The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Rangoon Labor Strike Continues on Small Scale Amid Rising Tension
- Avoid Antagonizing, Election Chief Tells Ethnic Alliance
- More Questions than Answers in Kokang Dilemma
- Fighting Spreads Through Northern Shan State, Displacing Hundreds of Civilians
- Health Ministry Slaps Ban on 73 Drinking Water Brands
- Irrawaddy Dolphin Survey Shows Continued Population Decline
- Mogok Residents Protest Against Gems Traders’ Building Planned on Lake
- Japanese Media Self-Censorship Growing under Abe’s Reign
- Indonesia Says Executions Won’t Be Delayed Despite Mercy Pleas
- Cambodia PM Says Work on Mega-Dam Will Not Start Until 2018
- Kokang Leader Denies Chinese Citizens Fighting With Him
- In Pictures: Life on the Other Side of the Tracks
| Rangoon Labor Strike Continues on Small Scale Amid Rising Tension Posted: 25 Feb 2015 07:36 AM PST  Protesting garment workers rest at their protest camp outside the E-Land Myanmar factory in Rangoon's Shwepyithar Industrial Zone. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — All garment factories that have been at the center of a long-running strike have reopened, but about 100 laborers continued to protest on Wednesday to demand a pay rise, a labor activist said. Labor union leaders called on factory owners, the government and laborers to come to the negotiating table to resolve the stand-off, which has become increasingly tense. The Labor Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday warning of legal actions against protestors, while several laborers were arrested in recent days. Naing Lin Aung, coordinator for Myanmar Trade Unions Federation (MTUF) at Rangoon's Shwepyithar Industrial Zone, said some 100 workers were continuing their protests on Wednesday, although their numbers had shrunk in recent days. "Among the protesting workers, some are still protesting, some have gone back to work, some have gone home, and some are somewhere else," he said. On Feb. 2, about 2,000 employees of the E-Land Myanmar, COSTEC and Ford Glory garment factories stopped work to demand a raise in monthly wages to 80,000 kyats [US$78], up from 50,000 kyats. The factories, which are owned by Chinese and South Korean firms, according to the workers, rejected the demands and offered 62,000 kyats. Aung Lin, chairman of MTUF, on Wednesday called on laborers, employers and government to resolve the dispute, but said the demonstrators had taken to the streets too soon as the Labor Dispute Tribunal was still reviewing the dispute. A protestor employed at E-Land Myanmar, who asked not to be named, said the remaining workers wanted to continue to strike and were operating independently from the labor unions. "Our salary is low. We, with our own will, started to protest. We did the camp ourselves," he said, adding that E-Land Myanmar workers had only received small pay rises after organizing several strikes in recent years. Four rounds of negotiations between government, employer and employee representatives failed to produce an agreement in recent weeks and laborers declined to attend a planned meeting this week after the arrest of one protest leader last week. Naing Lin Aung, the MTUF coordinator, said he heard protest organizer Myo Min Min and a demonstrator named Naing Htay Lwin had been apprehended on Feb. 21, while Naing Zaw, a worker from COSTEC, was arrested at his home in Hlaing Thar Yar Township on Tuesday. The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security said in a statement published in state media on Monday that it would continue to try and broker an agreement between employers and laborers, but warned authorities would take legal action against those who continue to protests and "harm peace and rule of law," or incite unrest. A Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association statement published in state media said the workers were disrupting factory operations and claimed the laborers' actions were "unlawful." It said that if the factories were forced to shut down because of a protracted strike, employers would have no responsibility to compensate workers for loss of income. When Irrawaddy reporters visited the protest on Tuesday the atmosphere was tense and protestors said they were weary of journalists as Special Branch police had pretended to be members of the media to query them. Men in plain clothes appeared to be monitoring protestors and journalists covering the event. Shortly after a foreign Irrawaddy photographer arrived, Immigration Department officials appeared and demanded to see his visa. A middle-aged Burmese man identifying himself as Ni Ni took photos of reporters on Tuesday and claimed to be a journalist with Kamayut Media. The office of the local news outlet later told The Irrawaddy that they employed no reporter by that name. The post Rangoon Labor Strike Continues on Small Scale Amid Rising Tension appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | ||||||||||||||||
| Avoid Antagonizing, Election Chief Tells Ethnic Alliance Posted: 25 Feb 2015 07:28 AM PST  Tin Aye, chairman of Burma's Union Election Commission, speaks during a meeting in Pathein, Irrawaddy Division, in April 2014. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The chairman of Burma's Union Election Commission (UEC) has warned an alliance of ethnic political parties not to butt heads with the government, after the group released a statement backing student protesters in their push to amend the National Education Law. The United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) released its statement of support on Feb. 19 following a three-day UNA conference in Rangoon involving seven of the alliance's eight political parties, eight ethnic armed groups, seven civil society organizations and 18 non-UNA political parties. In its statement, the alliance urged the government to immediately implement the student protesters' demands for 11 amendments to the National Education Law, changes that the government has agreed to in principle. The statement also urged the government not to use violence to disperse student protestors who have been marching to Rangoon from Mandalay since Jan. 20. The students have vowed to march to Rangoon regardless of whether their demands are met, while the government has warned that it will take "actions in accordance with the law" if the students attempt to enter the city. Protestors have temporarily suspended their march in Letpadan, Pegu Division, about 85 miles northwest of Rangoon, and have said they will continue the walk on March 1. The UEC chairman, Tin Aye, met with the UNA on Monday in Rangoon. "The chairman told us he called [the meeting] to tell the UNA and its allied parties that our approach should not go against the government's approach—which is going gently and peacefully—and not to oppose that approach," said Aye Thar Aung, leader of the Arakan National Party (ANP), who attended the meeting. He said the chairman told the UNA representatives that political parties should cooperate with the government to resolve some of the country's numerous problems, from land and labor rights to the student protests and a contentious debate over voting rights for non-citizens. The government, Tin Aye was quoted as saying, is doing its best to address the issues. Aye Thar Aung said the commission chairman inquired about the aim and outcomes of the UNA-led conference held from Feb. 17-19. "The conference was the second time. We held the first conference last year in December. After the first, the commission didn't call us to ask about it. But this time, I think they focused on communicating [their concerns] about the students' protest over the National Education Law," he said. "The chairman said the student issue is quite sensitive and so to handle it with the great care." This week's remarks are not the first time the UEC chairman has attempted to discourage dissenting voices: They come about two months after he controversially warned that "instability" in Burma could see the military stage another coup. And in May 2014, the UEC claimed that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) were violating her oath as a parliamentarian and contravening constitutional rules for political parties by "challenging the army" in pushing for amendments to the Constitution. The national elections, slated for late October or early November of this year, are seen as a major barometer of the country's democratic reforms and Tin Aye's handling of the vote has come in for extra scrutiny due to his former ties to the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The former general and ex-USDP lawmaker officially renounced his party affiliation after he was appointed to the UEC post by President Thein Sein in 2011. Ko Ko, chairman of Rangoon's UEC chapter, said the commission this week was simply seeking to "remind" the UNA to abide by the law as elections approach. "The UNA held the meeting and released a statement a few days ago. We don't blame them for holding their meeting. But we have a duty to remind, so we called them and told them to respect and follow the Election Law and the Political Parties Registration Law," said Ko Ko, who also attended Monday's meeting. Additional reporting by Khin Oo Tha and Zue Zue. The post Avoid Antagonizing, Election Chief Tells Ethnic Alliance appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | ||||||||||||||||
| More Questions than Answers in Kokang Dilemma Posted: 25 Feb 2015 07:15 AM PST  A woman walks with her belongings down an otherwise deserted street in Laukkai earlier this month. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) After more than two weeks of intense fighting between Kokang rebels and the Burma Army around Laukkai, a number of questions remain unanswered. The first is what bearing the conflict will have on the country's peace process, with the government ostensibly still hoping to conclude a nationwide ceasefire agreement before the 2015 general election. Renewed doubts have been expressed about the likelihood of a peace accord being reached—this time, from within the senior echelons of the Burma Army itself. Last week, Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Wai Lwin told Radio Free Asia that recent fighting in the Kokang Special Zone could "damage Myanmar’s democratic reform and peacemaking process." "As the nation has grown increasingly unstable [due to the fighting], the general election could be thrown into chaos," he said. The second question is whether the conflict will alter the public's view of the Burma Army. Last week President Thein Sein and Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing visited wounded soldiers and vowed to continue to ensure Burma's "territorial integrity". Later the Burma Army held a ceremony in Lashio to honor and bury the soldiers killed in Laukkai earlier this month, generating an outpouring of public sympathy and support. The fierce clashes near the Chinese border, according to some army commanders on the frontline, is going to be a long battle, and they have admitted that the Kokang troops are better equipped than during previous clashes in 2009. The third question is how the Kokang fighters were able to catch the Burma Army off guard for long enough to press their claim in Laukkai. The National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) was well prepared for their Feb. 9 offensive, inconspicuously taking residence in town months before the conflict began, and according to on the ground reports, the recipients of ammunition and support from other rebel armies in the region. Army officers on the frontline said that they were countering different kinds of guerrilla warfare in urban areas, with MNDAA troops attempting to draw the opposing side into rural areas, where the rebel forces have bases and a superior knowledge of the terrain. They also said that initial intelligence suggested the rebel forces had been planning to take over Lashio, before coming to the conclusion that they did not have the capacity to overrun a town of that size. Throughout the conflict, there has been speculation that other ethnic armed groups have been supporting the MNDAA, raising the possibility that the recent attack is, in part, a retaliatory move against the Burma Army's shelling of a Kachin Independence Army training camp last November. A total of 23 cadets were killed during the artillery attack, drawn from groups as diverse as the All Burma Students' Democratic Front, Arakan Army, Chin National Front and Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and four Kachin commanders were injured. Many of these groups are active around northern Shan State, and the Burma Army believes many are party to the recent offensive. As infantry divisions were called in to contain the spread of the insurgency along the roads between Laukkai and Lashio, some editorials in Rangoon-based journals asked whether the Burma Army had underestimated the rebels, questioning whether it had the skills to successfully prosecute an urban counterinsurgency. In 2009, the Burma Army faced little resistance when it drove MNDAA leader Peng Jiasheng from Laukkai, shutting down his arms factory and drug business in the process. It was believed at the time that the move was retaliation for Peng—who had hitherto maintained two decades of cordial relations with the government—refusing to cede his troops to the government's Border Guard Force. Peng, who is now aged in his mid-80s, fled to Wa territory after the 2009 skirmish to regroup his army. It has been suggested by the government that the MNDAA received ammunition and support from the United Wa State Army (UWSA) during the recent attack, a claim the UWSA denies. Whether or not this was the case, it certainly seems that the Kokang were well prepared for this offensive. For instance, on the night of Feb. 15, rebels drove dozens of vehicles into Laukkai, managing to kill a number of Burma Army officers and soldiers in a surprise attack by utilizing sniper rifles and night vision goggles. After the attack, rebels retreated quickly but a rear guard force remained embedded in the town, killing several more soldiers. Some refugees fleeing the conflict reported seeing rebel soldiers sneaking across the border with China. Which leads to the final question: the extent to which China is implicated in the current conflict. Aung Min, the Burmese government's chief negotiator, said that China was not responsible for the events of the last month, although Lt-Gen Myat Htun Oo also claimed that "Chinese mercenaries" had joined the ranks of the MNDAA. Back in July 2013, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing received Gen. Fan Changlong of the People's Liberation Army, with the pair holding a wide-ranging discussion on cooperation between the two armies, border stability and the eradication of narcotics in the region, according to contemporary reports in state-run newspapers. It is certain they canvassed the lingering issue of the Kokang rebels at the time, but it remains unknown what was discussed. Since the beginning of peace talks between the Burmese government and rebel groups in the north of the country, China has sent officials from both Yunnan and Beijing to observe these meetings. What is certain is China's continued determination to maintain its influence along the Burmese border, where the Burma Army has never been able to establish an uncontested presence. The post More Questions than Answers in Kokang Dilemma appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | ||||||||||||||||
| Fighting Spreads Through Northern Shan State, Displacing Hundreds of Civilians Posted: 25 Feb 2015 04:08 AM PST  Civilians displaced by fighting between the Burma Army and Kokang rebels in Lashio, Shan State, February 2015. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Heavy fighting between the Burma Army and ethnic rebels is continuing in northern Shan State and has spread beyond the Kokang Special Region in recent days, causing hundreds of civilians to flee, rebel officers and aid workers said on Wednesday. Since Feb. 9, fighting has raged in the Kokang area on the Burma-China border. The heaviest clashes took place in and around the region's administrative capital Laukkai until the army established control of the town about a week ago. In recent days, army operations have expanded and targeted rebel positions of the Kokang rebels, also known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in Laukkai Township and areas further north and south in Konyan and Kunlong townships. The TNLA and the Arakan Army are allied with the MNDAA. Htun Myat Lin, MNDAA general-secretary, said units of his group clashed with the army in a village called Peng Shwe Shen in Laukkai Township on Tuesday, adding that he heard reports of large army convoys leaving Laukkai town in order to quell resistance in the wider region. "We heard they drove with 40 army trucks out from Laukkai. The truck at the front point and shoot along the roads everywhere," he said. Mai Aike Kyaw, a spokesman for the TNLA, said the ethnic Palaung rebel group had clashed with the army on three occasions in Konyan Township and at Tarmoenye, a sub-township of Kutkhai Township. "They are hunting for our troops. Most clashes broke out in the jungle where our troops are based because they came to attack our bases," he said. State-owned media have reported that from Feb. 9-21 the army lost five senior officers and 54 soldiers in the fighting, while 105 were injured. The army said more rebels were killed, claims that have not been confirmed by the rebels. Aid workers based in northern Shan State said the number of civilians fleeing the spreading fighting was increasing, with daily arrivals of families fleeing south to the towns of Kunlong, Kutkhai and Lashio. "They arrived almost every day; about 200 new IDPs [internally displaced persons] arrived on Feb 23. Then today has 350 people came from Laukkai," said Chit Mee, a school teacher who is assisting a temporary shelter for the displaced set up a Buddhist monastery in Lashio. "We have told some IDPs not to come now, as there is ongoing fighting along the road," she said. A monk at the monastery said there were a total of some 8,000 people staying there. Ko Htay, a volunteer overseeing a camp for the displaced in Kunglong, said some 5,000 people were receiving shelter there. Zau San, an emergency aid coordinator with the Kachin Baptist Convention based in Muse, said clashes between the army and the TNLA had caused about 700 civilians from six villages in Mongkoe sub-township in eastern Muse Township to flee their homes in recent days. "One house in Hpawng Seng Village was shelled by mortar, and fighting broke out nearby the villages. Many villagers ran away for safety. Some people wanted to go home, but still more Burmese Army soldiers are deployed there. Tensions are high and they could not go home," he said. Zau San said many of the displaced had family in China and were trying to cross the border. Many Burmese residents working in the Kokang Region fled earlier this month and the recent spreading of the fighting is now affecting ethnic minority Palaung, Shan and Kachin villagers living in the countryside. During the start of the fighting, the mostly ethnic Chinese minority residents of Laukkai town have fled the region and tens of thousands crossed the border into China, where authorities have been providing shelter. It remains unclear exactly how many civilians have fled into to China and Chinese authorities have released little information about the situation. Unconfirmed media reports have suggested that 100,000 people have fled across the border since Feb. 9. According to provisional results of the 2014 Population Census, Laukkai Township is home to about 95,000 people. The post Fighting Spreads Through Northern Shan State, Displacing Hundreds of Civilians appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | ||||||||||||||||
| Health Ministry Slaps Ban on 73 Drinking Water Brands Posted: 25 Feb 2015 02:48 AM PST  man hauls empty water bottles in downtown Rangoon on Feb. 25. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON— The Ministry of Health's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that scores of drinking water brands across the country will be banned from market shelves. Over the weekend, the ministry released a list of 73 brands that have failed to submit themselves to a quality assessment by the FDA, which will now order manufacturers to cease production. "The public wants to know which drinking water brands have been examined by us and which ones they can drink safely, so we announced the list which don't have a recommendation from us," Dr. Tun Zaw, director of the FDA's Food Safety Department, told The Irrawaddy. "We have already asked the state and divisional FDA committees to prohibit businesses in the list from production." Tun Zaw said that the list was compiled in a countrywide market survey conducted by the FDA at the end of last year. Drinking water manufacturers are required to register their products and agree to inspections by the FDA, which evaluates water quality, factory infrastructure, staff health, and production procedures. "There are over 750 brands in the country which we have inspected and approved," he said, adding that the FDA inspects drinking water factories at least once per year. "To speak frankly, [the banned businesses] didn't agree to inspections because they didn't believe they would pass. If they believed in the quality of their product, they would apply." Irrawaddy Division had the highest number of brands failing to agree to FDA inspections, with 25 manufacturers to be instructed to cease production, followed by Tenasserim Division with 16 and Sagaing Division with 10. Nyi Thway, a member of the Ye Social Society in Southern Mon State, said that the three brands listed in the ministry's announcement were available in local market places but were not widely consumed, based on the products' established reputation. "We know some of them are no good, because the water bottles smelled bad and sometimes had sediment mixed in them," he said. A full list of the drinking water brands flagged by the ministry is below.
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| Irrawaddy Dolphin Survey Shows Continued Population Decline Posted: 25 Feb 2015 02:10 AM PST  An Irrawaddy dolphin swims in the Irrawaddy River outside of Mandalay. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — A count of Irrawaddy dolphins along the river that is their namesake has tallied five fewer dolphins than a similar exercise did last year, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which is working to protect the critically endangered species' dwindling population in Burma. The population survey, which was conducted in early February along the Irrawaddy River between Bhamo in Kachin State and Mingun, Sagaing Division, by the New York-based WCS, found the number of Irrawaddy dolphins had dropped from 63 in January 2014 to 58. "We have to say about five dolphins died in 2014," said Kyaw Hla Thein, a member of the Burma chapter of WCS. "We believe the death toll is higher because the young calves we counted were just about 1 year old." With the survey indicating a continued slide in the population—WCS researchers counted 86 dolphins in early 2012—WCS said it planned to redouble its conservation efforts along the river, which it is undertaking in cooperation with the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries. "We need to boost education programs to the locals to protect the dolphins and not to use life-threatening methods of fishing in the area where the dolphins are living," said Kyaw Hla Thein. In December 2014, two Irrawaddy dolphin calves' carcasses were found near Mingun, and are believed to have died from electro-fishing, an illegal technique that is increasingly used by fishermen on the Irrawaddy River. Another carcass, this one an adult, was found the same month in Sagaing Division near Katha, with injuries indicative of a boat propeller-related death. "The riverbed is getting shallower due to climate change and deforestation on the riverbanks. This is another factor threatening the lives of the dolphins," Kyaw Hla Thein said. "We need to protect nature, and we need the help of people and the government as well. If the population keeps declining like this, these Irrawaddy dolphins will be extinct very soon," he added. A 370 km (230 mile) stretch of the river from Mingun to Kyauk Myaung in Sagaing Division was designated as a wildlife protection zone in 2005. The area has strict measures in place to protect the dolphins, but the rules go largely unenforced. Catching or killing dolphins is prohibited, as is trading in their meat. A ban on electro-fishing and curbs on the types of nets permitted for use by fishermen are also intended to protect the species, which is listed as critically endangered in Burma. The post Irrawaddy Dolphin Survey Shows Continued Population Decline appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | ||||||||||||||||
| Mogok Residents Protest Against Gems Traders’ Building Planned on Lake Posted: 25 Feb 2015 01:24 AM PST  Residents of Mogok protest against a plan by the local gems traders association to construct buildings on a scenic lake on Saturday. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) MOGOK — Hundreds of residents of the ruby mining town of Mogok, in Mandalay Division, have taken to the streets in recent days to protest against a plan by the local gems traders association to construct a head office and several buildings on a scenic lake in the town's center. Residents and environmental activists are objecting to plans by the Mogok Gems Traders Association to build a new headquarters and possibly a gems market, museum and restaurants at the lake shore. The 14-acre lake at the town's heart is a landmark feature of Mogok, which sits at the center of a mining region in northern Mandalay Division long known for its rich deposits of rubies, sapphires and other gemstones. The lake was originally the site of British colonial-era ruby mines, which were filled with water with the passing of time. Residents have opposed the plans since they were first announced late last year and as many as 2,000 residents have been protesting in recent days after construction was set to start this month, said Soe Myint, who leads local environmental protection group Mogok Sein Lan. "This lake is a famous landmark of our city and the public area is also a recreation area for residents. If buildings will be built around the lake, the beauty of city will be ruined and the environment will be destroyed," he told The Irrawaddy. "We know that for our region's development we need this kind of gems traders' association office and gems museum, but we don't want them to construct it in this area," Soe Myint said. "Mogok residents are maintaining this lake and don't want to spoil it. That's why we will have to keep protecting our landmark and environment." The Shan Nationalities Democracy Party, the National Unity Party and other local social volunteers group have also called for a suspension of the planned project. Ba Htay, head of the Mogok Gems Traders Association, declined to comment on the protests against his association's project. "I have nothing to say about this protest," said the businessman, who is also a Lower House lawmaker for the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. U Eindaka, the abbot of Yay Pu Monastery, who participated in the protest, said, "Residents want to stop this construction. What we need is a better solution by the authorities. It doesn't mean people don't want a gems office, they will agree if this office will move to another place." Htet Naing, a Mogok-based writer organizing the demonstration, said, "We won't stop our protest as long as there is no solution to move this project." Local authorities said they did not authorize the ongoing protests but would not pursuit legal charges against those participating. The post Mogok Residents Protest Against Gems Traders' Building Planned on Lake appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | ||||||||||||||||
| Japanese Media Self-Censorship Growing under Abe’s Reign Posted: 24 Feb 2015 09:19 PM PST  Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (center) campaigning in Tokyo last December. (Photo: Yuya Shino / Reuters) TOKYO — Worries are growing in Japan about a trend of media self-censorship as journalists and experts say news organisations are toning down criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government for fear of sparking ire and losing access to sources. No one is accusing Abe’s administration of overt meddling in specific news coverage, but media insiders and analysts say the government’s message is getting through. "The media did, in recent years, play a much more positive role in…making people in power squirm. In the Abe era, they have begun pulling back," said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University’s Japan campus. "There is a chilling atmosphere that encourages media organisations to exercise self-restraint." The conservative Abe, who returned to office in 2012, had fraught media ties during his first term, which ended when he quit in 2007 after a year of scandals and ill health. This time, Abe wants to avoid the same mistake, experts say. His appointee as chairman of NHK public television, Katsuto Momii, raised doubts about the respected broadcaster’s independence when he told his first news conference in early 2014: "We cannot say left when the government says right". Late last year, a ruling party aide to Abe wrote to television broadcasters ahead of an election demanding fair coverage. Many journalists took the letter as a signal they should dampen criticism or risk losing access to officials. "There have been cases of media self-restraint in the past, but they usually involved the imperial family, or, as after the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, when media adopted a sober tone," said Shinichi Hisadome, a foreign news editor at the Tokyo Shimbun, a feisty metropolitan daily regarded in media circles as less submissive than national media. "I think this is the first time that criticism of the government itself has been so restrained," Hisadome said. Experts say the result is a far friendlier tone toward the government even among media that previously were critical. "Criticism of the government has dropped sharply," said Kozo Nagata, a former NHK producer and now a professor of media studies at Musashi University. In one example of the climate, a producer of TV Asahi’s Hodo Station, a nightly news show known for not pulling punches, will be shifted to a new post from April because she would not heed internal warnings not to criticise Abe’s government, two sources familiar with the matter said. An outspoken guest commentator will also be replaced, the sources said. Former trade ministry official Shigeaki Koga, who sparked a flap last month by criticizing Abe over a hostage crisis that ended with the killing of two Japanese captives by Islamic State militants, told Reuters he had been told he would not be asked to appear as a guest on the show after March. TV Asahi told Reuters nothing had been decided regarding personnel or guest commentators. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Tuesday the government fully respected press freedom. Referring to criticism of Abe on television over the hostage crisis that he said misrepresented facts, he added: "Seeing that, don’t you think freedom truly is guaranteed in Japan?" Journalists and experts, though, say the trend toward self-censorship has worsened since the hostage crisis. Nearly 3,000 people including journalists and scholars signed a statement this month raising concern about freedom of expression. "We’ve reached the stage where even without the government doing anything, mass media produce articles that cozy up to authorities or refrain from criticism," Koga said. "The public is not getting the right information to make decisions." The post Japanese Media Self-Censorship Growing under Abe's Reign appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | ||||||||||||||||
| Indonesia Says Executions Won’t Be Delayed Despite Mercy Pleas Posted: 24 Feb 2015 09:15 PM PST  Indonesian President Joko Widodo, right, speaks to journalists as Indonesia's Ambassador to Brazil Toto Riyanto looks on after a meeting to discuss the delay in Brazil's acceptance of the ambassador's credentials, in Jakarta on Feb. 24, 2015. (Photo: Reuters / Antara) JAKARTA — Indonesia's president said on Tuesday the planned execution of 11 convicts on death row, most on drugs charges, would not be delayed, warning foreign countries not to intervene in his government's right to use capital punishment. President Joko Widodo has denied clemency to the convicts despite repeated pleas from Australia, Brazil and France, who have citizens due to be executed by firing squad. "The first thing I need to say firmly is that there shouldn't be any intervention towards the death penalty because it is our sovereign right to exercise our law," Widodo told reporters. He said he took calls from the leaders of France, Brazil and the Netherlands about the death penalty but made no mention of Australia. Two Australians are among the 11 on death row. The president did not say when the executions would be carried out. Indonesia has harsh penalties for drug trafficking and resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap. Shortly before Widodo spoke, a court in Jakarta threw out an appeal by the two Australians against Widodo's rejection of their request for presidential clemency. "We plan to appeal today's court decision. We have two weeks to file an appeal," said Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer for the two men. "If the law is respected, the execution should be postponed until the legal process is over." Australia has been pursuing an eleventh-hour campaign to save the lives of Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, two members of the so-called Bali Nine group of Australians, convicted in 2005 as the ringleaders of a plot to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia. Other members of the group have been sentenced to long prison terms. Australia, which has long had rocky relations with its northern neighbour, has said it would consider recalling its ambassador to Indonesia in protest if the executions are carried out. Brazil and the Netherlands have already withdrawn their ambassadors after Indonesia executed their citizens on drug offences last month. Brazil took the further step of refusing to allow Indonesia's new ambassador to take part in a credentials ceremony, prompting the Southeast Asian country to recall him in protest. Indonesia was also re-evaluating the purchase of fighter jets and rocket launchers from Brazil because of the row, its Defence Ministry said. Trade has yet to be significantly affected by the dispute. Australia is a major trading partner of Indonesia, totalling $10.64 billion in bilateral exchanges last year. Indonesia is Australia's largest export market for both live cattle and wheat, and a major buyer of its crude petroleum, aluminium and cotton. Trade between Indonesia and Brazil totalled $4.07 billion last year, according to Bank Indonesia. Indonesia's largest trading partner is China with $48 billion between the two countries. The post Indonesia Says Executions Won't Be Delayed Despite Mercy Pleas appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | ||||||||||||||||
| Cambodia PM Says Work on Mega-Dam Will Not Start Until 2018 Posted: 24 Feb 2015 09:11 PM PST  Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen attends the plenary session of the 25th Asean Summit at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyidaw on Nov. 12, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) PHNOM PENH — Construction of a massive dam in southwestern Cambodia will not start until at least 2018, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday, in an apparent effort to stop heavy opposition to the project that has focused criticism on him. Hun Sen's comments came a day after Spanish activist Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, who had campaigned against the dam, was deported for overstaying his visa. "From now until 2018, there will be no permission to build [the dam]," said Hun Sen, whose mandate as prime minister ends in 2018. "Now I beg you to stop talking about it." Gonzalez-Davidson was a cofounder of nongovernmental group called Mother Nature, which has vocally opposed construction of the hydropower dam in southwestern Cambodia's Koh Kong province. Cambodia has signed a deal to build the mega-dam with China's state-owned Sinohydro, but both sides have said more studies were needed before any construction begins. The project, one of several dams being built by Chinese companies in Cambodia, sparked strong disapproval from the political opposition and environmental groups. In September, Gonzalez-Davidson led a protest that briefly blocked a government convoy from driving to the proposed site of the dam, in the Areng Valley of the Cardamom Mountains. Environmental groups say the dam would destroy the natural habitat across a vast expanse of one of Southeast Asia's last great wilderness areas, which contains some of Cambodia's most profuse wildlife, including the world's largest population of almost extinct Siamese crocodiles. Gonzalez-Davidson's visa expired Friday and the government refused to extend or renew it. On Monday, Hun Sen publicly appealed to Gonzalez-Davidson to leave the country and he was deported Monday evening. "His visa had expired and he refused to leave Cambodia as ordered from the ministry, therefore we had no choice but to deport him," said Gen. Khieu Sopheak, an Interior Ministry spokesman. Without naming the activist, Hun Sen said Tuesday that foreigners should not give advice to Cambodia on forest conservation or the construction of dams. The post Cambodia PM Says Work on Mega-Dam Will Not Start Until 2018 appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | ||||||||||||||||
| Kokang Leader Denies Chinese Citizens Fighting With Him Posted: 24 Feb 2015 08:37 PM PST
 Kokang leader Peng Jiasheng poses for a photograph with Kokang children at a festival around 2009. (Photo: www. kokang.net) BEIJING — The ethnic Chinese leader of a group of Burma rebels which has been engaged in renewed fighting with the government has denied in an interview with a Chinese paper that he has been receiving any help from Chinese citizens or mercenaries. Burma has accused Chinese mercenaries of fighting with the rebels, and has urged China to cooperate with Burma to prevent "terrorist attacks" being launched from Chinese territory. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) emerged from the remnants of the Communist Party of Burma, a powerful Chinese-backed guerrilla force that battled the Burma government before splintering in 1989. Led by ethnic Chinese commander Peng Jiasheng, the MNDAA struck a truce with the government which lasted until 2009, when government troops took over their Kokang region in a conflict that pushed tens of thousands of refugees into China. Peng's recent return is seen at the root of the new fighting. Speaking to the Global Times, an influential Chinese tabloid published by the official People's Daily, Peng said that there was no Chinese involvement. "Since the 2009 incident, the Kokang side has strictly forbidden Chinese citizens from entering Kokang to join the MNDAA," Peng said in a telephone interview published on Wednesday. "We will not accept Chinese citizens participating in armed actions as this is only harmful to us," he added. "What's most important is that as soon as Chinese law enforcement agencies discover that on our side there are Chinese citizens joining battle, they would give us enormous pressure. So our principle is not to allow Chinese citizens to fight." Burmese President Thein Sein declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law this month in the region after more than 70 people were killed in fighting between the army and the rebels. The conflict is a setback for Burma's semi-civilian government, which took power in 2011 after 49 years of military rule and is seeking to end hostilities with the many groups that have taken up arms since independence in 1948. Fighting broke out on Feb. 9 between the army and the MNDAA and thousands of civilians have fled the area, either to other areas in Burma or into China. The clashes have alarmed China, which fears an influx of villagers fleeing violence.
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| In Pictures: Life on the Other Side of the Tracks Posted: 24 Feb 2015 04:00 PM PST  A woman sorts through a collection of plastic, tins and glass bottles. (Photo: Timo Jaworr / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A short walk from the southern entrance of the Thiri Myaing railway station, bordered by middle-class apartment buildings and an international school for some of the country's richest families, around 200 households eke out a modest existence in one of Rangoon's countless slums. Stray dogs wander along narrow paths strewn with garbage and around makeshift huts, raised a few feet off the ground to stop their floors from being inundated with dirty water and trash during the long rainy season. Toilets in the neighborhood flood every year, without exception. There are no connections to the city's electrical grid, and only a handful of households can afford to use batteries and generators to light their homes at night. Inhabitants of the Hlaing Township slum came from different corners of the country to Burma's commercial hub in the hope of finding work. Many of the people here do not have fixed employment and depend on irregular day labor at the nearby markets, although residents say that among their number are construction workers and even some government employees. Soe Khine, 40, a father of three school-aged children, migrated to Rangoon from Bago Division, where he could no longer afford to support his family. His home backs onto the bank of a brown stream choked with trash and debris. At the entrance is a bag of empty plastic bottles collected from the waterway. According to his wife, the family used to be able to sell the bottles for 10 kyats [US$0.01] apiece; the recyclers now offer no more than 5 kyats for every two bottles. U Maung Maung Kyi, a 65-year-old migrant from Irrawaddy Division, says the land is owned by a government ministry, and each household in the slum is required to pay a remittance of 1500 kyats [US$1.45] per month. The residents live in makeshift bamboo huts, covered in waterproof plastic sheets to keep out the torrential rain and scorching afternoon sun. Win Nyunt, a trishaw driver and father of five, told The Irrawaddy he was reluctant to spend money on building materials for a more durable structure, fearing that the government could evict the slum dwellers at short notice. "It's a squat. I am worried about having to move to a new environment where the conditions are different. We are like a tree by the side of a river," he said. The post In Pictures: Life on the Other Side of the Tracks appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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