The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Timing of SEA Games Opening Seen as Auspicious by Some
• Plans Afoot to Launch European-Backed Journalism School in Burma
• On Human Rights Day, Burma Activists Say More Work to Do
• Migrant Children Eyeing Burma’s Universities on the Rise
• Wood Factories in Burma to Beat 2014 Log Export Ban
• Tearful Thai PM Yingluck Asks Protesters to Take Part in Election
• China’s State Media Under Fire for Arguing Benefits of Smog
• US Skeptical North Korea Moves Will Ease Nuke Tensions

Timing of SEA Games Opening Seen as Auspicious by Some Posted: 10 Dec 2013 06:32 AM PST Burmese runners practice at Wunna Theikdi Stadium in Naypyidaw in preparation of the 27th SEA Games. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — On Wednesday, the 27th Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony will be held in the gleaming new Wunna Theikdi Stadium in the capital Naypyidaw. The grand event will offer Burma an opportunity to burnish its new image as a quickly-changing country and the ceremony has been meticulously planned, with the vice-president ordering the use of back-up generators to ensure that Burma's chronic blackouts will not disturb the spectacle. But in a country where beliefs in the supernatural powers of numerology and astrology have long held sway, some think that the SEA Games opening ceremony—on 11/12/13—has also been timed to take place on a date that will bring good fortune to the country's sporting endeavors. "Eleven December is one of the auspicious days in this month. It's a good day to advance whatever one wants," said San Zarni Bo, one of Burma's most well-known astrologers. "It's an auspicious date for the country and international [events]." The soothsayer added that the male and female owls used as mascots for the regional bi-annual sports event were traditional Burmese symbols of good fortune. "The owl is seen as a symbol of a good omen," he said. "[Starting on] 11 means Myanmar is in an upper-hand position," said Kyaw Min Htet, an astrologer and palmist who offers his predictions to customers from his small jeep parked beside Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon. In Buddhist beliefs practiced in Burma the numbers 9 and 11 hold special significance and many temple visitors will recite their mantras 9 or 11 times, or offer 9 or 11 lotus flowers to the Buddha. The number 11 is considered auspicious as Buddha's teachings speak of "eleven fires"—greed, hatred, delusion, birth, aging, death, grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow and despair—that one should extinguish in order to progress in life. Kyaw Min Htet offered another supernatural benefit of the date set for the opening ceremony, saying, "The opening date tomorrow is on a Wednesday. From a Buddhist perspective, it's the day that the Buddha achieved enlightenment. So, we can say Myanmar has good potential [to win medals]." The astrological characteristics of the month of December, the soothsayer added, could also boost Burma's chances in the regional sports competition. "December, [month] 12, this chosen date means Myanmar is in a situation of having advantages over others according to the astrological position of the stars," he said. Astrology and numerology, at times tied to Buddhist beliefs and symbols, have long been influential in the daily lives of the Burmese. Many people consult their astrologers to set auspicious dates for weddings, travelling and religious ceremonies. Members of Burma's former military junta regimes—many of who still hold leading roles in the current nominally-civilian government—are known to have made political and government policy decision on the basis of such beliefs. Successive military leaders Ne Win and Than Shwe relied on the Burmese tradition of yadaya, where magical rituals were performed to ensure good fortune and ward off enemies. In the late 1980s, Ne Win ordered notes of 45 kyat and 90 kyat to be printed as both numbers add up to 9, his lucky number. In 2009, the junta is believed to have released 9002 prisoners so that numbers added up (9+2) to the lucky number 11. However, Win Kyaing, a Labor Ministry department director who heads the inter-ministerial SEA Games Winning Committee, said the opening ceremony of the regional sports event was in no way tied to astrology or numerology. "The date was chosen as it's easy to remember and noticeable. [December] 11 and 22 are easy to remember," he said when asked about a possibly auspicious timing of the opening ceremony. The owl mascot, Win Kyaing said, was chosen because "Myanmar believes owls will bring prosperity. "Even though, Myanmar's symbol is a peacock, the owl was chosen in order not to confuse the mascot with any political parties' symbol," he added, seemingly referring to the National League for Democracy's fighting peacock symbol. Although the opening ceremony is held on Wednesday, several sports events, such as chin lone (cane ball), water polo and basketball, have already been played. On Tuesday night, Burma stood at 17 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze medals, topping the table of the SEA Games' medal tally. In order to win the overall medal tally among the 11 participating countries, Win Kyaing said, Burma will need a dose of good fortune. "Myanmar could not win in sports like water polo and basketball. Even to win from Thailand in football is not an easy task," he said, before predicting that "Myanmar has only a 35-percent chance of triumphing." The post Timing of SEA Games Opening Seen as Auspicious by Some appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Plans Afoot to Launch European-Backed Journalism School in Burma Posted: 10 Dec 2013 05:37 AM PST Reporters and photographers in Burma's newly uncensored media surround pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during an August visit to Pegu, about 50 miles north of Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's journalists have been operating free of the censor for more than a year now, and privately owned newspapers regularly publish critical stories once unthinkable under the country's military regime. But, with many in the industry lacking training and concerns over reporting standards and lingering self-censorship, a project backed by European governments is hoping to establish a new institution to provide international-quality journalism education. During a high-profile conference on women's issues in Rangoon on Saturday, the Myanmar Journalism School project, which organizers admitted was only at an embryonic stage, was announced by French Minister of Culture Aurélie Filippetti. France is providing funding for the project, alongside the governments of Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden. "The aim of the school is to give to young journalists training sessions to help them to produce content of very high quality and also to meet the highest international standards in the freedom of information and quality of information," Filippetti told reporters. "That's a very ambitious program which [will] take place in a moment where Myanmar is opening its society and needs to have wide and diverse information." Organizers said they hoped to begin a one-year diploma course in journalism in July 2014, but were unable to give details yet on how students would be selected for the course, the content of the curriculum or how much the course would cost students. Burmese Minister of Information Aung Gyi was present at the launch Saturday. But during the press conference to announce the project, Aung Gyi delivered a speech on an unrelated subject—involving coordination in Burma and France's film industries—and did not give an express endorsement of the journalism school project. Neither of the ministers answered questions from reporters on the project. Monika Lengauer, project coordinator for the journalism school-to-be, said by e-mail on Tuesday that official approval was still "pending," but "the project has been assured of the official support." The project has already received an estimated 100,000 euro (US$137,000) of funding from donors. Going forward, "the funding is another thing that needs to be decided," Lengauer said during Saturday's press conference. "What I can tell you is that all donors or partners that are here today are committed on the long term." She said studies would be conducted on exactly how the school will be governed and details would soon be worked out. Sweden's Fojo media institute has already trained 12 Burmese journalists to be trainers for the school, where lessons will be conducted in Burmese, she said. With the only existing journalism school in the country closely associated with the government, and a long history of official meddling in journalism in Burma, Lengauer said one priority highlighted in early discussions about the project was the school's independence. "The indications of the media industry and civil society highlighted in focus group discussions made clear that Myanmar Journalism School needs to aim at being independent—that has been an overwhelming priority—with a broad, national ownership, anchored in civil society and media industry, reflecting best international practices in quality journalism education," she said. "Myanmar Journalism School will promote…universal journalistic values, rooted in ethics, and resulting in trustworthy reporting." The school would be non-profit and scholarships would likely be available for students, she said. Ramon Tuazon, a communication and information specialist at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in Myanmar, which is supporting the project, stressed that the school would be "inclusive" in its admissions. "In fact, as early as now we are thinking of the needs also not only of journalists from Yangon, Naypyidaw or Mandalay, but even ethnic people. Ethnic journalists will happily be accepted here and will be part of this program," he said. The school does not yet have a location, but one possible site is within the country's only existing journalism school at the National Management College (NMC), part of Rangoon University, which has been running a four-year journalism degree program since 2007. The school has this year begun using a curriculum based on a model drawn up by Unesco, but the course guidelines had previously been written by the Ministry of Information. It had been largely a training school for Burma's state-run media, which acts as a mouthpiece for the government. "It's really a facility to train functionaries, public administrators to manage PR [public relations] for, and to administer, government policy," said Glen Swanson, project coordinator in Myanmar for Denmark's International Media Support—which is backing the school. "Actually that has to be closed," he added. "That [NMC] is obsolete, but the physical institution is there embedded within the university. So we're hoping that while we work with the transformation of the National Management College, we can eventually roll the school into that." The post Plans Afoot to Launch European-Backed Journalism School in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

On Human Rights Day, Burma Activists Say More Work to Do Posted: 10 Dec 2013 05:33 AM PST Nearly 60 people have been jailed in the last two years under a law on peaceful assemblies in Burma. RANGOON — Activists in Burma say that although the country's human rights situation is better now than it was under decades of oppressive military rule, rights abuses persist in the Southeast Asian nation. Burma marked International Human Rights Day on Tuesday, 65 years to the date that the United Nations adopted its Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "In the past, we didn't have the chance to say what we wanted. Now, compared to the past, we are beginning to have a chance, but not fully," said Thein Swe, a member of Parliament who was jailed six months for participating in a protest on Human Rights Day in 1991. On that day 22 years ago, students from Rangoon University and the Rangoon Institute of Technology (now called Yangon Technical University) organized a demonstration to show their support for Aung San Suu Kyi, who had recently been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. At the time, she was under house arrest in Rangoon. The peaceful demonstration in 1991 began on the Rangoon University campus, with protestors demanding the release of Suu Kyi and all other activists detained by the government for voicing pro-democracy sentiments, including the prominent student leader Min Ko Naing. The demonstration continued for two days and threatened to spread to universities and colleges in other cities. Perhaps fearing a repeat of the nationwide uprising in 1988 that unseated Gen Ne Win, Burma's military regime closed higher education institutions across the country. They arrested several hundred students who had participated in the demonstrations as part of the crackdown. More than 100 of those detainees were sentenced to between 10 and 20 years' imprisonment by a military court. Despite a notably improved human rights situation in Burma today, Thein Swe said abuses continue throughout the country, including widespread land confiscation by the military and powerful business interests. "We need to keep trying to fully realize human rights. People need to understand more about human rights," Thein Swe said. Bo Bo Han, who was jailed 15 years for his role in organizing the Dec. 10, 1991, protest, said that freedom of expression and association remained limited in Burma. "Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law should not exist. As long as the article exists and arrests are made under that law, full human rights is not possible," he said. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) says 130 activists have been charged under the Peaceful Assembly Law, which was adopted in December 2011 and requires that would-be demonstrators get permission from the government prior to staging any organized assembly. A total of 57 activists have been jailed for protesting without authorization, according to the association. "Challenges for many individuals and communities still remain," Matthew Hedges, the British Embassy's deputy head of mission, said in a press release on Tuesday. "For example, I note the increasing number of people charged and convicted in 2013 under Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law. It is our hope that the law will be brought in line with international standards following discussions in Parliament." The book "10D," which details the lives of more than 30 students who participated in the Nobel Peace demonstration on Dec. 10, 1991, was released on Tuesday. The post On Human Rights Day, Burma Activists Say More Work to Do appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Migrant Children Eyeing Burma’s Universities on the Rise Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:21 AM PST Burmese migrant workers cross the Three Pagodas Pass on the Thai-Burmese border. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Efforts to integrate the children of migrant worker from Burma into the country's higher education system are bearing fruit, with a threefold increase in the number of Burmese students in Thailand slated to take a 2014 matriculation exam that was administered for the first time earlier this year. The Burmese migrant students, who will complete high school in March 2014, will travel back to their home country to take the test, which is required for enrollment in Burma's higher education institutions. Around 150 students have registered to sit the examination, which will take place in March at a high school in Karen State's Myawaddy, according to Aye Aye Thet, head of the Science and Technology Training Center in Mae Sot, Thailand. "The students are now in a study camp at Hsa Thoo Lay school [a migrant school in Mae Sot], and this year is the second time students will take the test." As a result of discussions with the state-level government last year, the Karen State chief minister agreed in September 2012 to allow migrant students to sit the exam at the public school in Myawaddy, which now serves as a potential bridge back into the Burmese education system for thousands of children whose parents work in Thailand. "It is a good opportunity for those students who have had few opportunities for higher education," said Thein Naing, an education researcher who is working on curriculum development for migrant schools in Thailand. He told The Irrawaddy on Monday that "despite the government's imposition of a policy to let the migrant children continue studying at schools in Burma, policy orders have not yet been received at some schools. There are still difficulties in the inner areas of the country." "It is OK in the border towns such as in Myawaddy," Thein Naing added. Thein Naing, the secretary of the Migrant Education Integration Initiative (MEII) formed six months ago, works on curriculum development for migrant schools in Thailand. There is currently no standardization across the curricula of the various migrant schools, and the MEII is working to bring consistency to what Burmese children at these schools are taught. Migrant schools have been operating in Thailand for more than a decade, fulfilling a critical need for education among the children of Burmese migrant workers, who are estimated to number some 3 million in Thailand. For years, the schools were not officially recognized by the governments of either Burma or Thailand. The provincial government in the Thai border province of Tak began recognizing some of the schools in 2008, but that recognition came with mandatory Thai touches, such as a requirement that all school buildings include a portrait of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej. In Tak, there are 74 migrant schools, providing education for around 13,000 children of Burmese migrant workers. Thein Naing said the Burmese government needed to do a better job of recognizing the legitimacy of the curricula taught at migrant schools in order to facilitate a return of young university aspirants to Burma. The vast majority of graduates from high school-level equivalent programs at migrant schools end their studies at that point, because no government recognizes the migrant schools' certificates, but Thein Naing said that "a few graduates continue studying in non-formal education settings." In March 2013, following completion of the 2012-13 academic year, 56 students sat the matriculation exam at Myawaddy's No. 1 Basic Education High School. Eight out of the 56 passed the examination and some of them have continued on to higher education at universities in Sagaing, Karen State's Hpa-an and a government technological college in Burma, said Aye Aye Thet. Last year, "we had little time to prepare the students, as plans to administer the exam began in October 2012 and the students sat the exam in March 2013, so the results were not high," she said. This year, teachers have been preparing students since the beginning of the academic year, and they hope to see improved test scores as a result. On Monday, seven Burmese teachers from Mandalay traveled to Mae Sot, a Thai border town, to meet with the students preparing for next year's exam. More than 100 students from five migrant schools in Mae Sot benefitted from a week of lectures by the Burmese teachers. In the coming years, the number of students registering for Burma's matriculation exam could further swell. "There are around 350 students studying at 15 high school-level migrant schools across the border," Thein Naing said, referring to information gathered from just three Thai towns. The post Migrant Children Eyeing Burma's Universities on the Rise appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Wood Factories in Burma to Beat 2014 Log Export Ban Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:21 AM PST A truck takes logs from Burma into Thailand at the Three Pagodas Pass in 2010. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) With a ban on log exports set for next year, foreign buyers of Burmese teak and other rare woods are looking to open timber processing facilities inside Burma. A new law coming into force on April 1 will prohibit the export of all raw tree logs, but it will not stop firms from processing timber in the country and then exporting it. An Indian company and a Singapore-based business were given licenses last week by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) to build wood-processing factories in the country. The names of the firms have not yet been announced. In addition, two other Indian firms, Greenply Industries and Century Plyboards, have reportedly been seeking permits to build factories in an industrial zone in Dagon, Rangoon. Century Plyboards plans to invest about US$10 million in a factory capable of producing 25,000 square meters of plywood a day, according to The Hindu newspaper. "This project is important for the company as it would replace its import of timber from [Burma]," Century managing director Sajjan Bhajanka was quoting by the paper as saying. "Our plan is to bring veneers or plywoods to India." Burmese hardwoods, especially increasingly rare teak, are sought in Western countries and India and China in particular for furniture, house flooring and yacht decking. It's a lucrative business for Burmese traders. Legal exporters earned about US$600 million in the 2010-2011 financial year, according to government figures. However, cross-border illegal sales of raw felled timber to China, India and Thailand are believed to be much higher, say international environment NGOs. The export ban on raw timber is supposed to help protect Burma's declining forests and conserve sought-after hardwoods such as teak. However, the magazine SuperYacht World said it understood that the export of processed teak will not be stopped and teak veneer, teak yacht decking and interior flooring and furniture parts will still be available. "According to the authorities I spoke with, this ban…is only on the export of round logs which have previously been exported in large volumes to be cut in Thailand, India, Singapore, Malaysia, China and other countries for their domestic consumption as well as further exports," Singapore businessman Bob Steber, managing director at Ginnacle Import Export, told the London-based magazine. "The ban on round logs is intended to create more jobs internally for [Burmese] citizens," he said. The 2014 export halt is also a response to excessive legal harvesting of timber, made worse by illegal logging, Naypyidaw's parliamentary Natural Resources and Environment Conservation Committee said earlier this year. However, it's hard to quantify how much timber is actually leaving Burma and how much deforestation has taken place, said the European Forest Institute (EFI) in a study. "Figures for [Burma's] forest products trade are unreliable, often contradictory, and do not include nonofficial exports, including cross-border trade, which has been substantial in the past especially along the Yunnan [China] border," the EFI said recently. Teak grows naturally in only a handful of countries in Asia and nearly 50 percent of the world's remaining natural teak forest is in Burma, according to the website East by Southeast. Up to 2005, Burma was estimated to be more than 50 percent covered by forest. But recent studies by the United Nations and other major international bodies say it's now down to 46 percent or lower. Two thirds of Burma's rural population of 30 million "depend heavily on forests for their basic needs," according to a UN Food and Agricultural Organisation report in 2009. Half a million people rely directly on forests for employment, it said. Economic sanctions imposed until recently by the United States and the European Union had nurtured a large illegal logging industry, according to the Australian luxury yachts magazine Ocean. "Experts say this is likely to continue since [Burma] is unable to marshal forces to combat illegal loggers. Once logged it is difficult to determine where the teak has been sourced from. "Teak traders have evaded sanctions by shipping [Burmese] logs to neighbouring countries, which process the teak and sell it to the boat industry and other luxury wood-working industries in Western countries. India is by far the biggest market, followed by China, Thailand and Vietnam," said Ocean magazine. Teak timber is particularly valued in the boating industry for its durability, especially its resistance to water and rot. Flora and Fauna International (FFI), which is documenting the rare and unique wildlife in Burma, says the country's forests face "many and mounting threats" such as illegal logging. "Despite their high dependence on natural resources, local people have been excluded from decisions concerning the country's protected areas. Yet this situation is slowly changing. For the first time grass roots organisations are being established to address issues of environmental governance and human welfare. "We are also offering guidance to state-run protected area management authorities on how to work alongside these grass roots organisations," said FFI. Until April, all unprocessed tree logs legally designated for export must bear a stamp from the state-owned Myanmar Timber Enterprise, but some environmental NGOs believe the monitoring system is so lax that it's easy for illegal logs to be legalized with a stamp. After April, policing of borders with India, China and Thailand will need strengthening if the illegal logging trade is not to increase, say the NGOs. The post Wood Factories in Burma to Beat 2014 Log Export Ban appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Tearful Thai PM Yingluck Asks Protesters to Take Part in Election Posted: 09 Dec 2013 11:25 PM PST Democracy protesters march from Bangkok's Democracy monument to Government House on Monday in what protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said was their last protest. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) BANGKOK — Her eyes welling with tears, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pleaded on Tuesday for anti-government demonstrators to clear the streets and support a snap election, but defiant protest leaders called for her to step down within 24 hours. After weeks of sometimes violent street protests, protesters rejected her call on Monday for a general election and said she should be replaced by an unelected "people's council," a proposal that has stoked concern Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy may abandon its democratic process. Yingluck said she would continue her duties as caretaker prime minister until the election, which is expected on Feb. 2. "Now that the government has dissolved parliament, I ask that you stop protesting and that all sides work toward elections," she told reporters. "I have backed down to the point where I don't know how to back down any further," Yingluck said, with tears in her eyes. She quickly composed herself. An estimated 3,000 protesters camped out overnight around Government House, where Yingluck's office is located, a day after 160,000 protesters converged peacefully on the complex in one of Bangkok's largest protests in memory. They made no attempt to get into the grounds, which appeared to be defended by unarmed police and soldiers. The crowd could swell again on Tuesday, a public holiday in Thailand for Constitution Day. The protesters want to oust Yingluck and eradicate the influence of her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled by the military in 2006 and has chosen to live in exile rather than serve a jail term for abuse of power. This is the latest flare-up in almost a decade of rivalry between forces aligned with the Bangkok-based establishment and those who support Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon who won huge support in the countryside with pro-poor policies. In a late-night speech to supporters massed around Government House on Monday, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban gave Yingluck 24 hours to step down. "Suthep has asked the prime minister and the government to step down from their duties," said Akanat Promphan, a spokesman for the protest group. "We want the government to step aside and create a power vacuum in order to create a people's council," he said, adding protesters would camp near the prime minister's offices for three days. Lawmakers from the main opposition Democrat Party resigned from parliament en masse on Sunday, saying they could not work with Yingluck. Its leaders have refused to be drawn on whether they would participate in the election. In April 2006, amid mass protests against Thaksin, the pro-establishment Democrats refused to contest a snap election he had called. He was deposed by the military five months later. Aware that the allies of Yingluck and Thaksin would almost certainly win any election, Suthep has called for a "people's council" of appointed "good people" to replace the government. In another speech on Monday, he called Yingluck's government incompetent and corrupt for policies such as a costly rice intervention scheme and said the people would select a new prime minister. He did not say how that would be done or how he planned to take over the levers of power. Suthep was dismissive of the early election. "The dissolving of parliament is not our aim," he told Reuters. His campaign opens up the prospect of a minority of Thailand's 66 million people dislodging a democratically elected leader, this time without help from the military. The politically powerful army, which has staged or attempted 18 coups in the past 80 years, has said it does not want to get involved, although it has tried to mediate. Thaksin is widely seen as the power behind his sister's government. The protests were sparked last month by a government bid to introduce an amnesty that would have expunged his conviction and allowed him to return home a free man. Yingluck's Puea Thai Party won the last election in 2011 by a landslide, enjoying widespread support in the north and northeast, Thailand's poorest regions. She will be its candidate for prime minister if the party wins in February. Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak. The post Tearful Thai PM Yingluck Asks Protesters to Take Part in Election appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

China’s State Media Under Fire for Arguing Benefits of Smog Posted: 09 Dec 2013 10:27 PM PST Buildings are seen in heavy haze in Beijing's central business district on Jan. 14, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — Commentaries by two of China’s most influential news outlets suggesting that an ongoing air pollution crisis was not without a silver lining drew a withering reaction on Tuesday from internet users and other media. In online commentaries on Monday, state broadcaster CCTV and the widely read tabloid the Global Times, published by the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, both tried to put a positive spin on China’s smog problem. The Global Times said smog could be useful in military situations, as it could hinder the use of guided missiles, while CCTV listed five "unforeseen rewards" for smog, including helping Chinese people’s sense of humor. While both pieces have since been deleted from their websites, Chinese newspapers lost little time in denouncing their point of view, in an unusual case of state media criticising other state media, showing the scale of the anger. "Is the smog supposed to lift if we laugh about it?" wrote the Beijing Business Today, published by the city government’s official Beijing Daily. "Smog affects our breathing. We hope it does not affect our thinking." The Dongguan Times, from a heavily industrial city close to the border with Hong Kong, said CCTV’s comments were so bizarre people did not know "whether to laugh or cry". "There’s nothing funny about the health dangers of smog," it wrote. Even the main Xinhua news agency – which had initially picked up CCTV’s commentary – weighed in, writing on one of its official microblogs late on Monday that it was "totally inappropriate" to make fun of air pollution. Air quality in cities is of increasing concern to China’s stability-obsessed leaders, anxious to douse potential unrest as a more affluent urban population turns against a growth-at-all-costs economic model that has poisoned much of the country’s air, water and soil. Large parts of eastern China, including the country’s prosperous and cosmopolitan commercial capital Shanghai, have been covered in a thick pall of smog over the past week or so, though Beijing’s normally filthy air has been relatively clear. Users of Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, also vented their outrage over the CCTV and Global Times’ comments. "The smog crisis covering large parts of China has revealed the failure of the government’s development strategy of only going after GDP (growth). CCTV is shameless in trying to cover up for their masters," wrote Wu Bihu, a professor at the elite Peking University. "The Global Times thinks that pollution will cause missiles to miss their targets … How shameful! So that’s what all this smog has really been about. People had thought it was just bad pollution…," state television in the eastern province of Shandong wrote on one of its microblogs. The post China’s State Media Under Fire for Arguing Benefits of Smog appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

US Skeptical North Korea Moves Will Ease Nuke Tensions Posted: 09 Dec 2013 10:22 PM PST A video grab from North Korean state television shows the 2012 Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) rocket launch in Cholsan county, North Pyongan province. WASHINGTON — The dramatic ouster of the uncle of North Korea's young ruler has sidelined the reputed second-most powerful official in the secretive hierarchy but Washington is not banking on a radical shift in Pyongyang's nuclear policy. Nor does the release of an 85-year old US Korean War veteran over the weekend necessarily herald an improvement in chilly relations between Washington and Pyongyang that have gotten worse since young dictator Kim Jong Un took power. But there will be intense scrutiny of the North Korean government's next moves, to watch whether it moves to release another American citizen it has detained for the past year. That could provide an opportunity for some diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang, which remain utterly at odds over the North's development of nuclear weapons. Accused of abuse of power, corruption and profligate living, Kim's uncle Jang Song Thaek was stripped of his official positions, including in the National Defense Commission, the government's top ruling body. State television on Monday showed him being grabbed by two security guards from a high-level party meeting, chaired by Kim. Political machinations in North Korea's authoritarian system are typically conducted behind closed doors, which made Jang's public purging and humiliation highly unusual. Jang had been viewed as a mentor to Kim since succeeding as dictator on the death of his father Kim Jong Il in December 2011. It has been a generation or more since a North Korean ruler has conducted such a high-profile purge, but a senior US official said Washington doesn't know whether this will have any impact on Pyongyang's nuclear policy and its relations toward the US. Jang's ouster does not necessarily reflect instability in North Korea, but it shows Kim Jong Un is further consolidating his power, said the official, who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the US government's reading of events in North Korea. To the extent Jang's downfall affects the North's international relations, the impact is likely to be felt most keenly in Beijing as he was viewed as a front man for ties to China, its only major ally. Jang has been seen by outsiders as the leading supporter of Chinese-style economic reforms. Yet the most telling message Jang's ouster conveys is about North Korea's internal dynamics. Evans Revere, a former State Department official for East Asia, said it leaves no uncertainty about who is the sole source of legitimacy and command, and who is controlling government policy, including its twin goals, enshrined in the nation's constitution this year, to pursue both economic development and nuclear weapons. That could extinguish any remaining hopes Kim's rise to power would herald reform of the authoritarian state—hopes that were based on little more than his relative youth, education in Switzerland and enthusiasm for US basketball. Early on, his government reached an agreement with Washington for a nuclear freeze in exchange for US food aid that was meant to pave the way for full-fledged negotiations on the North's nuclear program. But the North wrecked the deal within weeks when it launched a rocket in defiance of a UN ban. Tensions spiked further after an underground nuclear test explosion in February, which the North followed up with dire verbal threats against the US and its allies for leading the push for tighter sanctions in response. Those tensions have eased in recent months, and North Korea says it is ready to resume the six-nation negotiations on its nuclear program that it withdrew from five years ago. But given recent signs the North is restarting a mothballed reactor that can produce plutonium for bombs, Washington remains skeptical of Pyongyang's intent. The North's detention of two American citizens has only made matters worse. One of the Americans, Korean War veteran Merrill Newman, who had been held since late October after visiting North Korea as a tourist, was freed on Saturday. North Korean state media explained he had apologized for his alleged crimes during the Korean War and because of his age and medical condition. Washington welcomed the release, announced as US Vice President Joe Biden was visiting neighboring South Korea, but is not reading into it any broader significance for US-North Korean relations. North Korea is still holding another American national, Kenneth Bae, who was arrested more than year ago and suffers health problems. He has been sentenced to 15 years on charges of subversion. Pyongyang shunned a previous offer by Washington to send a senior envoy to seek a pardon for Bae and his release. Washington views Bae's detention as an obstacle to improving the US-North Korean relationship and will now be pressing Pyongyang to resolve that case as well, although the US official said progress in diplomacy on the North's nuclear program would still hinge on Pyongyang's willingness to honor its previous commitments on denuclearization. The post US Skeptical North Korea Moves Will Ease Nuke Tensions appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Yingluck backs out of SEA Games opening ceremony
• Naw Ohn Hla charged on religious offences from 2007
• Burma through to semis in pencak silat
• Seven dead in pre-dawn fire at Rangoon beauty spa
• KNU urges all sub-groups to unite as Karen for census
• Burmese toddler drowns as refugee boat sinks en route to Christmas Island
• Burma maintains unbeaten run in SEA Games football
• Michaungkan protestors hold down the fort
• Burma wrestlers add to gold rush at SEA Games

Yingluck backs out of SEA Games opening ceremony Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:25 AM PST Thailand's prime minister and Singapore's deputy prime minister planned to attend the opening ceremony of the 27th SEA Games in Burma on Wednesday, but cancelled their visits due to political unrest in their respective countries, according to an official at Burma's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). Burma sent invitations to the opening ceremony of the SEA Games to heads of states and foreign ministers from all ASEAN member states. Sein Oo, deputy director-general of the MoFA's Consular and Legal Affairs Department, said Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra and Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean have responded that they will not arrive as scheduled. "We have been informed by Thailand that Prime Minister [Yingluck] won't be able to attend the ceremony and the deputy prime minister will be making an appearance in her stead. As for Singapore, they have informed us that their deputy prime minister won't be arriving here on 9 December as previously planned, due to the political situation in the country. Though they didn't specify whether he will be able to attend the ceremony [on 11 December]," said the official. Related Stories Burma through to semis in pencak silat Burma maintains unbeaten run in SEA Games football Burma wrestlers add to gold rush at SEA Games Thailand's capital city Bangkok has been rocked by weeks of anti-government protests that have left four people dead and culminated in the dissolution of parliament on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an anomalous rash of riots erupted near Singapore's Little India on Sunday night after a bus hit and killed a foreign labourer. As of now, the Lao president, China's deputy prime minister, the sports ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, and National Olympic Committee chairpersons from the Philippines, Cambodia and Brunei have confirmed that they will attend the ceremony. Timor Leste will not be sending a delegate to the event. Tens of thousands of athletes from 11 ASEAN member states are in Burma for the 27th SEA Games, hosted in the country for the first time in over 40 years. The opening ceremony of the games will be held at the Wunna Thedi Stadium in Naypyidaw on 11 December.

Naw Ohn Hla charged on religious offences from 2007 Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:08 AM PST Political activist Naw Ohn Hla was on Tuesday charged under Article 296 of the Burmese penal code – for disturbing a religious assembly. The charge supposedly relates to her organising weekly prayer sessions at Shwedagon Pagoda back in 2007 when she led supporters in praying for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, then under house arrest, and other political prisoners in detention. This is the second charge against her this month following her release from Mandalay prison on 15 November in a presidential amnesty. She had been jailed in August on charges of sedition for protesting against the Latpadaung copper mine. Following her release in November, Naw Ohn Hla did not take long to hit the headlines again – she was arrested and jailed last week for burning a Chinese flag in front of China's embassy in Rangoon to mark the first anniversary of the Latpadaung crackdown. She was subsequently arrested and charged again for sedition – under Article 505(b) of the Penal Code. On Tuesday, Naw Ohn Hla's lawyer Robert San Aung said the new charge against her, filed by Shwedagon Pagoda Board of Trustees almost seven years after the alleged crime, signifies that the police have failed to perform their duty throughout the period of time which has elapsed. Related Stories Michaungkan protestors hold down the fort “Mandela Raised The Standard Of Humanity” – Suu Kyi Peace marchers sentenced to 7 months "Naw Ohn Hla told the court she had not been aware of the charge from 2007 and that she has made no attempt to evade any charges," he told DVB. "My client has been living in Rangoon throughout this period and has no idea why she is only being charged now. Pressing an untimely charge against her just shows how the police have failed in performing their duties." Meanwhile another activist, Htin Kyaw, a former political prisoner who rose to fame by organising a rare protest in early 2007 against a hike in commodity prices, has been sentenced to over two years by courts in Rangoon's Mingalar Taungnyunt, Pabedan and Kyauktada townships on similar charges to Naw Ohn Hla – under Article 18, the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law, and Article 505(b) for sedition. He is currently awaiting further verdicts in Rangoon's Kyauktada and North Okkalapa townships, said his wife Than Than Maw.

Burma through to semis in pencak silat Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:04 AM PST Burma's Zayer has beaten Laos’ Thanphonh Simphilavong in the first round of the men’s pencak silat event in Naypyidaw. Zayer, who is competing in the 45-50 kg weight category, now goes through to the semi-finals, which will be held on Wednesday in Naypyidaw's Zayar Thiri Stadium. At the beginning of the fight, the Lao player was leading on points, however the Burmese managed to fight back, and with the roaring partisan crowd behind him, Zayer secured a 5-point lead to bring the final score to 20-15. Related Stories Yingluck backs out of SEA Games opening ceremony Burma maintains unbeaten run in SEA Games football Burma wrestlers add to gold rush at SEA Games Zayer's coach, Tin Oo, spoke to DVB after the fight and said, this year, the event has strong competitors. "Everyone played well – both our team and the other countries," said the Burmese pencak silat team's head coach. "This is a competition featuring only good players so it should be a tough road ahead. We are hoping to win four gold medals at this games." Pencak Silat is an Indonesian martial art. Players score points by making a direct hit to their opponent's chest and body with their hands or feet. There are three rounds to each match and two minutes per round.

Seven dead in pre-dawn fire at Rangoon beauty spa Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:01 AM PST Seven people died in a pre-dawn fire at the Gandamar Wholesale Centre in Rangoon's Mayangon township early Tuesday. Allegedly caused by an electrical failure, the fire broke out in the Venus Garden Beauty Spa on the shopping centre's third floor, killing seven people who were asleep inside the facility. The fire broke out around 1am and was suppressed within an hour. Aung Linn Oo, deputy-commander of the Bayinnaung Fire Department, told DVB just after the incident that the victims likely died from asphyxiation caused by smoke. The official added that the interior and ceilings of the spa were destroyed by the fire and the department was still investigating the cause. A police report released on Tuesday stated that the fire was caused by an iron left connected overnight. The report also announced that one man will be charged under Article 304 (a) of Burma's penal code – causing death by negligence. Mayangon township police Commander Than Naing said that of the seven victims, three were male, two female and two had yet to be unidentified. "The first victim we found succumbed to injuries at the hospital and the other six were assumed to have died inside the spa, probably from asphyxiation," said the police commander. "We are working with the electricity department and fire department to investigate the cause of the fire – whether the fire started from a wire shock or something else." This is not the first deadly fire to occur in Rangoon this year; in April, 13 young boys died in a fire at a mosque also believed to have been caused by an electrical failure due to old and faulty wiring. Related Stories Michaungkan protestors hold down the fort Rangoon views recreation zone options for river promenade Funeral rites for land grab protestors in Michaungkan

KNU urges all sub-groups to unite as Karen for census Posted: 10 Dec 2013 12:33 AM PST The Karen National Union (KNU) has urged the various ethnic sub-groups within Karen state to register in next year's nationwide census as "Karen" when identifying their ethnicity in the questionnaire. Pado Saw Kwe Htoo Win, the general-secretary of the KNU, said that the Karen rebel leadership concluded that it is necessary for all ethnic sub-groups to be listed as simply Karen in order to calculate the precise population of their ethnicity. Speaking at the conclusion of the KNU's Permanent Central Committee meeting in Hpa-an district from 2- 7 December, Pado Saw Kwe Htoo Win said, "We are assuming the duty of carrying out the census in our territories and are appointing personnel for the task. We believe that the ethnic sub-groups should not register under any other name than 'Karen' so that we can get the precise number of the Karen population." The Kayin People's Party (KPP) also announced that it wanted to remind all Karen people to list themselves as Karen or Kayin, the main ethnic group, as opposed to any of the smaller sub-factions of the Karen on the list of the 135 recognised ethnicities in Burma. Related Stories KNU shelve Hpa-an talks till next year Karen man charged in connection with Taungoo bombing Karen language proposal gets green light in Tenasserim The KPP said it had proposed to the regional government in Irrawaddy division that it be allowed to provide assistance to the large Karen population in the delta to ensure they register correctly for the census. Saw Say Wah, the deputy-chairman of the KPP, said: "We are also reminding Karen people to use the titles 'Saw' for men and 'Naw' for women, instead of the Burmese equivalents, 'U' and 'Daw'." Another Karen state-based political party, the Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party, has said it is cooperating with the immigration authorities and the Norwegian Refugee Council to issue ID cards to locals who were yet to acquire one, according to the Karen News. Burma Immigration Minister Khin Yi previously announced that the nationwide census will be carried out from 30 March to 10 April 2014, and will ask each citizen to select which of the 135 recognised ethnic groups in the country he or she belongs to. The recognised sub-groups of the Karen are: the Kayinpyu, the Pa-le-Chi, the Mon-Kayin, the Sgaw, the Ta-Lay-Pwa, the Paku, the Bwe, the Monnepwa, the Shu, and the Monpwa.

Burmese toddler drowns as refugee boat sinks en route to Christmas Island Posted: 09 Dec 2013 10:23 PM PST Three asylum seekers including a toddler died when their Australia-bound boat sank in rough seas off Indonesia’s Java island but 29 others were rescued, police said Tuesday. Hundreds of asylum seekers have died trying to make the sea voyage to Australia in recent years, and Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the sinking highlighted the dangers of people-smuggling. The vessel had been carrying 32 people – including members of the Rohingya Muslim minority from Burma, officially known as Myanmar, Iranians and a Bangladeshi – who wanted to reach the Australian territory of Christmas Island, police said. But the small, wooden vessel sank off West Java province early Monday after being battered by big waves, provincial police spokesman Martinus Sitompul told AFP. “Fishermen found the boat off Ciawi beach in Garut district,” he said. Related Stories Thai PM pledges help on Rohingya trafficking investigation Thai authorities implicated in Rohingya smuggling operation 14 Rohingyas sentenced for killing Buddhists in Indonesia The Bangladeshi asylum seeker and two from Burma – including a two-year-old – drowned but the other 29 were rescued by the fishermen and handed over to immigration authorities, he said. Morrison said no request was or had been made for Australian assistance, by either passengers onboard the vessel or the Indonesian authorities involved in the rescue. “This further loss of life is as tragic as all those that preceded it in similar circumstances, and we extend sympathies to the families of those affected,” Morrison said. “It is especially tragic as these deaths were needless and avoidable.” While Australia would meet its obligations regarding the safety of life at sea, Morrison said that did not mean there was a “safety net” for voyages undertaken on people-smuggling boats. “This latest incident highlights once again the fatal consequences of people-smuggling, particularly in this most dangerous time of the year,” he said, referring to the annual monsoon season. Asylum-seeker boat arrivals have dropped dramatically under the new conservative government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, which has retained the policy of the former administration of sending all boatpeople to Papua New Guinea or Nauru for permanent resettlement. But there has been a recent spike, with close to 200 people arriving on four boats in the week up to December 6.

Burma maintains unbeaten run in SEA Games football Posted: 09 Dec 2013 10:07 PM PST The Burmese men's football team survived a scare to beat Timor Leste 3-1 at the Thuwunna Stadium in Rangoon on Monday. Burma started strongly and midfielder Kyaw Zayar Win scored with a deflected free kick after just 12 minutes, but the East Timorese fought back and stunned the Burmese fans with a goal in the 36th minute. Burma had to wait until the 70th minute of the game when Kyaw Ko Ko stepped up to slot home a penalty. Kyi Lin clinched victory seven minutes later.

Michaungkan protestors hold down the fort Posted: 09 Dec 2013 09:58 PM PST Despite an ultimatum issued by Rangoon township authorities, around 200 protestors are refusing to leave their camp site in Michaungkan township on the eastern outskirts of Rangoon. The protestors, who are demanding the return of farmlands they say were seized by the military in 1990, were told to leave the site or face forceful eviction following a dispute on Saturday during which at least eight people were injured. Authorities warned the protestors, who have set up camp outside the town's Myasaryan pagoda, to clear out before 6pm on Monday. DVB reporters confirmed that as of 2am Tuesday the site was still occupied, the deadline passing without incident. "We are not preparing to defend ourselves – let them come and shoot us if they want; we are not going to back down now," said a 76-year old woman at the protest site. "We are just here to ask for our land back. I am 76 now and don't care if I die – I'm not going anywhere." Related Stories Naw Ohn Hla charged on religious offences from 2007 Seven dead in pre-dawn fire at Rangoon beauty spa Michaungkan protestors face forceful removal Villagers of Michaungkan have been contesting the alleged land-grab for more than a year, staging over seven demonstrations at three different sites. In mid-November, three villagers were convicted for organising a protest about the same disputed lands back in March 2012. Htin Kyaw, Sein Than and Kyaw Lwin were charged under Burma's infamous Article 18 – the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law – each receiving 18 month prison sentences, according to a Radio Free Asia report. Last week, DVB reported that 400 villagers went to the protest site and received funeral rites from monks, saying that they are "ready to die protesting." While Thein Nyunt, an MP representing Thingangyun constituency, has vowed to compensate villagers for the land, the activists say that the offer is insufficient. The protest leaders have drawn up a list of seven demands including the return of all lands in question, full compensation for those whose lands cannot be restored, and the release and amnesty of those charged for prior demonstrations.

Burma wrestlers add to gold rush at SEA Games Posted: 09 Dec 2013 09:07 PM PST Burma's wrestlers added to the country's surging medal count with two golds, a silver and a bronze on the first day of competition at the SEA Games in Rangoon on Monday. May Thazin Phu took gold in the women's 67-kg freestyle competition at the National Indoor Stadium in Thingyangun township, Rangoon, while Myint Zin won the top honour in the men's 120-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition. Burma now leads the SEA Games medal table with 13 golds, three silvers and six bronze. Meanwhile, the Burmese men's football team survived a scare to beat Timor Leste 3-1 at the Thuwunna Stadium in Rangoon on Monday. Burma started strongly and midfielder Kyaw Zayar Win scored with a deflected free kick after just 12 minutes, but the East Timorese fought back and stunned the Burmese fans with a goal in the 36th minute. Burma had to wait until the 70th minute of the game when Kyaw Ko Ko stepped up to slot home a penalty. Kyi Lin clinched victory seven minutes later. In the other match on Monday, Indonesia beat Cambodia 1-0. Related Stories Yingluck backs out of SEA Games opening ceremony Burma through to semis in pencak silat Burma maintains unbeaten run in SEA Games football The highly anticipated women's football tournament kicks off on Tuesday with Burma scheduled to play the Philippines at 4pm in Mandalay. But the women's football competition suffered its second defection with Indonesia confirming that they will not compete in the games following a similar withdrawal by Timor Leste. Now the two groups will each have only three teams participating. Group A features Burma, Vietnam and the Philippines; Group B consists of Thailand, Laos and Malaysia. Fans who purchased tickets for the Indonesia–Burma match will be refunded, said the Myanmar Football Federation.   Tuesdays' schedule also features the finals of the water polo and wushu, along with basketball, boxing, pencak silat, badminton, canoeing, futsal and sepak takraw. On Tuesday, the eve of the SEA Games opening ceremony, Burmese state media announced that both the opening and closing ceremonies will be held on a "grand scale".

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The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Rangoon University: A History of Protest
• Situation Tense in East Rangoon, as Land Protestors Defy Govt Ultimatum
• What Burma Should Learn From Nelson Mandela
• Intellectual Property Group to Be Formed Ahead of Expected Law
• Shwe Taung Company’s $150-Mln Real Estate Project Yet to Start
• Joint Ventures, Branch Offices First on Offer to Foreign Lenders: CB Official
• ‘We Can Also Serve our Community as Entrepreneurs’
• Burma’s Footballers Defeat Cambodia in SEA Games Opener
• Thailand Will Help With Any Rohingya Investigation – PM
• Arsenal’s Momentum Halted by Everton; Fulham Wins
• North Korea Says Kim’s Uncle Dismissed For ‘Criminal Acts’
• Singapore Hit by Rare Outbreak of Rioting, 27 Arrested
• Thai PM Calls Snap Election, Protesters Press On

Rangoon University: A History of Protest Posted: 09 Dec 2013 05:41 AM PST The road leading to the Convocation Hall at Rangoon University is seen on Dec. 4, when the university opened again to undergraduates for the first time in decades. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — As part of a program of reforms to reopen a country tightly confined for half a century, Burma's government last week reopened Rangoon University to undergraduates. Most of the institution, once among the most prestigious schools in Asia, has been locked up and left empty for years. The university's long history of radical campus politics has been on hold since it was shuttered in response to recurring student-led uprisings. Hnin Hnin Hmway, a former political prisoner who was arrested in 1989 after taking part in demonstrations as a student, said it was important that as the university is reopened, restrictions were not placed on the new intake of students. "We welcome that they have reopened the campus, but the university must be a place where the students are happy to learn, with free thought and creativity," she said. Hnin Hnin Hmway stressed the importance of an independent administrative body for the university, and said that more than the current intake of 1,000 students should be allowed to enroll. "The number of students admitted is very low; we have a big campus. Why don't they dare to have students on campus? I think they worry because students always protest against the government." Hnin Hnin Hmway, who spent three years in prison for her student activism, recalled that when she began studying at the university in 1988, it was a hub of debate and ideas. "We exchanged news, information and knowledge there. The campus was a lively place where students enjoyed freedom," she said. But 1988 saw perhaps Burma's most famous student-led protests, when the Rangoon University campus was ground zero for an uprising that almost toppled the government. Student demonstrations were violently put down by the military regime, but anger over the brutality of the authorities led to public discontent and popular protests. Those demonstrations were in turn met with more violent suppression by the ruling junta. Amid a widespread crackdown on dissenters, the regime first closed the university and later dismantled it, as well as other centers of learning across Burma. More protests in 1996 led the regime's spy chief, Khin Nyunt, to shutter the university almost entirely. "When Gen Khin Nyunt decided not to allow hostels on campus for students and locked up the university in 1996, the campus was left without students," she said, pointing out the absurdity that Rangoon's was probably the only university in the world to be devoid of students. "The dictators did it to keep their power without considering the future of the country." In order to prevent students from gathering—and potentially organizing further uprisings—the regime in the 1990s created "remote and newly built universities" further from the center of Burma's commercial capital, such as Dagon University, the University of East Yangon and University of West Yangon. Protests took place sporadically from the start of military rule, which only gave way to a nominally civilian government, still dominated by former generals, in 2011. Rangoon University students held peaceful demonstrations against "unjust university rules" on July 7, 1962, the year Gen Ne Win's socialist government took power. The military ruler had security forces disperse the protesters and dynamited the Students' Union building. Gen Ne Win revoked the autonomy of the previously independent Rangoon University, and put the university under the control of the Directorate of Higher Education. The language of teaching was also changed from English to Burmese. Hla Shwe, who edited the student magazine Oway (peacock's call) in the 1960s—until it was banned under censorship—remembers repeated student protests on the campus from 1953 up to 1963. The main concern for the new class of students was still academic independence, he said. "The problem is they need to allow academic freedom in education. That's the most important thing," Hla Shwe said. According to Khin Zaw, a retired professor at Rangoon University, before government control, the university was staffed by a small number of highly qualified academics. But from 1964-65, as a system of education in line with Gen Ne Win's "Burmese way to socialism" was brought in, the standard of education dropped. "They focused on discipline. They didn't give the students freedom," said Khin Zaw. "Freedom comes first in a democratic system, and then discipline follows. So they controlled [the students]." Even before independence, Rangoon University was a hotbed of radical politics. The country's prominent anti-colonial leaders, including Gen Aung San, the country's first prime minister, U Nu, and United Nations Secretary General U Thant, all studied at the university. It also produced prominent ethnic figures like Shan leader Khun Htun Oo and Mon leader Nai Ngwe Thein. Until last week, only a handful of postgraduate students were using the vast leafy campus near Rangoon's Inya Lake. But the newly-reopened undergraduate program at Rangoon University is accepting 1,000 students for 19 arts and science degrees. Subjects include a political science program, although only a handful has reportedly signed up to the potentially controversial course. Students will have their subjects of study allocated based on their scores in a matriculation exam. And students will now be allowed to stay in hostels on the university campus, which were once the breeding ground for political activism. Amid unprecedented reforms and the opening up of political freedoms in Burma today, it remains to be seen if the new contingent will repeat the political activism. In the classroom, observers doubt that the university can relive its former glory straight away. Nationwide, the level of education is now regarded as among the lowest in the region. Many students now study their degrees by distance learning, and most learning is by rote. Wealthy Burmese, not least those ran the former military regime, often send their children abroad for school. "A university degree [in Burma] is just taking a photograph and putting it on the wall. Graduates can do nothing," said one student who graduated in Burmese from University of East Yangon. "It's a sham if universities just hand out degrees to unqualified students," added Nai Ngwe Thein, a prominent ethnic Mon politician. "In my opinion, qualified teachers need to be recruited." Burma's pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has long campaigned for educational reform and for the reopening of Rangoon University. U Myint, economic adviser to President Thein Sein, last year sent an open letter to the president requesting its reopening to undergraduates. Aung Lin, an alumnus of the Rangoon Institute of Technology, said the reopening of Rangoon University was only part of the broad reforms needed to bring higher education in Burma up to standard. "Even when the university is reopened, it will take another 30 years to catch up with current educational developments," he said. "It cannot fully function like it did 20 years ago. There are no teachers now. No lab equipment. "One generation has been missed. This is now only the first step to train the teachers-to-be to run the university, and to be those who reform education in Burma." The post Rangoon University: A History of Protest appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Situation Tense in East Rangoon, as Land Protestors Defy Govt Ultimatum Posted: 09 Dec 2013 05:28 AM PST A man assists a land protestor in Thingangyun Township, eastern Rangoon, who was injured after thugs attacked demonstrators on Saturday. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Tensions were high in Thingangyun Township, eastern Rangoon, on Monday as dozens of land protestors defied a government warning to leave the area by sundown or face a crackdown by security forces. A public announcement distributed in Michaungkan village area over the weekend carried an order by Rangoon Division Chief Minister Myint Swe instructing protestors to vacate the area by Monday 6 pm. Shortly after the ultimatum expired, more than 50 protestors continued a sit-down protest outside the gate of a fenced-off area controlled by the military. The protestors chanted slogans, while security forces stood nearby. Protestors vowed to resist any attempt to end their demonstration, which has called for the return of lands confiscated by the Burma Army in the early 1990s. Several lawmakers attempted to mediate negotiations between protestors and local authorities. Phone Myint Aung, an Upper House MP with the Myanmar Democratic Force, told reporters, "I cannot guarantee that we can prevent a crackdown. But I would like to request authorities not to do so because older people are participating in this protest." "If they crackdown I will report it to Parliament and the president," he added. Zaw Tun, a protest leader, told The Irrawaddy earlier on Monday, "If they shoot us during the crackdown, we have not choice except to prepare to suffer." Democratic Voice of Burma reported that hundreds of local protestors received funeral rites from Buddhist monks last week, indicating their readiness to die for their demands. Several hundred people from Michaungkan village have set up protest camps since last week. Angered protestors demand compensation or the return of land from which they were evicted in 1991, when the Burma Army confiscated the land and cleared hundreds of homes belonging to several thousand residents. The villagers have held recurrent protests this year to underline their demand and several protest leaders have been prosecuted and sentenced to several months' imprisonment for holding protests without government permission, which is punishable under Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law. Over the weekend, tensions were further heightened as government security forces were deployed near protest camps and villagers said notorious government-backed thugs, known as the Swan Arshin, attacked protestors, some of whom were injured. In the early 1990s, the Burma Army ruled the country with an iron fist and crushed any local dissent against land grabs. Protestors at Michaungkan village said they felt emboldened by political reforms under President Thein Sein's nominally-civilian government and were determined to now reclaim the land. "They [the military] had power at that time, and they could take however much land they wanted," said Zaw Tun. "We are now calling for a commission to give us a clear message and to reach an agreement that will benefit all victims. After we got what we need, we will withdraw our camps," he added. The post Situation Tense in East Rangoon, as Land Protestors Defy Govt Ultimatum appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

What Burma Should Learn From Nelson Mandela Posted: 09 Dec 2013 05:23 AM PST Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela responds to the crowd at an anti-apartheid concert on Oct. 28, 1990. (Photo: Reuters) Madiba passed away on Thursday night. Though it was expected for some time, given his long hospitalization, I was saddened, and guilty. I owed him an apology. I had the opportunity to enjoy a one-on-one conversation with Nelson Mandela in 2003, when MTV was preparing a 60-minute special feature in honor of his 85th birthday. I was one of four young people selected to speak with Mandela and seek his advice during the special. We were chosen because our stories resonated with Mandela's life and the South Africa he sought to change. My own life was meant to parallel his experiences under the Apartheid regime and, more generally, we were both familiar with the struggle of building democracy. When my country's army executed a military coup in 1988, I was deeply invested in the student-led, pro-democracy movement. Since then, Burma has struggled to establish democracy, as the decades-long conflict between the military and ethnic minorities continues. Mandela and I exchanged our stories: his life in prison and my life on the run, evading arrest by the Burmese military junta. We both had family members that suffered from the persecution of ruling regimes because of our political activities. I explained to him that my dad was arrested because of my activism, and held hostage while the military came to my home and tried to arrest me. It was 1989, and I was 15 years old. Since then, almost all of my family members have been arrested and interrogated. I asked Mandela, whose family suffered a similar fate during his imprisonment, whether he felt guilty—and if so, how he had transformed his feelings of guilt into moral strength and positive action. His answer was firm and encouraging. He told me that we should not take persecution personally, or feel guilt for the pain repressive governments inflict on our families. With his resolute voice, Mandela urged me to reconnect with my cause—which is larger and more worthwhile than I am—whenever I feel frustrated with personal misery or the lack of progress in the political struggle. After he finished speaking, he offered me a reassuring, broad smile and comforting nods; that struck me most of all. I still remember how fatherly Mandela was in his treatment of me. Our conversation became a bit tense when I insisted that he speak out, publicly, in support of the Burmese democracy movement. My meeting with Mandela took place a few weeks after Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was attacked by state-organized thugs on May 30, 2003. An unknown number of people died in the attack, and Suu Kyi only narrowly escaped the alleged assassination attempt. I therefore requested that Mandela release a public statement denouncing the Burmese junta, and urged him to pay attention to the civil war and the miseries of ethnic minorities in my ill-fated country. I wore a T-shirt featuring a well-known student political prisoner, Min Ko Naing, under my shirt, and gave Mandela a gift of a traditional bag made by a Karen ethnic refugee woman. I begged him: "Please join your fellow Nobel laureates and do something public for Burma." In response, he looked me carefully in the eyes and said, slowly: "Min Zin, it is sometimes not a good idea to climb up to the top of the mountain and scream." When I gave him a puzzled look, he continued, "We often need to work on quiet diplomacy and engagement." I responded to his words with disappointment and irritation. I thought it was a rude response. Mandela, however, stressed the importance of strategy in politics. He advised me to envision a positive outcome, rather than becoming stuck in the vicious circle of political polarization. Mandela used imagination and vision, rather than memory, to break out of the apartheid system. It's been 10 years since I met Mandela, and though I still believe he could have done more for Burma's cause, I have now come to realize the core wisdom of his words, and the lesson Burma could learn from it. These days, Burma's transition from tyranny to democracy is partly stymied by the opposition's attempt to institutionalize the memory of our past political divisions. Instead of putting forward a vision for the future and policies to make that vision a reality, the opposition leadership tends to employ a "good-versus-evil" political narrative as a key frame of reference in mobilizing the public. The opposition, of course, can gain a significant advantage by using this polarizing ploy. The public's distrust and hatred of the previous junta still poisons its opinion of the current pseudo-civilian government. However, using history as a campaign instrument has only encouraged dark forces within the establishment to defend themselves using "biology" in campaigns advocating racial and religious purity. These have ranged from an attempt to prohibit interfaith marriage, to rampant anti-Muslim hate speeches, to outright communal violence. The country is gradually sliding into a history-versus-biology political battle as it approaches the 2015 elections. What we really need is a truly democratic contest of vision and policy. The country lacks a sense of unity. True reconciliation and healing remain elusive in this fragile transition. Mandela was right. When invoking memory becomes a political strategy, society suffers from a lack of imagination. Without a new vision for the future, we cannot move on and be reborn. After our conversation ended, he introduced me to his grandchildren. He said to them, "Although Min Zin disagreed with me on some issues, I respect him." After a short pause, he continued: "Because he is a freedom fighter." His words electrified me. Now Mandela has passed away. I have had 10 years to learn to appreciate the value he placed on vision and imagination over history and memory. I understand now. I owe him an apology—but Madiba has already gone. Min Zin is the Burma blogger for Foreign Policy's Transitions, where this article first appeared on Dec. 7, 2013. The post What Burma Should Learn From Nelson Mandela appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Intellectual Property Group to Be Formed Ahead of Expected Law Posted: 09 Dec 2013 05:17 AM PST Zawtika, a Burmese brand known for its monk robes and other paraphilia sported by the religious order, operates in a market without intellectual property protections. (Photo: Zawtika) RANGOON — The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) will launch a Myanmar Intellectual Property Association ahead of the expected passage of an Intellectual Property Law by Burma's Parliament, according to a UMFCCI official. Aye Lwin, joint secretary general of the UMFCCI, said at a seminar on intellectual property (IP) awareness over the weekend that his federation would form the association "very soon." He invited well-known Burmese brands such as Shwe Pyi Nan, seller of the traditional cosmetic known as thanaka, and Zawtika, a prominent maker of monk robes and other paraphilia sported by the religious order, to join the association, which will advocate on their behalf. "There is an International Trademark Association that was organized by famous brands like KFC [Kentucky Fried Chicken], Toshiba and Mitsubishi to protect their brands. But Myanmar forgot about this. We also need to protect Myanmar brands with this association," he said on Saturday. Since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 and becoming an Asean member in 1997, Burma has signed on to agreements under both organizations, but lacking a domestic law on the issue, IP rights in the country are virtually nonexistent. Hnin Nwe Aye, assistant director of the Ministry of Science and Technology, expressed optimism that the ninth iteration of an IP draft law, currently taking comments from the Attorney General's Office, would soon be before Parliament. A strong IP law would be important for improving Burma's business climate, said Hnin Nwe Aye, whose ministry is playing a major role in the law's drafting. "Today's age is an age of knowledge, and intangible things like technology and trademarks are more valuable than tangible things. Investors want to make sure they are protected, so an IP law is urgently needed," she said. There will be four components to the law, with provisions relating to trademarks, patents, intellectual design and copyright. The law will be in line with Asean and WTO standards, Hnin Nwe Aye said. According to an agreement with the WTO, Burma was obligated to enact an IP law by 2006. Its failure to do so was forgiven by the world trade body when it granted all "least-developed countries"—Burma among them—an extension, postponing the requirement to 2013. Naoto Mukai, an advisor for industrial development and public policy with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said Burmese people should become acquainted with IP concepts before the country's law is enacted. "If someone invents a new product, it is necessary to protect the intellectual property so that the value of the product can be increased. More investment will come if IP [rights] are practiced in Myanmar. If businesses can apply it well, they can improve," he said. However, Htain Linn Oo, a lawyer from the Attorney General's Office, said that in the absence of an effective public awareness campaign, more court cases involving IP infringement could be expected with passage of a new law. "The cases of IP in business since 1997 did not even reach 100 cases," he said, adding that he expected the number of cases to jump sevenfold with a proper IP law in place. In Burma, the most common IP violations concern trademark infringement, Htain Linn Oo said. Toshiya Furusho, Attorney at Law of Japan and New York State, said Burma would be left behind other Asean nations if it failed to implement and practice IP protections. "Myanmar has thanaka businesses that can grow in the future, so it should have patent [law]" to protect their products, he said. Under Japanese IP laws, violators can face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to 10 million Japanese yen (US$97,000). Sentences vary based on the nature and degree of the violation. The post Intellectual Property Group to Be Formed Ahead of Expected Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Shwe Taung Company’s $150-Mln Real Estate Project Yet to Start Posted: 09 Dec 2013 04:15 AM PST Aik Htun, chairman of Shwe Taung group, during a break at the Women's Forum in Rangoon on Friday. (Photo: Kyaw Hsu Mon / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Aik Htun, chairman of Shwe Taung Group of companies, said his firm has yet to break ground on a planned US $150-million real estate project located at former military offices near Shwedagon Pagoda in central Rangoon, despite earlier announcements that construction would begin this year. In 2011, Shwe Taung Group was awarded a 70-year-lease of the coveted 12-acre premises, located south of the landmark temple between Shwedagon Pagoda Road and Ahlan Pya Pagoda Road. Aik Htun announced he would work with a Singaporean project developer to construct a luxury hotel, an Asia Royal Private Hospital, serviced apartments and a small shopping center. In April, he told local media that construction would start this year and that the first building would be completed by 2015. The well-connected tycoon told The Irrawaddy, however, that so far construction had not yet begun. "Though I aimed to start this year, it has still not yet begun until now," Aik Htun said in a brief comment during a break at the Women's Forum in Rangoon on Friday. Located in leafy environs and surrounded by a crumbling red-brick wall, the area served as the War Office of the British Army after it reconquered Rangoon from Japanese troops in 1942. Later, it was used by the Burma Army. The premises was sold off as part of a massive privatization drive in 2010-2011 that saw businessmen snap up numerous government buildings, state-owned companies and 250 gas stations, often at bargain prices that raised suspicions of government corruption. According to zoning rules of the Yangon City Development Committee, buildings constructed in the vicinity of Shwedagon Pagoda will be restricted to 78 feet, while in nearby areas towards downtown buildings must be lower than 190 feet. Shwe Taung conglomerate has interests in real estate, construction and engineering, and owns a cement factory. The firm was known as Olympic Construction Company until 2004 when it changed its name following a banking scandal at Asia Wealth Bank. The US Treasury accused the bank of money laundering and having connections to the Shan State drug trade. Aik Htun was director of Asia Wealth Bank, Burma's biggest private bank until its shutdown. He built up his conglomerate through cutting deals with the former military regime. A US Embassy cable from 2007, said, "Aik Htun enjoys the regime’s confidence, and benefits handsomely from its business." His construction firms have built numerous housing complexes, shopping malls, schools and medical facilities in Rangoon and Naypyidaw. Currently, his firm is building an annex to Shangri-La's Traders Hotel on Sule Pagoda Road in downtown Rangoon. In September, Aik Htun told The Bangkok Post that he plans to invest $500 million property development in Burma in the next five years, and he called for Thai firms to partner with him. Following the economic reforms introduced by President Thein Sein, Rangoon has experienced a property market boom and numerous buildings have been planned around Burma's biggest city. The post Shwe Taung Company's $150-Mln Real Estate Project Yet to Start appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Joint Ventures, Branch Offices First on Offer to Foreign Lenders: CB Official Posted: 09 Dec 2013 03:03 AM PST Cashiers behind piles of kyat banknotes in a private bank in Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — An easing of restrictions will likely allow foreign banks to enter into joint ventures with local lenders and open branch offices in Burma, according to Khin Saw Oo, deputy governor of the Central Bank. Responding to a report from Reuters that Burma would allow some foreign banks to start offering limited financial services next year, Khin Saw Oo confirmed the plan by the country's banking authority. "We're going to allow new products for foreign banks next year, but we're now still considering" the exact nature of the new financial services to be allowed, she told The Irrawaddy. Foreign banks will likely also be allowed to participate in equity transactions on a Rangoon stock exchange tipped to open in 2015. According to the Central Bank's website, there are 24 foreign banks' representative offices in Burma, including lenders from China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, India, Thailand and Singapore. These firms are not yet allowed to open branches or offer services other than advising clients. Khin Saw Oo said any firm with a representative office in Burma would be granted equal opportunity to involve itself in Burma's financial system, within the constraints laid out by the Central Bank. Tiffany, deputy general manager of the local Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank, said that if the Central Bank allows joint ventures between local and foreign banks next year, she expected that local banks would gain technical expertise, while foreign banks would get a better grasp of the domestic market. "I've heard some local banks are speaking with some foreign banks regarding joint ventures, but for KBZ Bank, nothing has been discussed with foreign banks yet," Tiffany said. Some local banks have expressed concern that foreign joint ventures could swallow up local lenders that opt to remain independent, but Tiffany suggested that reserving the retail banking sector to local lenders—at least for a time—would help. Retail banking refers to financial offerings to individual customers, such as personal loans and accounts, mortgages and other services provided directly to consumers, as opposed to those provided to companies or other banks. "As the deputy governor said before, if they don't allow for retail banking, we won't be harmed, but we need to improve banks' efficiency beginning now," Tiffany said. Amid local lenders' concerns, International Momentary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned the Burma government against rushing as it opens up its banking sector to international competition. "It's most suitable for Myanmar to use the 'no haste, no waste' way for opening up its banking sector," Lagarde said over the weekend on a two-day visit to Burma, with the IMF chief pledging technical assistance from the IMF. "Myanmar must stabilize its banking system with strong monetary policy, directed by an independent Central Bank and a bank monitoring system with the help of IMF," Lagarde said. A bill on financial institutions drafted by the Central Bank is expected to codify a more liberal financial sector than currently exists under a law that was passed in 1990. According to the Central Bank, there are 19 private banks in Burma. The post Joint Ventures, Branch Offices First on Offer to Foreign Lenders: CB Official appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

‘We Can Also Serve our Community as Entrepreneurs’ Posted: 09 Dec 2013 02:36 AM PST Thet Thet Khine, vice president of Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs Association and managing director of Forever Gems, during a discussion at Friday's Women's Forum. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) Thet Thet Khine is the vice president of Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs Association and managing director of Forever Gems, a gold and jewelry firm. She spoke at Burma's first Women's Forum in Rangoon on Friday. In an interview with The Irrawaddy Thet Thet Khine, 46, talks about her experience as a woman entrepreneur in Burma, her background and her plans to enter politics. Born in the ruby mining town of Moe Gok in Mandalay Division, she holds a medical degree from the Institute of Medicine 1 at Rangoon University and an MBA degree from Singapore’s Nanyang University. Question: When did you decide to become a businesswoman? Answer: I started my gold trading business called Shwe Nan Daw [Golden Palace] in 1994. We worked with my husband's family in this business as they supported us. Q: Why did you choose to become a business woman and not a medical doctor, as you've been trained to? A: At that time, my husband is a doctor too, but his mother wants us to stay near her as she was not in good health. So, we can’t go to rural areas to work as medical doctors. Then we become businesses people. I agree that most people believe that a medical doctor should serve his field, but depending on the situation, we can do business too. If we don’t become doctors, we can also serve our community as entrepreneurs. For instance, we had only two staffers when we started our gold shops, now we have more than 450 employees. We created a lot of job opportunities within 20 years. The [employees'] lives can improve, while we are also paying taxes regularly to the government. It means we can serve for our country and our community. I also wanted to improve people's health, though I am busy with my business. So, I began working together with my old university friends and we founded the Ananda Myitta Foundation. It provides public health care through a mobile clinic. We've treated about 850 people around the nation. This is part of my social activities. Q: What are the challenges for Burmese women who want to have a career, but who don't have the support of their husband and family? A: I agree that they might have many challenges, as for me I get a lot support from my husband and both our families, so my business life is easier. There might be lots of women who didn’t get this kind of support, so associations are quite important to support such women. That’s why my association is helping such women to share experience and provide them with networking opportunities. As we discussed in the forum, men and women are equal by Burmese law, but men and women are not experiencing equality. It means that we, women, need recognition of our exclusive requirements. We need special rules to support us. For example in India, women have received micro credit from the government. We need such kind of planning here. Q: What is your Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs Association doing to support Burmese women? A: Members of my association mostly have their own business and work for other businesses, so we are sending them to foreign countries for further study. We also provide micro credit to our model village in Kayin Seik in Thanlyin Township [Rangoon Division]. There we have schools, clinics, and we are helping girls from this village too. Q: Do you have any plan to become a woman parliamentarian? A: Actually, I realized that this is the time to get involved in the political field as I have strong finances and good education, among other factors. This is my personal goal as I am now 46 years old. I was under my family's obligations in my childhood, and then I was struggling to build my business while growing up. After becoming a successful business woman, I tried to keep this status. So now, I want to serve my country by using my experience and leadership skills. That’s why I realized that this is a good time to become politically active. Q: What experiences have made you interested in politics? A: I am a native from Moe Gok town in Mandalay region. My family owned many gems mines in past, but under the Burma Socialist Program Party [in the 1960s], all were nationalized. Since then, I realized that a country's government is quite important for us, and that politics is quite important too. I can say that this is the best time [to enter politics] as Burma's society is opening up quickly [due to political reforms]. I thought that I should get involved for some time in the political field, and now is the right time. Q: Were you involved in political activity before? A: Yes, I was in the 1988 uprising. I was a medical student and the school was shut at that time. We were senior students. I went back to my town and participated in student activities there. People in my town had serious feelings about the government as they had to struggle a lot under the past government. I was there too. It was a general strike, I will never forget it. Q: What would you change in the current economic policy if you were a MP? A: Our country is full of natural resources, so the government shouldn’t sell out raw gems to foreign countries while they need money. We should produce value-added goods. It’s important to produce value-added goods, because then we can earn more money and we can have much more related business. Many people can be employed, more income generated. Many people can have opportunities by changing that gems policy. Q: If you enter politics, which party would you join? A: It's too early to say because I have a lot of employees in my business. If I say something, I don’t want to hurt their feelings. But, I have already an idea to get involved with one political party. The post 'We Can Also Serve our Community as Entrepreneurs' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma’s Footballers Defeat Cambodia in SEA Games Opener Posted: 09 Dec 2013 01:44 AM PST Fans of Burma's men's football team cheer on their team at Rangoon's Thuwanna Stadium on Saturday, when they beat Cambodia 3-0. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Crowds of Burmese dressed in their team's red shirts poured into the former capital's Thuwanna Stadium on Saturday to watch the men's football team's opening game in this year's Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the first to be held in Burma. Young men and women, many with Burmese flags on their cheeks, cheered as their team beat Cambodia 3-0 to make a winning start to the group stage of the football competition. At one end of the stadium, a group of highly coordinated supporters waved Burma flags and football scarves, or beat together inflatable batons, all in perfect synchronization. As the match kicked off at about 6:45, loud chants of "Myanmar, Hey! Myanmar, Hey!" started among the hardcore fans and spread around the stadium. No support was visible in the stadium for Cambodia, which produced few chances in the first half. The home side made it look easy, drawing huge cheers as the team came close to scoring in the seventh minute. In just the 18th minute, Burma broke the deadlock with Zaw Min Tun's neat headed goal from a corner. Shortly after the first goal, Burma's Kyaw Ko Ko scored with another header after a well-played cross was delivered from the right. After half time, Cambodia played a little better and created chances. But the Burmese team responded and Kyaw Ko Ko finished off a neat passing move at the far post to score his second goal of the game after 60 minutes. Jubilant celebrations by the players got the crowd going, and the confident-looking Burma team never looked like letting their lead slip. Earlier Saturday, Thailand beat East Timor by 3-1. On Sunday, Vietnam thrashed Brunei 7-0 and Singapore drew 1-1 with Laos. The Burma men's team's next game in SEA Games is against East Timor on Monday night, also at the Thuwanna Stadium. Security was tight at the stadium Saturday night, with a spate of bombings around the country in October raising fears about safety at the SEA Games. Burma is hosting the games for the first time, and it is seen as a key test of the country's ability to organize major events ahead of its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) chairmanship next year. The football match passed without problems, but the crowd was patted down and their bags put through airport scanners on entry to the stadium. The Burmese fans have a reputation for reacting badly when their team concedes goals, so alcohol and even plastic water bottles, which could be thrown onto the pitch, were confiscated. Tickets were sold for 2,000 kyat, or about $2, and sold out well before the game. However, the stadium was not completely full and black-market tickets were on sale outside the gates for about 4,000 kyat. Although a number of SEA Games events have already taken place, an official opening ceremony will be held on Wednesday. Events are taking place predominantly in the capital, Naypyidaw, but also in Rangoon and Mandalay, and Ngwe Saung Beach, where the sailing will take place. The post Burma's Footballers Defeat Cambodia in SEA Games Opener appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thailand Will Help With Any Rohingya Investigation – PM Posted: 08 Dec 2013 10:02 PM PST Rohingya Muslim illegal immigrants pray at a detention center during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand, in July 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Athit Perawongmetha) BANGKOK — Thailand will help the United Nations and the United States with any investigation into the findings of a Reuters report that Thai immigration officials moved Burma refugees into human-trafficking rings, the prime minister said on Saturday. The United Nations and the United States called on Friday for an investigation into the report, published on Thursday and based on a two-month investigation in three countries, that revealed a clandestine policy to remove Rohingya refugees from Thai immigration detention centers and deliver them to human traffickers waiting at sea. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who chairs a government committee on human trafficking, declined to comment on the findings when asked about her reaction. "I cannot comment on the Rohingya issue and reaction as this is the responsibility of the Foreign Ministry to handle," she said in a comment to Reuters, delivered through an aide. "The ministry will liaise with the United States and the U.N. to help with any investigation they need." The Rohingya are stateless Muslims from Burma. Clashes between Rohingya and ethnic Arakanese Buddhists exploded in Burma last year, making 140,000 people homeless, most of them Rohingya. Since then, tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled from Burma by boat and many arrive off southwest Thailand. After being delivered to human traffickers at sea, the Rohingya are transported across southern Thailand and held hostage in camps hidden near the border with Malaysia until relatives pay ransoms to release them, according to the Reuters report. Some are beaten and some are killed. "These allegations need to be investigated urgently," U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan said in a statement. The United States issued a similar call hours later. "We are aware of reports alleging that Thai officials have been involved in selling Rohingya migrants to human traffickers," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. "We urge the Thai government to conduct a serious and transparent investigation into the matter." Sanctions Risk Major General Chatchawal of the Royal Thai Police was quoted in the Reuters report as saying that there was an unofficial policy to deport the Rohingya to Burma. He called this "a natural way or option two". But he said the Rohingya signed statements in which they agree they want to return to Burma. These statements, however, were at times produced in the absence of a Rohingya-language translator, Reuters found. New York-based watchdog group Human Rights Watch criticized Thailand for moving detainees into established smuggling and trafficking rings, and warned Thailand could face a possible downgrade in a U.S. list of the world’s worst enforcers of human-trafficking laws. Such a downgrade would place Thailand, a close U.S. ally and Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, at risk of U.S. sanctions and put it on par with North Korea and Iran among the worst performers in fighting human trafficking. The U.S. State Department is gathering information for its next Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report, due in June. Thailand faces an automatic downgrade to Tier 3, the lowest rank, unless it makes "significant efforts" to improve its record in combating trafficking, the State Department says. The Tier 3 designation could leave Thailand subject to U.S. sanctions. Sek Wannamethee, a spokesman for Thailand’s Foreign Ministry, said earlier that the Rohingya issue was one of several the United States would take into consideration before deciding on Thailand’s grade. Nine people have been arrested in Thailand in relation to Rohingya smuggling in 2013, including two government officials, according to police data. None of the arrests has led to convictions. Thailand prosecuted 27 people for trafficking in 2012, down from 67 the previous year, according to the 2013 TIP Report by the U.S. State Department. The post Thailand Will Help With Any Rohingya Investigation – PM appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Arsenal’s Momentum Halted by Everton; Fulham Wins Posted: 08 Dec 2013 10:12 PM PST Everton's Gerard Deulofeu, left, celebrates scoring during their English Premier League football match against Arsenal at The Emirates in London on Dec. 8, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Andrew Winning) LONDON — Arsenal's Premier League momentum was halted when the Gunners allowed a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Everton on Sunday, while Fulham ended its losing streak by beating Aston Villa to give new manager Rene Meulensteen his first victory. Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals' stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu leveled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. "Not bad to take, ideally wanted seven but at least we've got five," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said about his team's margin. "It gives a little bit of a cushion to play in a serene way against other teams." After Chelsea lost 3-2 at Stoke and Manchester City was held 1-1 at Southampton on Saturday, Arsenal will certainly rue striker Olivier Giroud's shot that hit the crossbar in stoppage time. Seeking their first title since 2004, the Gunners got off to a strong start this season but some critics continue to cast doubts over their title credentials, despite their impressive combination of speed and flair. "As long as we are five points ahead you cannot rule ourselves out even with the best desire," Wenger said. "So let's keep that cushion. It shows you that it will be a tough Premier League and the consistency in the end will be rewarded. The consistency for us is down to us to keep this attitude until the end of the season." Everton followed up their victory at Old Trafford midweek with another impressive performance, playing with determination and a high tempo during the first half to monopolize possession. With Ross Barkley bossing the midfield, Everton was a constant threat on the flanks during the first half but lacked the finishing touch. Failing to produce its usual sharp passing game, Arsenal started playing better in the closing stages of the first half and should have scored with two minutes remaining when referee Howard Webb decided to play the advantage following Gareth Barry's rough tackle on Ozil. But Howard was quick off his line to deny Giroud's effort from close range. The United States goalkeeper was again decisive in the 45th minute to block Aaron Ramsey's attempt from Giroud's assist. Arsenal played with the same intensity after the interval and went ahead after Everton wasted two good chances, as Theo Walcott headed a ball across the goal and Giroud failed to hit it before Ozil fired it into the roof of the net. Everton fought back to equalize after Romelu Lukaku failed to connect with an overhead kick and Deulofeu slotted home from 10 meters, before Giroud almost grabbed the three points with his powerful strike that hit the woodwork. "The performance, I couldn't be happier," said Everton manager after the club remained fifth in the standings, seven points behind Arsenal. "The only bit of criticism is you need to take your chances, in the final third we were not ruthless enough. But I am really, really pleased. The character is really strong." Earlier, Steve Sidwell and Dimitar Berbatov scored first-half goals to give Fulham a 2-0 win over Villa to end a six-game losing streak in the league. The result marked Meulensteen's first win as Fulham manager as his players ended Aston Villa's five-match unbeaten run. The visitors were kept at bay from the start and were never a real threat on a sunny afternoon at Craven Cottage. After a minute's applause for former South African President Nelson Mandela who died Thursday, Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan pushed Berbatov's header onto the bar but was powerless when Sidwell flicked the ball from a tight angle to open the scoring in the 21st minute. Berbatov then calmly scored from the penalty spot for his second league goal this season after Alexander Kacaniklic was fouled by Leandro Bacuna in the box. "I couldn't be more delighted and the players should be delighted with themselves," Meulensteen said. "We were quality going forward in an attacking sense. It's a massive boost. Although we lost, we got the feel good factor back against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday and it was about backing that up with three points today. The fans can see we're back on track." The post Arsenal's Momentum Halted by Everton; Fulham Wins appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

North Korea Says Kim’s Uncle Dismissed For ‘Criminal Acts’ Posted: 08 Dec 2013 09:54 PM PST A couple walks past a television showing a report on Jang Song Thaek, North Korean leaders’ uncle, at a railway station in Seoul December 3, 2013. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to have dismissed a powerful uncle, a man key to his rise to power, from his posts, South Korean lawmakers said on Tuesday, a move that could help consolidate his power base with a younger guard of aides. (Photo: Reuters / Kim Hong-Ji) SEOUL — North Korea announced on Monday the dismissal of Jang Song-thaek, the once powerful uncle of leader Kim Jong-un, for what it described as a string of criminal acts including mismanaging the economy, corruption, womanizing and drug-taking. The sacking of the man regarded as the second most powerful in the secretive state comes after reports in South Korean media that one of his aides had sought asylum in South Korea. The unidentified aide, who managed funds for Jang, was being protected by South Korean officials in a secret location in China, cable news network YTN and the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper said on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Jang was removed from all his posts and expelled from the ruling Workers' Party during a meeting of its politburo on Sunday, the North's official KCNA news agency said. Kim Jong-un attended and "guided" the meeting, it said. "Jang and his followers committed criminal acts baffling imagination and they did tremendous harm to our party and revolution," KCNA said, without saying if Jang had been detained or charged with any crime. The report also did not refer to Jang's aide, whose defection, if confirmed, would be the most serious for North Korea in 15 years. South Korea's National Intelligence Service last week said it believed Jang had been relieved of his posts in November. It also said two of Jang's close associates were executed recently for corruption. The sacking means Pyongyang is undergoing its biggest leadership upheaval since the death in 2011 of former leader Kim Jong-il, the younger Kim's father. Among Jang's senior party and military posts, he was vice chairman of the country's top military body, the National Defense Commission. KCNA listed a series of reasons why Jang was dismissed, including mismanagement of the country's financial system, corruption, womanizing and abusing alcohol and drugs. "Jang pretended to uphold the party and leader but was engrossed in such factional acts [such] as dreaming different dreams and involving himself in double-dealing behind the scene," KCNA said. "Affected by the capitalist way of living, Jang committed irregularities and corruption and led a dissolute and depraved life." Jang is married to Kim's aunt, the daughter of the North's founding leader Kim Il-sung, and was widely considered to be working to ensure his nephew firmly established his grip on power in the past two years. Last week a South Korean official said Jang was likely alive and in no immediate physical danger, as was his wife, Kim Kyong-hui. Experts say Jang's removal will help the younger Kim consolidate his power base with a group of younger aides. Jang had been a prominent fixture in many of the reports and photographs of Kim Jong-un's public activities, but his appearances have tapered off sharply this year and he has not been seen in official media since early November. He has survived previous purges and official displeasure, thanks largely to his sometimes tempestuous marriage to Kim Kyong-hui, but this time was different, said Jeung Young-tae, an expert at South Korea's Institute for National Unification. "Jang is gone and purged. In North Korea, there can be no two suns," Jeung said. YTN said Jang's aide fled to China in late September or early October and that Jang could have been sacked because of this. It said the aide had knowledge of funds belonging to the younger Kim and Kim Jong-il. South Korea's National Intelligence Service had no knowledge of the defection, lawmakers said on Friday after they were briefed by the head of the spy agency. China's Foreign Ministry said it had noted the reports, but did "not understand the situation." US national security officials said the United States was aware of the reports but cannot substantiate them. About 25,000 North Koreans have defected to the South but few of them were highly placed in Pyongyang. The highest-profile defection was Hwang Jang-yop, a Worker's Party ideologue who was the architect of the Juche (self-reliance) ideology of North Korea. He sought asylum in the South in 1997. The post North Korea Says Kim's Uncle Dismissed For 'Criminal Acts' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Singapore Hit by Rare Outbreak of Rioting, 27 Arrested Posted: 08 Dec 2013 09:51 PM PST The burnt shells of vehicles are pictured along Race Course Road following a riot near Singapore's Little India district on Dec. 9, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) SINGAPORE — A crowd of around 400 people set fire to vehicles and clashed with police in the Indian district of Singapore late on Sunday after a man was hit and killed by a bus, the first major riot in the city-state for more than 40 years. Police said they had arrested 27 suspects after the riot, which started after a private bus hit and killed a 33-year-old Indian national in the Little India area. The riot is likely to fuel concerns about discontent among low-paid foreign workers. Last year, Singapore saw its biggest outbreak of labor unrest in years when around 170 bus drivers from mainland China went on strike illegally. Several videos posted online showed a crowd of people smashing the windscreen of the bus while the victim remained trapped under the vehicle. Police said the 27 arrested were of South Asian origin and that they expected to make more arrests in coming days. About 300 officers were sent on to the streets to quell the riot. A statement by the Civil Defense Force (CDF), which oversees ambulances and fire fighting, said rescuers trying to remove the body had "projectiles" thrown at them when they arrived on the scene. Footage showed police cars being flipped over and several vehicles on fire. The CDF said an ambulance, three police cars and a motorbike were burnt. The Singapore Police Force said the violence started following the bus accident. "Shortly after, a riot broke out involving a crowd of about 400 subjects," it said in a statement, adding that around 10 police officers were injured. Singapore Police Force Commissioner Ng Joo Hee said: "As far as we know now, there was no Singaporean involved in the riot." "The unwanted violence, rioting, destruction of property, fighting the police, is not the Singapore way," Ng said. Little India is usually packed with people on Sundays, with many construction workers from Bangladesh and India gathering there to spend their day off. Singapore has not seen a riot of this scale since 1969, when Chinese and Malay residents clashed violently. The country has tough laws on rioting that carry a sentence of up to seven years in prison and possible caning. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in a Facebook post, called the riot a "very grave incident." "Whatever events may have sparked the rioting, there is no excuse for such violent, destructive, and criminal behavior. We will spare no effort to identify the culprits and deal with them with the full force of the law," he wrote. The riots came on the same day that Singapore's ruling political party adopted a new resolution, the first since 1988, about its social aims. The eight-point mission statement from the People's Action Party included a resolve to strengthen the Singaporean identity where people of different races, religions and backgrounds "live harmoniously together, embrace one another as fellow citizens and work together for a better Singapore." Footage on Channel NewsAsia showed several vehicles in flames and debris strewn across Racecourse Road, one of the main thoroughfares in Little India. Many other private cars were reported to have been damaged as well. Police said they had the incident under control within an hour of receiving their first call. The post Singapore Hit by Rare Outbreak of Rioting, 27 Arrested appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Thai PM Calls Snap Election, Protesters Press On Posted: 08 Dec 2013 09:12 PM PST A monk blesses anti-government protesters as they march under a footbridge during a rally in Bangkok Dec. 9, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved Parliament on Monday and called a snap election, but anti-government protest leaders pressed ahead with mass demonstrations seeking to install an unelected body to run Thailand. Protesters have been on the streets of the capital for weeks, clashing with police and vowing to oust Yingluck and eradicate the influence of her self-exiled brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The clashes petered out last week as the nation celebrated the revered king's birthday, but political hostilities are set to resume in earnest. The demonstrations are the latest eruption in nearly a decade of rivalry between forces aligned with the Bangkok-based establishment and those who support Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon who won huge support in the countryside with pro-poor policies. "At this stage, when there are many people opposed to the government from many groups, the best way is to give back the power to the Thai people and hold an election. So the Thai people will decide," Yingluck said in a televised address as thousands of protesters resumed demonstrations across Bangkok. The leader of the anti-government movement, Suthep Thaugsuban, said he would not end his demonstrations and would continue a march to Yingluck's offices at Government House. "Today, we will continue our march to Government House. We have not yet reached our goal. The dissolving of Parliament is not our aim," Suthep, a former deputy prime minister under the previous military-backed government, told Reuters. Police estimated as many as 50,000 people joined protests at different sites in Bangkok. Yingluck's Puea Thai Party won the last election in 2011 by a landslide, enjoying widespread support in the north and northeast, Thailand's poorest regions. The Democrats have not won an election in more than two decades. Suthep, aware that Yingluck would likely win an election if one were called, has been urging the setting-up of a "people's council" of appointed "good people" to replace the government. Yingluck has dismissed the idea as unconstitutional and undemocratic. Underscoring the divide, the pro-establishment opposition Democrat Party said on Sunday all of its members of the House of Representatives would give up their seats because they were unable to work with Yingluck's ruling party. Without the Democrats, the 500-member Lower House will have 347 members. "Going Nowhere" Calling an election will not end Thailand's political deadlock if the Democrats boycott it, says Pavin Chachavalpongpun of Kyoto University's Centre for Southeast Asian Studies. In 2006, amid mass protests, the Democrats refused to contest a snap election called by Thaksin, who was deposed by the military five months later. "This is only a short-term solution because there is no guarantee that the Democrats will come back and play by the rules," says Pavin. "We don't know whether they will boycott the elections or not." "It seems like Thailand is going nowhere," he said. Suthep has told his supporters they have to take back power from what he calls the illegitimate "Thaksin regime" and that they cannot rely on the army to help. The army, which ousted Thaksin in 2006, has said it does not want to get involved though it has tried to mediate. Thaksin fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid a graft conviction but has remained closely involved with his sister's government. The protests were sparked last month by a government bid to introduce an amnesty that would have expunged his conviction. The post Thai PM Calls Snap Election, Protesters Press On appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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