which will allocate a large amount of money to fund the Myanmar military's ongoing campaign against Arakan Army (AA) rebels in the north of Rakhine. The Irrawaddy contacted a Woodside employee who traveled to Kyaukphyu along with a group of international experts, but he declined to comment as he is unauthorized to speak with the media. He referred questions to the company's Australian headquarters. According to leaflets distributed by Woodside representatives at the Kyaukphyu meeting, the company entered Myanmar's oil-and-gas sector in 2015 and has implemented nine projects. Its latest project, Shwe Ye Tun, is situated in Irrawaddy Division's territorial waters. The company has been drilling for gas there since last year. It is still assessing whether gas is present in commercially viable quantities. According to U Tun Lwin, some meeting attendees raised questions about the stake to be held by the Union government as well as the investors, but the Woodside employees did not provide shareholding information. Nearly a dozen government officials from different departments in Kyaukphyu district, an ANP lawmaker and some civil society groups joined the meeting. The post Australian Firm Seeks to Reassure Locals on Gas Drilling off Rakhine appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 04 Apr 2019 04:57 AM PDT YANGON—When it comes to art, his interests seem boundless. No one in Myanmar would dispute the fact that he succeeds at whatever he turns his hand to. At 85, U Win Pe is acclaimed mostly for his paintings, writing and the films he has directed. In short, he is the very definition of the "multi-talented artist". But ask him which art form is his favorite and his answer may surprise you: "None". "I never seem to get hooked on any of them," he adds. This may sound like an absurdity from a man praised as a leader of the second generation of Myanmar's modern art movement, and whose paintings are heavily sought after by admirers at home and abroad. Readers who have been enchanted by his short stories, teeming with allegory and metaphor, are bound to give him quizzical looks. Moviegoers who have been thrilled by his unique imagery and scripts in the 1970s and early 1980s will be left scratching their heads. But if you press him to define his talent, one of Myanmar's most celebrated living artists is likely to insist that he's just a storyteller. "I love to tell stories in the way that I understand them. That's why I wrote and directed movies. You could say the same about painting in a way," he said. "I'm a jack of all trades, master of none," he added. Perhaps it's this ability to work in so many different media, however, that has made U Win Pe who he is today—a man of many talents.  Culture Clashes Born in 1936 in Mandalay and raised in a family passionate about the arts, young Win Pe was introduced to music and drawing by his father before he entered primary school. His father, Shwepyi U Ba Tin, a famous scholar on Myanmar art, history and culture, made sure that his five children were familiar with Maha Gita, Myanmar's traditional classical music. When he wasn't singing songs or playing on a traditional xylophone, little Win Pe made his father proud by drawing anything that came to his mind on a slate. For all his devotion to traditional classical music, however, he was attracted to Western music, especially jazz and blues, from the age of around 10 years old in the years immediately after World War II. He was mesmerized by the music of Louis Armstrong, Harry James, Ella Fitzgerald and others to whom he was exposed through American musical films. At home, he secretly tuned to Radio Ceylon from Sri Lanka for European classical music, lest his anti-colonial nationalist father should become aware of his new passion. Apart from playing traditional xylophone at home, he learned to play trumpet and saxophone without his father's knowledge. "I have experienced 'culture clashes' since I was young, because I liked all of them," he said. When he learned about his son's new musical tastes, Shwepyi U Ba Tin was shocked, at one point even asking him, "Do you really like it that much?" But he didn't protest. Instead, he took Win Pe to a lawyer who studied musicology as a supplementary subject when he was abroad. Years later he thanked his dad for expanding his musical horizons and helping him to develop a deeper understanding of music that helped him learn the value of traditional Myanmar music.  His love for music has lasted to this day. In his home in a suburb of Yangon, a Yamaha electric piano stands in a corner of his studio. A Myanmar traditional xylophone sits next to a Western stringed instrument, symbolizing in a way the "culture clash" he experienced in his younger days. When the mood strikes, he will play a Maha Gita piece on the piano. "Due to tuning problems, I mostly play keyboards now," he said. Renaissance Man On the art front, with his father's encouragement of course, U Win Pe studied under U Ba Thet, a successful pre-war painter especially popular among colonial administrators, and U Kin Maung, a banker-turned-painter said to be the first artist to bring modernism and abstract expressionism to Myanmar, along with fellow young artist Paw Oo Thet, who would later achieve praise as a second-generation leader, like U Win Pe, of Myanmar's modern art movement. U Win Pe recalled that U Kin Maung's approach to modern art was conceptual; he explored why and how a work was made the way it was. According to "Myanmar's Second Line Leaders of Modern Art" by Ma Theingi, the old master enlightened young Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet to the fact that creative thought is the main body within art, with different "-isms" branching out in all directions. The author notes that the two began to appreciate the sense behind the distortions and imbalances, as well as the use of non-natural colors, all of which expressed an idea rather than a life-like depiction of a subject. "Only with the understanding of the concept will there be a period of creation, as well as periods of thinking freely and honestly. This can make your [modernist] creation more complete. That's what I'm interested in," U Win Pe explained. Despite its relative popularity in Myanmar today, the modern art movement didn't get off to a good start in the country. There was a huge gap between modernists and traditionalists in the early 1960s when U Win Pe and his fellow artists like Paw Oo Thet and Kin Maung Yin, another second-generation movement leader, devoted their time to modernism. In Socialist Myanmar at that time, any interest in Western culture was labeled "decadent" and modern art was denounced as "psychotic" art. But the trio were undeterred by such criticism. Rather than being insulted, U Win Pe said, they took it as if they had been "hit with flowers" and kept doing what they believed in to pave the way for, and inspire, generations of artists to come.  One of those inspired by them is Shwechihto Sein Myint, a Mandalay painter known for his fusion of modernism with characters drawn from traditional Myanmar folklore, like Nats (spirits) and Zawgyi (a mythical alchemist). The 75-year-old admitted that as a young artist he used to silently watch with admiration while U Win Pe was painting. "Later I found myself in the modern art movement they paved the way for," said the prominent third-generation artist. In 1966, after a few years doing stints as a newspaper cartoonist and a gem dealer, U Win Pe was appointed principal of Mandalay's State School of Fine Art, Music and Dance, a position he held so dear he decided at the time he would stick to it for the rest of his life. He was just 31 years old. The school's nearly four dozen teaching staff were older than him, apart from an instructor in the traditional dance department. But the young principal had visions of modernizing the playing of Maha Gita using standardized metering and rudiments like the counterpoint and syncopations found in Western music. He wanted to share modern concepts with art students while introducing modern ballet to choreography students. However, it turned out to be a failed mission. As the promotion of art and culture had never been a big priority for the government—they were "disappointingly uninterested" as U Win Pe put it— there was little or no state funding for the school. Conservative and traditionalist teaching staff wondered aloud, "Is he destroying the school?" He left the position four years later. "I had to leave the prestigious job early. I had a faint hope that some of [these goals] would be achieved during my absence, but nothing happened," he said.  After leaving the school, U Win Pe spent the next two decades as a film director, short story writer and video movie maker. For him, he said, making movies was a melting pot of art encompassing audio, video, literature, drama and any others you could name. "A guy like me can't resist that at all," he said. His first movie, 'Let Not the Sky Fall', came out in 1973 to great acclaim. In 1981, he won Myanmar's equivalent of the Academy Award for best director for another film. "A film director has to be interested in many things, and you will become a very efficient story teller. I'm curious about everything but a master of none. That's why I became a director," he explained. He was so happy with filming at the time—he directed more than 20 movies—that he barely did any painting, one of his old loves. He recalled that this annoyed his old friend Paw Oo Thet. His fellow artist finally challenged him: "Dude—have you given up painting for good?" To his friend's dismay, U Win Pe replied, "Yes, I have!" It should have been some consolation to Paw Oo Thet when their mutual friend U Kin Maung Yin intervened in the argument by saying, "Don't you know? He has been painting—with moving pictures." But Paw Oo Thet didn't seem very pleased, because U Kin Maung Yin was a movie buff and had directed a couple of movies himself.  U Win Pe's exclusive devotion to directing films was curtailed right after the military coup in late 1988, when the Myanmar movie industry faced a shortage of film stock, which was imported from abroad. So, the Renaissance man found a new outlet, turning his attention to writing. His reason was simple: to put food on the table for his family, including his five children. "We were out of work at the time, as there was no film. So I painted and sold the works to foreigners. But it didn't work. So I wrote," U Win Pe recalled. His short stories, with their explorations of human nature, were well received, so he churned out four or five short stories per month. When his friends warned him that he was being too prolific, he replied that he had no choice as he had to make a living. Some critics have taken U Win Pe task for what they see as a tendency to switch his interest to wherever he can make more money—for example in painting. He feels no shame in admitting there is some truth in this. "If they say I stopped writing for painting to earn more, I have to admit, shamefully, yes!" he said. "Some people say they eat not for survival but for art's sake. It sounds great, but for me, that was never the case. On the one hand, you have to appreciate yourself to be able to do art-related work for a living. I'm satisfied with what I'm doing," he said.  In 1993, three short stories by U Win Pe appeared in the PEN American Center's Freedom-to-Write Report, "Inked Over, Ripped Out". Anna J. Allot, a former lecturer in Burmese Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, who selected and translated seven Myanmar writers' work, remarked that U Win Pe is "generally agreed to be one of Burma's popular storytellers" and that his varied career has furnished him with a richness of experience that gives power and authenticity to his short stories: at the same time, she said, his artist's eye enables him to paint a scene vividly in just a few lines. In the report, she discussed the way that U Win Pe's short stories may seem on first reading to be accounts of fairly unimportant events happening to ordinary folk. "The stories move rapidly, and often comically, at first; but the situation can change suddenly. What was simple becomes complicated, even violent, brutal, tragic, and above all unexpected. By the end of the story the reader may find himself wondering if there wasn't perhaps a deeper meaning to the series of events described," she said. As it turned out, his short stories brought about in a major turn in his life. In 1994 he became the first person from Myanmar to be invited to join the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. While participating at the program, his outspokenness about freedom of expression didn't go unnoticed in Myanmar, and he was unable to return lest he was arrested. Staying in the U.S., he became involved in setting up Radio Free Asia's Myanmar Service—from selecting the signature tune and insert music to writing news articles and others things—when it was planning to expand its coverage on Myanmar in 1996. He worked there as a senior editor from 1996 to 2005. Daw Tin Htar Swe, one of U Win Pe's RFA colleagues, remembers him as a humble man for all his fame as a painter, director and writer at the time. He used to complain, she said, about his weakness in news-related matters because he had no journalism background. "But he did it. He was really good at political news analysis. If you asked him, it would be done in 20 minutes. The copy was very clean and precise," the one-time RFA senior editor said. "Despite his seniority, he never behaved like a know-it-all. Very patient and a good co-worker," she added. Man of Adaptability U Win Pe left the U.S. for good in 2015 to settle back in Yangon. Now he lives in North Dagon with his family, spending most of his time painting. Ever the jazz music fan, he refers to his style of painting as "improvising in terms of colors and lines." After some finishing touches, a combination of bold lines and a harmoniously placed riot of colors, frequently with human figures with no mouths, they emerge as things of beauty. At 85, he no longer writes or directs; he complained about a urinary problem and other minor health issues. (His fellow second-generation modern art leaders Paw Oo Thet and Kin Maung Yin have both passed away). When visitors—acquaintances and admirers—show up, he drops his brushes to entertain (with a few touches of humor) and enlighten them, still in his paint-stained clothes, on topics ranging from art to politics to culture.  Politically, U Win Pe was never a friend of the previous military governments, from the time they came to power in 1962. He openly criticized their mismanagement wherever he went, let alone with friends at teashops. While he was working as a cartoonist at the prominent left-wing Ludu Daily in Mandalay, the absurd brand of humor in his work attracted military scrutiny. He once drew a mermaid visiting a doctor, asking that her upper body be changed so that her full body was that of a fish. The men in uniform interpreted that to mean that, "People under the regime were suffering so much that they were tired of being humans." The then military chief in Mandalay warned the paper's editor, Ludu U Hla, not to publish cartoons with such "hidden meanings". "Politics was not on my mind when I drew that, but it couldn't be helped that it turned out to have that kind of implication. I quit the job because if I kept drawing cartoons like that I would have been arrested," he recalled.  But old habits die hard. When he joined the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 1994, he shared his views on his country's dire situation outspokenly with his fellow participants from other countries. The then military government ordered his arrest upon his arrival back in Myanmar because, he later learned, he said bad things about Myanmar in the U.S. "I just talked with [people there] as I would with friends in a teashop in Yangon. They [Military Intelligence] said it's OK in Myanmar, but not in the U.S.," he said. To avoid arrest, he had to stay in the U.S. until 2013. He remarked that even today Myanmar is suffering from the consequences of military dictatorship in every sector of the country. He blamed the Ne Win regime's nationalization of private businesses after 1962 for the serious decline in the country's economy and for turning one of the most prosperous countries in Southeast Asia into the least developed one. "Now we are still suffering the consequences of this ridiculous situation. Given my experience, even though there was fighting with insurgents in the 1950s, the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League government of the time managed to maintain a better economy," he said. Of his accomplishments in his various endeavors—from painting, writing and directing to journalism—the man of many talents would say that on a 100-1,000 scale, where 100 is least successful, he would be around a 400 or 500, meaning he commits himself to whatever he is doing. "My writing peers recognized me as someone who could write. It's the same in music, art, film and radio journalism. They said I'm not bad," he said. So, what's the secret behind making everything he's interested in happen? "If I'm interested in something, mostly in the arts, I think seriously about what it is, about why and how it's done. After learning the method, I just try it, but I'm not the master at what I am doing," said the multi-talented artist.  Despite his claim not to have a favorite art form, he argued that there is one important thing that keeps him going: adaptability. As a believer in Buddhism, the celebrated artist quoted Buddha's teaching that people need to be able to adapt to what they have, when and where they are. Otherwise, they will suffer. "So, whatever art form I am working in is my favorite at that moment. Currently, I am in love with painting. I don't do anything else. It was the same when I did film and the others," he added. For all his versatility and ability to work in many media—be it painting, writing, making movies, radio journalism or others—the one thing that remains at the center of his creations is storytelling. U Win Pe talks about things descriptively, as he sees them, whatever the medium. A good example that many people may be familiar with is his popular former weekly talk show on the BBC Burmese Service, "Win Pe's Shoulder Bag". The nearly six-minute-long show came about at the initiative of Daw Tin Htar Swe, then the Burmese Service head as well as a former RFA colleague of U Win Pe. From 2005 to 2014 he talked about his lifelong experience, politics, arts, culture—and even folk medicine for weeping eczema—in very engaging way and in a vivid narrative style that enchanted audiences from beginning to end. Each episode, by the time he signed off with "Good health to you folks. I'm Win Pe," most listeners had usually learned something they didn't know before. Daw Tin Htar Swe said she was proud to have made the program happen, regarding it as one of her main accomplishments at the Burmese Service. The veteran artist insists that storytelling is important in life because people are curious about things and need to be informed. To make that happen, he said, good storytellers are essential. "We need someone who wants to tell people about something honestly in an explanatory way. Telling someone in such a way as to help them understand something is not easy—you basically need to be sincere and have a good intention—to let them know about something they don't know or want to know," he said. So, is he a good storyteller? U Win Pe offers a pragmatic answer. "If I wasn't, people wouldn't listen, or read my stories." The post The Renaissance Man appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| AA Says Construction Company Employees it Abducted Were Military Spies Posted: 04 Apr 2019 04:10 AM PDT YANGON — The Arakan Army (AA) says eight construction company employees it abducted in southern Chin State are former members of the Myanmar military’s intelligence unit and were still working for the armed forces. "Most of them worked for military intelligence for a long time. Some were in charge at the township level. Some are [former] corporals. And some transferred from military intelligence to the engineering battalion. They were also working for the military [at the time of arrest]," AA spokesman Khaing Thukha told The Irrawaddy. On Saturday, the AA abducted 13 employees — 11 men and two women — of the Hsu Htoo San Construction Co., which is building a section of the Paletwa-Mizoram road in Paletwa Township. It later released the two women and three men. Khaing Thukha accused the rest of collecting intelligence on the AA under cover to the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transportation Project, which aims to link western Myanmar and eastern India via multiple routes including the road. "They were doing military things under cover of the Kaladan Project. We don't harm real construction workers," he told The Irrawaddy. The company could not be reached for comment. Retired Maj. Win Maung Maung, the former head of military intelligence in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, said he had never heard of the names of the alleged spies. "I don't think so. I don't think the area needs undercover operations. The area has always been white," he said. White is the government’s color code for areas under its control, while brown refers to contested area and black denotes areas under the control of rebel groups. "Civilians can travel in the area anytime. So, [spying] is quite unlikely," the former major said. Brig. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, of the military’s True News Information Team, denied that the eight detainees had ties to the military, known as the Tatmadaw in Burmese. "They are employees of the construction company. They are not even family members or relatives of the Tatmadaw. They are not even from [the Construction Ministry’s Department of] Public Works. They work for a building contractor," he told The Irrawaddy. In a statement about the AA's abductions, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services said that, when completed, the section of road the company is building will improve transportation between Myanmar and India and help develop the border area. "I think they are trying to hamper the project," Brig. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said. Khaing Thukha denied the claim. In a separate incident on March 16, the AA opened fire on a vessel carrying steel trusses to be used to build a bridge in Paletwa. The group burned down the vessel after taking the crew to shore. According to the Khumi Affairs Coordination Council, building materials including trusses, paint and high-tension bolts worth $300,000 were destroyed in the attack. The AA said it attacked the vessel because it was not informed of the shipment. Khaing Thukha said companies must send lists of workers and materials to be transported into its areas of operation in advance. "If they say they don't inform us because they don't know where to inform us, we take that to mean they don't care about their safety. If they want to be safe, they have to inform the AA," said Khaing Thukha. In a statement on Tuesday, the Khumi Affairs Coordination Council said the AA’s activities were hindering stability and development in Paletwa’s least developed areas and urged the group not to target development projects. Hsu Htoo San Co. is based in Yangon's Botatung Township and has won contracts to establish the Kanyinchaung economic zone, urbanize Sittwe, dredge the Kaladan River and carry out other projects in Sittwe. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post AA Says Construction Company Employees it Abducted Were Military Spies appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ADB Forecasts Myanmar’s Economy to Resume Growth This Year Posted: 04 Apr 2019 02:46 AM PDT YANGON — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects Myanmar’s economy to resume growth this year and continue to expand in the next thanks to more foreign investment and a positive response to the government’s economic and policy reforms. The Asian Development Outlook 2019 forecasts Myanmar's economy to grow by 6.6 percent in 2019 and by 6.8 percent in 2020. Last year, Myanmar's growth slowed to 6.2 percent, down from 6.8 percent in 2017. The ADB said foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals in Myanmar nearly doubled from $823 million between October 2017 and January 2018 to about $1.5 million over the same period a year on. The growth came from Singapore and other Asian investors taking larger stakes in the country’s manufacturing and service sectors. According to the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), Singapore became Myanmar’s top investor after committing more than $20 billion, surpassing China as of February. Last month the MIC announced that FDI flows into Myanmar increased for the first time since State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi took office in early 2016. "A recent policy measure to standardize FDI application and implementation procedures should further strengthen prospects for FDI inflows in the near term," the ADB said. Its report said growth in the service sector was expected to reach 9 percent this year if tourism revives at the beginning of the dry season in October and that other sectors should also see some growth. However, growth in agriculture was projected to slow from 2 percent during April–September 2018 to 0.5 percent this year “following floods in mid-2018 that likely affected harvests, especially of rice in November.” The report said inflation was expected to ease to 6.8 percent this year as international oil prices soften. Last year, higher international oil prices and kyat depreciation against the U.S. dollar drove up inflation from 4 percent to 7.1 percent. However, inflation is expected to rise again in 2020 to 7.5 percent as Myanmar's economic growth gains momentum. According to the report, the trade deficit is expected to widen this year and next as export earnings weaken and imports strengthen on the back of growing investment, particularly by the government. It said that even if net service receipts improve with a pickup in trade and tourism-related business, the current account deficit was forecast to widen to 4 percent this year and 5 percent the next. "Fiscal and monetary policies will likely strive to remain supportive of growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability," the ADB said. According to the report, external risk would increase if the European Union withdraws Myanmar's privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences, affecting 10 percent of exports from Myanmar. Domestic risks may include lackluster progress on economic reform and communal tensions flaring in conflict-affected areas. The government has continued to reform since April 2016, announcing a number of strategic planning initiatives such as the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan 2018–2030, National Education Strategic Plan 2016–2021 and Myanmar National Health Plan 2017–2021. "Building on these initiatives, the country needs to accelerate reform which will contribute to inclusive development," the ADB said. However, the ADB warned that "Reform to public financial management should aim for greater fiscal prudence, transparency, and efficiency. It should also include strengthened Treasury functions, more systematic public investment planning and implementation, and the adoption of appropriate accounting and auditing standards to make public spending more productive." "Myanmar could become more competitive by further strengthening its legal and regulatory framework toward improving the business and investment climate, which would also spur integration into regional and global value chains," the report said. The post ADB Forecasts Myanmar’s Economy to Resume Growth This Year appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 04 Apr 2019 02:37 AM PDT
Exhibition and Book Signing: Girl Power in Myanmar Girl Power in Myanmar is a children’s book celebrating the lives of 14 women rocking their communities. The team which created the book will exhibit artwork from the book at the gallery and signed books will be for sale at the event with chances to donate to worthy causes too. This is the first event Myanm/art will hold at their new gallery space in Urban Asia Centre. April 4 | 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. | Myanm/art | G-42 48th Street, Urban Asia Centre, Botahtaung Township
IMCC Business Networking The India-Myanmar Chamber of Commerce (IMCC), has organized a networking event for IMCC members (10,000 kyats per ticket) and non-members (20,000 kyats per ticket) to offer a chance to connect with like-minded peers and to catch up with business associates and friends. Tickets include a free flow of Indian starters and beer. April 5 | 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. | Fire & Ice | G-61 Urban Asia Centre, 48th Street, Botahtaung Township
Beauty of World Heritage in Japan This ongoing photo exhibition organized by The Japan Foundation features photos of Japan's 22 world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO including 18 cultural and 4 natural sites. The photographer Mizuno Katsuhiko is a well-known Japanese landscape photographer and gallery owner. The exhibition is open weekly from Tuesday to Saturday. April 2 to 27 | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | The Japan Foundation Yangon | No.70 Nat Mauk Lane 1, Bahan Township
Tropical Night at The Penthouse If you want to dance late into the night to tropical music, get to The Penthouse this Friday night. Enjoy tropical cocktails and a DJ spinning the best tunes to suit the tropical mood. Free entrance. April 5 | The Penthouse | 8th Floor, Parkside One Building, 271-273 Bagayar Street, Sanchaung Township
International Social Circus Day Joining in with International Social Circus Day events being held around the world, Social Circus Myanmar is bringing together children and youth from local groups across Yangon such as Scholarships for Street Kids, Mary Chapman School for the Deaf, Parami Monastery Achool and Nyein Chan Thar Yar Islamic School. The event will be held at The AERA Club where all children—local and international—can come and join in the circus fun and learn some circus skills. April 6 | 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. | The AERA Club (The American Club) | No.27 Melikha Street, Parami Road, Mayangone Township
Success Stories of ၁၃၈၀ As part of the lineup of regular events organized by Zayat, an uptown co-working space, there will be end-of-year event looking back on successes and reflecting on the year that was, and giving inspiration to go on into the next year. The talks will be held in Burmese and English and speakers will include representatives from the hottest local startups including Flexible Pass, Pencell, Doh Eain, Save the Library, Clean Yangon, Career Assessment Studio and more. April 6 | 6 p.m. | Zayat | No.76/A, South Okkalapa Industrial 1st Street, South Okkalapa Township
Yangon Zay Thingyan Edition In preparation for the biggest festival of the year, Yangon Zay will have a Thingyan special weekend with extended market hours and special water activities. Yangon Zay is a regular event held over two days every second Saturday and Sunday and following a sustainable concept. Local brands and food feature alongside modern food and drinks concepts and there are plenty of activities for younger family members too. April 6 and 7 | 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. | The Tea Factory | Kanyeiktha Street, Kabar Aye Pagoda Road, Yankin Township
A Local Affair – Market at Sunset A new edition to the local market scene, this is an evening event held in the idyllic setting of Sapphire Rooftop Bar and Lounge. Its mission is to inject fresh energy and socially aware discourse into the Yangon flea market space by promoting ethically sourced, locally produced, quality arts, crafts and culture with an emphasis on the backstory. April 7 | 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. | Sapphire Lounge & Bar | Alfa Hotel Rooftop, No. 41 Nawaday Street, Dagon Township
Bass Kingdom Music Festival This is a popular one-day music festival held in Yangon featuring famous local and international DJs playing everything from Dubstep to Jungle and Psytrance to House. Local artists include Da Leonz, Snake Race and Tronic Crew and international acts include Wiwek, Dolf, Yellow Claw and Moksi. Ticket prices are 30,000 kyats (general admission) and 65,000 kyats (VIP). April 7 | 5:30 p.m. | The One Entertainment Park | Paw San Hmwe Street, Thuwunna Township
The ASEAN Digital Advantage for Homegrown Brands This is a free-to-attend lecture by Prof. Willem Smit of the Asia School of Business and MIT Sloan School of Management who will talk about how the growth patterns by which firms internationalize have not only accelerated but have also radically changed, and explore what it takes for ASEAN brands to compete abroad and how this strengthens the status at home. This lecture will be followed by a panel discussion. Pre-registration recommended. April 8 | 6 p.m. |The Keier Group, No.561-567 Merchant Street, Kyauktada Township The post Yangon Timeout appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| World’s Biggest Water Fight Cancelled in Thai Tourist Haven for King’s Coronation Posted: 03 Apr 2019 10:05 PM PDT BANGKOK — The annual festival known as the world’s biggest water fight will be a little smaller this year, as one of Bangkok’s famed tourist districts called off its celebrations to avoid clashing with preparations to crown Thailand’s new king. Thailand celebrates Songkran, its traditional new year, from April 13 to 15, during which revelers splash water on each other under the scorching sun. The backpacker district of Khaosan Road in the Thai capital usually sees a free-for-all sponsored by businesses in the area that provide vats of water and high-powered water guns of every kind imaginable. But with the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn set for May 4 to 6, the sponsored Khaosan celebrations have been called off, a business group told Reuters on Wednesday. “The authorities are preparing for the coronation and we are located right in the middle of areas involved, so if we organize the usual Songkran festival it could be chaotic,” said Piyabutr Jiwaramonaikun, chairman of the Khaosan Road Business Association. Shops there will stay open as usual but they will not provide unlimited water refills and colored powder, as in most years, he added. “Tourists and Thais can still conduct water fight in the area, but local businesses will not be organizing anything official,” he said. Two local officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the area had been asked not to hold Songkran festivities. Bangkok authorities have been sprucing up the area near Khaosan Road where many rituals related to the coronation will take place, repainting roads and buildings, rebuilding pavements and reorganizing electricity lines. Preparations for the coronation, the first such event to be experienced by most Thais, will begin with the gathering of holy waters from around Thailand on Saturday, readying for three days of ceremonies in May. The king will be crowned on May 4, with a celebration procession to follow the next day, before he meets the public and foreign dignitaries on May 6. “There will be fewer people this year for Songkran, but the coronation is a major event for the Thai people and we all must make sacrifices,” Piyabutr said. The post World’s Biggest Water Fight Cancelled in Thai Tourist Haven for King’s Coronation appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Pad Women — The All-Female Business Easing Period Poverty in Sri Lanka Posted: 03 Apr 2019 09:45 PM PDT COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Every month, Fathima Rifka used to suffer the embarrassment of rinsing out the rags she used during her period at a public tap — the only source of running water available in the poor Sri Lankan neighborhood she grew up in. “You have to stand in line, and then you also have to wash our utensils from the previous day. There is only one source of water and everyone is there,” said the 24-year-old. “We hide it and dry it. But sometimes it doesn’t dry properly and the cloth is stiff.” All that changed a year ago when Rifka got her first job making low-cost, organic sanitary towels — something she now teaches other women in her Colombo neighborhood of Kithulwatte to do. The business was inspired by Arunachalam Muruganantham, an Indian inventor who developed a way of making cheap pads after watching his wife struggle with rags during her period — the subject of the 2018 Bollywood hit “Pad Man.” At 60 Sri Lankan rupees (260 kyats) for a packet, demand for the product, which goes by the name Sinidu meaning soft, is growing. Commercially produced towels typically sell for between 100 and 140 rupees, putting them out of reach of most Sri Lankan women. Imported brands can cost up to 500 rupees. The women behind Sinidu first started manufacturing in Sri Lanka in January 2018 — the day of the “Pad Man” premiere and set up their first full-fledged factory a year later in Kithulwatte. They import the wood pulp that Muruganantham developed to make the pads from India, using his design for the simple machines they manufacture on. Rifka and her colleagues can take what they need and sell the rest, pocketing 15 rupees per packet. The operation — a social enterprise, or business with a social as well as a commercial aim — was started by the SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneurs Council (SCWEC), which works to help women in South Asia access business opportunities. They have just introduced the machines in a prison, where female inmates will be able to make their own pads, and plan to expand the operation to other communities in Sri Lanka, and eventually to Nepal and Bangladesh. Stigma Period poverty has hit global headlines in recent years, with statistics showing that even in a wealthy Western country like Britain, one in 10 girls have been unable to afford sanitary products. This year Meghan Markle became the first British royal to speak out on the once taboo issue, saying girls were missing school “because no one wants to talk about it or has what they need.” In Sri Lanka, the problem is particularly acute because sanitary products are so heavily taxed — until last September, the levy on imported pads was more than 100 percent. It has since been reduced to about 63 percent and Sri Lanka’s finance minister, Mangala Samaraweera, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation he was looking into how taxes on sanitary products could be reduced further. “Access to affordable female hygiene products is certainly expected to have an important positive impact on girls’ school attendance and thus educational outcomes,” he said. “It will also facilitate fuller participation of women in the economy.” But Anuki Premachandra, head of research communication at The Advocata Institute, an independent policy think tank, said the issue still wasn’t being given the importance it deserved. “People are enraged about the cost of carrots, but when it comes to taxes on sanitary napkins, they dismiss it as a women’s issue,” she said. Last year New Delhi abolished the sales tax on sanitary products although other South Asian countries still tax them. But for women in the region, the problems go beyond cost. In parts of India and Nepal, cultural taboos mean menstruating women and girls are banished from their homes at night, putting them at risk. Several have died in Nepal in recent years. One in three girls in South Asia miss school during their periods and in Sri Lanka, the figure is even higher. A 2015 survey of adolescent Sri Lankan girls conducted by the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF and the government found more than half had to miss school when they had their period. Another U.N. study found 60 percent of teachers in Sri Lanka thought menstrual blood was impure. “Women complain about rashes when using the normal pads. Some have other illnesses related to periods, but there is a lot of stigma. So it’s a challenge and we don’t speak about it,” said Rifka, who sold 100 packets this month. “I have already started selling these pads and there is a lot of demand. Many women come back to me and tell me how good it was. They all want to buy more.” The post Pad Women — The All-Female Business Easing Period Poverty in Sri Lanka appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Reddit, Telegram Among Websites Blocked in India: Internet Groups Posted: 03 Apr 2019 09:31 PM PDT MUMBAI — Websites like Reddit and Telegram are being blocked in India by internet service providers, throwing into question the enforcement of net neutrality rules, advocacy groups said on Wednesday. Restrictions on “torrent sites” that offer free movie and music downloads are routine in India to prevent copyright infringement. Pornography websites are also blocked by court orders seeking to protect children. But in recent months, websites such as the discussion board Reddit, messaging service Telegram and comedy site College Humor have been blocked for intermittent periods, often for days and only in some regions, baffling internet users. “It’s not making any sense, what’s happening,” said Apar Gupta, executive director at the non-profit Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF). “A lot of these blocks are also happening in such a way that no notices are displayed.” Since January, there have been at least 250 reports of websites blocked on networks operated by Jio, a unit of Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Hathway, the IFF said in a letter to the telecoms department. Jio and Airtel are among India’s top telecom providers. Some internet users have posted on social media screenshots of pages displaying messages saying a website was blocked to comply with government orders. When Reuters tried to access CollegeHumor.com on Wednesday a message read: “Your requested URL has been blocked as per the directions received from Department of Telecommunications, Government of India.” An official at the telecoms department, which last year approved rules on net neutrality — the concept that all websites and data on the Internet be treated equally — declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Complaints by Indian internet users have covered “most forms of net neutrality violations,” the IFF’s Gupta said. Nearly 60 percent of the user reports compiled by the foundation since January involved Jio networks, the IFF’s data showed. A Jio representative did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Hathway did not reply to phone and email requests for comment. Bharti Airtel said in a statement it “supports an open internet” and does not block content unless directed by authorities. It did not say if it was currently blocking any websites. Reddit did not respond to an emailed request for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. Telegram, which has been blocked previously in Russia and Iran, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment. If websites are blocked based on government or court orders, or internet firms have legal grounds to restrict web pages, they might not violate net neutrality rules, said Gurshabad Grover, a researcher at the non-profit Centre for Internet and Society. “But in this case we’re not entirely sure,” he said. Other sites blocked this year include tax portal Taxscan and legal database Indian Kanoon. After complaints from Jio’s internet users, Indian Kanoon founder Sushant Sharma said he had been told by Jio the portal was blocked for one day last week due to a government order. “By evening, apparently, that order was taken back,” said Sharma, whose website has some 150,000 daily visitors. The post Reddit, Telegram Among Websites Blocked in India: Internet Groups appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| China’s Financial Hub Dream for Shanghai 2020 Still Distant — AmCham Posted: 03 Apr 2019 09:21 PM PDT SHANGHAI—China’s commercial capital of Shanghai is still far from its goal of becoming a global financial hub by 2020 due to hurdles such as capital controls and a lack of consistent rules, a report by a U.S. business lobby group said on Thursday. The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said that for the city to become a financial center on par with London or New York, China should make its yuan currency fully convertible, improve transparency and lift internet restrictions in the city. China’s State Council, or cabinet, announced plans a decade ago to build Shanghai into an international financial center by 2020. The AmCham Shanghai report, titled “Shanghai 2020: A Financial Vision Unfulfilled,” drew conclusions from a recent survey with financial industry executives. “In China, capital controls show little sign of being lifted. But unless they are, Shanghai’s international financial center status ambitions will come to naught,” said the report. AmCham Shanghai urged China to make its currency fully convertible, arguing that otherwise, “it’s difficult to envisage Shanghai ever achieving its ambition.” It also said Shanghai should make rules transparent and predictable in financial markets, while removing excessive regulation and creating a level playing field. Shanghai officials could not immediately be reached for comment. In January, eight Chinese regulators issued an action plan for the city to become a leading global financial market by next year, state media reported. Most respondents to the AmCham survey said it was more difficult to obtain a license in Shanghai than in other financial centers, with several executives citing the absence of recognizable “standards” in the approval process as a fundamental weakness, the report said. They also noted the practice in Shanghai of window guidance, or unofficial instructions from regulators. Foreign banks believe such communication is provided earlier to domestic banks than to their Western peers, putting foreign businesses at a disadvantage. “One prerequisite for international financial center status is that all banks, domestic or foreign, be treated equally,” AmCham Shanghai said. The recommendations also included one that asked Beijing to ease internet restrictions by lifting the so-called Great Firewall in Shanghai’s financial zone to give its citizens access to Google and other sources of information, touching on one of the most politically sensitive areas in China. “China’s internet restrictions severely handicap Shanghai’s global financial center ambitions,” the report said. The post China’s Financial Hub Dream for Shanghai 2020 Still Distant — AmCham appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 03 Apr 2019 06:43 PM PDT YANGON—Sixty-five years ago today, the Yangon government tried a number of politicians for high treason for requesting that the military stage a coup. During the civil war in late 1949, colonial-period minister and seasoned politician U Ba Bay along with some other politicians paid a visit to the military chief General Ne Win and attempted to persuade him to topple the government of U Nu's Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League by staging a coup. He also promised to provide the funds and weapons for the coup. Gen. Ne Win, however, did not accept U Ba Bay's proposal and instead he informed Prime Minister U Nu of the scheme. U Nu's government did not take action against U Ba Bay immediately. The decision was, however, brought up at a press conference given by U Nu in 1954, when a reporter named U Maung Maung Khin of the Myanma Alinn newspaper asked about the government's failure to take action against them on that occasion. A few months later, on April 4, 1954, U Ba Bay, along with politicians Tharyarwady Maung Maung and U Lun, was tried for high treason and each given prison sentences. Regarding the case, Myanmar's historians, have remarked that paving the way for the military to intervene in the conflicts of politicians amounts to a hanging of democracy. The military did later seize power from the government in 1958, 1962, and 1988, and until today it is still deeply involved in the country's politics. The post A Call for a Coup appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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