The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Case Closed in Par Gyi Inquiry, Widow Vows to Appeal
- Parliamentary Debate Begins on Constitutional Reform Bill
- Govt Summons Ethnic Peace Team, Defends Ceasefire Draft
- Ethnic Armed Group Accused of Abducting Local Party Leaders in Shan State
- Travel Association Calls for ‘ASEAN Plus Three’ Visa Exemption Deal
- Ma Ba Tha to Trade Bullhorns for Broadcast Towers in Radio Deal
- Rohingya Activist Attends Annual White House Iftar Dinner
- Ex-Spy Chief Criticizes Journalists in Rare On-Screen Interview
- Support Incumbents, Ma Ba Tha Leader Tells Monks
- Lawyers Seek New Ways to Help Hong Kong’s Human Trafficking Victims
- Philippines Steps Up Drills With US, Japan Forces Near South China Sea
- Instagram Users in North Korea Warned Site Put on Blacklist
| Case Closed in Par Gyi Inquiry, Widow Vows to Appeal Posted: 23 Jun 2015 05:58 AM PDT  A photo of killed reporter Aung Kyaw Naing, also known as Par Gyi. (Par Gyi /Facebook) MANDALAY — A court in eastern Burma's Kyaikmayaw Township has determined that a journalist killed in military custody late last year died of a gunshot wound, but delivered no remarks about who was to blame. Two soldiers implicated in his death were brought before a separate military tribunal earlier this year, but were acquitted in May according to the Myanmar Human Rights Commission (MHRC). Par Gyi, a freelance reporter also known by the name Aung Kyaw Naing, was at the center of a six-month controversy after he was abducted by the Burma Army while covering conflict in Mon State. The military announced about three weeks later that he had been shot while trying to escape, claiming he had attempted to abscond with an officer's gun. The statement said he had already been buried, accused him of association with an ethnic armed group and made no mention of his credentials as a journalist. After his body was exhumed in early November, some observers said they found signs of torture, a claim that was denied by an investigation led by the government-backed Myanmar National Human Rights Commission. A court inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death began earlier this year after months of delay, which the victim's widow, a well-known human rights activist named Ma Thandar, attributed to the government's reluctance to cooperate. Following Tuesday's verdict, Ma Thandar said she was not satisfied with the ruling, which failed to hold anyone accountable for the death of her husband. Ma Thandar said she plans to appeal to higher courts with the help of her lawyer, well-known human rights litigator Robert San Aung, who vowed to continue his pursuit of justice in the case. He doubted, however, whether that would be possible in Burma's civilian court system. "We will try to re-submit the case," Robert San Aung told The Irrawaddy, "but we are not sure whether the court will accept it, or whether the culprits will be punished, because they are Burma Army soldiers who have already been acquitted." The post Case Closed in Par Gyi Inquiry, Widow Vows to Appeal appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Parliamentary Debate Begins on Constitutional Reform Bill Posted: 23 Jun 2015 05:56 AM PDT  Policemen secure the gates of the massive parliamentary compound in Naypyidaw in November 2014. (Photo: Reuters) Lawmakers took up a proposed constitutional amendment bill at the Union Parliament on Tuesday, with deliberations scheduled to continue through Thursday, when a vote on changes to the contentious charter is expected. Tuesday's discussion was confined to four key clauses, with parliamentarians debating provisions on requirements for amending the Constitution (Article 436), qualifications for the presidency (Articles 59 and 60) and the military's role in the event that a state of emergency is declared, as laid out in Article 418(b). Fifteen lawmakers, including a militarily appointed MP, Brig-Gen Tin San Naing, discussed the proposed amendments bill on Tuesday. Win Myint, a lawmaker from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said NLD parliamentarians speaking on the floor of Parliament held to the party line on the constitutional reform plan put before the legislature, stating that its proposed changes don't go far enough. "We disagree with the Parliamentary Constitutional Amendment [Implementation] Committee because there are not enough changes to the Constitution [in its reform proposal]," said the lawmaker, who was one of two NLD lawmakers on the committee and represents Pathein constituency in Irrawaddy Division. The proposed amendment bill suggests that the threshold of lawmakers required to amend most parts of the Constitution be lowered from its current figure of more than 75 percent to, rather, at least 70 percent of votes. But the NLD has proposed that the threshold, established in Article 436, instead be lowered to "two-thirds of elected parliamentarians," which would exclude the votes of appointed military representatives, or more than half of the total Union Parliament, including unelected military MPs. "The Constitution should be able to be amended over time, so that it would prevent unnecessary conflicts," he said, referring to social upheavals over the decades that he blamed on the rigid and iron-fisted governance framework of Burma's former military regime. He added that Burma's 1947 Constitution set the bar for amendments at two-thirds of the total lawmakers, as is a common threshold in Western democracies. The NLD organized a nationwide signature campaign in favor of amending Article 436, collecting more than 5 million signatures before submitting the results to Parliament. Five NLD lawmakers gave their views on the amendment bill, voicing strong support for the removal of Article 59(f), which bars party chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency because her two sons are British. The parliamentary committee's proposed amendment to the article would only change its stipulations slightly, and would not make Suu Kyi eligible for the nation's highest office. On the first day of debate, Win Myint said the military nominee's remarks reflected that institution's seemingly entrenched position against any changes to the charter, which the former junta drafted and enacted following a sham national referendum in 2008. Any amendment bill passed by the required 75 percent of lawmakers would then be put to a nationwide vote, where more than 50 percent of the public must vote in favor in order for the changes to go into effect. The post Parliamentary Debate Begins on Constitutional Reform Bill appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Govt Summons Ethnic Peace Team, Defends Ceasefire Draft Posted: 23 Jun 2015 05:13 AM PDT
 Nai Hong Sar, vice-chairman of the NCCT, speaks to reporters after meeting with government negotiators in Rangoon, June 23, 2015. (Photo: Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Peace negotiations between the Burmese government and the country's myriad ethnic armed groups hit a major roadblock on Monday, as the government's chief negotiator reiterated his position to stick with the current draft of a nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA). Following an ethnic leadership summit in eastern Burma's Karen State earlier this month, the established ethnic negotiating bloc—the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team, or NCCT—ceded to a new group viewed by government as "hardliners." The new bloc, which does not yet have a distinct moniker, agreed to amend several of the existing 15 points of the draft and add one new provision, causing upset among government negotiators, who believed the long-awaited document had more or less been put to bed. Chief government negotiator Aung Min, Lt-Gen Thet Naing Win and Immigration Minister Khin Ye on Monday hosted talks with NCCT members Nai Hong Sar, Kwe Htoo Win and Htun Zaw at the Myanmar Peace Center in Rangoon, where they delivered a stern reminder that the government did not approve of the sudden change of tack, according to Nai Hong Sar. "They asked us why we formed a new committee, and said that they did not envision this," Nai Hong Sar said at a press briefing on Tuesday. The government delegates could not immediately be reached for comment and made no public statements about the closed-door meeting. Nai Hong Sar said the government's peace team, called the Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC), did not want to alter the draft agreement and would deliberate whether or not they would agree to continue negotiations with the newly formed ethnic bloc. The ethnic team defended its right to request amendments to the document, which both sides provisionally agreed to in late March, stating that it was only a "draft" and therefore unfixed. Nai Hong Sar said the UPWCs warnings betrayed a desire to fast-track the peace process before elections likely to be held in November of this year. "The government told us the country will have an election soon, and they would not be able to pay much attention [to the peace process] after July because they will be preparing for elections," Nai Hong Sar said, adding that peace in Burma has long been a goal of the country's ethnic groups, but that they only want a transparent deal that guarantees security and is fully agreed upon by all parties, whenever that may be. Kwe Htoo Win, general secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), took a slightly softer stance, claiming the recommended changes to the draft—made by the new bloc, of which he is also a part—are minor and could be easily implemented. "We don't want to change whole paragraphs, we just added a few words to the agreement," he said, explaining that some terminology should be made more specific to avoid confusing during a phase of political dialogue that should commence within 60 days of signing the accord. "Our wish is to sign the NCA," he assured reporters. "We want to have peace." The post Govt Summons Ethnic Peace Team, Defends Ceasefire Draft appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Ethnic Armed Group Accused of Abducting Local Party Leaders in Shan State Posted: 23 Jun 2015 04:36 AM PDT
 Leaders of the Ta'ang National Party pose for a photo at a party office in Loilem district. (Photo: Ta'ang National Party) RANGOON — The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), an ethnic armed group in Burma, has been accused of abducting the president and secretary of a local branch of the Ta'ang National Party in Shan State's Mongkaung Township. A senior member of the Ta'ang National Party's Mongkaung branch told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the RCSS was suspected because the party had received three threatening letters from the Shan ethnic armed group. The party's branch office President Mai Aung Khan and Secretary Mai Kyam Sar went missing on Saturday, according to the local executive committee member, who asked that his name be withheld out of fear of reprisals. "This is the territory of the RCSS, there is no need for a political party here," the committee member quoted one of the letters as saying. "If you won't accept that, something unexpected will happen soon." The local party leader acknowledged that he could not say with complete certainty that the RCSS was behind the abduction, but said the existence of the letters and a general consensus among locals pointed to the group as the likely perpetrator. "Their families are so worried about them," he said of the abducted men, adding that members of the RCSS central committee had been contacted by the party about its leaders' disappearance and the rebel group said it would "undertake an investigation process." The local party leader phoned The Irrawaddy on Tuesday to provide an update, saying villagers in the area had confirmed RCSS involvement in the two men's disappearance. The abduction is thought to be motivated by RCSS grievances over party activities in the area. "I got some information from the villagers; the RCSS met with villagers in Naung San Phu village tract [on Monday] and they provided three reasons for why they arrested the Ta'ang party leader. The first is that they disliked the development process, the second one is regarding a DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] video program that gave Ta'ang information to the media, and the third one is a party signboard posted in Mongkaung town." The RCSS also reportedly asked villagers whether they would support the Ta'ang National Party. The villagers responded, according to the anonymous Ta'ang leader, by saying that while they were not well-versed in politics, they would support any party that could offer regional development. Sai Nyunt Lwin, a member of the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD) central committee, said at least three other parties have branch offices in Mongkaung, including his party and the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The Ta'ang, also known as Palaung, are an ethnic minority that reside primarily in Shan State. A TNP central committee member, who also requested anonymity for safety reasons, confirmed the two men's disappearance. "It happened in Mongkaung market, ununiformed [men] took them. We can't say exactly the armed group name because they were wearing formal dress," he told The Irrawaddy on Monday. The party had requested that the Shan State government intervene to resolve the situation on the same day that the two men went missing, but had not yet received a response, he added. On Monday night, The Irrawaddy phoned Shan State Chief Minister Sao Aung Myat, who said that "we haven't received any information like that," before the line abruptly went dead. A call to the chief minister's press officer on Tuesday was redirected to the Shan State police chief, who could not be reached by phone. The Ta'ang National Party branch office in Mongkaung opened on June 4, and the central committee member said that on the day prior the party received the first threatening letter from the RCSS. In the letter, the RCSS sought a meeting with the Ta'ang National Party's central committee, but the senior leadership didn't meet with the Shan armed group because they were busy preparing for Burma's upcoming general election at the time, according to the senior committee member. He said the reason that the party opened a branch office in Mongkaung was because the region suffered from "a lack of education, poverty and underdevelopment." "Everything is backward compared with other regions, and local people also demanded us; we are recognized by the government and not an illegal political party." The chairman of the Loilem district election subcommission, Than Tin, on Monday said he had not been contacted by the Ta'ang National Party but had heard of an incident in Mongkaung, which is located within the district. Contacted by The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, RCSS spokesperson Col. Sai La said he had not received any information about the alleged abduction. The Ta'ang National Party contested Burma's 2010 general election, winning a total of six seats; four in the Shan State legislature and one in both the Upper and Lower chambers of the Union Parliament. The party also intends to compete in the upcoming 2015 general election, slated for November. The latter is engaged in sporadic conflict with the Burma Army in Shan State. The RCSS's armed wing, the Shan State Army-South, has signed a bilateral ceasefire with the government but is not involved in Naypyidaw's ongoing effort to negotiate a nationwide ceasefire with 16 ethnic armed groups. Additional reporting by Nyein Nyein. The post Ethnic Armed Group Accused of Abducting Local Party Leaders in Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Travel Association Calls for ‘ASEAN Plus Three’ Visa Exemption Deal Posted: 23 Jun 2015 03:38 AM PDT  Women sell fruit along Ngapali Beach, a popular tourist site in Thandwe Township, Arakan State. (Reuters) RANGOON — The Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations (FATA) has called on ASEAN countries to waive entry visa requirements for travelers among the 10 nations, as well as from China, Japan and South Korea, in order to boost the regional tourism industry, FATA's president told The Irrawaddy this week. "More Chinese, Korean and Japanese tourists are coming to this region year by year. Many travel agents in the region want to expand their market and that's why visa requirements should be waived," Dr Aung Myat Kyaw said. "If there is a visa [exemption agreement] among these 'ASEAN Plus Three' countries, tourists can travel through at any time. This is important for all [regional nations], that's why we spoke out on this issue." Visa exemptions headlined discussions at a FATA meeting held in Kuala Lumpur on June 13. Attendees noted a slowdown in tourist traffic from Western nations and the importance of harnessing growth in regional travel, according to a FATA statement released after the dialogue. "ASEAN nationals should be allowed to enter any member country without visas for a minimum stay of 14 days," FATA president Dr Aung Myat Kyaw said in the statement. "This is crucial in making the ASEAN Economic Community a reality towards the deadline on 31 December 2015… It is [also] imperative that all ASEAN countries drop visa requirements for visitors from these three East Asian countries before more of their nationals travel to other parts of the world and bypass ASEAN destinations altogether." ASEAN Plus Three was initiated in 1997 to strengthen cooperation between the 10-nation bloc and the three regional powers, including in the tourism sector. FATA Secretary General Hamzah Rahmat, who is also president of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, said in the statement that tourism is already "big business" in many ASEAN countries and is also instrumental in promoting other businesses and investment. "A government that insists on imposing visas does not want to see the potential tourism can bring for the economy," he said. Dr Aung Myat Kyaw also cited the potential economic boon of enabling the freer movement of tourists between countries but added that the private sector understood some governments' hesitancy in moving forward. "We can assist them to consider the reality that lies in this market," he said. Sabei Aung, managing director of Nature Dream Travel in Burma, called for greater collaboration among governments in the region in the interests of promoting the industry. "As the number of Burmese travelers is getting higher year by year, there are a few countries that have [waived] visa requirements. This is expected to bring benefits for our national travelers," she said. Passport holders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam are currently afforded visa-free entry into Burma for a period of 14 days. According to the Union of Myanmar Travel Association, more than 3 million tourists visited Burma last year and the government has ambitiously forecast 5 million arrivals for 2015. The post Travel Association Calls for 'ASEAN Plus Three' Visa Exemption Deal appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Ma Ba Tha to Trade Bullhorns for Broadcast Towers in Radio Deal Posted: 23 Jun 2015 02:28 AM PDT  Ma Ba Tha chairman Bhaddamta Tiloka Bhivunsa watches as a Thai monk signs a memorandum of understanding promising funding for the construction of two Buddhist radio stations in Burma, at Ma Ba Tha's weekend conference in Rangoon. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Ma Ba Tha will trade in their bullhorns for broadcast towers after a Thai religious delegation pledged funding to construct two radio stations for the Burmese Buddhist nationalist group. The Thai delegation, which included the president of the youth wing of the World Federation of Buddhists, signed a memorandum of understanding and formalized an offer of 40 million kyats (US$35,800) to finance equipment and construction of the stations during the two-year anniversary conference of Ma Ba Tha—also known as the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion—which was held in Rangoon's Insein Township over the weekend. "We only had pens before, but we've got microphones now, so thank you for the donation," said outspoken Ma Ba Tha member U Wirathu. "We will begin a revolution for our own media to protect our religion." Dr. Pornchai Pinyapong, the president of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth who was presence at the Ma Ba Tha anniversary conference, told The Irrawaddy that Thailand and Burma both needed Buddhist monks to aggressively defend their religion in the face of what he characterized as threats from minority Muslim populations. "We need to have some monks like Wirathu. About 80 percent of monks only act according to tradition. Sometimes we need fighter monks," he said. Dr. Pornchai, who has since 2009 served as an advisor to various committees on Buddhist matters in the Thai parliament, justified the establishment of Buddhist radio stations by raising the specter of the 55-year-old Thailand insurgency, which has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 Thai Buddhists and ethnic Malay Muslims in the country's far south. Known for their anti-Muslim activism, including the sponsorship of legislative measures to reduce the reproductive rights of the country's Muslim minority, Ma Ba Tha members have been vocal critics of the international media's coverage of the Rohingya crisis in western Arakan State. On several occasions, Ma Ba Tha leaders have rallied demonstrators to protest against the United Nations and international news networks, accusing them of mischaracterizing inter-communal violence and discrimination, and denying that the Rohingya Muslims constitute a legitimate ethnic group. At the weekend's conference, Ma Ba Tha representatives also called on the Buddhist clergy to support the incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party in the coming election, and proposed a ban on schoolchildren wearing Muslim headscarves. The post Ma Ba Tha to Trade Bullhorns for Broadcast Towers in Radio Deal appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rohingya Activist Attends Annual White House Iftar Dinner Posted: 23 Jun 2015 01:28 AM PDT  Rohingya activist and lawyer Wai Wai Nu, a former political prisoner, poses at her office in Rangoon in July, 2014. (Reuters) Wai Wai Nu, a young Rohingya activist based in Rangoon, was among the guests at a dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday night. The dinner was an Iftar—the traditional breaking of the daily Ramadan fast at sunset—held in observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Wai Wai Nu, a 27-year-old activist and former political prisoner who is working to build trust and promote peaceful coexistence and prosperity in her home state of Arakan in Burma's west, was seated at the president's table. Wai Wai Nu was jailed along with her family under the former military junta after her father, a Rohingya, was elected as a member of parliament following the 1990 elections—the results of which were never honored by the ruling regime. In remarks at the dinner, the US president referenced the plight of Muslims suffering around the world during Ramadan, including the stateless Rohingya minority in Burma. "Tonight, we keep in our prayers those who are suffering around the world, including those marking Ramadan in areas of conflict and deprivation and hunger," Obama said. "Those fleeing war and hardship in boats across the Mediterranean. The people of Gaza, still recovering from last year's conflict. The Rohingya in Myanmar, including migrants at sea, whose human rights must be upheld." He added: "We're proud to have Wai Wai Nu with us tonight, a former political prisoner who's working on human right issues for the Rohingya and equal rights for women." The post Rohingya Activist Attends Annual White House Iftar Dinner appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Ex-Spy Chief Criticizes Journalists in Rare On-Screen Interview Posted: 23 Jun 2015 12:32 AM PDT  Khin Nyunt speaks with exiled broadcaster DVB in Rangoon on June 22, 2015. (Photo: DVB Multimedia Group) RANGOON — Burma's former spy chief has urged the nation's media to refrain from criticizing the former military regime, warning that it could negatively impact development in the former pariah state. In video interview posted by DVB on Monday, Khin Nyunt said that digging into the actions of the country's former leaders was counterproductive and irrelevant, calling on reporters to be more introspective. "If you want to criticize other people, do it to yourself first," Khin Nyunt said, speaking after a drug abuse conference in Rangoon. When asked what he thought about the former regime's tight grip on the media, he angrily retorted that "it was a different system." "We were a military government," he continued, "so we had to do as the regime did. Now we have a democracy, but our democracy has to be suitable for Burma." Cautioning reformers to craft a custom-designed democratic system, he suggested: "Don't copy the United States and the UK. That's what I want to say." The video clip went viral on social media cites, drawing criticism from viewers who interpreted his comments as "bossy" and "arrogant." One Facebook user commented that Khin Nyunt "seems like a dying old tiger in defiance." Pho Thauk Kyar, a leading member of Burma's Press Council, defended the right of journalists to view both history and current events with a critical eye. "I have to ask, does he not want the media to reveal the wrongdoings of the past?" he said, speaking to The Irrawaddy by phone on Tuesday. "If the media takes a positive approach to taking lessons from the past, it is acceptable." Often referred to as Burma's "Prince of Evil," Khin Nyunt once oversaw the country's notorious military intelligence unit until his ouster for corruption in 2004. He is said to have been among the key architects of a brutal crackdown on the 1988 popular uprising, which led to countless deaths of monks, students and other activists. Members of his intelligence unit have often been accused of torturing political prisoners across the country. Despite years of calls from activists—including many who were imprisoned under his watch—the 75-year-old has to date refused to apologize for his actions under the former regime, maintaining that Burma's thousands of jailed dissidents were "guilty." The post Ex-Spy Chief Criticizes Journalists in Rare On-Screen Interview appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Support Incumbents, Ma Ba Tha Leader Tells Monks Posted: 22 Jun 2015 10:26 PM PDT  Bhaddamta Vimala, a monk who serves as secretary of Ma Ba Tha, speaks at a conference hold over the weekend to mark the nationalist group's two-year anniversary. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A senior monk from the Buddhist nationalist organization Ma Ba Tha has urged his fellow clergymen to rally support for the incumbent government instead of Burma's political opposition in the upcoming general election, beseeching thousands of the group's members at a conference in Rangoon. Criticizing the opposition as too inexperienced to lead the country, the politically outspoken monk Bhaddamta Vimala also railed against lawmakers opposing a controversial package of legislation currently making its way through Parliament. The four "Protection of Race and Religion" bills are at various stages of the legislative process, and have been criticized by some as an assault on women's rights. Ma Ba Tha, also known as the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, has been a major proponent of the bills, saying the legislation is necessary to preserve Burma's majority-Buddhist character. "We need to note their names, those who did not support our proposal," he told the gathered monks on Sunday. "I told our supporters not to give votes to those lawmakers in the upcoming election." More than 1,000 Buddhist monks attended the two-day conference to mark the organization's second anniversary in Rangoon's Insein Township. Bhaddamta Vimala, who serves as secretary of Ma Ba Tha, said his remarks were a call for voter education ahead of the election, which is expected in early November. Monks in Burma are constitutionally barred from voting. "We want to inform our supporters about who to give your vote to, who is the right person. Those who are against our proposal, this means they are people who are failing to protect our religion. If we do not inform our supporters … [they] will not know about it," he said. Though the Ma Ba Tha leader did not mention it by name, the National League for Democracy (NLD), as Burma's main opposition party, would appear to be the target of his disfavor. NLD chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi is believed to oppose the Protection of Race and Religion bills. Bhaddamta Vimala on Sunday encouraged his fellow clergymen to forgive the past transgressions of the current Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) government, which is stacked with generals from Burma's former military regime. "We all should forget the bad that they have done in the past. They are doing good things for us now. We should support them now," he said. "Do not look at the party. We only need to care about who will take care of our religion, who will care about the development of our community. This is just my personal opinion. I want this government to have one more term to run this country because I do not want our immature democracy to be damaged," he said, raising the specter of a coup d'état if Burma's opposition takes power and fails to "control the situation." The monk appeared to be referencing the potential for religious conflict in Burma, which has grappled with violence between Buddhists and Muslims in recent years. Ma Ba Tha hardliners have frequently voiced anti-Muslim sentiment since its founding two years ago, and Bhaddamta Vimala on Sunday said he feared the opposition, if victorious, could not be trusted to control the spread of Islam in Burma, a prospect often raised by the group. The senior monk's remarks come in a sensitive election year environment colored by ethnic and religious tension, and widespread expectation that political power is likely to shift if the poll is carried out credibly. In a report in April, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group wrote that interreligious tensions "could resurface in the politically charged atmosphere of an election." Asked if Bhaddamta Vimala's views represented the position of Ma Ba Tha, the influential monk U Wirathu said they did not, and that the organization did not have a policy of attempting to influence how the electorate votes. But U Wirathu, a firebrand cleric in his own right, did not hesitate to indicate that he shared Bhaddamta Vimala's approval of the ruling USDP and apprehension at the prospect of an opposition victory. "I've found that the current momentum from the government is good," he said. "The political way they [opposition voices] are going is too fast, and it is dangerous for the people." The weekend remarks are not the first time that a member of Ma Ba Tha has made overtly political remarks, citing the need to protect Buddhism. As The Irrawaddy reported earlier this month, the group's increasingly assertive foray into politics could eventually see its members run afoul of election law. The post Support Incumbents, Ma Ba Tha Leader Tells Monks appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Lawyers Seek New Ways to Help Hong Kong’s Human Trafficking Victims Posted: 22 Jun 2015 10:25 PM PDT  Abused foreign domestic helpers chat along a corridor in Bethune House, which provides temporary shelter for abused victims, in Hong Kong October 23, 2006. (Photo: Reuters) HONG KONG — An Indonesian domestic worker arrives in Hong Kong and has her passport taken away, a Bangladeshi teenager is coming to work on a construction site but he is denied a fair wage—two examples of the many forms that modern-day slavery can take. Neither case could be tried in Hong Kong's courts under human trafficking laws because the territory narrowly defines it as a crime only involving cross-border sex trafficking for prostitution. "This means it excludes trafficking for labor exploitation, debt bondage, domestic servitude or similar practices," Archana Kotecha, head of legal at Liberty Asia, a charity that fights against modern-day slavery, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. As a result there are few human trafficking prosecutions in Hong Kong, which the US State Department in 2014 identified as a destination, transit and source territory for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. But lawyers say other laws already on the books could be used to prosecute perpetrators of trafficking. Cases such as withholding a passport or not paying a fair wage, for example, could involve more than 50 breaches of Hong Kong's laws. 'A Crime of Many Crimes' "There is a clear legal gap when it comes to tackling human trafficking here," said Kotecha. "But human trafficking is a crime of many crimes, which means other laws may be applied to help trafficking victims." To shed light on the legal situation, Liberty Asia and law firm Reed Smith Richards Butler have joined forces to analyze Hong Kong's legal framework and suggest strategies to improve prosecution rates and the protection of trafficking victims. "The Hong Kong Legal Gap Analysis" report, released on Monday, pinpoints how existing laws can be applied in suspected human trafficking cases. Kotecha cited false imprisonment—for example if a domestic worker is held in a home against her will, which is tantamount to slavery—as an offense that could be tried as a civil case to hold the perpetrator to account and compensate the victim. "Civil law is becoming increasingly important in human trafficking cases, and it is an option that puts the victim in the driving seat whereas in a criminal case, the victim is practically a disempowered bystander," said Kotecha. Other cases to be tried in the civil courts could include sexual harassment and employment law claims. Anti money-laundering laws can also play a crucial part in tackling human trafficking, said Kotecha. "You can't divorce money-laundering from human trafficking and it is imperative for Hong Kong to identify these tainted funds," said Kotecha. Hong Kong's anti-money laundering regime is well-placed to deal with the proceeds of crime arising from human trafficking but it would be more effective if the definition of human trafficking was broadened, said Kotecha. The US State Department's 2014 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report said people from mainland China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries as well as Colombia, Chad and Uganda had become victims of sex trafficking and forced labor in Hong Kong. The post Lawyers Seek New Ways to Help Hong Kong's Human Trafficking Victims appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Philippines Steps Up Drills With US, Japan Forces Near South China Sea Posted: 22 Jun 2015 10:14 PM PDT
 US Navy personnel and a Filipino sailor practice techniques to arrest and search a suspected pirate during an exercise aboard USS Forth Worth in Puerto Princesa city, Philippines, on June 22, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines — The Philippines will hold separate naval exercises with US and Japanese forces this week on a Philippine island that is not far from the disputed Spratly archipelago, where China's rapid creation of seven island outposts is stoking regional tensions. Manila, which has one of the weakest navies in Asia, has stepped up its security cooperation this year in the wake of Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, not just with ally Washington, but also with Japan and Vietnam. A Philippine military official said there was no plan for the Philippine, US and Japanese navies to hold combined exercises on Palawan island, 160 km (100 miles) from the Spratlys, although the drills could intersect because Manila had limited naval assets. "At some point all three forces could merge in one activity because we only have two ships and limited aircraft to take part in these exercises," said the official, who declined to be identified. Late on Sunday, reporters could see two P3C-Orion maritime surveillance planes, one belonging to the United States and the other Japan, parked on a military airfield in Puerto Princesa City, the Palawan capital. The two-week exercises with the United States began late last week. The two-day drills with Japan start on Tuesday, officials said. Both will take place in Philippine territorial waters, not part of the contested South China Sea. China's official Xinhua news agency condemned what it said was Japan's "meddling." "By muddying the waters in the South China Sea, Tokyo also aims to divert increasingly intensive global attention on Japan's lack of remorse over its atrocities during World War Two," Xinhua said in an English-language commentary. While the Philippine military trains regularly with US forces, it only held its first joint naval drills with Japan in May. Tokyo has no territorial claims in the South China Sea, but it worries about becoming isolated should China dominate a waterway through which much of Japan's ship-borne trade passes. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has beefed up security cooperation across Southeast Asia this year. China claims most of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims. Beijing said last week that some of its reclamation work in the Spratlys would be completed soon but that it would continue to build facilities on the reefs it occupies. It says the outposts will have undefined military purposes as well as help with maritime search and rescue, disaster relief, environmental protection and navigation. The post Philippines Steps Up Drills With US, Japan Forces Near South China Sea appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Instagram Users in North Korea Warned Site Put on Blacklist Posted: 22 Jun 2015 09:55 PM PDT  A traffic policeman use a mobile phone in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. (Photo: Petar Kujundzic / Reuters) PYONGYANG — Warnings are appearing on Instagram accounts in North Korea that say access to the popular photo-sharing app is being denied and that the site is blacklisted for harmful content. Opening the app with mobile devices on the North Korean carrier Koryolink has resulted in a notification in English saying: “Warning! You can’t connect to this website because it’s in blacklist site.” A similar notice in Korean says the site contains harmful content, though that is not mentioned in the English version. Such warnings have also appeared when websites that link to Instagram are accessed through desktops or laptops using LAN cables on the North Korean Internet provider. The warnings have been appearing on and off for at least five days. The Internet and any kind of social media remain off-limits to virtually all North Koreans, but North Korea decided in 2013 to allow foreigners in the country to use 3G on their mobile phones, which generally require a local SIM card to get onto the Koryolink mobile carrier network. That opened the door for them to surf the Internet and post to social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. More recently, even live-streaming video had been posted using the new Twitter app Periscope. Photos from North Korea on Instagram posted by foreigners—though regular users are very few in number—provide a rare window on daily life in North Korea. But they have also posed a quandary for North Korean officials who are highly concerned about the flow of information and images in and out of the country. Tech support staff at Koryolink said they were not aware of any changes in policy regarding Instagram. There has been no notice from the government or from the mobile phone service to its customers that Instagram has been blacklisted. Instagram officials had no comment when contacted by The Associated Press. Instagram is owned by Facebook, which is functioning normally in Pyongyang. It was still possible to use the app, despite the warnings, on some mobile devices. But attempts on others to post photos or view user galleries through the standard Koryolink connection have been virtually impossible, suggesting that some access was indeed being obstructed. It was unclear where the blockage was originating, how widespread it was, whether it was a hack of some sort or if it had any connection to a fire on June 11 at a luxury hotel often used by tourists and foreign visitors in Pyongyang. Photos of the fire leaked out of the country and were carried widely by media around the world. But the fire has not yet been reported by the North’s state-run media. Besides Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites were also functioning normally. Other websites were viewable as usual even on mobile phones on which Instagram was not functioning. It is estimated that more than 2 million North Koreans now use mobile phones, but with few exceptions they are not allowed to access the Internet, meaning the mobile service is available primarily to foreign visitors, residents and businesspeople in the country. Andrea Lee, CEO of Uri Tours, which organizes tours to North Korea, said she was not aware of a policy shift toward blocking Instagram. “We have been using Instagram to post photos from our (North Korea) tours since Koryolink, the local provider, announced that 3G SIM cards would be available to foreigners for purchase,” she said. “While I’m unaware of this recent shift in policy toward blocking Instagram, I hope this will be a temporary policy as it’s been a great tool for our company to show prospective travelers what our tours are like and to get people motivated in traveling there.” She added that the SIM cards are priced more for the long-term frequent traveler, and usually tourists who are in the country for just a few days opt not to purchase them. “But those who do possess the SIM card have near open access to the web, including social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google and many other sites that have historically been blocked in places like China.” The post Instagram Users in North Korea Warned Site Put on Blacklist appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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