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Saturday, October 10, 2015

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘Cartoonists Have Been on the Side of the People’

Posted: 09 Oct 2015 08:30 PM PDT

On this week's Dateline, cartoonists Maung Maung Aung and Win Aung discuss the Burmese cartoon tradition. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Aye Chan Myae: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy. This year marks 100 years since comics were introduced to Burma. I have invited cartoonists to discuss what is needed for the artform to develop and the relationship between cartoons and journalism. Artists Maung Maung Aung and Win Aung will join me for the discussion. I am Irrawaddy editor Aye Chan Myae.

This year marks the centenary of the introduction of cartoons into Burma. Cartoonists have gone through various experiences in that time. U Win Aung, what is your view on the experiences of cartoonists in political, social and economic aspects in 100 years?

Win Aung: I don't see Burmese cartoons having a smooth history in the later period of this timeframe. Burmese cartoons have a good origin story. Sayagyi Shwetalay started his cartoon work in the period of the independence struggle. Though Burma was at that time under colonial rule, there was a certain degree of freedom of expression. Burma then regained its independence, and in the time of Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, there was also freedom of expression. The most striking example is cartoons of Saya U Ba Gyan, and taking at look at them, one can know (that there was freedom of expression). Then there came the caretaker government, then the Revolutionary Council, and finally one-party dictatorship under the Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP). Then, the degree of freedom of expression cartoonists had enjoyed gradually decreased. Cartoonists had fewer things to draw cartoons about.

ACM: We have gone through the time of BSPP and its successor. Cartoonists enjoyed a good time at first. Then there were restrictions in the time of the BSPP. But, cartoon played an important part in every political evolution of Burma. Cartoonists took part in it. U Maung, things have changed very swiftly today and with the proliferation of social media, cartoonists can draw very freely. And there are lots of cartoonists. Whether people like their work or not, it is undeniable that the number of cartoonists has increased significantly. There are also many young cartoonists who draw for fun in this age of social media and democracy. U Maung, would you tell me about the situation of cartoonists and their freedom of expression in this age?

Maung Maung Aung: I have now written cartoons for around 45 years. In these 45 years, cartoonists have been on the side of the people, reflecting the economic, social and political situations of the country. Now, it seems that we get somewhat more freedom after years of restriction. So, more people are drawing cartoons. There are two types of cartoonist. The first are cartoonists who takes the art form as his life and the second are opportunistic cartoonists. There has been some impact on those who have continuously engaged in cartoon art with deep faith. There is an unwritten code of conduct among cartoonists, according to what we have learnt from our seniors. Previously, there were prohibitions on things such as mocking the poor and the disabled and making personal attacks. It is more important (not to do such things) in this democratic era. To an artist, democracy is like a double-edged sword. While it can be used to stab others, it can also hurt the artist. So, it is not true that cartoonists can draw as they please. They will have to take responsibility for their actions when the law of democracy flourishes for some time.

ACM: We journalists also have a code of ethics. Whether there is press scrutiny or not, we have to operate according to our ethics. Cartoonists have their own ethics. There should be ethics in any field of arts. What do you think of ethics among cartoonists, U Win Aung? Would you compare the code of conduct that respected cartoonists have previous observed and the situation at present?

WA: Mainly, what is important for a cartoonist is his faith. Cartoonists should make sure their creations reflect the life of people. Many say that cartoonists or journalists should not be biased, but must be neutral. It is wrong. They should have bias. They must. By bias, I don't mean prejudice. If one side is right and another is wrong, which side they would stand for? Of those who oppress and those who are oppressed, which side they would stand for? They have to take a position. If a cartoonist has adopted a firm position and are to draw cartoons from that position, they have to think about ethics. As Saya Maung Maung has said, we are not supposed to write cartoons focusing on personal and racial feelings. For example, if the political system is bad, we can draw things about those who create that system, but we are not supposed to draw things about the personal lives of the creators of that system.

ACM: Cartoonists should understand that?

WA: Yes, they should understand and also observe it. Today, some have written dirty things. They use foul language in text. They should avoid personal attacks and foulness in illustrations and texts. I would like to give an example of a cartoon by U Ba Gyan. When the Pyitawtha Project came to failure, U Ba Gyan drew a cartoon about the corruption of the ministers of U Nu government. He used words such as 'traitor', 'stooge' and 'fat cat'. He also used the word 'goat bell'. Excuse me for being rude. By goat bell he meant the testicles of the goat which rock from side to side. He used subtle illustrations and texts. He used the word goat bell and covered that part of the goat with a piece of cloth in illustrating it.

ACM: Burma's cartoon tradition has reached its centenary and there has been a struggle in its history. While there are cartoonists who value and devote their whole life to cartoons, there are also people today who draw without professional skills today. Some don't even use pens—they use computers instead. It has become very easy to draw cartoons. What is your assessment of the quality of cartoons today?

MMA: It depends on the situations we have gone through. In successive periods, we are like a person standing at the edge of a chasm. Drawing cartoons does not provide a secure livelihood, but we can't help drawing. I will continue working this job and I have to think about how to survive with it. Again, a cartoonist needs to have creative ideas and expertise. When we were young cartoonists, editors played a very important role. They asked us to change things if our ideas and illustrations were not good enough. We have passed through such an age and it was beneficial to us. In the past, it was very difficult to be a cartoonist. Without expertise, it was impossible to become a cartoonist. But today, it is easy to enter and get a place in the cartoon world, and different people have entered. This affects the cartoon world, decreases the quality of cartoons and cartoonists. The aesthetic quality of our tradition has declined.

WA: There are people who enter the cartoon field by drawing an issue without knowing the basics of art. It is editors who have to decide if their drawings are cartoons or not.

ACM: Cartoonists have to accept (rejection) if editors give them good reasons. Only then can the quality of cartoons be better. We have grown up in the company of cartoons and we love cartoons very much. I wanted to see cartoonists since I was a child. So, we want our children to love cartoons and cartoon characters. So, I think the cartoons must be of good quality.

WA: Speaking of quality, I would like to stress the important role of the editor. I'd like to give you an example. When U Win Tin (the late patron of the NLD and seasoned journalist) moved to the Hanthawaddy newspaper house to Mandalay and published the newspaper there as the chief editor, cartoonists emerged in large numbers in Mandalay. There were as many as 60. And there were lots of good cartoons. The period was even dubbed the Hanthawaddy cartoon era. So, a good editor can turn out many cartoonists. There remains many cartoonists nurtured by the Hanthawaddy newspaper. The role of the editor is very important.

ACM: Your discussion is very interesting. I wish cartoonists great success and progress, on the occasion of the centenary of Burmese cartoons. Thank you both for your contribution.

The post Dateline Irrawaddy: 'Cartoonists Have Been on the Side of the People' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Oct. 10, 2015)

Posted: 09 Oct 2015 08:23 PM PDT

Commuters move along Stilwell road in Lido town, about 600 km (373 miles) from Guwahati, a major city in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, August 19, 2005. (Photo: Reuters)

Has Burma's 'Social Spending' Surpassed Military Expenditure?

With the country going to the polls in less than a month, it seems an opportune time to assess the progress that President Thein Sein's nominally civilian government has made in reversing one of the more damaging longstanding policies of Burma's rulers.

Successive military leaders focused large amounts of the national budget toward the armed forces, at the expense of education and health spending.

When Thein Sein took the reins in early 2011, social spending was among the lowest in the world, even as government coffers were already filling with new revenue from offshore gas fields. The results: Foreign investors regularly complain that education levels among the workforce are a major obstacle to modernizing the economy, and those who can afford it—especially the families of government officials—still fly to foreign cities for health care.

Education spending was just 0.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2012, and health spending was just 0.2 percent, according to the Asian Development Bank. The true scale of military expenditure, officially estimated somewhere around 4 percent of GDP, is hard to know, given the opacity of departmental spending and the military's numerous companies that control large segments of the economy.

The World Bank this week published its "Myanmar Economic Monitor" for 2015, which included the news that the economy may grow less than expected next year, depending on how serious the impacts of this year's flooding turn out to be on agricultural production.

The detail of the Bank's report had some praise for the government in addressing what it diplomatically calls "gaps in public service delivery." The government has begun to "rebalance" its spending, thanks to improved tax collection, it said. Government revenue amounted to 11 percent of GDP in 2014, compared with just 6 percent in 2009.

According to the report, total spending on "social services" has increased from 10 to 33 percent of government spending between 2009 and 2014.

But the Bank went further, claiming that a major milestone had been reached in government spending in the 2015-16 budget, which it refers to as the Union Budget Law (UBL).

"Social services for the first time constitutes the largest share of the UBL (3.9 percent of GDP compared to 3.77 percent for defense)…." it said. "Whilst defense spending remains high compared to other countries, it continues to trend down both as a share of GDP and as a share of the budget."

This apparent turnaround would give the incumbent government an opportunity to boast its reformist credentials to the electorate. It would also be a helpful factoid for those wanting to dismiss claims that Thein Sein's administration, packed with former military officials, has not dented the primacy of the military in government policy.

But Sean Turnell, an economist at Macquarie University in Sydney and an economic advisor Burma's opposition, accused the World Bank of using figures that distort the true picture.

"Health and education spending is falling as a proportion of GDP, and together continue to track well-below spending on the military," he said in a Facebook post in response to the World Bank's update. "This distorted relativity has long been a pathology in Burma, is highly unusual, and is not 'called out' enough.

"There is, in my view, no better indicator of a government's priorities."

He explained that the World Bank was "lumping in" other spending, including pensions for government staff, within its "social spending" category, along with education and health spending. Additionally, plenty of "off-book" military spending is ignored in the Bank's report, Turnell argued.

"This new metric is without utility in my view, and only serves to blind us to the realities in Burma," Turnell said.

Work to Begin on Renewed 'Ledo Road'

Kachin State Chief Minister La John Ngan Hsai has reportedly said that work will begin this month on a new Chinese-backed version of the "Ledo Road" that played a major role in World War Two in Burma.

The road connected the border town of Ledo, in northeast India's Assam, with the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina, and was intended to allow goods to be transported from British India to nationalist China, avoiding the areas of Burma then under Japanese control. It was also known as the Stilwell Road, after the American general who oversaw its construction in the early 1940s.

Chinese state-owned newswire Xinhua reported last week comments by the state minister saying that Chinese regional authorities were cooperating on a new highway along the route.

"As part of Kachin’s development efforts, the project will be constructed in two phases under a build-operate-transfer system with Baoshan regional authorities and local companies," La John Ngan Hsa was quoted saying.

"For the first three years, the project will cover construction of the road section between [Myitkyina] and [Tanai], while for the second three-year phase will be the section between [Tanai] and [Pansaung], he disclosed.

"Coordination is also being made with Dehong regional authorities [in China's Yunnan Province] for the building of another section between Lwejie and Momauk, he added."

While the original road was constructed in wartime, the Xinhua report did not mention the ongoing conflict in Kachin State, where clashes continue to erupt between the Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Army.

Vietnamese Bank Claims to Be Next Burma Entrant

Officials from Vietnam's BIDV have claimed the bank is next in line to receive approval to enter Burma's nascent market for foreign banks, according to Reuters.

BIDV said it had been assured by President Thein Sein that it would be allowed to offer banking services in the country next year, the newswire reported. The bank failed to win one of nine licenses handed to overseas banks this year that allow them to offer a limited range of services to customers in Burma.

"In a statement, it said Myanmar President Thein Sein had on Tuesday told BIDV’s chairman 'the government will give priority to BIDV'," Reuters said.

Australia's ANZ Banking Group, Bangkok Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, as well as a clutch of Japanese banks, are among the nine banks that have already opened branches in Rangoon.

Burma Considering 'Safeguards' to Stop Price Dumping

Amid concerns among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that increased economic integration will have negative impacts, an advisor to the Commerce Ministry has said legislation will be enacted to prevent foreign companies dumping low-cost goods in the country, according to state media.

Dumping occurs when overseas companies offload goods at below their market price. While not strictly illegal under international trade rules, it can cripple local industries, which may struggle to compete with larger competitors overseas.

The Global New Light of Myanmar reported comments from the adviser, Maung Aung, saying the law was needed before the Asean Economic Community (AEC) begins to come into force. The AEC officially begins next year but is expected to be implemented more slowly following concerns that the region is not ready for the envisioned single market.

"During his presentation, the adviser said that levels of imports continue to increase following the country's economic reforms combined with trade relaxation and the implementation of the AEC," he said.

"He highlighted the importance of laws that allow small and medium-sized enterprises to call on the government for imposing anti-dumping and countervailing duties and safeguard measures."

Philippines Power Company 'Scouting for Ventures' in Burma

The Philippines' second-largest electricity producer is eyeing a new venture in Burma, according to a Bloomberg report this week.

Aboitiz Power Corp. is looking to expand in the Southeast Asian region as domestic projects begin to look less attractive, the report said, quoting a financial analyst.

The company is involved in hydroelectric and geothermal energy projects, as well as "non-renewable power plants" across its home country, according to its website. Aboitiz Power is planning to have built a portfolio of projects producing a total of 4,000 megawatts in the Philippines by 2020, the Bloomberg report said.

Chief Executive Officer Erramon Aboitiz told Bloomberg that the company was set to "scout for ventures" in Burma, as well as in Vietnam. The company has already entered agreements to develop power projects in Indonesia.

"We want to stay close to home," he was quoted saying. Indonesia, Vietnam and Burma are "the countries that pose the best opportunity for us. We've chosen ASEAN because we can add value in these places," the CEO said, adding that Aboitiz Power may invest $500 million in regional projects in the next five years.

The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Oct. 10, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Friday, October 9, 2015

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Army Chief’s Office Issues Nomenclature Directive to Journalists
$4.9m Repair Bill for Rail Network after Flood Damage
Students Jailed for Graffiti Protests Sentenced to 3 Months
DKBA Splinter Group Clashes With BGF in Karen State
Local Lanterns Set to Shine Ahead of Major Festival
Smoking Set to Kill One in Three Young Men in China, Study Finds
Malaysia Arrests Lawyer Critical of PM Najib
Rohingya Trafficking Victims Endure Stress of Limbo, Stranded In Thailand
Burmese Official Accuses China of Meddling in Peace Talks
Australia, Philippines Negotiating Asylum Seeker Transfer Deal

Army Chief’s Office Issues Nomenclature Directive to Journalists

Posted: 09 Oct 2015 05:35 AM PDT

A journalist attempts to interview military officers entering the Parliament in Naypyidaw, 2012. (Photo: Kyaw Zwa Moe / The Irrawaddy)

The Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army) this week issued a directive through the Irrawaddy Division government requesting that local media refrain from stipulating the military ranks of ethnic leaders in their reporting, journalists told The Irrawaddy.

The instruction was relayed from the Burma Army commander-in-chief's office to the Pathein-based South Western Command which then informed the Irrawaddy Division government.

"The [divisional government's] Information and Public Relations Department called us and gave us official written instruction," Zaw Tint, chairman of the local chapter of the Myanmar Journalists Association (MJA), told The Irrawaddy.

The letter instructs that the ranks, such as General and Lt-Gen, of ethnic armed group leaders should not be used in media reports. The Information and Public Relations Department handed the letter to the local Myanmar Journalists Association on October 8, which posted it online.

Lt-Gen Yawd Serk and Gen Gun Maw, chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State and vice chief-of-staff of the Kachin Independence Army respectively, are used as examples in the directive.

The military "should instruct the central [government] rather than divisions or states," said Thiha Saw, a senior member of the MJA. "They should make an official announcement."

The military should also inform media organizations such as the Interim Press Council and the Myanmar Journalists Network (MJN) directly, said Thiha Saw, who is also a member of the Interim Press Council.

At a meeting attended by military officials including Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and the Interim Press Council in September, a senior military officer had made the same request, according to veteran journalist Poe Thaukkyar who attended the meeting.

"Their letter includes a phrase [asking the local government] 'to supervise and monitor the media.' We oppose this choice of words. It oversteps the media law. The government is not authorized to [issue directives] as long as we report in line with ethics and within the legal framework," said Ye Yin Htun, editor-in-chief of the Myanmar Herald Journal in Irrawaddy Division.

The post Army Chief's Office Issues Nomenclature Directive to Journalists appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

$4.9m Repair Bill for Rail Network after Flood Damage

Posted: 09 Oct 2015 04:41 AM PDT

People walk across a damaged rail bridge in Kale Township, Sagaing Division in August. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Burma will need nearly US$5 million and 18 months to finish repairing extensive damage to the nation's rail network in the wake of August's floods disaster.

State run newspapers reported on Friday that the Ministry of Rail Transport estimates a 6.3 billion kyats (US$4.9 million) repair bill for a number of rail lines operating in seven of the country's 15 administrative divisions.

Than Htay, the Naypyidaw-based deputy general manager of Myanmar Railways, told The Irrawaddy that the rail operator was prioritizing repair works on lines linking Mandalay with Kachin state capital Myitkyina, the line between Pakokku and the Sagaing township of Kale, and damaged track in Arakan State.

"We don't have enough in our budget for all these damaged tracks, that's why we're calculating total amount to propose a budget to the government and other institutions like the World Bank," he said. "As priority the Mandalay to Myitkyina route is now being repaired but it will take time. For long term strength, we need to repair lines as well as collapsed bridges along the tracks."

The Ministry of Rail Transport said that some damaged lines, including those connecting Mandalay to Myitkyina and Lashio, Letpadan and Tharawaw in Pegu Division, and Pathein to Hinthada and Rangoon are back in partial service. The line connecting Kale and the Magwe Division town of Gangaw is expected to return to service in the second week of October.

Tin Soe, the general manager of the ministry's Civil Engineering Department, told state-run media that a proposal for special repair funds had been submitted to the Union government, and the ministry had provided a report on the damage to the World Bank. He said it would take upwards of one and a half years to replace destroyed bridges along some lines.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have provided millions of dollars in funds for infrastructure development to Burma since Thein Sein assumed the presidency in 2011.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 117 people died in Burma's August floods, with a further 1.6 million people displaced across the country.

The post $4.9m Repair Bill for Rail Network after Flood Damage appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Students Jailed for Graffiti Protests Sentenced to 3 Months

Posted: 09 Oct 2015 04:24 AM PDT

Four student protesters were sentenced to several months in prison on October 9, 2015. (Photo: Teza Hlaing / The Irrawaddy)

MANDALAY — A court in Mandalay's Amarapura Township sentenced four student protesters to several months in prison on Friday for charges related to anti-government graffiti on the grounds of Yadanabon University.

Naing Ye Wai, Aung San Oo, Jit Tu, and Nyan Lin Htet, were sentenced under articles 143, 147, and 505(b) of Burma's penal code for having spray-painted messages critical of the government on university property in July.

The students' messages demanded that the quasi-civilian government, which came to power in 2011, step down, release students jailed for their involvement in the education reform movement, and amend article 436 of the constitution, which effectively grants the military veto power over constitutional change.

The four students had also been arrested in March of this year after police brutally cracked down on a protest in Letpadan, Bago Division, against a new National Education Law, but they were released after a few weeks because they had to sit their university exams.

Burma's penal code metes out punishment to persons who are present when an offence is committed, who are members of an unlawful assembly or riot, or who cause fear or public alarm that may provoke actions against the state.

All four students had initially been sentenced to one year in prison under Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, but the court reduced this sentence to three months because they had already spent several months in detention.

Naing Ye Wai, however, who was president of Yadanabon's student union, will serve an additional three months related to another case and faces a total of six months in prison.

Immediately after the court's decision, the students were escorted to Mandalay Oh Bo prison, where they will serve out their terms.

"We feel nothing about this and will not submit an appeal to a higher court. If the quasi-civilian government is still in power, there will be many cases like this. We simply don't want this kind of government in a democratic country," said Naing Ye Wai, before he was taken to prison.

Calling the decision "ridiculous," Thein Than Oo, the students' lawyer, remarked that the sentence was still lighter than expected due to pressure from the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission.

Nonetheless, the lawyer said that "charging students and activists for peaceful assembly threatens freedom of speech and the development of democracy in Burma."

The post Students Jailed for Graffiti Protests Sentenced to 3 Months appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

DKBA Splinter Group Clashes With BGF in Karen State

Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:57 AM PDT

Members of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) are pictured. (Photo: Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The Karen State Border Guard Force clashed Thursday with a splinter faction of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) near Kaw Moo village on the old Kawkareik-Myawaddy road in Karen State.

The fighting took place at 10 am and clashes continued until 2 pm, according to Col. San Aung of the splinter group.

"There have been sporadic clashes with the BGF these past months. News of the fighting did not emerge [immediately] because it was taking place in the jungle. As the other side [BGF] is stronger than us, we are fighting guerilla warfare," San Aung told The Irrawaddy, adding that the BGF used artillery in addition to small arms fire in the fight.

Maj. Naing Maung Zaw of the Karen State BGF confirmed the clashes, but said he was too busy to elaborate when contacted by The Irrawaddy.

The group that clashed with the Karen State BGF on Thursday is a breakaway faction of the DKBA's Klo Htoo Wah tactical group, led by Brig-Gen Kyaw Thet.

Earlier this year, Kyaw Thet and his men were among a handful of Karen groups to set up tollgates and levy an illegal tax on vehicles plying the Kawkareik-Myawaddy road and the new Asia Highway, leading to clashes in late June with the Burma Army and BGF.

The DKBA leadership at its Klo Htoo Baw headquarters went on to expel the group led by Kyaw Thet, and also later ousted tactical commander San Aung for his association with Kyaw Thet.

Following the DKBA's expulsion of the men, the Burma Army's South Eastern Command in Karen State issued warrants for their arrest.

According to San Aung, the DKBA splinter groups object to the signing of a nationwide ceasefire agreement—due to be inked on Oct. 15 by the government and eight ethnic armed groups—because the peace pact excludes some ethnic armed groups.

"It is a so-called nationwide ceasefire. It is not a good sign that it does not even include half of ethnic armed groups," San Aung said. "It seems that [the military] is attempting to annihilate us by waging a proxy war through the BGF. We won't be annihilated, but will only grow bigger."

More than 40 Karen civil society organizations at home and abroad released a joint statement earlier this month, urging Karen ethnic armed groups not to sign the nationwide ceasefire if some ethnic armed groups continue to be excluded.

Three major Karen armed groups have agreed to sign the accord: the DKBA, Karen National Liberation Army–Peace Council (KNLA-PC), and the Karen National Union (KNU).

Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 locals in Karen State's Hpapun Township have fled an alleged recruitment drive by KNU Brigade No. 5 and are taking shelter at Myaing Gyi Ngu, an area previously held by the DKBA that is now under the control of the Karen State BGF and the Burma Army.

The KNU has denied the accusations.

Translated by Thet Ko Ko.

The post DKBA Splinter Group Clashes With BGF in Karen State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Local Lanterns Set to Shine Ahead of Major Festival

Posted: 08 Oct 2015 10:25 PM PDT

Click to view slideshow.

MANDALAY — As Burmese prepare to bid farewell to the monsoon season for another year, many have begun preparations to celebrate Thadingyut, or the Festival of Lights, held at the end of Buddhist lent.

At almost every corner of the busy streets of Mandalay, stalls have popped up selling beautiful colored paper lanterns ready for customers to take home.

Among the tons of Chinese-made lanterns on offer are local handmade bamboo alternatives of various shapes and sizes.

"People only buy the Chinese ones because they are durable and in different shapes and colors," said Mya Yee, who sells lanterns from a street stall near the city's Chinatown.

Locally made lanterns made with bamboo frames and colored polythene in the form of cars, ships, armored vehicles, animal figures and more, were a favorite among children in the past. But since Chinese-made paper lanterns powered by a small battery and bulb can be instantly lit, local versions have suffered in the sales.

"The local handmade [lanterns] use a candle to light up, which is dangerous for the small children and always requires parental attention. So parents prefer to buy Chinese made lanterns now," said Mya Yee.

Speak to shoppers on the street however, and opinions appear divided.

"Chinese made lanterns are durable and more beautiful than the locally made versions but they are not so amusing [for young people] I think," said San San Hlaing, who was buying locally-made lanterns for her children.

Neatly crafted local lanterns cost anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 kyat, which is generally more expensive than Chinese versions which typically start at 2,000 kyat.

"When we were young, we used to pull those wheeled local lanterns along the street while holding our parents' hands, showing off our toys and taking care that the candle did not blow out. It was so much fun," San San Hlaing said.

"I want my children to feel that joy, rather than just looking at the foreign made lanterns hanging on the balcony."

This year, as the country's general election approaches in November, a new addition has found its way onto Mandalay's lantern market: a red peacock on wheels that has been designed in support of the country's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The peacock, which is tipped with a white star and can be lit from within, is reportedly attracting attention.

"Children and parents who support Aung San Suu Kyi's party buy these; they are our best sellers [so far] this year," said Thein Wai, a craftsman who designed the lanterns with bamboo and polythene sheets.

"Everyone who has made these lanterns received many orders. We've already sent dozens of these fighting peacock lanterns to Rangoon and to other cities in the past week."

The Thadingyut Festival is held annually to mark the end of Buddhist Lent when the Buddha descends from heaven on the day of the full moon, which this year falls on Oct. 28.

Buddhists light up their homes with candles, oil lamps, and decorative lights to mark the day and pay respects to their elders.

The post Local Lanterns Set to Shine Ahead of Major Festival appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Smoking Set to Kill One in Three Young Men in China, Study Finds

Posted: 08 Oct 2015 10:21 PM PDT

A smoker walks past Chinese national flags in front of a restaurant in Beijing. (Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters)

LONDON — One in three of all the young men in China will eventually be killed by tobacco unless a substantial proportion of them succeed in quitting smoking, researchers said on Friday.

“Without rapid, committed, and widespread action to reduce smoking levels, China will face enormous numbers of premature deaths,” said Liming Li, a professor at the Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing who co-led a large analysis of the issue.

The study, published in The Lancet medical journal, found that two-thirds of young men in China start to smoke, mostly before age 20, and that unless they quit for good, around half of those who start will eventually die from their habit.

The scientists conducted two large, nationally representative studies 15 years apart, tracking the health consequences of smoking in China. The first was in the 1990s and involved a quarter of a million men. The second study is ongoing, and involved half a million men and women.

The results showed annual number of tobacco deaths in China, mostly among men, had reached a million by 2010. If current trends continue it will be 2 million by 2030.

Among Chinese women, however, smoking rates have plummeted and the risk of premature death from tobacco is low and falling, the study found.

The researchers said the consequences are now starting to emerge of a large increase in cigarette smoking by young men in recent decades. The proportion of all male deaths at age 40 to 79 attributed to smoking has doubled to around 20 percent now from about 10 percent in the early 1990s. And in urban areas this proportion is higher, at 25 percent and rising.

Smoking causes lung cancer, which is often fatal, and is the world’s biggest cause of premature death from chronic conditions like heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.

Richard Peto a professor at Britain’s University of Oxford who co-led the research, said price hikes on cigarettes in China may be one way to reduce smoking rates.

“Over the past 20 years tobacco deaths have been decreasing in Western countries, partly because of price increases. For China, a substantial increase in cigarette prices could save tens of millions of lives.”

The post Smoking Set to Kill One in Three Young Men in China, Study Finds appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Malaysia Arrests Lawyer Critical of PM Najib

Posted: 08 Oct 2015 10:20 PM PDT

Police patrol a Chinese area of Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16. (Photo: Olivia Harris / Reuters)

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian police have arrested and detained the lawyer of a local politician who has been calling for US law-enforcement authorities to probe an international financial scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak.

In a blog post that appeared under the lawyer’s name, Matthias Chang said he had been arrested on Thursday as he was visiting his client, Khairuddin Abu Hassan, a former member of Malaysia’s ruling party who was also arrested last month.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that Chang was arrested but did not say what charges had been made against him.

The scandal surfaced in July when the Wall Street Journal reported that investigators looking into state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) found that nearly $700 million dollars were transferred into bank accounts of the prime minister.

Najib, who chairs 1MDB’s advisory board, denied taking money for personal gain.

Khairuddin was detained on Sept. 18 at a Malaysian airport, hours before he was to board a flight to the United States, on charges of undertaking activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy. He had planned to persuade US police to investigate the 1MDB scandal, which reportedly also involved US banks.

The prime minister has faced anti-government protests and calls to step down over the scandal.

The country’s anti-graft agency has declared the funds a donation and the government’s attorney general has cleared 1MDB officials of any wrongdoing.

Khairuddin’s lawyer, Chang, has begun a hunger strike in protest at his detention, according to the blog post.

“This is crass intimidation against Malaysians who are fighting for justice and truth,” the post said.

Chang is an associate of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is leading a campaign calling for Najib to step down over the allegations of corruption.

In February, Najib’s United Malays National Organisation ousted Khairuddin from the party after he was declared bankrupt. Khairuddin then travelled to several countries to campaign against Najib and 1MDB before his detention. He remains in police custody.

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Rohingya Trafficking Victims Endure Stress of Limbo, Stranded In Thailand

Posted: 08 Oct 2015 08:21 PM PDT

The hands of a Rohingya victim of trafficking are seen as he listens to questions during an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation at a temporary shelter in Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand, September 22, 2015. The strapping 23-year-old Rohingya Muslim was matter-of-fact as he described being forced onto a boat in Myanmar for a tortuous two-month-long journey, beaten and kicked by traffickers as he watched scores die of starvation and thirst along the way. Picture taken September 22, 2015. To match Thomson Reuters Foundation Feature HEALTH-MENTAL/ROHINGYA REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

A Rohingya trafficking victim listens to questions during an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation at a temporary shelter in Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand, September 22, 2015. (Photo: Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters)

RATTAPHUM, Thailand — The strapping 23-year-old Rohingya Muslim was matter of fact as he described being forced onto a boat in Burma for a tortuous two-month-long journey, beaten and kicked by traffickers as he watched scores die of starvation and thirst along the way.

He said he was abandoned in May in a jungle camp in Thailand's deep south near the Malaysian border, discovered and rescued a few hours later by Thai police and taken to a shelter tucked away amid tropical vegetation and rubber plantations.

But his calm demeanor cracked when he spoke about his wife and one-year-old daughter.

On many evenings in this compound of cement buildings that has become home to 66 male Rohingya trafficking victims from Burma and 19 from Bangladesh, the man cried, homesick.

Late last month, the shelter staff took pity on him, granting him a five-minute phone call to his home in Sittwe in western Burma's Arakan State.

"I could hear my baby crying," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation under the wary gaze of the shelter director, who monitored the interview he had reluctantly permitted with the condition that the man's identity was protected.

"I want to go home. I miss them," the Rohingya man added, falling silent and bending over as he crumpled in sadness.

Swept up by trafficking rings taking advantage of the tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence and apartheid-like conditions in Burma, this man may never go back home.

The predominantly Buddhist country does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens and says any trafficking victims must pass nationality verification before being allowed back to Burma.

He is now among about 600 Rohingya stranded in limbo in Thai shelters and immigration detention centres, some suffering depression and other mental illnesses after their ordeals, with little access to mental health care.

Escape by Boat

Communal violence and clashes in 2012 in Arakan State forced 140,000 Rohingya from their homes into squalid camps. Burma maintains the Rohingya are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and denies them citizenship, healthcare, education and other basic rights.

Since then, tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled, paying smugglers to take them in rickety boats in the hope of reaching Malaysia. Some said they were abducted by traffickers and forced onto boats. Migrants from Bangladesh, including some Rohingya, were also among the boat people.

Criminal gangs orchestrating the exodus diverted some migrants to secret camps near the Thai-Malaysia border, holding them for ransom and killing and torturing those whose families could not pay up. Others died of disease and neglect.

After the discovery in May of dozens of graves on the Thai-Malaysia border, smugglers abandoned thousands of migrants at sea to avoid being caught in the widening net of Thai and Malaysian investigators.

The Rohingya rescued from trafficking camps are now stuck in shelters—identified as "people of concern" by the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) and granted temporary protection in Thailand.

They are separated from their families and face an uncertain future.

"When you combine those emotions with the memories of the physical trauma being on a boat for several weeks or having been confined in brutal smugglers camps, then the trauma is compounded," said Jeff Labovitz, head of the International Organization for Migration mission in Thailand.

"In some cases the asylum seekers and migrants endured starvation, beatings, extortion, and rape."

UNHCR says the common mental health issues among Rohingya refugees in Malaysia are "mild to moderate levels of stress, anxiety and depression", due to factors including trauma they faced at home as well as the daily stress of living in a country where they cannot legally work or go to school.

"Some refugees, especially new arrivals, who had been held in traffickers' camps before arriving in Malaysia, have been known to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders (including flashbacks and nightmares)," said UNHCR in Malaysia.

Phone Home as Therapy

In the Thai shelter, a phone call with loved ones has proven one of the best therapies for those who have been through traumatic experiences and face an uncertain future, shelter staff and aid workers say.

The International Committee for the Red Cross, through its "restoring family links" programme, provided 1,411 short phone calls last year to the family members of Bangladeshi and Burmese migrants held in immigration detention centres in Thailand.

Sometimes even a call is no guarantee that trafficking victims will get in contact with families, however, as some are from remote areas of Burma that lack phone communications.

"The most difficult thing for me is that I have not talked to my parents. I don't know how they are doing," said a 15-year-old boy who has been living in the Rattaphum shelter since the start of the year. He was also handpicked by the shelter director to speak to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"When I first arrived here, I had the chance to make a call to a phone in the area near my home, and I told them to please pass the message to my family that I am alive and well."

Trafficker Territory

In Thailand, a shortage of translators is a big obstacle to providing adequate psycho-social support for the Rohingya, shelter staff and aid workers say.

"When there is no translator, there is no longer the ability to clearly express needs, concerns, fears or traumas which increases the sense of vulnerability," Labovitz said.

In the past, people posing as well-meaning Rohingya translators were linked to the criminal gangs, luring the shelter victims back into trafficking rings.

UNHCR provides interpreters for counseling and interviews, helping Thai authorities to communicate with the Rohingya, but does not have the resources to provide interpreters on a more regular basis, said Vivian Tan, UNHCR's regional spokeswoman.

Save the Children has organised training in psychological "first aid" for carers in the shelters, as well as counseling and educational and play materials for children.

The Rattaphum shelter, located a 20-minute drive northwest of the city of Hat Yai, and about 20 km from the Gulf of Thailand coast, tries to organise outings for its residents, but these can be dangerous. Many of the victims are witnesses in court cases against dozens of arrested traffickers, including police and military.

"I take them to relax outside, take them to the seaside, but our cars are few and so are our staff," said Athit Rakthong, the shelter director who only permitted a drive-by glimpse of the shelter grounds, where young trafficking victims chatted in groups and waved with a smile to their passing visitors.

"Most important is their safety because these cases involve people in uniform and influential people in this region. The area around here is all theirs."

About 100 of the most vulnerable Rohingya have been resettled in the United States since 2013, according to UNHCR. Six men from the Rattaphum shelter have gone to the United States, including two who flew last month to Chicago.

This gives those who remain behind renewed hope.

Speaking to the man who cried for his wife and infant daughter, Satit, the social worker, said a new life in the United States would be better than statelessness back home.

"The best way we can help him is to connect him with UNHCR so that he can go to America," Satit said. "He would have a chance at citizenship, then he will be able to bring his family to be with him. This is much better than going home."

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Burmese Official Accuses China of Meddling in Peace Talks

Posted: 08 Oct 2015 08:12 PM PDT

Min Zaw Oo poses for a photograph in the Myanmar Peace Center in Rangoon, October 7, 2015. (Photo: Htoo Tay Zar / Reuters)

RANGOON — A top negotiator in Burma's peace talks with ethnic rebels has accused neighboring China of derailing a nationwide ceasefire deal last week that would have brought Japan and Western nations in as observers to monitor an end to decades of conflict.

Beijing has denied the accusation but the rare public criticism exposes growing tensions between China and the Southeast Asian nation, which has sought to reduce its dependence on Beijing and build relations across the globe since a reformist government took power in 2011.

Min Zaw Oo, a senior official at the government-linked Myanmar Peace Center, which coordinates talks to quell the patchwork of insurgencies that have lingered in Burma since independence in 1948, said China's special envoy pressed two key rebel groups not to sign the peace accord.

After Sun Guoxiang's intervention, only eight out of 15 groups that were invited by the government committed to the agreement. Some of the other groups are headed by ethnic Chinese commanders, and have received funding and support from Beijing in the past.

"China usually says they want stability. Of course they want stability but at the same time, they want to wield influence on the groups along the Chinese border," Min Zaw Oo told Reuters.

Min Zaw Oo said he had stayed quiet on China's interference until now, "but it was time to stop whispering".

The eight groups are due to sign the ceasefire agreement in mid-October. The other groups would be allowed to sign later, Min Zaw Oo said, but there was no immediate word if any fresh negotiations were ongoing.

China objected to clauses in the deal that would have included Western nations and Japan among international observers of the conclusion of the peace process, Min Zaw Oo said.

"The choice of witnesses is a particularly sensitive matter. In the context of competition, even rivalry, between China and Japan, it's not surprising that these issues would come up," said Richard Horsey, a Rangoon-based independent political analyst and a former United Nations official in Burma.

"China has seen that particular area of Myanmar [Burma], and Myanmar more broadly, as its regional neighborhood."

The friendship between Beijing and its southern neighbor was firm when Burma was a pariah state under military rule.

China is still Burma's largest trade partner, with significant commercial and strategic interests in a country that sits on the rim of the Indian Ocean, and its covert support of some rebel groups has long given it leverage in Burma.

But it has watched nervously in recent years as its own influence waned while Washington lifted some sanctions and engaged with the semi-civilian government.

Souring Ties

Beijing rejected Min Zaw Oo's claims that it had meddled in the peace process.

"China has consistently supported all sides in Myanmar in resolving differences through peace talks in service of signing a national-scale ceasefire agreement at an early date," said Hong Lei, spokesman at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The failure of an all-encompasing peace pact with the rebels is a blow to President Thein Sein, who made it a priority to bolster both his own legacy and the chances of his ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party in an election next month.

US President Barack Obama, who has portrayed his country's backing of Burma's reforms as a foreign policy success, has pushed Thein Sein to conclude the ceasefire as part of wider changes to protect minorities.

Ties between Burma and China soured this year over fighting between Burma's military and the ethnic Chinese Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) along part of the shared border with China's Yunnan province.

Chinese citizens have been killed by bombs and stray shells falling inside China's territory, angering Beijing.

Min Zaw Oo said China told some rebels not to agree to the peace pact unless Burma invited the MNDAA into the process.

Specifically, he said Sun encouraged the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which once received support and arms from China and is led by ethnic Chinese commanders, as well as the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), to refuse to sign. The KIO operates in Kachin State, Burma's northernmost, which borders China.

The participation of the Kachin rebels was crucial to the deal, Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group said in September.

The MNDAA, UWSA and KIO were not available for comment.

The UWSA said in a statement last month that the government of China's Yunnan province had asked it not to involve Western nations and Japan in the process. The Yunnan government was not available for comment.

"If the UWSA signs the agreement, it would be tantamount to involving Western nations in the northern conflicts," it said. "Therefore, the UWSA is not in a position to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement by breaking its promise to Yunnan province."

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Australia, Philippines Negotiating Asylum Seeker Transfer Deal

Posted: 08 Oct 2015 08:00 PM PDT

Protesters hold flags and banners outside the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh in a rally against an agreement with Australia to resettle refugees in Cambodia in exchange of aid, October 2014. (Photo: Samrang Prin / Reuters)

SYDNEY — Australia is negotiating a deal with the Philippines to transfer asylum seekers being held indefinitely in controversial detention centres on remote, impoverished islands, Australia's immigration minister said on Friday.

Asylum seekers have long been a contentious political issue in Australia, although it has never received anywhere near the number of refugees currently flooding into Europe as they flee conflict in the Middle East and North Africa.

Successive Australian governments have vowed to stop asylum seekers reaching the mainland, turning boats back to Indonesia when it can and sending those it cannot for detention in camps on Manus island in Papua New Guinea and on the tiny South Pacific island of Nauru.

Harsh conditions at the camps, including reports of systemic child abuse, have been strongly criticized by the United Nations and human rights groups.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott, ousted in a party-room coup last month, struck a deal last year with Cambodia under which it would get A$40 million ($29 million) in additional aid from Australia for accepting asylum seekers, regardless of the total number.

However that deal has struggled, with Cambodia threatening to pull out of the agreement after taking only four refugees from among the hundreds held in PNG and Nauru.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had spoken with her Philippines counterpart about a similar deal, but declined to elaborate.

"We have a bilateral arrangement with Cambodia. If we can strike other arrangements with other countries, we will do that," Dutton told reporters.

"If we can strike an agreement that is in the best interests of our country and from the Philippines' perspective, their country, we will arrive at that point," he said.

Australia's highest court this week began considering whether the policy of sending asylum seekers to Nauru for long-term detention is in breach of the constitution, a major challenge to the controversial policy.

New Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last month he was concerned about conditions in the camps but gave no indication of a major policy change.

Australia has defended its detention policy as necessary to stop deaths at sea. No one processed at the Nauru or Papua New Guinea camps is eligible for settlement in Australia, even if they are found to be genuine refugees.

An independent UN investigator postponed an official visit to Australia last month, citing a lack of government cooperation and "unacceptable" legal restrictions.

Some investors in the company that runs the camps, Transfield Services Ltd, have also said they will push for greater transparency and oversight.

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