The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Photo of the Week (April 03, 2015)
• Air Mandalay to Return to Skies in May
• Kachin Group Says Its Investigation Could Reveal Killers of Teachers
• ‘I Don’t Think it is Possible to Scrap the Entire System and Build a New One’
• 20 Burmese Feared Dead After Russian Trawler Sinking: Reports
• Rights Activist Back to Insein on Peaceful Assembly Rap
• Lawyers Network to Offer Advice, Representation for Journalists
• Fishermen Rush to Be Rescued Amid Indonesian Slavery Probe
• Three Indian Soldiers Killed in Ambush in Arunachal Pradesh
• Chinese Influence in Cambodia Grows With Army School, Aid
• North Korea Expels Chief of German Food Aid Organization: NGO
• UN Rights Chief Slams Thai Junta’s Use of Repressive Law

Photo of the Week (April 03, 2015) Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:53 AM PDT The post Photo of the Week (April 03, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Air Mandalay to Return to Skies in May Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:39 AM PDT A chartered Air Mandalay plane taxis on the runway at Thandwe Airport in Arakan State on Friday. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) Locally owned Air Mandalay expects to resume international flights later this year, following a resumption of domestic routes in May, according to Kham Park Pha, chief operations officer for the carrier. The joint venture Air Mandalay suspended all flights in December 2014 due to unmet upgrade requirements and as it waited to receive new planes. Charter flights to some domestic destinations resumed last month. "Scheduled domestic flights will resume on May 1 and we will resume international flights including Chiang Mai, Thailand, at the end of this year," Kham Park Pha told The Irrawaddy on Friday The airline had operated a Chiang Mai-Rangoon route until mid-2014. Air Mandalay is 70 percent privately owned, with the government holding a 30 percent stake. The carrier recently purchased two Embraer ERJ 145 jets to service domestic routes including Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Thandwe, Heho, Tachileik, Dawei, Sittwe, Kyaungtong and Nyaung Oo from May 1. "More aircraft will arrive soon for new scheduled flights. We are happy to reenter the air industry," Kham Park Pha said. Air Mandalay also signed an aircraft purchase agreement last year with Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation for at least additional five planes. Air Mandalay said in a statement on Friday that the challenges it has faced in recent months had not deterred the company, which "remains committed to best serving both the local population of and visitors to Burma." "We know that these past few months have been difficult but it has brought out the best in all of us," Kham Park Pha said in the statement. Air Mandalay Limited was incorporated in 1994 to operate as Burma's first privately owned airline, based in Rangoon. Until it grounded its fleet late last year, it had serviced almost all major tourist destinations in Burma. Currently, only two domestic airlines fly international routes out of Burma: state-owned Myanmar Airways International and Golden Myanmar Airlines. The post Air Mandalay to Return to Skies in May appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Kachin Group Says Its Investigation Could Reveal Killers of Teachers Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:11 AM PDT The bodies of two Kachin schoolteachers lie in wake in Muse, northern Shan State, in January. (Photo: Facebook / Maran Naw Di Awng) RANGOON — The Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) said it has carried out an independent investigation into the killing of two ethnic Kachin schoolteachers in northern Shan State in January and found two people who could help reveal the identity of the killers. KBC said it took the initiative because a police investigation into the double murder has so far yielded no suspects and raised fears among the Kachin community that possible involvement of government soldiers is being covered up. "We are still carrying out an investigation into it, but we found some people who we think could tell the truth. In the case of the killing, they knew about it, but not as an eye witnesses," said Zau Ra, a KBC spokesperson based in Muse, a town on the Burma-China border. Zau Ra declined to elaborate when asked about further details of the investigation results, saying KBC's lawyer had advised him not to discuss it. He added that KBC would discuss the results with Shan State police when it had completed its investigation. "We are still doing more investigation in order to get more evidence," he said. "KBC interviewed all villagers for the investigation. Our KBC may also interview some Burmese Army soldiers who were in the village during the time that the schoolteachers were killed." KBC has been closely involved with local communities and authorities following the Jan. 20 killings of the two young women, who had been working for KBC in Kutkai Township as primary school teachers. Col. San Lwin, who heads Taunggyi Police Station, told The Irrawaddy the police were continuing their investigation. Asked about the KBC investigation, he said, "We cannot arrest anyone on accusations of murder unless there is strong evidence." "We have done an investigation among the villagers, but we continue to check more," San Lwin said. Last month, the investigation, which is being carried out by a joint team of police, township authorities and members of the Burma Army, produced a group of suspects comprising both civilian villagers and soldiers. Results of post-mortem medical examinations on the victims and potential matches from DNA samples taken from the suspects have not been disclosed. KBC and the wider Kachin community have voiced concern over the lack of a fair and independent investigation into the killings, which they believe are linked to members of the Burma Army's Light Infantry Battalion 503 that was sent to the area shortly before the murders. The army remains powerful in Burma and has been accused in the past of influencing local authorities and the judicial system in order to cover up crimes by its soldiers against ethnic minority civilians. The post Kachin Group Says Its Investigation Could Reveal Killers of Teachers appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘I Don’t Think it is Possible to Scrap the Entire System and Build a New One’ Posted: 03 Apr 2015 05:05 AM PDT Political activist Aung Din. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) A former second vice-chairman of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, Aung Din was incarcerated from 1989 to 1993 for participating in the pro-democracy uprising in 1988. After traveling to the United States, he worked as executive director of the US Campaign for Burma between 2003 and 2012, and was also involved with the Free Burma Coalition for two years. In this interview with Kyaw Zwa Moe, editor of The Irrawaddy's English edition, Aung Din discusses recent reforms in the country, the evolution of the United States' foreign policy towards Burma, and the prospects of free and fair elections in the next decade. How much has the foreign policy of the international community changed toward Burma since the new government took power? Many years ago, the United States determined its policy on Burma would depend on the human rights situation in the country. But these days, the US takes three factors into consideration. Human rights is still an important factor, alongside economics and geopolitics. The US would like to have a government that is friendly towards it in Burma, while it is trying to counterbalance the rise of China in the Asia-Pacific region. Considering these factors, they believe that their engagement policy is right. There may be unexpected difficulties and setbacks in pursuing this policy, but they will not reverse from it, they will only push ahead. At the same time, they are expecting a free and fair election in 2015. If the election were free and fair, the legislative landscape will be stronger in 2016. There will be larger democratic forces and ethnic forces in the parliament. Then the parliament will be stronger than it is in its current term—at least, I expect so. To make it happen, US administration is taking steps to support the 2015 election. From Washington's point of view, what kind of country is Burma? I recently talked with a senior figure in the US administration. He said they regard our country as a normal one. We have a government, opposition, government supporters and supporters of the opposition. There are conflicts, and sometimes violence and crackdowns, but that these are however quite normal for many countries of the world. That there are protests happening daily in his country. That they no longer regard our country as a failed state where there is conflict between the oppressed and the dictators. That they regard our country as a normal state because things happening in our country are not unusual. That the Burmese government now understands that they can't demonetize banknotes, use the army in dispersing demonstrations, and that the army can't launch a coup, and if they do not break these rules, the international community has no reason to interfere in the country's affairs. At the same time, many student protesters have been arrested recently, with the government reacting in the same manner as it did 20 years ago. The international community, including the US and UN, opposed this brutal crackdown. But, there is something we need to think about with regard to their choice of words. Their declarations only chose to use words like "regret" and "disappointment". No statement uses the words "condemn" or "denounce". In declarations, the choice of words expresses severity. You mean that the international community has completely toned down its voice? They have changed the way they think. They will engage constructively with the government. They will tell the government secretly that it is doing wrong, but they will not publicly condemn it. What are the major achievements and the major failures of the reform process? There has been the creation of institutional mechanisms. The government is responsible to the parliament, the judicial system is responsible to the president and the parliament. These institutions are not perfect, but they have a framework. This is a very good thing. The military regime in the past was responsible to nobody. Political prisoners have been released and opposition forces including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were able to join the political fold. There has been an emergence of civil society organizations. The government has admitted the need for internal peace and to fight poverty. The bad things are there are opposing factions within the government and USDP, even as the top leaders wish for change. The president is not decisive. There are many bad guys in the cabinet. In fact, some of the cabinet members are tarnishing the president's dignity and he can't take decisive action against them. There are people who are corrupt or abuse their positions of power in the cabinet. Racial and religious tensions are very high and they may break out into riots. Many have questioned that if the reform process has been stalled. Nepotism still thrives in these administrative mechanisms and the government fails to address it. Though the government admits that the country is in poverty, it has no economic policies to improve the lives of the poor. In my view, reforms can't be completed in three or four years. It takes a longer period. During that period, it may go forward, reverse and stall from time to time. All players must take responsibility. What can we do if we want to remove the influence of evil forces acting upon the president? If civil society organizations view him as an enemy, he would respond in kind. We are calling for national reconciliation. How much the two sides are willing to bury the hatchet is questionable. The political atmosphere today is in accord with what was set out by the military regime. In many ways it seems things will not change at all and those in charge have always maintained the upper hand. It is difficult to say that. They have divided themselves. In the past, the military was a single entity. Now it has divided between the military and the USDP. The USDP has been divided in government. Under the constitution, the president and ministers are not allowed to discharge party duties once they join the cabinet. Even if the influence of former Snr-Gen Than Shwe still prevails, it is not that big. Now I see some USDP members who would like to listen to the voices of the people. We need to mobilize more of them. This is something we need to think about. We need to be prepared to cooperate with anyone, should they be the active generals or former military members in the USDP, if they have a desire for the development of the country. You are a former political prisoner. During your time in the US, you were very critical of the Burmese government. How do you assess the government now? As I became an individual activist, I took a look at both sides—the government and the democratic forces. And I found that there are both good and bad people in the government. Previously, I thought it was full of bad guys and I was surprised to see that there are also good guys. And this is welcoming. Then I take a look at the democratic forces, which I had joined with in the past. In the past, all of them were good guys. Now, there are shades of grey in both sides. Now is the time we need to rebuild the country. If we went on like this with these tensions, it would only delay the rebuilding of the country. We are obliged to make things better, building on the current situation. We can't just be sitting, doing nothing but blaming. Now is the time we need to grasp any available opportunity out of current situation and make things better. We have got breathing space, which is beneficial to both sides. Do you see any possibility of a true civilian government in the next five to ten years that will be elected through free and fair elections? I think it is unlikely. We might need to wait 20 more years. I myself was a hardliner. I studied revolutions in Eastern Europe. In those cases, the dictators were toppled by public uprisings, then elected governments came into power. But, those elected governments are not competent and there are corrupt persons among them. The problems left by the former dictators grew larger and the expectations of people diminished. This was followed by economic decline. Finally, people overthrew the governments they had elected themselves and the country became unstable. Egypt is the closest example. I don't want our country to end like that. I don't think it is possible to scrap the entire system and build a new one. Even if the new system could be built, there is a high risk the system will return to dictatorship, like in the case of the Soviet Union. The two sides must make compromises, coordinate and cooperate. There should not be a 'winner takes all' concept anymore. The post 'I Don't Think it is Possible to Scrap the Entire System and Build a New One' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

20 Burmese Feared Dead After Russian Trawler Sinking: Reports Posted: 03 Apr 2015 03:37 AM PDT Russian Emergencies Ministry members help survivors from the Dalny Vostok fishing vessel on Friday. (Photo: Alexander Krylov / Reuters) RANGOON — 20 Burmese nationals are believed dead after a fishing trawler sunk off Russia's eastern coast on Thursday morning, according to reports from the Burmese embassy in Moscow. Phone Lin Kyaing, the Burmese ambassador to Russia, said the embassy was still working with Russian authorities in order to provide assistance to survivors. The embassy has provided a full list of the names and passport numbers of the 42 Burmese citizens aboard the vessel, and will speak to the press on Monday to advise which crewmembers had died in the sinking. The Dalny Vostok trawler sank at around 4am local time off the Kamchatka Peninsula with a crew of 132, including 78 Russian nationals. The remaining 12 crewmembers were citizens of Latvia, Ukraine and Vanuatu. Investigators believe the ship sank in less than 15 minutes after colliding with drifting ice. Rescue efforts are ongoing. The post 20 Burmese Feared Dead After Russian Trawler Sinking: Reports appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rights Activist Back to Insein on Peaceful Assembly Rap Posted: 03 Apr 2015 03:11 AM PDT Naw Ohn Hla at a Dec. 29 protest against the Letpadaung copper mining project, held at Rangoon's Maha Bandoola Park. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Naw Ohn Hla was sentenced to four months in prison on Thursday, after the Bahan Township court found her guilty of violating the Peaceful Assembly Law during a Sept. 29 protest. The long-time activist, a prominent advocate for land rights and political prisoners, has been in and out of prison for the last decade for her role in leading several protests. "The court sentenced her to four months for a protest calling for the release of political prisoners, including the student Phyu Hnin Htwe and slain freelance journalist Par Gyi," prominent lawyer Robert San Aung, who has represented Naw Ohn Hla both during the trial and earlier proceedings, told The Irrawaddy. Phyu Hnin Htwe, a young member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, was detained for over a month for her alleged role in the kidnapping of two Wanbao contractors at the company's Letpadaung copper mining project, before the company dropped charges against her in October. Par Gyi was shot to death in the same month while in military custody. Robert San Aung said his client, who has been in detention since Dec. 30, is still facing upcoming trials in five different township courts across Rangoon. Naw Ohn Hla and five other activists were arrested late last year for a demonstration held outside the Chinese embassy in Rangoon, urging an investigation into the shooting death of Letpadaung farmer Daw Khin Win by local police during a protest against the mining project. The six defendants will face charges of violating the Peaceful Assembly Law at the Pabedan, Kyauktada, Latha and Lanmadaw Township courts in relation to the embassy protest. The Dagon Township court will also charge Naw Ohn Hla for violating Penal Code articles 505(b), which prohibits statements likely to harm "public tranquility" and 353, which covers the use of "assault or criminal force" to hinder a public servant. Both charges carry a maximum prison term of two years. She will appear at Dagon Township court next Tuesday, according to her lawyer. In August 2013, Naw Ohn Hla was sentenced to two years imprisonment for her involvement in a protest at Letpadaung. Her sentence was commuted after a presidential pardon four months later, which also dropped 33 pending charges against her. In early 2014 she was again brought before the courts, this time in relation to a prayer service held for Aung San Suu Kyi while the opposition leader was under house arrest in 2007. Naw Ohn Hla had repeatedly been subjected to brief periods of detention under the previous military regime. According to her colleague Ma Thandar, herself a former political prisoner and widow of Par Gyi, the activist was imprisoned for two years in 2009 after she delivered a document to a monastery condemning the crackdown on the Saffron Revolution, on the date of the uprising's one-year anniversary. The Rangoon-based Democracy and Peace Women Network, co-founded by Naw Ohn Hla and Ma Thandar in 2012, has been internationally recognized for its work in raising awareness of land rights among farmers and its campaigns against domestic violence. Robert San Aung told The Irrawaddy he had no hope that her trials would conclude before the general election, slated for October or November this year. "It looks like the authorities want strong activists to stay behind bars as the election approaches," he said. The post Rights Activist Back to Insein on Peaceful Assembly Rap appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lawyers Network to Offer Advice, Representation for Journalists Posted: 03 Apr 2015 03:03 AM PDT A protester disrupts the International Press Institute World Congress in Rangoon on March 27, 2015. (Photo: Khaung Htet / Facebook) MANDALAY – Lawyers from across Burma have teamed up to create a network offering legal assistance to journalists and media agencies, in response to a surge in suits filed against members of the fourth estate. The new Lawyers Network for Journalists and Media, officially launched in Rangoon on Wednesday, comprises about 80 lawyers working in various parts of the country, and plans to extend initial services to Irrawaddy, Magwe, Mandalay, Pegu and Rangoon divisions. "There has been an increase in legal charges against journalists and media agencies, and there is still a lack of legal protection for them," said Than Zaw Aung, a lawyer and secretary of the network. He said the new association will be there to provide legal advice and, in some cases, representation. The group also plans to carry out educational discussions for media workers and lawyers to promote awareness of Burma's legislative framework regarding the media, he said. A member of Burma's interim Press Council, Myint Kyaw, welcomed the network, saying that it could offer much-needed services at a time when press freedom is under threat. "We really need that kind of group," Myint Kyaw said. "Since legal cases against media professionals, this kind of legal group can help advise them in legal matters or even to write news related to the Media Law." Since President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian reformist government assumed power in 2011, at least 20 journalists have been arrested, and one has been killed. Twelve media are workers are currently serving prison sentences, while several others are awaiting trial. Many were arrested under legal provisions that experts call outdated and unjust, such as colonial-era laws covering state secrecy, defamation and incitement. The post Lawyers Network to Offer Advice, Representation for Journalists appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Fishermen Rush to Be Rescued Amid Indonesian Slavery Probe Posted: 03 Apr 2015 02:52 AM PDT Migrant workers from Burma unload fish as a Thai buyer takes notes at the port of Mahachai near Bangkok Feb. 23, 2010. (Photo: Reuters) BENJINA, Indonesia — Hundreds of foreign fishermen on Friday rushed at the chance to be rescued from an isolated island where an Associated Press report revealed slavery runs rampant in the industry. Indonesian officials investigating abuses offered to take them out of concern for the men’s safety. The men, from countries including Burma and Cambodia, began getting the news as a downpour started, and some ran through the rain. They sprinted back to their boats, jumping over the rails and throwing themselves through windows. They stuffed their meager belongings into plastic bags and rushed back to the dock, not wanting to be left behind. A small boat went from trawler to trawler picking up men who wanted to go and was soon loaded down with about 30 men. The director general of Indonesia’s Marine Resources and Fisheries Surveillance initially told about 20 men from Burma that he would move them from Benjina village to neighboring Tual island for their safety following interviews with officials on Friday. However, as news spread that men were getting to leave the island, dozens of others started filing in from all over and sitting on the floor. When the official, Asep Burhundun, was asked if others hiding in the jungle could come as well, he said, "They can all come. We don’t want to leave a single person behind." Fishermen who are Thai nationals will remain on the island. Most of the boat captains are from Thailand. The Indonesian delegation began interviewing men on boats and assessing the situation on the island this week, and have heard of the same abuses fishermen told The Associated Press in a story published last week. They described being abused at sea, including being kicked and whipped with stingray tails and given Taser-like electric shocks. Some said they fell ill and were not given medicine; others said had been promised jobs in Thailand and then were taken to Indonesia where they were made to work long hours with little or no pay. The delegation said security in Benjina is limited, with only two people from the Indonesian navy stationed there. Out of security concerns they decided to move the fishermen to Tual — a 12-hour boat ride away — where they will stay at a Ministry of Fisheries compound where their identities can be verified. "I’m really happy, but I’m confused," said Nay Hle Win, 32. "I don’t know what my future is in Myanmar." Win Win Ko, who ended up in Indonesia four years ago after leaving Burma, opened his mouth to smile and revealed four missing teeth. The 42-year-old said they were kicked out by a boat captain’s military boots because he was not moving fish fast enough from the deck to the freezer hold. "I will go see my parents," he said. "They haven’t heard from me, and I haven’t heard from them since I left." The post Fishermen Rush to Be Rescued Amid Indonesian Slavery Probe appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Three Indian Soldiers Killed in Ambush in Arunachal Pradesh Posted: 02 Apr 2015 10:56 PM PDT A security personnel stands guard as people line up to cast their vote outside a polling station in Nakhrai village in Tinsukia district in the northeastern Indian state of Assam April 7, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) NEW DELHI — Three Indian soldiers were killed and four wounded in an attack by suspected separatist militants in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday, military and police officials said. The soldiers died when suspected rebels of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) opened fire on a military convoy traveling in the remote Tirap district, said a senior military official, who declined to be named. India’s mountainous northeast is home to dozens of ethnic groups, many of whom are campaigning for greater autonomy, statehood or even secession. But attacks on the Indian military are rare in the area, intelligence sources told Reuters. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland has been fighting for decades for an independent ethnic Naga homeland in parts of India’s northeast and Burma, where it runs a government-in-exile. New Delhi has deployed troops in the area, which shares borders with China, Burma and Bangladesh. China does not recognize Indian sovereignty in the region, and calls it “south Tibet”. In February, Beijing was irked when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the region to mark the anniversary of its foundation as a state and inaugurate a train line and power station. Modi has repeatedly emphasized the need to develop the far-flung state, easing restrictions on building roads and military facilities as a counter to the infrastructure boost China has made in recent years on the other side of the border. Separately, one soldier and one special police officer were killed in a gunfight between Indian troops and militants in Kashmir on Thursday. Two soldiers and one civilian were injured in the fighting. The post Three Indian Soldiers Killed in Ambush in Arunachal Pradesh appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chinese Influence in Cambodia Grows With Army School, Aid Posted: 02 Apr 2015 09:51 PM PDT A Chinese army advisor, center, puts rank on Cambodian army graduates during a graduation ceremony at Army Institute in Kampong Speu province on March 12, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) THLOK TASEK, Cambodia — When Defense Minister Tea Banh addressed graduates last month at Cambodia's prestigious Army Institute, he directed his thanks to the guests who made it all possible: a group of crisply dressed officers from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA). The institute, established in 1999 around 80 km (50 miles) from Phnom Penh, is part of China's rising military aid to Cambodia. Interviews with serving officers and a senior Cambodian government official shed light on how far the school's influence has grown in recent years. Military aid, alongside arms sales and billions of dollars of investment, have strengthened China's ties with Cambodia, and analysts see it as part of a push to extend regional influence, including in the disputed South China Sea. During his speech at the institute in Kampong Speu province, Tea lavished praise on the "luxurious" facilities—a rarity for Cambodia's often ramshackle armed forces. Addressing the Chinese, he added: "We are grateful to them for understanding our difficulties." Since 2009, roughly 200 cadets have been admitted annually to four-year courses devised by China's Defense Ministry and Chinese advisers who oversee a local teaching staff, three officers said. This includes compulsory six month stints at military academies in China. The 190 students who graduated in March were the third such cohort from the school. "Graduates have already been put into influential positions, including the head of army brigades," said the senior government official, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject. "They're in fighting forces in positions where they can make decisions." The school also admits about 200 students a year for a shorter six-month course. The official said China paid for the majority of the institute's construction and covers most of the operating costs. About half of all Cambodia's officer trainees now come through the institute, according to an officer with close knowledge of the school, who also declined to be named. The institute appears to be China's first attempt to build a large-scale facility of this kind in Southeast Asia, said Carl Thayer, a Southeast Asia security expert at the Australian Defense Force Academy. "For China, it's the beginning of a long-term strategy of winning influence in the Cambodian military by cultivating these people. And China keeps very, very deep intelligence files on everybody," he said. "Nowhere in Southeast Asia is the Chinese influence as great as what you're talking about." The growth of the school comes amid a significant rise in Chinese arms sales and military aid to Cambodia. China also invests billions into the country's economy. In 2013, Cambodia took delivery of 12 Harbin Z-9 helicopters using a US$195 million Chinese loan. The next year, it received a donation of 26 Chinese trucks and 30,000 military uniforms. Chinese-funded construction at the school has proceeded apace. Since an infusion of funds in 2002, more than 70 buildings have been erected on the roughly 148 hectare (366 acre) site, according to an institute document seen by Reuters. Officials at Cambodia's Defense Ministry did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment for this article. China's Defense Ministry said in a statement responding to questions from Reuters that it would "continue to increase its level of support for the institute, to help the Cambodian side raise its teaching abilities and level of personnel training." "This aid has no political conditions attached, and will not harm the interests of any third party," it said. Splitting Asean? According to Lao Mong Hay, an analyst and adviser to Cambodia's opposition, China's military largesse contributed to Cambodia, as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2012, playing spoiler in efforts by Southeast Asian states to create a maritime "code of conduct" with Beijing. "The strategic interest of China is also to split Asean, and Cambodia is used for this purpose," he said. Military aid also counterbalances the influence of Vietnam, Lao added. Vietnam, embroiled in a row with China last year over an oil rig Beijing parked in disputed waters, has long provided training to Cambodian soldiers and police, as well as military equipment. The neighbors' navies conduct regular joint patrols. Chinese aid dwarfs that of the United States, which canceled delivery of 200 surplus military vehicles in 2010 after Cambodia deported a group of Uighur asylum seekers to China in late 2009. Two days after that deportation, China and Cambodia signed deals worth an estimated $850 million. In 2013, Cambodia announced the suspension of some military cooperation with the United States after criticism by American lawmakers of Cambodia's elections. Washington made available around $1 million for military financing and training in Cambodia in 2014, according to the State Department, and 12 Cambodian military personnel received training in the United States on human rights and "maritime capacity building." Meanwhile, graduates of the Chinese-funded Army Institute are moving up the ranks. "They want us to see China as a superpower that helps Cambodia in times of crisis," said an officer graduate, posted on Cambodia's volatile border with Thailand. The post Chinese Influence in Cambodia Grows With Army School, Aid appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

North Korea Expels Chief of German Food Aid Organization: NGO Posted: 02 Apr 2015 09:25 PM PDT A North Korean boy works in a field of a collective farm in an area damaged by summer floods and typhoons in South Hwanghae Province on Sept. 30, 2011. (Photo: Reuters) SEOUL — North Korea has expelled the country director of Welthungerhilfe, one of the few foreign aid groups to operate in the isolated country, the German organization told Reuters on Thursday. A devastating famine in the 1990s left hundreds of thousands of North Koreans dead or dying from starvation. The food situation has improved since, but Pyongyang still relies on support from foreign aid organizations. Without warning or saying why, North Korea asked Welthungerhilfe country director Regina Feindt to leave the country in late February, the non-government body said in a statement. Feindt's colleague Karl Fall, who had worked in the country for 12 years, left of his own volition the next month, it said. "Welthungerhilfe does not see anything in Mrs Feindt's behavior that would have justified an expulsion," it said in the statement. It said Feindt left North Korea on Feb 26 and that Fall left on March 19. Feindt and Fall were not available to comment, Welthungerhilfe said. The abrupt departures came as a surprise to members of the small foreign community in Pyongyang, according to a regular visitor to the North Korean capital who wished to remain anonymous, citing the sensitive nature of working there. Welthungerhilfe would not comment on the events leading up to Feindt's deportation. "We don't know why this has happened," spokeswoman Simone Pott told Reuters by telephone. The NGO is one of a handful of foreign aid groups to operate within the isolated country. Welthungerhilfe, whose name means "World Hunger Aid", is one of Germany's largest non-governmental aid organizations and has been working in North Korea since 1997, spending more than 60 million euros (US$65 million) on projects designed to improve food, sanitation and water supply. The NGO, previously known as German Agro Action, still has a skeleton presence in North Korea, despite the expulsion of its country director. According to its statement, activities to improve water and sewage systems in cities were unaffected. "At the moment we are in discussions with the North Korean authorities to secure a basis for continuing our development work in the country for the benefit of the people of North Korea," the group said in the statement. The post North Korea Expels Chief of German Food Aid Organization: NGO appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UN Rights Chief Slams Thai Junta’s Use of Repressive Law Posted: 02 Apr 2015 09:17 PM PDT Thailand’s PM Prayuth Chan-ocha gets in his car after the merit-making ceremony in Bangkok on Thursday. (Photo: Damir Sagolj / Reuters) REUTERS/Damir Sagolj BANGKOK— The United Nations joined international rights groups Thursday in criticizing a decision by Thailand’s military government to invoke a law that gives the junta chief near-absolute authority without any accountability. Junta chief and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Wednesday lifted martial law, which he imposed shortly before taking power in a coup last year, and instead invoked Article 44 of a junta-imposed interim constitution, which allows him to take any measures to promote public order and unity. Thai officials said martial law was lifted because of foreign pressure. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said giving Prayuth unfettered authority "clearly leaves the door wide open to serious violations of fundamental human rights." His statement, issued in Geneva, noted that Article 44 not only effectively allows Prayuth to issue any legislative, executive or judicial order, but "also annihilates freedom of expression" by giving him extensive censorship powers. "In effect, this means the sweeping away of all checks and balances on the power of the government, rendering the lifting of martial law meaningless," he said. Both martial law and Article 44 provide legal underpinnings for actions taken in the name of law and order. But while martial law defines acceptable actions, such as arrests without warrants, censorship and bans on public gatherings, Article 44 is vaguer and more broadly worded, allowing the junta chief to take any action he deems necessary not only to maintain order but also "for the benefit of reform in any field and to strengthen public unity and harmony." Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, a legal expert, said at a news conference Thursday that the junta, called the National Council for Peace and Order, will use Article 44 for three purposes: unity and reconciliation, reforms or preparation for reforms, and prevention of plans to harm the country’s security. "If the normal measures to create unity and reconciliation are slow or ineffective, and there is a need to create unity and reconciliation, the head of the NCPO might invoke Article 44 to issue an order to make unity and reconciliation happen," he said. "But how will he order, I don’t know, because the situation has not happened yet." The junta’s efforts at reconciliation so far have gone little beyond holding street fairs in the early days of its rule. It summons critics for what it calls "attitude adjustment" and has a handpicked committee secretly drafting a new constitution. Wissanu explained that the junta considered employing less draconian statutes than martial law, including the country’s International Security Act and a declaration of a state of emergency, but they also sounded severe to foreign observers. Thailand’s tourism industry has been especially concerned about the image such terms evoke, even though military rule has had little day-to-day effect on tourists. The London-based human rights group Amnesty International called the replacement of martial law with Article 44 "little more than a cynical exercise in the preservation of military power." "Nothing has changed — this is an attempt to cast a veil over its determination to continue using military might to crush dissent," Richard Bennett, the group’s Asia-Pacific director, said in a statement Thursday. The post UN Rights Chief Slams Thai Junta’s Use of Repressive Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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National News

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• Dozens dead in Russian trawler disaster
• Myanmar apologises to China over cross-border bombing
• Myanmar and Russia boost nuclear cooperation
• Government to form new political prisoner committee
• NLD official denies charges at hearing
• High ambitions for tourism in Myeik islands
• New bridge opens up beach visitation in Mon State
• Night commuters resort to dangerous unlicensed buses
• Myanmar refugees scour Mae Sot rubbish

Dozens dead in Russian trawler disaster Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT As  many as 29 Myanmar seamen were unaccounted for last night after a Russian fishing trawler sank in icy waters off the Kamchatka Peninsula with 132 crew on board.

Myanmar apologises to China over cross-border bombing Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT Myanmar  issued a formal apology to China yesterday acknowledging that one of its warplanes had killed five Chinese farm workers in a cross-border bombing attack last month during fighting with Kokang rebels. It also said it would punish those responsible.

Myanmar and Russia boost nuclear cooperation Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT Defying  objections from Western countries, Myanmar appears to be stepping up its collaboration with Russia in the nuclear field. Nay Pyi Taw insists that the cooperation is entirely in the energy and health sectors.

Government to form new political prisoner committee Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT In  an apparent response to objections from advocacy organisations, the government says it will form a new committee to secure the release of political prisoners. But some members say the change does not go far enough.

NLD official denies charges at hearing Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT National  League for Democracy official and writer U Htin Lin Oo yesterday pleaded not guilty to insulting religion. In the 13th hearing at Chaung-Oo Township Court, Sagaing Region, the defendant's lawyer, U Thein Than Oo, cited in his defence the right of freedom of expression, doctrines of the Buddha, the constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

High ambitions for tourism in Myeik islands Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT A beauty  spot in Tanintharyi Region could rival Thailand's Phuket as a tourist attraction, officials are hoping. U Hlwan Moe, assistant director of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism in Myeik, told The Myanmar Times yesterday that Myeik Archipelago was attracting increasing numbers of visitors year after year.

New bridge opens up beach visitation in Mon State Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT A new  bridge has opened up new experiences and possibilities for people in southern Mon State. The christening of the Kabyar Wa Bridge at the end of last year by the state government has increased the number of visitors to what used to be a relatively remote region south of the state capital of Mawlamyine.

Night commuters resort to dangerous unlicensed buses Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT Shift-workers who live in the outskirts of Yangon say they are at the mercy of unlicensed private bus drivers who provide the only available transportation in off-hours. They say some drivers lack not only a business licence to operate such a service, but even a driving licence. Drivers are often drunk and rude to passengers, and they run away when they get involved in the not-infrequent accidents.

Myanmar refugees scour Mae Sot rubbish Posted: 02 Apr 2015 02:30 PM PDT Even before you see the mountain, you can smell it. The enormous rubbish tip east of the Thai border town of Mae Sot slowly rots under the sun. Clambering over it are countless men, women and children, entire families armed with long sticks tipped with a hook or using their bare hands to search for usable – or edible – loot.

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The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Photo Exhibition, Book Shows Burma’s ‘Enchanted Spirit’
• Education Advocates Feel Cheated by Last-Minute Amendments
• Letpadan Detainees Call for Public Trial, Medical Attention
• Visa Card Expands Services, Local Card Payments Hampered by Problems
• Students Freed After Letpadan Could Face Trial for Prior Protests
• Govt Begins Probe Into Claims of ‘Burmese Slaves’ in Indonesia
• At Least 42 Burmese Nationals Were Aboard Sunken Russian Trawler
• China Says Burma Apologizes for Bombing, Admits Responsibility
• Municipality, Power Supplier Trade Blame Over Rangoon Water Shortages
• ‘Ha! He Thinks We’re Going to Share This…’
• India’s IT Plans Suffer From Power Cuts, Congestion – and Monkeys
• Burma’s Trade Deficit Jumps 88 % in Fiscal 2014/15
• Sri Lanka: Chinese Leader for 3-Way Talks on Indian Ocean
• Japan PM to Craft WWII Comments with Eye on US
• A Milestone for the President, One Step Forward for Burma’s Ethnic Armed Groups

Photo Exhibition, Book Shows Burma’s ‘Enchanted Spirit’ Posted: 02 Apr 2015 07:01 AM PDT Click to view slideshow. RANGOON — A photo exhibition opened up at Gallery 65 on Rangoon's Yaw Min Gyi Street on Thursday showcasing the work of American photographer David Heath, who is publishing a new photo book documenting Burma's peoples, culture, heritage and landscapes. "Burma: An Enchanted Spirit" includes more than 200 photographs that Heath took in the country while travelling to well-known and remote places in Burma. The exhibition features 36 stunning photos from the book. The book includes a handwritten endorsement by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which says, "Truly an enchanting book—the pictures reflect the beauty and diversity of Burma faithfully." Heath said at the exhibition's opening that he had shot the photos during five years of travel, during which he visited Kachin State, Monywa town, Pegu Division, Prome, Mandalay, the temples of Mrauk-U and Bagan, the Karen State capital Hpa-An, Inle Lake, Shan State's Tachileik, the Chindwin River and Burma's most southern town, Kawthaung in Tennasserim Division. "This is my favorite country on the planet. The most photogenic place I have ever seen and the most beautiful people that I have ever met," Heath told The Irrawaddy. "So I want to share that with the world and especially with the United States to bring awareness about the culture of the country, how beautiful it is here and to inspire people to come here." Heath said he is now interested in publishing another photo book that documents all of Burma's 135 minorities and tribes. The post Photo Exhibition, Book Shows Burma's 'Enchanted Spirit' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Education Advocates Feel Cheated by Last-Minute Amendments Posted: 02 Apr 2015 06:45 AM PDT Students protest the National Education Law in Rangoon in November 2014. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Education reform advocates on Wednesday denounced the current draft of an amended education law, passed by Burma's Upper House of Parliament last week, claiming that it deviated from a version agreed upon by stakeholders. The National Education Law, which was passed late last year, was met with protest by students, educators and other advocates. The government agreed to amend the legislation following negotiations with lawmakers, students and other advocates, who collectively agreed upon revisions in mid-February. The version approved by the Upper House on March 26, however, was amended in ways that violated the agreement, according to the National Network for Education Reform (NNER), a group involved in the education reform process and closely aligned with the student movement's leading body, the Action Committee for Democratic Education (ACDE). The NNER said in a statement that the approved draft reverses an agreement about the formation of student and teacher unions, replaces a chapter safeguarding educational freedom with a chapter that establishes a national "strategic commission" backed by the government, and restores centralized control over curricula despite previous agreements that educational agendas would vary by state and region. Regional variations were a central demand of the student movement because of Burma's ethnically diverse population, which under military rule was given only the option of learning in the dominant Burmese language. The repression of minority languages caused severe disadvantages for many in ethnic states and regions. The student movement also demanded a 20 percent increase in the national education budget over the course of the next five years, as well as nationwide free primary and secondary education. Neither of those provisions was included in the approved version, the NNER said. Min Oo, an Upper House parliamentarian and member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), explained that lawmakers had to compromise some parts of the draft for the betterment of the country's education system in the long run. "When we consider the Education Law, we weren't thinking only about satisfying the students, accommodating the NNER, or fawning the government. We thought about establishing a good education system for the next generation and for the future of the country," he said. An upper house committee tasked with revising the law led a number of parliamentary hearings in March that were meant to include members of the ACDE, but several student representatives were unable to attend because they had been jailed after a brutal police crackdown in Letpadan, central Burma, on a core group of protesters. While the committee said in its report that it had reached agreement with negotiators before the amendments went to a vote, the NNER maintained that "the Upper House needs to clarify" how they could have reached agreement on the revisions with only a fraction of the stakeholders present. Min Lwin Oo, a member of the ACDE and president of the Dawei Students Union, told The Irrawaddy that changes to the legislation must be discussed by all key members of the ACDE before they can be accepted. "Six detained student members of the ACDE may disagree [with the revisions]," he said. "I demand that they be freed immediately, and that the ACDE can discuss this together." The post Education Advocates Feel Cheated by Last-Minute Amendments appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Letpadan Detainees Call for Public Trial, Medical Attention Posted: 02 Apr 2015 05:26 AM PDT Students and activists in Rangoon on Mar. 27 demand the release of all students and their supporters detained following the crackdown in Letpadan. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Students arrested after the Mar. 10 Letpadan protest crackdown have requested their trials to be opened to the public for future hearings and say that some detainees are in need of medical attention, according to family members. The first hearing for 69 protesters was held on Mar. 25 at the local court in Letpadan, with family members barred from attending. The demonstrators will not appear in court again until next Tuesday. "My daughter told me during my prison visit on Wednesday that the trial should be opened to the public for family members as well as to the media," Thanda Khin, the mother of All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) leader Phyoe Phyoe Aung, told The Irrawaddy. "She told me that she wants the hearing to be done continuously [rather than fortnightly] and in public. She thinks that authorities are just wasting time by scheduling the hearing every two weeks." She added that the detained students looked pale and weak due to the lack of adequate nutrition from the food at Thayawady Prison, and based on the past experience of imprisoned family members, she was concerned for her daughter's health. Phyoe Phyoe Aung's father was imprisoned between 1989 and 2005, leaving Thanda Khin as the sole carer of her 9-month-old daughter. In 2008, both Phyoe Phyoe Aung and her father were arrested for assisting in the burial of corpses left in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which ultimately claimed 140,000 lives after a stalled emergency response from the government. Thanda Khin told The Irrawaddy she was not hopeful about the prospects for a public trial given her experiences in 1989 and 2008, when her loved ones were convicted behind closed doors. Khin Khin Yu, the mother of student leader Min Thway Thit, who claims he was beaten by more than a dozen police officers during the crackdown, told The Irrawaddy that she wants her son to receive proper treatment at the prison's hospital. "I am worried about him," she said. "He was struck on his head and his hands. He was vomiting on the police truck when he was brought for the first trial last week." Both student leaders say there are other detainees in need of medical attention, according to their parents. 127 people were arrested after the Mar. 10 crackdown. In the following weeks, police arrested other ABSFU leaders to stand trial in Letpadan. Authorities drew a distinction between 'genuine students' and political activists in granting the release of around half of the detainees in late March. The only son of Khin Khin Yu's three children, 32-year-old Min Thway Thit has yet to complete his university studies. His mother said he had lost the documentation necessary to prove his current enrolment, which he was carrying in a bag during the chaotic aftermath of the police attack on the protesters. Family members are allowed to meet the detainees for 5-15 minutes during weekly prison visits, held on Wednesdays and Thursdays under the supervision of at least five prison officers. Visitors said that their conversations with the prisoners, separated by iron bars and glass, are written down and recorded and their gestures and movements are closely scrutinized. "The policewomen told us to have a quick chat, so we could not say much," said Thanda Khin, recalling an encounter with her daughter at Thayawady last week. "We just looked at each other and exchanged smiles." The post Letpadan Detainees Call for Public Trial, Medical Attention appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Visa Card Expands Services, Local Card Payments Hampered by Problems Posted: 02 Apr 2015 04:40 AM PDT Myanmar Payment Union isBurma's sole domestic card-based payment system, (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — International payment cards continue to improve their financial services in Burma with Visa Card announcing on Wednesday that its cards can now be used at several Rangoon supermarkets of City Mart, the country's biggest retailer. The domestic card system of Myanmar Payment Union (MPU) meanwhile, continues to suffer from problems as ATMs and bank card readers at stores for the country's approximately 1 million cardholders are often out of service, according to bankers and customers. Visa has teamed up with City Mart and local KBZ Bank to provide payment services for debit and credit card at supermarkets at Rangoon's Junction Square, Golden Valley and Parkson, The Bangkok Post reported. The US firm said its cards are now accepted at 1,800 retailers and at MPU ATMs in Burma. Visa is among a number of international card payment providers that have quickly entered the market after Burma's economy opened up and trade sanctions were lifted following the introduction of reforms by President Thein Sein's government in 2011. MPU announced in 2011 that its card holders can make digital payment or withdraw cash; it now operates more than 1,000 ATMs and 3,000 card readers at retailers in Burma. The number of MPU cardholders is growing rapidly, rising five-fold in the last year to about 1 million now. However, the MPU system, which is being used by 20 local banks that are MPU members, is known to suffer from frequent technical problems that force banking clients to rely on bringing cash instead. "I heard that most users can't pay at available retail shops because of system errors, they just pay with cash until now," said Pe Myint, managing director at Corporative Bank, an MPU member. "MPU is also trying to solve the problem. That's why they're going to form a public company and expect to upgrade the system," he said. "It won't work without system upgrading, as long as they can't do it, card use will not be easy." Banking representatives familiar with the MPU card payment system said it was of poor technological quality, while retailers who obtained the card readers were not offered proper after-sales services to maintain functionality. Another reason cited for continuing problems with card payments and cash withdrawals is a lack of understanding of the card system among customers. Tin Ei, a school teacher from North Okkalapa Township who has a MPU card, said the card readers at the retailers were highly unreliable, adding that she could not leave her home without cash as a result. "I don't want to bring much cash for my shopping, but I can't use my card in most shopping malls and food shops," she said. "I saw the MPU machines in some shops and restaurants, I tried to use my debit MPU card but it doesn't work." MPU Chairman Zaw Lin Htut acknowledged that the card payment system required an upgrade to improve functionality, adding that Burma's poorly developed telecom infrastructure also hampered the system's performance. "I can say it's not perfect but the development is getting better, it's better than last year," he said, adding that MPU also planned to offer its services at City Mart "soon." Asked if local banks were losing ground to international card systems that have quickly rolled out their services in Burma, Zaw Lin Htut said, "I don't think there will be a big impact on us … because if we look at the domestic user's interest, you will see that our transaction cost is the lowest." In January 2014, MPU announced its members planned to turn it into a public company so that the union could improve its card payment system. Member banks would become shareholders and a board of directors would be staffed with managing directors of the banks. Until now, discussions among member banks about the formation of a public company are ongoing, while the Central Bank of Myanmar is yet to provide its approval for the plan, bank representatives said. MPU was founded in 2011; its members include 20 local banks, three of which are state-owned. MPU set up the first ATM card payment system in Burma, which was lacking because of decades of economic mismanagement and isolation under the former military regime. The expansion of mobile and Internet access in Burma following the entry of two foreign telecom operators last year has improved telecom infrastructure required for electronic card payments. The post Visa Card Expands Services, Local Card Payments Hampered by Problems appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Students Freed After Letpadan Could Face Trial for Prior Protests Posted: 02 Apr 2015 04:11 AM PDT Student leaders negotiate with local authorities to gain passage through Mandalay's Taung Tha Township in late January. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawadddy) MANDALAY – Dozens of student activists in central Burma's Mandalay Division may face charges for unlawful assembly, after being released from detention following a recent crackdown on a demonstration in Letpadan. Students at Yadanabon University in Amarapura and the Government Technical College in Myinchan said police had given letters to teachers and school authorities to deliver to those who may face charges. Police in Amarapura and Myinchan declined to comment. The students at both schools said that the notices informed them that they would face charges under Article 18, a controversial provision in Burma's Peaceful Assembly Law that requires prior permission for gatherings. The charges relate to a number of demonstrations held before, concurrent with and after a core group of activists left Mandalay with the intention of marching to Rangoon. The demonstrations, which were held in opposition to a new National Education Law that students and educators view as restrictive and undemocratic, were brutally dismantled by police in Letpadan, Pegu Division, in early March. Of the 127 people who were initially jailed after the crackdown, dozens were released in the weeks that followed. Many returned home to continue their coursework and take exams, believing that they would not be brought to trial. "We don't understand. Since some of us were freed after the Letpadan crackdown, our understanding was that [the police] wouldn't sue us anymore. This shows that the government and the authorities cannot be trusted," said Yadanabon student Nai Ye Wai, speaking to The Irrawaddy after visiting the police station on Thursday. "The police said 37 students and me will have to face trial," he said. "Soon." One of about 10 students facing charges in Myinchan, Han Phyo Wai said the move was likely meant to spook other students and prevent further protests. "We believe this is meant to frighten other students from participating in or organizing protests and demonstrations in the future. Since the news spread in our school, many students are avoiding us and dare not talk to us," Han Phyo Wai said. Five people accused of participating in and supporting a demonstration on March 27 are still being detained in Myinchan, while reports have surfaced that other supporters are now being pursued by police. Thant Zin, who participated in the students' march to Rangoon, was also arrested after last week's demonstration and is still in jail, where he and the other detainees are denied access to counsel and family visits, according to a relative. The post Students Freed After Letpadan Could Face Trial for Prior Protests appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Govt Begins Probe Into Claims of ‘Burmese Slaves’ in Indonesia Posted: 02 Apr 2015 03:34 AM PDT Migrant workers from Burma work on a fishing boat before sailing out of the port of Mahachai near Bangkok in 2010. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's Ministry of Labor has begun an inquiry into allegations made in an investigation by The Associated Press that hundreds of Burmese nationals in Indonesia are living slave-like existences to supply the global seafood industry. The international news wire reported last week that hundreds of men, mostly from Burma, were being held against their will on the remote Indonesian island village of Benjina, which serves as the base of operations for a trawler fleet that fishes in the area. Khin Nway Oo, director of the local and overseas employment subdivision of the ministry's Department of Labor, said she had been in contact with Burma's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant government bodies to determine the validity of the AP claims. The Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN), a Thailand-based organization, said Thailand's Labor Rights Promotion Network Foundation (LPN) was helping to rescue the men, making several trips to the island. Sein Htay, chairman of MWRN, said Tin Mu, the mother of a man who was sold to a trawler from Thailand, had been contacted by her son on Wednesday morning. She asked the NGO to help the man, 27-year-old Wai Lin Soe. "He [Tin Mu's son] said his trawler is in hiding now. We couldn't contact his phone back," Sein Htay said. "I also heard that the Burmese government has also started an operation to help the men." Sein Htay said the missing man's information and a photo were forwarded to LPN, which is now attempting to track down Wai Lin Soe on the island. He said LPN typically works to find Thai men in Indonesia facing conditions similar to those alleged by The Associated Press and bring them back home with the help of Thai police. "This started from Thailand. The Thai government is responsible to take action in this case," he said. "The Myanmar government will need to bring back the workers. They have done this before. They previously brought back more than 100 from Indonesia. They have known about this a long time. They have not done it [repatriated trafficking victims] effectively." The AP investigation found that the trawlers based in Benjina were captained by Thai nationals, though ownership of the company fielding the boats was unclear. The report said the Indonesian government was investigating the firm, Pusaka Benjina Resources. Contacted by The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Harryansah Khairul, counselor at the Indonesian Embassy in Rangoon, said Indonesian authorities had launched an investigation following the report's publication last week. Preliminary rescues had been primarily Thai nationals, he said, though some Burmese men were believed to be among the trafficked victims, but had been issued fraudulent identity documents indicating Thai citizenship. The Associated Press on Thursday said officials from Thailand, Indonesia and Burma were cooperating to put a stop to the industry abuses. "We [will] prove that we don't want to let it happen anymore," Ida Kusuma from the Indonesian Fisheries Ministry was quoted as saying. "I think the company who hired them should take full responsibility to bring them to their families." Sompong Srakaew, CEO & co-founder of LPN, said the problem extended beyond Benjina, telling a freelance Thai journalist that several hundred men who had been enslaved but escaped—among them Burmese, Cambodian and Laotian nationals—are holed up in Ambon, about 450 miles northwest of Benjina. "This is an urgent mission," Sompong told the journalist, who provided The Irrawaddy with the information. The LPN leader said he planned to meet with officials from the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok on Friday regarding more than 30 men, including 23 Burmese, who are seeking repatriation from Indonesia. Sompong encouraged anyone who believes a member of their family was forcibly recruited into the fishing industry to contact his organization. Tin Mu said her son left home in Thanbyuzayat, Mon State, in 2012 for Thailand with the help of a local human trafficker. He got a job at a seafood processing factory in Mahachai, on the outskirts of Bangkok, and worked there for a week before being sold to a fishing boat that had docked carrying fish from Indonesia. His sisters were also in Thailand but lost contact with him after he was on board. The mother came to Thailand seven months after her son left home to look for him. "He said he didn't want to go. He wants to come back. He doesn't have money or a way of contacting. It's like he's lost his way. "He can't escape either. It's like the connection is cut," 55-year-old Tin Mu said. Wai Lin Soe was not aware of the conditions he would face when he boarded the boat, later finding out that he could not get out of the arrangement. Tin Mu managed to contact her son by phone one year after his disappearance. "He would call when his boat made landfall, like once every eight months." The last time she spoke to her son, Tin Mu said he was staying aboard a boat, docked somewhere by the owner who had moored the vessel because authorities were making arrests. Tin Mu said she was afraid to contact any organization prior to the AP article's publication because, like many Burmese migrants, she was working illegally and didn't know who might be able to help her. There are about 500 Burmese men enslaved on Benjina, according to Wai Lin Soe. "I want him to be free from that fishing boat as soon as possible," Tin Mu said. The post Govt Begins Probe Into Claims of 'Burmese Slaves' in Indonesia appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

At Least 42 Burmese Nationals Were Aboard Sunken Russian Trawler Posted: 02 Apr 2015 01:58 AM PDT A rescuer abseils from a Mi-8-MTB-1 helicopter as he takes an exam at an airdrome of the Russian Ministry of Defense, some 80 km (50 miles) east of Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk February 6, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) MOSCOW — A Russian trawler sank in just 15 minutes in icy waters off Russia's Far Eastern coast early Thursday, killing at least 54 crew members, rescue workers said. The massive trawler Dalny Vostok, with an international crew of 132, sank at about 4 a.m. local time (1800 GMT on Wednesday) in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kamchatka Peninsula. It did not send distress signals prior to the sinking, the Interfax news agency said. Among the 132 crew members, 78 are from Russia, 42 from Burma and the rest from Latvia, Ukraine and Vanuatu. Emergency services in Kamchatka, citing the head of the rescue operation, said 63 crew members were rescued and the fate of the remaining 15 was unknown. More than 26 fishing boats in the area helped to rescue the crew members, emergency services said in a statement on their website. The fishing boats also recovered 54 bodies. No cause for the sinking was immediately given, but investigators said the ship sank in just 15 minutes and may have collided with drifting ice. The Investigative Committee said in a statement that it is considering all theories but it is likely that the trawler hit "an object" floating in the sea. The Russian Emergencies Ministry sent an Mi-8 helicopter with rescuers and doctors aboard to deliver medical assistance and transport rescued crew members to hospitals in the city of Magadan, the ministry said on its website. It also set up a telephone hotline for families of the crew. Oleg Kozhemyako, acting governor of the Sakhalin region, told Russian television that rescuers spotted two life rafts, but had not yet reached them to check if anybody was on board. Some 1,300 people were involved in the rescue operation, emergency services said. The post At Least 42 Burmese Nationals Were Aboard Sunken Russian Trawler appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China Says Burma Apologizes for Bombing, Admits Responsibility Posted: 02 Apr 2015 01:51 AM PDT A woman walks past Chinese national flags at a crop field in Kokang, near Burma's border with China, on March 24, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — Burma has accepted responsibility and apologized for bombs dropped on Chinese territory last month that killed five people, China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The incident happened during clashes between Burma government forces and a rebel group called the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). Thousands of refugees have fled to China as fighting flared on the Burma side of the border in the past month or so. The Chinese government was infuriated by the deaths in its southwestern province of Yunnan, and warned of a "decisive" response should there be any repetition. Meeting with his Burmese counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that a joint team formed to look into the bombing had clearly ascertained what had happened, China's Foreign Ministry said. Wunna Maung Lwin accepted the results of the probe, which was that bombs from a Burmese aircraft killed Chinese citizens, and extended his apologies and offered compensation, the ministry said in a statement. "The Myanmar side will go after and punish in accordance with the law those responsible, and will also strengthen internal controls to avoid such an incident happening again," the ministry added. It said Burma will work with China to ensure stability along their 2,000 km (1,250 mile) border, much of which is remote and hard to access. The MNDAA, led by ethnic Chinese commander Peng Jiasheng, was formed from remnants of the Communist Party of Burma, a powerful China-backed guerrilla force that battled Burma's government until it splintered in 1989. The group struck a truce with the government that lasted until 2009, when government troops took over their region in a conflict that pushed tens of thousands of refugees into China's Yunnan province. The post China Says Burma Apologizes for Bombing, Admits Responsibility appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Municipality, Power Supplier Trade Blame Over Rangoon Water Shortages Posted: 02 Apr 2015 01:45 AM PDT Rangoon City Hall, where Yangon City Development Committee is housed. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Rangoon municipal authority and the city's main electricity supplier have been trading blame over who is responsible for growing water shortages in Burma's biggest city. Residents of Rangoon's eastern townships of Tamwe, Pazundaung, Botathaung, Sanchaung and Mingalar Taung Nyunt have suffered from frequent water supply problems since the beginning of March, sometimes for several days on end, while temperatures have been rising as hot season approach. An official at the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) said water reservoirs at Yegu are full and can supply the townships, but this has not happened properly due to a lack of steady electricity supply by the Yangon Electricity Supply Board (YESB). "Mainly, we supply water from water tanks using water pumps. But now, the water pump in Yegu is out of commission because there is no sufficient electricity supply. It can't operate because of low-voltage electricity," said the official of YCDC's water and sanitation division, who declined to be named. "It is concerned with [YESB]. Water pumps won't work if they don't supply sufficient electricity. But now, we are only operating while there is sufficient electricity," he said. YESB Chairman Aung Khaing said the board had taken measures to ensure that the pumps at Yegu could be operated at all times. "Electricity consumption is very high in summer. We have installed voltage amplifiers for water pumps. But now, YCDC is passing the buck to us," he said. The hot season often sees rolling power outages in Burma's commercial capital as demand soars while power supply from hydropower dams drops due to falling water levels. Some residents complained that authorities had done little to address the water shortages in their neighborhood. "We always face this problem in summer and the division government can't solve this. If they can't even supply water, which is a basic need of people, why are they holding a position of power?" said a Sanchaung Township resident, who declined to be named. "The division chief minister and municipal officials should resign. They didn't formally inform us that they would not be able to supply water. They are doing just as they please," he said. The post Municipality, Power Supplier Trade Blame Over Rangoon Water Shortages appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘Ha! He Thinks We’re Going to Share This…’ Posted: 02 Apr 2015 01:09 AM PDT The post ‘Ha! He Thinks We’re Going to Share This…’ appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

India’s IT Plans Suffer From Power Cuts, Congestion – and Monkeys Posted: 01 Apr 2015 11:24 PM PDT A Hindu man shares a roof with a monkey in Ayodhya, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, March 11, 2002. (Photo: Reuters) VARANASI, India — As India launches a US$18 billion plan to spread the information revolution to its provinces, the problems it faces are a holdover from the past—electricity shortages, badly planned, jam-packed cities, and monkeys. The clash between the old world and the new is sharply in focus in the crowded 3,000-year-old holy city of Varanasi, where many devout Hindus come to die in the belief that doing so will give them salvation. Varanasi is also home to hundreds of macaque monkeys that live in its temples and are fed and venerated by devotees. But the monkeys also feast on the fibre-optic cables that are strung along the banks of the Ganges river. "We cannot move the temples from here. We cannot modify anything here, everything is built up. The monkeys, they destroy all the wires and eat all the wires," said communications engineer A.P. Srivastava. Srivastava, who oversees the expansion of new connections in the local district, said his team had to replace the riverside cables when the monkeys chewed them up less than two months after they were installed. He said his team is now looking for alternatives, but there are few to be found. The city of over 2 million people is impossibly crowded and laying underground cable is out of the question. Chasing away or trapping the monkeys will outrage residents and temple-goers. Varanasi is part of the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist leader who came to power last May. A shortage of electricity is further complicating efforts to set up stable Wi-Fi in public places—daily power cuts can last for hours during the sweltering summer in Varanasi and across much of India. Modi's government has pledged to lay 700,000 kms (434,960 miles) of broadband cable to connect India's 250,000 village clusters within three years, build 100 new "Smart Cities" by 2020 and shift more public services like education and health to electronic platforms to improve access and accountability. Varanasi was the first of an eventual 2,500 locations singled out for street-level Wi-Fi. Industry experts predict that the broadband initiative, along with a surge in smartphone ownership, will mean about a third of Indians will have access to the internet by 2017, from about 20 percent, or 250 million people, now. Expanding internet connectivity and making access cheaper could add up to 1.6 percentage points, or about $70 billion, to India's GDP over a four-year period, consultants at McKinsey have estimated. Global Interest Global technology companies see opportunity in Modi's commitment to a digital future and are adapting their products to India's varied climates and external threats. IBM is in discussions to provide software to help several cities make the leap into the digital age. Network provider Cisco Systems is working with the government in the eastern city of Visakhapatnam to bring more education and healthcare services online, and has developed a "ruggedized" Wi-Fi box to survive India's varied climates and cut down on the need for cables that will be at the mercy of the elements—or monkeys. "We've built outdoor Wi-Fi-access routers specifically keeping in mind Indian environmental conditions," Dinesh Malkani, Cisco's India country head, said in an interview. "You cannot predict what challenges you are going to come up against." Bringing some order to India's chaotic cities with technology is a daunting task. India's urban population is forecast to swell by an additional 220 million to 600 million by 2031, potentially overwhelming already inadequate infrastructure. Many of the new digital projects are simply aimed at improving existing civic amenities: time traffic information to help people better plan their journey, or systems that allow individuals to monitor water leakages or waste management and then inform local authorities. Vinod Kumar Tripathi, an urban planning expert in Varanasi, said Modi's initiatives needed to be coupled with huge investments in improving basic services like housing, roads and waste management. "Everything here is old, outdated and the population pressure just makes it worse. This place was a small temple town and is now a commercial center," Tripathi said in his office overlooking the Banaras Hindu University. The free Wi-Fi service that started in February is certainly stimulating the consumer economy. Boatman Sandeep Majhi makes a living ferrying pilgrims and bereaved families who scatter ashes in the river after performing cremations. He recently purchased his first smartphone to download music and exchange videos with friends, and promote his boat business to tourists on Facebook. But he said the government needed to pay equal attention to the municipal services in a city where cars, rickshaws and carts fight for space through narrow, potholed roads lined with litter. Varanasi remains dependent on a 500-year-old, leaky drainage system for its sewage. "Free Wi-Fi is a good facility for tourists but I think the officials should think about cleaning the ghats," said the 20-year-old, referring to the steps down to the river, which are often caked with cow dung. The post India's IT Plans Suffer From Power Cuts, Congestion – and Monkeys appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma’s Trade Deficit Jumps 88 % in Fiscal 2014/15 Posted: 01 Apr 2015 10:15 PM PDT Employees count money at Yoma Bank in Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON —Burma's trade deficit jumped 88 percent in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, driven by rapid economic expansion in the formerly military-ruled country, state media and a Commerce Ministry official said on Thursday. Burma's economy was held back by mismanagement, corruption and the refusal of Western countries to trade and invest because of human rights abuses under the military, which ruled for almost 50 years until 2011. The semi-civilian government in office since then has implemented sweeping political and economic reforms and, in recognition, the European Union, Australia, the United States and other countries have lifted or eased sanctions, opening the door to the global economy. Myanmar imported more than US$16 billion of goods in fiscal 2014/15 and exports totaled more than $11 billion, leaving a deficit of more than $4.9 billion, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar reported. A senior Commerce Ministry official put the previous year's deficit at $2.6 billion. "It's impossible to cut down exports with the speedily growing market economy and speedily rising living standards," she said, requesting anonymity as she was not authorized to speak to the media. Capital goods such as construction materials for infrastructure projects accounted for about 40 percent of imports, while fuel made up 30 percent and consumer goods 20 percent, the official said. The government will attempt to close the deficit by spending $900 million over the next five years to boost the export capacity of domestic firms, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported. The post Burma's Trade Deficit Jumps 88 % in Fiscal 2014/15 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Sri Lanka: Chinese Leader for 3-Way Talks on Indian Ocean Posted: 01 Apr 2015 09:36 PM PDT Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a signing ceremony in the Great Hall of the People on March 26, 2015, in Beijing. (Photo: Reuters) COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's government said Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed three-party talks with India and Sri Lanka to clear any misgivings over its activities in the Indian Ocean region. Cabinet minister Rauff Hakeem, who accompanied President Maithripapa Sirisena on a four-day visit to China, told reporters on his return that the proposal was made at the talks between the two leaders. Hakeem quoted Xi as saying that the Chinese government was "looking forward to developing trilateral talks between Colombo, Delhi and Beijing and if there are any issues to be discussed they are always prepared to sort these matters through a trilateral dialog." India has been suspicious of China's increased involvement in a region it perceives to be its traditional territory of influence. China has funded infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka including an airport, sea port, power plants and highways. Its new Silk Road is seen as a way of encircling India and controlling port access along sea lanes linking the energy-rich Persian Gulf and economic centers in eastern China. During last week's visit, Liu Jianchao, China's assistant minister for foreign affairs, told reporters that it would be beneficial for the three countries to have cooperation in economic and social development. During his South Asian visit last September, Xi won support from Sri Lanka and the Maldives for the Silk Road. However, the new government in Sri Lanka has tried to balance its standing between the two regional giants. Shifting from his predecessor's heavy pro-China policy, Sirisena chose New Delhi for his overseas visit after his January election and ordered a review of China-funded projects, including a port city project that particularly made India uneasy. Soon after Sirisena's visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Sri Lanka, the first Indian head to visit the neighboring island in 28 years. The US$1.5 billion project that has become the face of China's influence in Sri Lanka is a new city to be built on an artificial land off Sri Lanka's west coast, which is close to India. China will hold outright ownership of part of the land under the agreement. Sirisena suspended the project. He has told China that its future will be decided after considering environmental impacts, national and regional security, said Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne who was also part of the delegation. The post Sri Lanka: Chinese Leader for 3-Way Talks on Indian Ocean appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Japan PM to Craft WWII Comments with Eye on US Posted: 01 Apr 2015 09:23 PM PDT Sailors stand on the deck of the Izumo warship as it departs from the harbour of the Japan United Marine shipyard in Yokohama. (Photo: Thomas Peter / Reuters) TOKYO — When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addresses Japan’s wartime past in a statement marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, the reaction of Washington will likely be as much, if not more, on his mind than that of Asian nations that suffered from Japanese military aggression. US officials have welcomed Abe’s push to strengthen the alliance and give Japan a bigger global security role less constrained by its pacifist constitution. But they have also made clear they are loath to see Abe stir regional tensions with comments that critics could construe as whitewashing history. Abe, whose conservative agenda includes a less apologetic stance over Japan’s wartime past, has previously expressed reservations about earlier apologies. They include a 1995 landmark statement by then-premier Tomiichi Murayama and 1993 remarks by government spokesman Yohei Kono over "comfort women" forced to work in wartime military brothels. More recently, Abe has said he intends to uphold such statements but has also signalled he wants to issue forward-looking comments in his own words to mark the anniversary of the conflict’s end in August. One option, experts say, is for Abe to endorse past government apologies but stop short of repeating, as many in China and South Korea want, key phrases such as references to "colonial rule and aggression" and a "heartfelt apology". "If his strategy is to get past the issue and focus on the future, he can probably do that if he just embraces what previous administrations have said," said Scott Harold, deputy director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Policy at The Rand Corporation, a US-based think tank. "At that point, I don’t think Chinese or Korean unhappiness would get much of an audience in the rest of Asia or the United States." Abe will be able to test the waters in high-profile speeches this month. First, he is expected to address a meeting in Indonesia on the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, a gathering of Asian and African leaders opposed to colonialism. Next, he will speak to a joint session of the US Senate and House of Representatives on April 29, remarks likely to focus on the increasingly tight ties between the two allies as Abe loosens constitutional limits on Japan’s military, enabling closer integration with US forces, as well as his agenda for generating economic growth. "Abe is hoping the positive messages he’ll bring to DC on security cooperation and the economy will outweigh criticisms of him on the history issues," said a US-based Japan expert. "All indications are that this will happen unless there are negative reports in the press about backtracking on history." Already, there are signs Abe is calibrating his comments ahead of the U.S. visit. In an interview with the Washington Post last week, Abe said "comfort women" had been "victimised by human trafficking", a contrast with the stance of Japanese ultra-conservatives who have argued many were prostitutes. Abe did not, however, say who was responsible for the trafficking. Abe’s conservative political allies want him to end what they see as an endless cycle of apologies that they believe distracts from Japan’s record since 1945 as a peaceful nation. "I know there are people, and countries, who are making an issue of whether certain words are there or not," Yoshitaka Shindo, a former member of Abe’s cabinet, told Reuters. "To repeat that over and over for political purposes—I don’t think we have to consider that because Japan is a country that has not gone to war even once during the last 70 years. That is something we must say." Abe’s critics, however, say the prime minister must lay to rest doubts about his view of wartime history that he himself has sparked. "He must erase those doubts and the simplest way to do so is to uphold the Murayama Statement unchanged," the 78-year-old Kono told Reuters in an interview last month. Japan’s chilly ties with China and South Korea, long plagued by history as well as territorial rows, have shown signs of a thaw, most recently when foreign ministers from the three countries agreed a leaders’ summit should be held soon. But Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made clear that much of the outlook for improvement depended on Japan proving it was serious about acknowledging its wartime past. A spokesman for South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Abe’s statement should include "comments that reflect a correct perception of history". Washington is keen to see better ties between Seoul and Tokyo, its two key Asian allies, but may not worry so much about complaints from Beijing, some US experts said. "There is already a reaction setting in in the United States that the Chinese are just hopping on this to score political points," said another US-based expert. "My guess is that he will probably say enough so that America won’t get that upset. Then I think he’s okay even if China and South Korea give him a hard time, it will be contained." The post Japan PM to Craft WWII Comments with Eye on US appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

A Milestone for the President, One Step Forward for Burma’s Ethnic Armed Groups Posted: 01 Apr 2015 05:01 PM PDT Government chief negotiator Minister Aung Min shakes hands with NCCT leader Nai Hong Sar as they exchange the draft nationwide ceasefire text. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) Many observers may wonder what goes on within Burma's three-year-long peace process. Some criticize the government's army, commonly known as Tatmataw, for its continuous attacks on the bases of ethnic armed groups, while others blame ethnic armed groups for not speeding up the process. Many are frustrated by the lack of public information—the failure to let the public know what goes on. Some doubt the political will of U Thein Sein's government. The unprecedented agreement on a draft text for a nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) was made on March 31, 2015. Burma observers and people involved in the peace process are excited by this new development. For the President this is a cause for celebration, as it lays the foundation for a continued peace process. However, for the ethic armed groups, this is only the beginning. Their ultimate goal is to achieve a federal state, but consensus must be reached among the ethic armed groups and the leading government. There is still no common understanding and agreement even among the ethnic political parties that are advocating for such a state. As the government celebrates its achievement on the NCA draft agreement, it seems to me that many Burma observers do not pay attention to the variables that could bring about this agreement. Since Thein Sein took the presidency in March 2011, he announced a presidential plan that included the "peace process" on its agenda. Some still doubt whether that was a sincere remark. However, the ethnic armed groups grabbed the opportunity as they viewed him as a negotiable man. Fourteen out of 22 ethnic armed groups agreed on bilateral peace deals between 2012 and 2013. Ethnic armed groups soon realized the need to coordinate and collaborate with each other, which brought about the Working Group for Ethnic Coalition (WGEC). This group became instrumental in formulating the roadmap for the peace process, its timeframe, political dialogue and, most importantly, the role of the military. Cheery Zahau is a human rights activist from Chin State. (Photo: Cheery Zahau) This was a turning point in the peace process game. The government's initial plan—including its end goal and its mechanisms for operation and reporting—was not clear. But the ethnic groups' plan is more consistent. From the early stages of bilateral ceasefire discussions, the ethnic armed groups insisted that they would play outside the confines of the 2008 Constitution until they achieved their end goals. In past ceasefire talks, under the leadership of Gen. Khin Nyunt and his predecessor, Burma's ethnic armed groups were not in a position to create the terms of demand and timeframe. This time, the working group managed to advance the game in terms of timeframe, in terms of demand and even in the interpretation of the terminology used in the draft agreement. This is a major achievement that the citizens of Burma and the international community alike either do not understand or are ignoring. It was the ethnic armed groups that introduced the concept of political dialogue; it was from their bitter experiences that a ceasefire alone would not be enough. This political dialogue is a space, wherein there will be wider and more inclusive participation. The political dialogue is where tough and complicated political issues can be discussed and resolved. In the early phases of the peace process, the government's negotiation team was satisfied with the status quo of accepting or offering business concessions as incentives for agreeing to a ceasefire. The more cautious and sensible Burma observers could see that the government's roadmap for peace was business as usual. The game changed, however, when government negotiators, led by Minister U Aung Min, agreed to the concept of political dialogue. Burma's ethnic groups deserve recognition for their consistency and perseverance. It was the maneuvering of the ethnic groups—both armed groups and political parties—that led the game. The president, it turned out was clever enough to see that and take credit for it. There's no risk in crediting him for the peace agreement, as this reflects well on Burma's reform. For the ethnic groups, however, reaching this agreement is just one step forward out of hundreds. There is still a long way to go toward achieving a federal state, which is the desired outcome of political dialogue. Only if Burma's major political powers—such as the Tatmadaw and political parties—deeply listen to what the ethnic groups have to say, can we say that the democratic transition has been successful and ensure that there will be no deadly reverse on the path to peace. The post A Milestone for the President, One Step Forward for Burma's Ethnic Armed Groups appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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