| Burma Suspends All Aid Operations of MSF Posted: 28 Feb 2014 07:35 AM PST  A Rohingya family have a meager meal in a camp for displaced Muslim families near Sittwe in May 2013. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The government has suspended all operations of Médicine Sans Frontièrs (MSF) in Burma following disagreements over the implementation of aid programs in Arakan State, where the group offered vital medical aid to Rohingya Muslims. MSF said in a statement Friday night that it was "deeply shocked by this unilateral decision and extremely concerned about the fate of tens of thousands of patients currently under our care across the country." The President's Office spokesman Ye Htut told The Irrawaddy earlier on Friday that MSF Holland's projects in Arakan State had violated certain conditions of its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government. He said the alleged violations had led to a government decision to refrain from renewing the current MoU, which had expired last year. On Friday afternoon, it seemed that discussions were still ongoing on whether or not MSF operations in other regions could continue, but a MSF statement released around 8 pm said all medical aid operations had come to an end. "Today, for the first time in MSF's history of operations in the country, HIV/AIDS clinics in [Arakan], Shan and Kachin states, as well as [Rangoon] division, were closed and patients were unable to receive the treatment they needed," MSF said. "TB patients were unable to receive their life-saving medicine, including drug-resistant TB patients. This decision by the Union Government will have a devastating impact on the 30,000 HIV/AIDS patients and more than 3,000 TB patients we are currently treating in Myanmar." "In [Arakan] state, MSF was unable to provide primary health care to the tens of thousands of vulnerable people in camps displaced by the ongoing humanitarian crisis or in isolated villages," the group said. "There is no other medical non-government organization that operates at the scale of MSF with the experience and infrastructure to deliver necessary life-saving medical services," the group said. MSF Holland has operated in Burma since 1992 and implements medical aid projects in Arakan, which has suffered from inter-communal violence between Rohingyas and the Buddhist Arakanese majority, and in Shan, Kachin and Karen states, which are affected by ethnic conflict. The US Embassy said on Friday afternoon that it was aware of the reported suspension of MSF operations and voiced concern over the impact on local communities. "The United States encourages the Union Government to continue to work
with the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to
communities in need and to ensure unfettered access for humanitarian
agencies, in accordance with international standards," the embassy said. Ye Htut said he attended meetings in Naypyidaw with Health Ministry officials Friday, where MSF was informed of supposed wrongdoings during aid work in Arakan State. He said MSF had deployed more foreign staff then it was allowed to, had failed to stay impartial and neutral, and had run a medical care clinic for newborns against the wishes of the government. "I told them how they had violated their agreement at a meeting today and … they admitted that they have some weak points," he said, adding that Arakan State authorities and local communities had also urged the central government to halt MSF aid work. "For example, we only allow them to have 19 foreign staff [in Arakan], but we found on the ground that they have 39 persons who were foreigners… and there were many persons who did not have registration to treat patients." Ye Htut went on to claim that MSF "only gave medical treatment to Bengalis," before adding, "We are not against the whole MSF, we are only against some foreigners who working with MSF." Asked if he thought that government decision to halt MSF operations would hurt the international image of the Thein Sein government, Ye Htut said, "I do not think they would take this view because there are many NGOs working in our country. [The international community] will know we did it to those who violated agreements." Burma's government does not recognize the approximately 1 million Rohingyas in northern Arakan State as citizens, and refers to the Muslim group as "Bengalis" to suggest that they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and international human rights say the Rohingyas are subject to a range of grave human rights abuses at the hands of authorities and security forces, while government restrictions on the group, such as travel restrictions, violate basic human rights. Authorities have been accused of colluding with the Arakanese Buddhist communities during bloody clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in 2012, which left almost 200 people dead. About 140,000 people, mostly Rohingyas, fled their homes and have since been forced to live in squalid, crowded camps. Although the government claims that MSF has violated its MoU, the group's current problems seem to be linked to a Jan. 13 incident in Du Chee Yar Tan, a Rohingya village in Maungdaw Township. The UN said it received "credible evidence" to indicate that Arakan villagers and government security forces were involved in an alleged massacre of dozens of Rohingyas. In the wake of the incident, MSF said it had treated 22 patients who were wounded in the supposed attack on Du Chee Yar Tan village. The statement prompted an angry reaction from the government, which accused international media and aid groups of misreporting the events. Burma's government has vehemently denied the killings took place and government investigations claim that Rohingya villagers killed an on-duty police sergeant. Last week, the National Human Rights Commission said that "it was learned from 2 doctors of the MSF that their clinics did not treat any such patients." Ye Htut said MSF had refused to identify the Muslim patients from Du Chee Yar Tan village, adding "They should show to the investigation commission who they treated, but they did not show these persons to us." Additional reporting by Paul Vrieze. The post Burma Suspends All Aid Operations of MSF appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Photo of the week (February 28, 2014) Posted: 28 Feb 2014 04:29 AM PST |
| New Institute to Bring Together Ethnic Groups, Support Peace Process Posted: 28 Feb 2014 04:19 AM PST  Pyidaungsu Institute’s board of directors (from left to right) Htoo Htoo Lay, Khuensai Jaiyen and Salai Lian Hmong Sakhong at the opening ceremony in Chiang Mai on Thursday. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) Ethnic activists have opened a study and research center in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, that will help ethnic armed groups, NGOs and political parties gain a better understanding of Burma's ongoing peace process and support the ethnic groups as they negotiate with the government. The center, called the Pyidaungsu Institute, was opened on Thursday and its director Khuensai Jaiyen said the project would help Burma's ethnic groups come together and share ideas and resources, so that the groups can develop a common approach to the decades-old ethnic conflict. "It is set up to create 'a common voice' for the [upcoming] political dialogue, instead of ethnic groups having different demands in the ceasefire process," he said. President Thein Sein reformist government has signed ceasefires with 14 armed groups in recent years and in the past few months Naypyidaw has been seeking a joint nationwide ceasefire agreement with the armed groups. Such a ceasefire would be followed by a political dialogue between the Bamar-dominated central government and ethnic minority groups who are seeking greater political autonomy for their regions through the formation of a federal union. Signing the nationwide ceasefire has, however, proven elusive so far. Meanwhile the Burma Army continues to engage in clashes with the Kachin and Palaung rebels groups in Kachin and Shan state, where about 100,000 civilians are displaced by conflict. Khuensai Jaiyen, who also is an adviser to the Restoration Council of Shan State, a Shan rebel group, said the Pyidaungsu Institute would help provide the 14 ethnic armed groups develop a shared political vision and present political demands during their negotiations. Salai Lian Hmong Sakhong, a board of directors' member at the institute, said the role of Pyidaungsu Institute was in some ways similar to the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). This group of advisors has been influential in shaping the government's approach to the peace process and provides the government peace negotiations team of Minister Aung Min with information during peace talks. "It seems the ethnics' institute is similar to the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Centre, but they are distinctly different. While the MPC is the driving force for [only the] the government, this institute is not for just one group, we work for all different ethnic groups," he said. The Pyidaungsu Institute, which receives funding support from Norway and Sweden, also plans to open an office in Rangoon this year. Khuensai Jaiyen added that the MPC had officially recognized the Pyidaungsu Institute, although the centers will not share information at this stage of the peace process. The new institute will initially focus on supporting Burma's various ethnic armed groups with information that can be used during the peace process, but it will expand to provide research, training and discussion opportunities to all ethnic students, activists and anyone interested in the peace process. "We work to build up 'relevant and factual information and it is our task to become a service-oriented center," said Salai Lian Hmong Sakhong. Kristine Gould, an adviser for strategic communications at the institute, said, "It is a facility that is impartial and independent. And we welcome anyone who involved in the peace process to come here." "It shifts ownership of peace process. Having a facility that supports you helps legitimize what it is you are doing," she said, adding that the institute would be "extremely helpful for ethnic leaders. I think, in the future, it would also be helpful for the Burma government." Cheery Zauhau, a Chin human rights activist, said the institute was "special" because it will bring together members of different ethnic groups, varying armed groups and political organizations and ethnic non-governmental organizations. The post New Institute to Bring Together Ethnic Groups, Support Peace Process appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Burma Military Returns Land in Irrawaddy Division Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:22 AM PST  Army officials in Pathein Township give a land ownership document to members of a township land management committee, to return the land to its owners after it was confiscated by the military under the former regime. (Photo: Salai Thant Sin / The Irrawaddy) The Burma Army's Southwestern Command (SWC), based in Irrawaddy Division, is beginning to return land plots that were confiscated during the former military regime. "We plan to finish the land transfer process during the first week of March," Capt. Paw Nyein of the SWC head office told The Irrawaddy. "We intend to give back the grabbed land to farmers so they can cultivate in time for the coming rainy season." He said 1,600 acres (650 hectares) of land would be handed back to the previous owners through township land management committees. At least 5,000 acres were seized by the military in Irrawaddy Division under the former regime, according to a report by lawmakers. "We were ordered to check which land we could return and which land we couldn't. We had to examine and submit a list with the amount of land that could be returned," he said. "We now have permission to give this land back to the owners." According to a report filed in March 2013 by Parliament's Farmland Investigation Commission, 5,000 acres in Irrawaddy Division had been seized by the army. Of that, the Ministry of Defense gave about 825 acres to the Irrawaddy Division Assembly, which has since returned this land to the previous owners. The army confiscated more than 247,000 acres of land across the country as of March 2013, according to the parliamentary report. In Irrawaddy Division, land is being returned in several townships, including Bassein, Ngapudaw, Thabaung, Wakema, Pantanaw, Kyaunggon, Einme and Ngwesaung. Army units involved in this return process include No. 10 Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Battalion, No. 11 Communications Battalion, and No. 11 Infantry Battalion. The post Burma Military Returns Land in Irrawaddy Division appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Officials to Test 50-Ton Stone to Dispel Rumors of Jade Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:12 AM PST  A stone estimated to weigh some 50 tons is pictured in Hpakant, Kachin State. It was believed to be jade after it was discovered on Feb. 9, but local authorities now say it is just a rock. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON— A 50-ton stone that was presumed to be jade in Kachin State is likely just a normal rock, but testing will be conducted to confirm its composition, according to the top government official in the state. Kachin Chief Minister La John Ngan Sai said doubts arose after the giant stone broke into pieces when local authorities tried to move it about five days ago. "We're 90 percent sure it's not jade because it cracked," he told The Irrawaddy on Friday. "We will check technically the pieces of stone according to procedure, to be more certain, and after that it will be possible to confirm that it is not jade." The state minister said the broken pieces of stone were being kept at the office for the Ministry of Mines' department of jade in Hpakant Township, and that members of the public could visit to see for themselves that there was no jade. The stone was discovered on Feb. 9 by a small-scale miner in Hpakant Township, which is known for possessing some of the world's best jade. Soldiers and police were deployed to guard the stone, while small-scale miners were banned from working in the area. The government banned mining in the township in 2012, but small-scale miners and hand-pickers have been operating illegally, although they have no legal claim to the jade they discover. The township government office declined to provide updates on the status of the stone when contacted by The Irrawaddy. The ministry's jade department said it was confident the stone was just a rock. "It's not a jade stone. If it was jade, it wouldn't crack easily like that," an official at the ministry's jade department told The Irrawaddy, requesting anonymity. He said that before the stone cracked, the department's research laboratory tested a small sample and found that it was not jade. He added that local residents also recognized that the stone was only a rock after having an opportunity to see the pieces for themselves. In Rangoon, others who had not seen the pieces firsthand were skeptical. "People can't believe—even though they are saying it's not jade—because there has been no transparency. If it is jade, they should use it [the profits] for the public," said Ko Nyi, a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD). The post Officials to Test 50-Ton Stone to Dispel Rumors of Jade appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Thein Sein Helps Launch ‘Road Map’ for Burma Investors Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:34 AM PST  Burma's President Thein Sein poses along with members of his cabinet and the Oxford Business Group at the launch of their report in Naypyidaw on Friday. (Photo: May Kha / The Irrawaddy) NAYPYIDAW — The UK-based Oxford Business Group consultancy and Burma's government launched a report on Friday that aims to demystify Burma's economy and in turn boost foreign investment in the long-isolated nation. The Report: Myanmar 2014 offers a sector by sector analysis of Burma's business landscape and charts the considerable interest that the country's ore and gem reserves are generating among foreign companies. The 200-page report looks at domestic industries including oil and gas, mining, agriculture, energy, finance, and other sectors, and draws its conclusions from interviews with leading political and business representatives including Burma's President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Thein Sein and Union ministers attended the report's launch at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyidaw on Friday. Andrew Jeffreys, the CEO of the Oxford Business Group, said he was optimistic about prospects for the future Burma economy and confident that the report would help foreign investors by providing important and timely information on the country's business landscape. Soe Thane, a Union minister from the President's Office, said the report would provide unrivaled insights to investors, analysts and the wider business community on the current state and future opportunities for the country's economy. "It serves as a road map as the economy continues to evolve with the landscape of our once-isolated nation, showing signs that it will one day return to its former glory," Soe Thane said at the launch ceremony. "I am confident it will help to position Myanmar globally as one of the leading investment destinations and will help stimulate private sector capital inflows into strategic projects," he added. The senior minister said the next five years would be decisive for Burma's economic transformation, with the much talked about country having an opportunity to attract new global corporations as well as small and medium enterprises interested in local opportunities. "The Myanmar Investment Commission plays the role of regulator and gatekeeper of foreign investment to Myanmar, and in the short run, the MIC has placed an emphasis on labor-intensive [industries] in order to create job opportunities," Soe Thane said. The report will be distributed worldwide through the Oxford Business Group at the hefty price of 104£ (US$173), with the group expecting circulation to reach between 70,000 and 100,000 copies. Despite a grand launch ceremony attended by the president, the report itself is light on specific figures and policies, and mainly contains interviews with businesspeople and basic information targeted at investors who may be new to the country. Aung Naing Oo, the director-general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, said he believed that the report would help foreigners hoping to learn more about Burma's recent economic reforms before investing in the country, considered Southeast Asia's last economic frontier. "We have not had adequate communications and logistics capacity to disseminate [information] about our recent economic situation worldwide. We hope that OBG can help us to let FDI [foreign direct investors] know about us," he said. The Oxford Business Group (OBG) is a global research and consultancy firm that publishes economic reports on markets in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Burma is often cited as an appealing investment prospect due to its strategic location as a bridge between Southeast Asia, China and the Indian subcontinent, and its largely untapped wealth of natural resources. Yet investors have appeared reluctant to commit money in recent years, despite Western governments' decision to drop economic sanctions amid reforms in Burma largely lauded by the international community. The country's dilapidated infrastructure is often cited as a primary inhibitor for foreign investors. According to the government, FDI for the 2013-14 fiscal year beginning in April had reached $3.5 billion by the end of February. The post Thein Sein Helps Launch 'Road Map' for Burma Investors appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| The Doubly Disastrous Legacy of Ne Win Posted: 27 Feb 2014 11:06 PM PST Ne Win, Burma's former dictator was a family man who loved playing with his grandchildren. He was also a good employer, who thanked his chef after every meal. And before he passed away, he became a practitioner of Vipassana meditation, devoted to finding inner peace. But what of the public life of this former general once warned protesters that when the army shoots, it shoots to hit? Wasn't he far less compassionate when it came to calls for him to step down from power? That may be true, but on the other hand, there was no mass exodus of Burmese citizens during his 26 years in power. Of course, there were some foreigners (i.e., Indians and Chinese who had spent generations in the country) who were expelled when he nationalized the economy, but that was done for all the right reasons. Likewise, when he cancelled large banknotes, he was just trying to undermine insurgents, not hurt ordinary people. He may have brought the country's economy to its knees, but that was certainly not his intention. If all of this sounds more than a little far-fetched, that's because these are the views of Ne Win's grandsons, as expressed in a new book based on a series of interviews with a local journalist. It should come as no surprise that Ne Win's grandsons (who were recently released from prison, where they were serving a sentence for high treason related to an alleged plot to overthrow the military regime that succeeded their grandfather in power) would want to come to his defense. But unfortunately for them, their efforts to "set the record straight" are not likely to get much sympathy in a nation still bearing the scars of his brutal misrule. Let's be perfectly blunt: Ne Win's decision to set the country on the path of military rule was an unmitigated disaster. He reduced the once prosperous nation to one of the world's poorest, exacerbated ethnic and political divisions by waging all-out war on minorities and dissidents, and deprived generations of Burmese of hope by gutting the country's education system. But even if this new book gets the bigger picture completely wrong, it still provides some interesting behind-the-scenes insights, particularly about Ne Win's relationship with the man who would one day become his worst enemy: Snr-Gen Than Shwe.  Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at aungzaw@irrawaddy.org. According to Aye Ne Win, one of the grandsons, Ne Win handpicked Than Shwe to become vice chief of staff (army) in 1985 after inviting him and another potential military leader (Myint Lwin, who subsequently became minister for construction) to his residence for dinner. Even after 1988, when Ne Win was forced to step down following massive pro-democracy protests, he continued to wield influence over the newly formed State Law and Order Restoration Council. For instance, in the early 1990s, he advised the regime to pick either Gen Maung Aye (who retired as deputy senior-general in 2011) or Lt-Gen Tun Kyi (a former trade minister who was sacked in 1997) to fill a powerful position that had become vacant. As the years passed, however, it became less clear how things stood between Ne Win and his successors, particularly Than Shwe. On weekends, he used to invite Maung Aye, Khin Nyunt (the regime's feared intelligence chief) and other senior leaders to his home (called the "Royal House" in Burmese), but Than Shwe was always absent from these gatherings. "We felt that as he was the head of the ruling council he would be extremely busy. And we didn't want it to seem as if we were trying to influence [the regime]," explained Aye Ne Win, rather unconvincingly. A more likely reason that Ne Win and Than Shwe never seemed to form a personal bond is the fact that the two men came from very different backgrounds. Ne Win came from a middle-class family, studied at Rangoon University until he was expelled for failing his exams, and later became one of the legendary "Thirty Comrades" who established Burma's resistance army with Japanese help during WWII. When he was in power, he was a notorious womanizer who enjoyed gambling and mingling with leaders like Lee Kwan Yew, Suharto and Zhou Enlai in the region and beyond. He loved going to the West and often spent his holidays in Austria, Germany or London, all at government expense. Than Shwe, on the other hand, came from peasant stock. He was born in Kyaukse, a town in Mandalay Division, and is believed to have received at most a 10th-grade education before becoming a postal clerk and then joining the army. He went on to study psychological warfare and believed in Ne Win's "Burmese Way to Socialism," but never placed much value on education: Unlike Ne Win, who sent his children abroad to study, Than Shwe didn't take much interest in educating his own children, much less the millions of others deprived of learning under his rule. A loyal soldier, Than Shwe rose steadily through the ranks, eventually becoming a regional commander in Shan State in the 1980s. At the time, he was still regarded as quite "clean"; it was only much later, once he was firmly entrenched in power, that he earned a reputation for fostering a culture of corruption that surpassed anything witnessed during the Ne Win years. Whatever the reasons for their aloofness from each other, it came as a complete shock to most Burma observers when, in 2002, Than Shwe moved to neutralize the once all-powerful Ne Win clan once and for all. In March of that year, three of Ne Win's grandsons—Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win—and his son-in-law, Aye Zaw Win, were arrested at a Rangoon restaurant for allegedly plotting with a senior army officer to overthrow the ruling regime. As many as 100 civilians and army officers were implicated in the alleged coup plot and were thrown into prison (including family astrologer Aung Pwint Khaung, who in an interview included in the book claimed that in 1998, he successfully extended the life of the ailing Ne Win by four years). Ne Win's son-in-law and grandsons and other chief conspirators were charged with high treason and given life sentences. Ne Win and his favorite daughter, Dr. Sandar Win, were placed under house arrest. According to former Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, the deputy head of military intelligence and Than Shwe loyalist who called a press briefing after the accused coup plotters were taken into custody, the grandsons wanted to seize power on March 27, Burma's Armed Forces Day, but were foiled after Than Shwe was tipped off. But the real plan, Kyaw Win said years later, was to make Khin Nyunt the head of state—a twist in the plot that has never been reported. Was all of this really just Than Shwe's way of taking revenge against Ne Win for never inviting him to his personal residence? Or was it about establishing a new "royal" dynasty—something that the once humble Than Shwe clearly aspired to during his later years in power? In any case, it appears that Burma's new "king" did not have the full backing of his subordinates: It has recently been revealed that Maung Aye, Khin Nyunt and Col Tin Hlaing (then home affairs minister) all refused to sign Than Shwe's order to detain Ne Win. But in the end, the old dictator was placed under house arrest, and it was there that he died on Dec. 5, 2002. In accordance with his wishes, he was cremated within 30 hours of passing away, following a ceremony attended by 20 or 30 close relatives (not including those in prison), and his ashes were scattered in the Rangoon River. That is not the end of this whole sordid tale: In 2004, Khin Nyunt met a similar fate, and he and his family spent most of the next decade under house arrest. Than Shwe, meanwhile, has led a quiet life in his palatial residence in Naypyidaw since his retirement in 2011. In the book, Aye Ne Win and the other two grandsons try to defend their grandfather's legacy by saying that at least it was better than Than Shwe's rule. But in the end, even they have to admit that it was Ne Win who put Than Shwe in power, and by so doing planted the seeds of his own—and the country's—ruin. The post The Doubly Disastrous Legacy of Ne Win appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| US Rights Report Highlights China, Burma Reforms, Abuses Posted: 27 Feb 2014 10:22 PM PST  A US State Department report on Thursday highlighted Burma's amnesties of political prisoners, but said that politically motivated arrests continued as a result of "flawed laws." (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) WASHINGTON — The US State Department noted some positive reforms in Burma and China and other parts of Asia in its annual human rights report released on Thursday but said that serious abuses and severe restrictions on basic freedoms persisted. The report for 2013 said that despite some progress in Burma, conflict-related abuses in ethnic minority areas, politically motivated arrests and widespread discrimination and violence against Muslim populations continued. It said 1,100 political prisoners had been released in Burma, but that politically motivated arrests continued as a result of "flawed laws." "The continuing humanitarian and human rights crisis in Rakhine [Arakan] State remained the most troubling exception and threat to the country's progress during the year," the report said. Minority Muslims in the state have been involved in clashes with security forces as well as Buddhist civilians. In China, while the government had announced the abolition of "Reeducation Through Labor" and relaxed a birth-limitation policy to permit more couples to have two children, it "continued to tighten restrictions on basic freedoms," the report said. "China continued its crackdown on human rights activists, increased repression in ethnic Tibetan and Uighur areas, and continued to severely restrict the freedoms of expression, religion, association, and assembly," it said. During 2013, at least 26 Tibetans had set themselves on fire in protests and at least 100 Uighurs were killed in clashes with security forces "amid reports of increasing economic discrimination and tightened restrictions on religious and cultural practices," the report said. It also highlighted new steps implemented in September to control and censor the Internet and target bloggers. The report said that although Chinese authorities prosecuted a number of cases of abuses of power, particularly involving corruption, such prosecutions were selectively applied and some citizens who promoted efforts to combat corruption were themselves arrested and detained. In Bangladesh, the report said, politically motivated violence, attacks on religious minorities and poor working conditions and labor rights remained serious problems. It also criticized "a flawed and poorly managed electoral process" in Cambodia, which it said disenfranchised a significant number of voters in July national elections. North Korea Situation 'Deplorable' The State Department report said rights conditions in North Korea remained "deplorable," with the government responsible for extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary detention, arrests of political prisoners, and torture. It said a vast network of political prison camps held about 100,000 people, including family members of the accused, in "harsh and life-threatening conditions." The rights situation in Vietnam remained poor, with authorities restricting Internet and press freedoms and the freedom of association. It also persecuted unregistered religious groups, the State Department said. Positive developments in Vietnam included the government's signing of the UN Convention Against Torture, improved engagement with international NGOs, and increased Protestant church registrations, it said. In Afghanistan, where US forces have been fighting an Islamist insurgency for more than a decade, the report said extrajudicial killings by security forces, arbitrary arrest and detention and torture remained problems and pointed to increased "targeted" violence and endemic societal discrimination against women and girls. In Sri Lanka, the government has not made sufficient progress on post-war reconciliation and ensuring justice and accountability for alleged war crimes, the report said. "Ongoing serious human rights problems include disappearances and a lack of accountability for thousands who disappeared in previous years, as well as widespread impunity for a broad range of human rights abuses, such as torture by police and attacks on media institutions and the judiciary," it said. The post US Rights Report Highlights China, Burma Reforms, Abuses appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| China’s Role in Hong Kong Under Spotlight After Attack on Editor Posted: 27 Feb 2014 10:14 PM PST  Journalists and editors from Ming Pao hold up front pages of their newspaper during a protest against violence in Hong Kong on Feb. 27, 2014, after Wednesday's attack on their former chief editor Kevin Lau. (Photo: Reuters / Bobby Yip) HONG KONG — A senior Chinese official on Thursday condemned the daylight stabbing of an influential newspaper editor in Hong Kong in a rare bid by Beijing to address rising public anger over China's perceived interference in the financial hub's affairs. Police have made no arrests nor established any motive for the stabbing of Kevin Lau, a former chief editor of the Ming Pao newspaper, by two men, that left him fighting for his life. Suspicions have spread, however, that powerful individuals from mainland China or pro-Beijing allies opposed to the city's push for full democracy may have had a hand in the attack. Lau's condition stabilized on Thursday and he was able to communicate by writing. His stabbing could cause a backlash against Beijing. Hong Kong, a former British colony that reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, enjoys considerable autonomy and broad freedom of speech as a capitalist hub. It has been locked in a battle with Beijing's leaders to push through reforms that could culminate in a direct election for its leader in 2017. Resentment has surged at attempts by Chinese authorities to tighten their grip on Hong Kong as well as proposals to control which candidates can stand in the 2017 poll. A senior Chinese official in Hong Kong condemned the attack and urged authorities to crack the case swiftly in a highly unusual show of support for a freedom of speech issue amid concerns Beijing propaganda officials have been more aggressively seeking to control the Hong Kong media's discourse on democracy. Typically Chinese officials would not feel compelled to comment on an incident of this nature. "We're closely watching the attack…and strongly condemn the unlawful act of the criminals," said Yang Jian, deputy director of China's representative office in Hong Kong, the Liaison Office. "We firmly support the Hong Kong government to spare no effort, arrest the culprits and punish them in line with the law," he said in remarks broadcast on local television. Beijing's Liaison Office has long been criticized by pro-democracy activists and politicians as the strategic base for China's multi-pronged yet low-profile campaign to influence Hong Kong and promote Beijing's interests in the city. The attack took place days after 6,000 protesters massed outside government headquarters to demand the city's leaders uphold press freedom against perceived intrusions from China. It also followed Lau's replacement by a Malaysian editor with suspected pro-Beijing leanings. That move sparked a newsroom revolt. Some insiders at Ming Pao say recent exposes on assets hidden offshore by China's elite—in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)—could have been a factor in the attack. Martin Lee, a founder of the city's main opposition Democratic Party, said he could not rule out the possibility that political or criminal elements might have staged the attack, thinking they might "do Beijing a favor." "I suppose [some] people think in their own hearts this could have been related to Beijing," Lee said by telephone. "I don't see it unless it is some hot-headed fellow … thinking that what was actually done would be in accordance with the wishes of Beijing." Lee, together with newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai, was the target of a foiled assassination plot in 2008 as he led Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement into a heated election campaign. The United States and European Union expressed concern over the assault and diplomats in Hong Kong said it underscored fears that the city's freedoms were being eroded. "There's been a growing sense that, like the rule of law, they [media freedoms] are vital if Hong Kong is to maintain its role as an international center," said one Western diplomat who declined to be identified. "This case has only highlighted those fears. The Hong Kong government should know the importance of cracking this case, wherever it leads." Journalists were defiant and planned more weekend protests. Around 100 Ming Pao reporters dressed in black gathered outside the paper's headquarters, holding up copies of Thursday's edition carrying a black masthead. Its owners raised the reward for information on the case from HK$1 million (US$130,000) to HK$3 million. "No matter how great a challenge it is, we Ming Pao staff will not stand back, we will speak out for what is important," said Sin Wan-kei, a spokeswoman for the Ming Pao Staff Concern Group. Additional reporting by Grace Li. The post China's Role in Hong Kong Under Spotlight After Attack on Editor appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Seoul: North Korea Fired Short-Range Missiles Into Sea Posted: 27 Feb 2014 10:06 PM PST  North Korea’s artillery sub-units, whose mission is to strike Daeyeonpyeong island and Baengnyeong island of South Korea, conduct a live shell firing drill on March 14, 2013. (Photo: KCNA via Reuters) SEOUL— South Korea confirmed Friday that rival North Korea fired four short-range Scud missiles into the sea a day earlier in an apparent attempt to protest against ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises that Pyongyang calls a rehearsal for invasion. The launches, however, weren’t expected to raise tensions as North Korea routinely tests short-range missiles and it has recently sought better ties with South Korea in what outside analysts say is an attempt to win badly needed foreign investment and aid. The rival Koreas this month held their first reunions of Korean War-divided families in more than three years. Four projectiles with a range of more than 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) landed off the North’s eastern coast on Thursday, and South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters Friday that an analysis of their speed and trajectory showed they were Scud missiles. Defense officials also confirmed reports that North Korea fired four other short-range KN-02 missiles with a range of about 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the east coast one week ago. Kim said South Korean officials didn’t disclose last Friday’s launches because North Korea frequently test-launches missiles with a range of less than 100 kilometers. But Kim said Scud-series missiles, which are capable of hitting all of South Korea, are a security treat and Thursday’s Scud launches were the first of that kind since 2009. He said there are no signs that North Korea is preparing for additional missile launches. Analysts said the launches were largely aimed at protesting the South Korea-U.S. military drills that began Monday and won’t be a prelude to a spike in tension between the rival Koreas. "The launches were a test designed to improve its missile capability and also an armed protest against the drills," said analyst Cheong Seong-jang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. "But we already know (they have Scud missiles) … We also have such a level of missiles. The launches didn’t have special meaning." Last year, North Korea furiously reacted to the same South Korean-U.S. military drills by issuing a torrent of fiery rhetoric and threats to launch nuclear missiles against Seoul and Washington. Last year’s drills came after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test. The U.S. took the unusual step of sending nuclear-capable bombers in a show of its resolve to protect its ally. North Korea hasn’t issued any harsh rhetoric against the current drills after their start. Seoul and Washington have said the annual drills are defensive in nature. Pyongyang earlier threatened to scrap the arrangement for the family reunions in anger over the drills but later allowed them to proceed after high-level talks with Seoul. Earlier Thursday, North Korea presented to the media a South Korean missionary who it says was arrested last year for allegedly trying to establish underground Christian churches in the country. South Korea urged North Korea to quickly release him. The Korean Peninsula officially remains at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea to deter potential aggression from North Korea. The post Seoul: North Korea Fired Short-Range Missiles Into Sea appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
| Cambodia Vies for 1st Oscar With ‘Missing Picture’ Posted: 27 Feb 2014 09:55 PM PST  Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh sits in a hotel in Phnom Penh on Feb. 16, 2014. (Photo: Reuters / Samrang Pring) PHNOM PENH — The office of Cambodia's most celebrated filmmaker is filled with books on the Khmer Rouge. On his desk, on the walls, in the filing cabinets and in every corner of Rithy Panh's dimly lit office are memories of his country's greatest tragedy. Probing the painful past started as a coping mechanism for Panh and evolved into a career. For the past two and a half decades, Panh has made movies that he considers his duty as a survivor, and his debt to the dead. His latest, "The Missing Picture," is the first time he has focused on his own story of loss and tormented survival. It's also the first Cambodian film to be nominated for an Academy Award, and could win Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars this weekend. The 51-year-old filmmaker said he makes movies because "I had to find a way to work with my memories." "When you survive a genocide, it's like you've been radiated by a nuclear bomb," Panh said during an interview at his Phnom Penh office, which is inside a film preservation center that he runs. "It's like you've been killed once already, and you come back with death inside of you." Many of Pahn's movies have been documentaries that have earned critical acclaim but limited commercial success. He has interviewed the regime's former torturers, prison guards and survivors as part of his conviction that Cambodia must face its past to build a better future. "The Missing Picture" is a poetic and highly original film in which the starring roles are played by static clay figures. It may be his most celebrated work yet: Even before the historic Oscar nomination, it won the top prize in the "Un Certain Regard" competition at last year's Cannes Film Festival, an award for especially creative or thought-provoking films. The nomination itself is a victory for Panh and for Cambodia, where a film industry is only now re-emerging after Pol Pot's reign of terror from 1975 to 1979. "I don't have the impression of going to Los Angeles all alone," said Panh, describing himself as brimming with "enormous pride" a few days before leaving for Hollywood. "I feel like I'm going with my whole country." The Khmer Rouge era left more than 1.7 million people dead, mostly from starvation, medical neglect, slave-like working conditions and execution. The regime executed artists, writers and filmmakers as part of its Maoist vision to eliminate the educated elite and transform the country into an agrarian utopia. Panh was 13 when Pol Pot's army entered Phnom Penh, the capital, on April 17, 1975. It emptied the cities, shut schools and hospitals and forced the entire population to labor in the countryside. During the four-year genocide, Panh watched his parents, his sisters and several young nieces and nephews die of illness and hunger. After the regime fell in 1979, Panh fled to Thailand and then took refuge in Paris, a place that remains for him "a kind of womb," a city at the right distance from his haunted memories that nurtured his intellect. It was there he discovered his passion for making movies and studied filmmaking. Most of his films, including "The Missing Picture," are joint French-Cambodian productions. After a decade abroad, Panh returned home to start making movies with the unique perspective of both an insider and an outsider, say those who have studied his work. "Rithy Panh has a special way of looking straight back into the nightmare," said Thai filmmaker and movie critic Kong Rithdee. "He looks back and remains very calm and honest about the subject matter. He never rushes to judge." Kong calls "The Missing Picture" one of the most memorable movies ever made about the Khmer Rouge era. "You hardly sense any anger," Kong said. "As the viewer, you feel angry, but the film doesn't feel angry." The film, based on Panh's 2012 memoir, "The Elimination," intertwines Cambodia's national nightmare with Panh's personal story. It mixes archival video footage, Khmer Rouge propaganda clips and a first-person narration in French. To represent his deceased relatives, Panh used hundreds of carefully carved clay figures—an idea that came to him only after he started filming. After initially struggling to find a way to portray people and places that no longer exist, Panh discovered that one of his set designers could sculpt brilliantly with clay. "I saw something pure in it," he said. "We all come from dust and earth. And after the filming my characters returned to the earth and dust. I found that idea to be beautiful." The title "The Missing Picture" was partly inspired by Panh's search for a photograph of an execution that a Khmer Rouge guard once told him about. "The missing picture—maybe it's the images of genocide that don't exist. Maybe they're lost, maybe they're buried somewhere, maybe someone hid them," said Panh. "What interested me was the search for this image, which is what led me to tell the story." The title also refers to a more personal picture he will never get to see. "It's the one that I miss the most. It's to see my parents get older, to be able to share time with them now, to help them, to love them, to give them back what they gave me," he said, lowering his voice. "I would prefer to have my parents with me than to make movies about the Khmer Rouge." The post Cambodia Vies for 1st Oscar With 'Missing Picture' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
