The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• World Bank Pledges Ongoing Development Support for Burma
• Parliament in Favor of Continued Discussions on Climate Change
• Despite Road Block, Anti-Poppy Campaigners Vow to March On
• Environmental Network Demands Incoming Govt End Salween Dam Projects
• New Translation Recalls Prison and Politics under Burma’s Junta
• Burma’s Income Tax Code Clarified
• Stressing Unity, UNFC Forms New Team to Lead Peace Dialogue
• Ancient Irrawaddy Delta City Believed to be 2,300 Years Old
• US Rejected N.Korea Peace Talks Offer Before Last Nuclear Test: State Dept.
• Indian Army Deploys to Quell Protests, Water Cut to Delhi
• India Pledges US$250 Million to Help Rebuild Quake-Hit Nepal

World Bank Pledges Ongoing Development Support for Burma Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:48 AM PST Aung San Suu Kyi received a World Bank delegation led by regional Vice President Axel Van Trotsenburg on Monday. (Photo: NLD Chairperson / Facebook) RANGOON — The World Bank's vice president for East Asia and the Pacific pledged to continue development support for Burma, according to a statement released on Monday following a meeting in Naypyidaw with Aung San Suu Kyi. In the statement, Axel van Trotsenburg reaffirmed the World Bank's strong partnership with Burma as it endeavors to cooperate toward "ending extreme poverty and promoting growth." The vice president met with National League for Democracy (NLD) representatives, including Suu Kyi on Monday, as well as senior government officials in Naypyidaw including Minister of Finance Win Shein and Lower House Speaker Win Myint to discuss the World Bank's support for the country. "[Burma's] historic transformation over the last couple of years has delivered significant economic gains," said van Trotsenburg in the statement. "Between 2011 and 2014, [Burma's] economy grew at an average rate of 7 percent per year, which is among the fastest in East Asia. The country now has the opportunity to advance reforms further so growth will benefit more people across geographical areas, ethnic communities and income groups in [Burma]." Priority issues in the meetings between Trotsenburg and Burmese officials were closing the gap in access to basic services, lessening rural poverty while raising agriculture productivity, generating a competitive business environment, expanding financial inclusion and access to energy, and strengthening public sector governance. In 2015, the World Bank Group created its first Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Burma for 2015 to 2017. The CPF details how the World Bank Group can support Burma along its path to a more prosperous democratic government, the statement said. The World Bank re-engaged with Burma in 2012 and since then has pledged to spur development of the country's economy and infrastructure. The post World Bank Pledges Ongoing Development Support for Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Parliament in Favor of Continued Discussions on Climate Change Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:14 AM PST Civilians on a flooded street in Rangoon on September 30, 2015. MPs warn that Burma could face an increased risk of both flooding and drought in the aftermath of the El Niño weather phenomenon this year. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) Lower House parliamentarians will discuss an urgent proposal on climate change this week, with some lawmakers urging the government to take preventative measures to address socioeconomic problems potentially caused by the weather pattern El Niño. A proposal for the discussion was raised in Monday's session by Dr. Maung Thin of Mandalay Division's Meiktila constituency. He explained that Burma's public could face more natural disasters, such as forest fires, drought, flooding as well as agricultural and health problems this year, in keeping with meteorological warnings. "The collaboration between current government ministries and non-governmental organizations is needed to tackle current and future problems," he told the assembly. The proposal received the support of 391 votes—well over the two-thirds of votes needed to move forward with the discussion. Nine MPs voted against the proposal and 18 abstained from voting. MPs who supported a continued discussion on the matter warned of a water shortage during Burma's summer, March to May, after El Niño passes its peak period this month. The country's Ministry of Health also warned of the higher temperatures in a public announcement last week. Thein Tun, of Irrawaddy Division's Kyaung Kone constituency, advocated for the proposal, saying that Burma should learn from lessons of past El Niño experiences. Quoting archive figures, he cited a period from 1997-98 in which 18 towns across the country experienced unusually high temperatures while the 15 towns faced severely decreased rainfall. Burma faced severe floods across twelve of its 14 states and divisions in July and August 2015, during the first phase of El Niño. Over 100 people were killed due to floods and landslides, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and 1.6 million people affected. The post Parliament in Favor of Continued Discussions on Climate Change appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Despite Road Block, Anti-Poppy Campaigners Vow to March On Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:16 AM PST Anti-drug campaigners wait in Waingmaw Township after being prevented by the military from carrying out a poppy eradication mission last week. (Photo: Htoi Awng / The Irrawaddy) MANDALAY — Anti-poppy campaigners encamped at an army checkpoint near the junction of Sadung and Chipwi roads in Kachin State's Waingmaw Township said Monday they will attempt to continue their mission this week to eradicate poppy fields in the area. "Destroying poppy fields isn't a bad thing, and it doesn't go against the government. If they don't let us go through, we'll hold a prayer meeting again on Tuesday, and then we will go through the barriers Tuesday afternoon with the help of God," said Kham Thu Dam Shung, a campaigner from a local anti-drug group. A group of about 2,000 members, led by local civil society organizations as well as local Christian mission organizations, were blocked by authorities on Feb. 16 on their way to reach poppy fields in Sadung and Kambaiti sub-townships. The vigilante anti-drug campaigners have said they have since been beleaguered by water shortages and sanitation problems. "Our mission is to contribute to the government's plan to eliminate poppy plantations and drug problems. Since we received little support from the government, we now only have God to trust in," Kham Thu Dam Shung added. "If they want to arrest us, we don't care." According to the campaigners, local authorities have said that the reason for blocking them is to avoid potential flair-ups between poppy farmers and members of the group. "The authorities said that destroying poppy fields is the responsibility of poppy farmers and that we just need to educate them without destroying their fields by force. Blocking us is a way to ensure our security," said Naw Taung, one of the campaigners. "We've educated the locals for about two years, but they are still planting poppies and still producing opium. Now is the season to collect the raw opium from the poppy pots, and we doubt that the local authorities are giving time for the poppy farmers." In support of the campaigners, locals gathered at the blocked military checkpoint on Sunday and held a prayer meeting. They also urged authorities to open the roads. Anti-poppy and drug elimination campaigns in Kachin State, driven mostly by local civil society organizations, began about two years ago. The campaigns were temporarily suspended after one campaigner was shot dead and three others injured in January. Campaigners said that about 1,500 acres of poppy fields in Tanai Township and another 2,000 acres in Waingmaw Township were destroyed in January. The post Despite Road Block, Anti-Poppy Campaigners Vow to March On appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Environmental Network Demands Incoming Govt End Salween Dam Projects Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:09 AM PST A stretch of the Salween River in Karenni State. (Photo: Alex Ellgee / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Save the Salween Network (SSN), a group of nine river protection and ethnic civil society groups, released a statement on Monday calling on the incoming government to halt all projects on the Salween River, which extends through China, Burma and Thailand. "In accordance with the new government's promise to guarantee ethnic rights and set up a federal democratic system, the Save the Salween Network urges the new government to stop all plans to build dams on the Salween River, as they will have disastrous impacts on the lives of countless ethnic communities in Burma," the statement read. "This is not only going to create misunderstanding between ethnic peoples and the new government, but will also have impacts on ethnic armed groups and the current peace process." Saw Tha Phoe of Karen River Watch, a network member, said that the SSN is worried about news of an agreement between the Chinese and Burmese governments on Feb. 2 to build 18 new dams along Burma's rivers, though details of the agreement were not publicized. "The government did not officially release any details about the 18 dams. We just know that there are plans to build dams along the Salween River," Saw Tha Phoe told The Irrawaddy. "We want to know why this is being so hurriedly done when the government's term is ending. When the NLD [National League for Democracy] government takes power, they will have to take care of what the previous government did." According to Saw Tha Phoe, six hydropower dams are already underway on the Salween River: Kunlong, Mann Taung, Mong Ton (Tasang) and Naung Pa in Shan State, Ywathit in Karenni State, and Hatgyi in Karen State. The Burma Rivers Network has said previously that these dam projects, which have a combined capacity of 15,000 megawatts and which are funded by Chinese, Burmese and Thai investors, pose a threat to the future of locals and to the Salween basin's rich biodiversity. "The Mong Ton dam, planned on the Salween River in Shan State, will be the largest hydropower project in Southeast Asia, and will threaten the lives, homes and property of countless communities in Shan, Karenni, Karen and Mon states," the network said. "According to research along the Salween by earthquake experts, the building of dams will have seismically disruptive impacts on major fault lines, and should definitely not go ahead," the network added.  The current Salween dam projects, the network said, are also violating the human rights and indigenous rights of local people. "The Salween dam projects are fuelling tension and conflict between different ethnic armed groups," SSN said. "Government troops are also using the pretext of providing security for the dams to expand their presence in ethnic areas. This is threatening the peace process and the lives, homes and property of local ethnic peoples." The post Environmental Network Demands Incoming Govt End Salween Dam Projects appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Translation Recalls Prison and Politics under Burma’s Junta Posted: 22 Feb 2016 01:57 AM PST The launch of the Burmese translation of "The Lizard Cage" in Rangoon on Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Under decades of repressive military dictatorship in Burma, thousands were jailed for their political activities, including student leaders, politicians, monks, artists and others. Many of the stories of their time spent behind bars have gone unheard. "The Lizard Cage," a novel newly translated into Burmese, offers a window onto the travails of the country's prisoners of conscience. The award-winning Canadian author, Karen Connelly, visited Burma in the 1990s and over the years interviewed several former political prisoners inside the country and along the Thai-Burma border. She was eventually banned from entering Burma under the military regime but "The Lizard Cage," her debut novel, was published in 2005. The book tells the story of a Burmese student leader who was jailed for more than twenty years and held in solitary confinement in the notorious Insein Prison for penning protest songs that were used in pro-democracy movements. He lost contact with his brother who fled from the country to the Thai border following the nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988. The book won the UK's Orange Broadband Prize for New Writers in 2007, was shortlisted for the US Kiriyama Prize for Fiction in 2006 and listed for the Impac Dublin Award the same year. It has already been translated into several languages. "My original book was banned here for a few years," Connelly writes in the preface to the new edition. "I once imagined that my book would be translated and published here one day… But I couldn't have said whether it would be published legally." Connelly attended the launch of the Burmese translation in Rangoon on Friday, alongside former political prisoners including The Irrawaddy's English edition editor Kyaw Zwa Moe, National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker Nay Phone Latt, and PEN Myanmar chairperson Ma Thida. During the event at Pansodan Scene gallery in downtown Rangoon, Connelly told the audience she was glad that the new Burmese translation could bring this recent history to life. "Prisons were a kind of life-learning classroom [under the previous junta]. We can't exclude the experience from Burma's politics or from history," said Kyaw Zwa Moe, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison as a 19-year-old for his role in student-led protests. "We were banned from writing and reading. But we tried to learn there. If you can come out of prison mentally healthy and physically strong despite physical and mental torture and the terrible conditions, you passed the examination." San Mon Aung of Our Literature Publishing House told The Irrawaddy the organization decided to publish the Burmese edition to let readers know the hardships political prisoners endured under the previous military regime. The book hits stores this week and is 4,000 kyat. The post New Translation Recalls Prison and Politics under Burma's Junta appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma’s Income Tax Code Clarified Posted: 22 Feb 2016 12:10 AM PST Stacks of Burmese kyats are prepared at a bank ahead of being transported in Rangoon on October 19, 2015. (Photo: Minzayar / Reuters) RANGOON — Burma's Internal Revenue Department released a notice on Friday regarding changes to the individual income taxation system for the 2016-17 fiscal year, including specific measures regarding monetary relief and exemptions. The IRD released an official notice in the state-owned newspaper The Mirror that any citizens with an annual income of less than 4.8 millions kyats (US$4,000) will be exempt from paying income tax. It stated that the effective start date will be April 1. However, basic monetary relief and other personal relief for spouses, children and dependent parents will be deducted from the annual taxable income. Income tax will then only be imposed on individuals with an annual net salary over two million kyats (US$1,625) after the deduction, the notice stated. According to the notice, the basic monetary relief for individuals will be 20 percent of their annual income and not more than 10 million kyats (US$8,120).  Personal tax relief of one million kyats (US$812) for each dependent parent or spouse and 500,000 kyats (US$406) for each child will also be granted annually. Life insurance premium fees and social security funds will also be deducted. According to a calculation system in the notice, a rate of five percent tax will be imposed on people who earn between two and five million kyats, 10 percent for those who earn five to 10 million kyats, 15 percent for those earning between 10 and 20 million, 20 percent for those earning 20-30 million, and 25 percent for citizens who earn above 30 million kyats annually. An official from the Rangoon office of the Service Department for Tax told The Irrawaddy, under the condition of anonymity, that the government's tax revenue will not fully reflect the incomes of its taxpayers. The official said that employers are responsible for employees' monthly income tax deduction; the government then generates tax based on "declared" salaries, which may differ from actual income. Burma collected about 4.3 trillion kyats from tax revenue in 2014-15 while about 3.8 trillion kyats were collected in 2013-14. The post Burma's Income Tax Code Clarified appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Stressing Unity, UNFC Forms New Team to Lead Peace Dialogue Posted: 22 Feb 2016 12:03 AM PST Members of the United Nationalities Federal Council at a meeting in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, which ended on Sunday. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — A meeting of ethnic armed groups in Thailand ended on Sunday with the forming of two separate teams tasked with resolving ongoing conflict in northern Shan State and leading peace negotiations with the incoming government. During the four-day meeting in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, nearly 50 leaders of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) discussed developments in the country's military and political affairs as well as the prospects for federalism. One of the outcomes of the meeting was the creation of a five-member "negotiation team" led by Nai Hong Sar, a senior negotiator for Burma's ethnic armed groups. The body will aim to reduce tensions between UNFC member the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), a non-member. "We will try to have both sides, who have expressed a desire to negotiate, meet. A ceasefire is necessary for public safety," said brigadier general Sao Sai Htoo of the Shan State Progress Party, the political wing of the Shan State Army-North, a member of the UNFC. The UNFC in December spoke with SSA-S members about ending the conflict, but no gains were made in cooling tensions. Over 4,000 people in Kyaukme and Namkham townships have been displaced after fighting, which first broke out late last year, intensified earlier this month. "It is not that easy [to resolve]," said Khu Oo Reh, UNFC general secretary. "We have to find out the proper approach to negotiations." The UNFC also restructured its Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN), which now includes 13 new members led by Khu Oo Reh, in preparation for political talks with the incoming government. Some ethnic leaders contend that a genuine ceasefire is hampered as the current government has only expressed a desire to meet with ethnic groups individually, rather than with the entire UNFC body. Burma's chief peace negotiator, Aung Min, asked to meet with some of the strongest armed groups—including the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the SSPP, the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the RCSS and the Karen National Union (KNU)—in Chiang Mai this week. UNFC members, however, said that they do not want to meet as individual groups. "We will only meet under the UNFC title," said Khu Oo Reh. "And we are against the divide-and-meet policy that the [current] government is using." Current UNFC members are all non-signatories of the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA), concluded in mid-October. The UNFC suspended two of its members, the Chin National Front (CNF) and the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), from the alliance after they signed the pact. The KNU left the alliance prior to the NCA signing. Membership applications have been received from other ethnic armed groups, including the active Arakan Army, whose potential for joining the council was discussed at the meeting. Khu Oo Reh said that the UNFC suggested that the Arakan Army merge with the Arakan National Council, which is already a UNFC member. "We formed an intervention committee for them [the two Arakan groups] to help a merger take place no later than May of this year," Khu Oo Reh said. The UNFC was formed in late 2010 to represent most of Burma's ethnic armed groups during peace negotiations with the government. Many UNFC members were also members of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), which led negotiations with the union government during the peace process before it was replaced by a restructured body. The post Stressing Unity, UNFC Forms New Team to Lead Peace Dialogue appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ancient Irrawaddy Delta City Believed to be 2,300 Years Old Posted: 21 Feb 2016 10:00 PM PST Click to view slideshow. Most people know little of Burma's ancient Pyu people but for the ruins of their civilization at Sri Ksetra, Halin and Beikthano in central Burma—the first sites in the country to receive UNESCO World Heritage status. Now another ancient city in Lower Burma's Irrawaddy Delta is believed to be as old as the Pyu sites, the size of which would have been greater than the old royal capital of Mandalay. The laterite stone city covers an area of eight square miles and is located near Taung Zin Village in Ingapu Township, Irrawaddy Division. About three miles into the village lies the site, believed to have been built more than 2,300 years ago during the Pyu period. "As it is a remote place, only monks went there to meditate in the past. In 2008, at the instruction of my senior monks, I started to live in a hermitage here, and conserve the ancient religious buildings and cultural heritage of the city," said Pinna Siri, a monk at the on-site Kyet Pyin Monastery. With the help of people from nearby villages, Pinna Siri cleared the area of brush and in 2009 he invited historian Phone Tint Kyaw to observe the city's ruins. Phone Tint Kyaw came with a team, and after studying alphabets, laterite structures and Buddha images there, he concluded that they might be the works of the Pyu, one of Burma's most ancient civilizations. It was the presence of Brahmi-based script that tipped him off; Phone Tint Kyaw explained that the writing system found at the site is the same as those documented in three other Pyu cities, as well as in Pegu and Danyawaddy in Arakan State. The alphabet was used from the sixth century until the third century B.C. "The Brahmi script disappeared as the empire of King Ashoka collapsed after he died," said Phone Tint Kyaw, referring to the Indian emperor who passed away in 232 B.C. His conclusion is further supported by carvings found at a stupa identical in style to those found at a religious site in Shwe Taung town in Pegu Division. In addition, bricks in the steps were laid vertically in the city, in the architectural fashion of Pyu period. "I assume that that city came to ruins before the fourth Pagan period, before King Anawrahta succeeded to the throne," said Phone Tint Kyaw. "We've found nothing about that city in the historical records of fourth Pagan period and the Mon period. If that city still existed that time, it would have been mentioned in the historical records of Pagan." Lost City by the Sea There were 22 Pyu city-states which existed between the sixth and third centuries B.C. One is described as "Pinle Pyu," which translates to "Sea Pyu." Its location was previously unknown, but Phone Tint Kyaw speculates that the ancient city in Ingapu Township might be Sea Pyu. "In Pyu historical records, there was a city called Pinle Pyu. It was called that because it is located near the sea. I think the old Ingapu city is Pinle Pyu because it is the only city that is the size of a royal city and is located near the sea," he explained. According to the administrative structure of Pyu period, only the monarchs could build large cities; feudal lords were only allowed to build cities half or one-third of the size of a royal city. The city in Ingapu Township was built on a mountain ridge over 100 feet high, to a backdrop of the Arakanese mountain range. The town was designed around pagodas, stupas and water sources. Stone walls were constructed on the left and right sides of city, while vast plains and smaller villages lay to the east. "They built the city systematically. There were sentry boxes on the ridges on the left and right sides of the city and the entrance was built in the middle. So, there was only one entrance for merchants, envoys or enemies to get into the town," said Phone Tint Kyaw. As it covers an area of eight square miles, the city in Ingapu is one of the biggest Pyu settlements after Sri Ksetra in Pegu Division. 'Government Intervention is Needed' Previously, the oldest ruins found in Irrawaddy Division could be dated back to the Ava period, which began in the 1300s. The discovery of a Pyu city which predates the Ava period would have implications for the history not only of the Irrawaddy Delta but also of Burma. Phone Tint Kyaw has called for systematic excavation of the Ingapu site and Pinna Siri, the Kyet Pyin Monastery monk, has called on the government to protect the area. He said that that some people who do not know the historical value of the ancient city have used the laterite blocks to pave roads and have removed ancient buildings to make way for cultivation. "It is important that the government immediately takes care of the old city as an ancient cultural heritage zone," said Pinna Siri. "Even now, a company is reclaiming the land at what was the site of an elephant stockade in the ancient city and it has been destroyed." "I am doing as much as I can, but government intervention is needed right now," he added. At present, there is only one city designated for conservation by the Ministry of Culture as in Irrawaddy Division—Myaungmya. The Naypyidaw Department of Archaeology, National Museums and Libraries studied the Ingapu site in 2013, but have not yet taken measures to designate the ancient city as a cultural heritage site. "Personnel from the Naypyidaw headquarters inspected the old Ingapu city. So far, we have not yet received any instructions for the ancient city," said Thida Win, assistant director of Irrawaddy Division's Department of Archaeology, National Museums and Libraries. In the meantime, Pinna Siri is collecting artifacts discovered by locals at the site. "Locals find earrings, pipes and broken pots while farming. I have asked them to donate those things to me. So far, I have kept around 20 bricks and old pipes," he said. Though there are over 350 ancient cities documented in Burma, the Department of Archaeology, National Museums and Libraries has only excavated materials from around ten of them. Only through the systematic excavation of these old cities will a standardized history of Burma be able to be compiled, said Phone Tint Kyaw. "It is important for a country to have standardized history. Even our neighbor, Thailand, has compiled a standardized history. To write [this kind of] history, we need to systematically excavate and study the old cities. I believe the old Ingapu city would have played a part in the history of our country," he said.  Translated by Thet Ko Ko. The post Ancient Irrawaddy Delta City Believed to be 2,300 Years Old appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US Rejected N.Korea Peace Talks Offer Before Last Nuclear Test: State Dept. Posted: 21 Feb 2016 08:44 PM PST North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (front) attends a photo session with the scientists, technicians, workers of earth observation satellite Kwangmongsong-4 in this undated file photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 19, 2016. (Photo: KCNA / Reuters) WASHINGTON — The United States rejected a North Korean proposal to discuss a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War because it did not address denuclearization on the peninsula, the State Department said on Sunday. State Department spokesman John Kirby made the comment in response to a Wall Street Journal report that the White House secretly agreed to peace talks just before Pyongyang's latest nuclear bomb test. The newspaper, citing US officials familiar with the events, said the Obama administration dropped its condition that Pyongyang take steps to curtail its nuclear arsenal before any peace talks take place, instead calling for North Korea's atomic weapons program to be just one part of the discussion. Pyongyang declined the proposal, and its Jan. 6 nuclear test ended the diplomatic plans, the newspaper reported. "To be clear, it was the North Koreans who proposed discussing a peace treaty," Kirby said in an emailed statement. "We carefully considered their proposal, and made clear that denuclearization had to be part of any such discussion. The North rejected our response," he said. "Our response to the NK proposal was consistent with our longstanding focus on denuclearization." The isolated state has long sought a peace treaty with the United States and other parties in the 1950-53 Korean War, as well as an end to military exercises by South Korea and the United States, which has about 28,500 troops based in South Korea. North Korea said on Jan. 6 it had tested a nuclear device it claimed was a hydrogen bomb, provoking condemnation from its neighbors and the United States. Weeks later, it launched a long-range rocket carrying what it called a satellite, prompting renewed criticism. On Jan. 16, Pyongyang had demanded the conclusion of a peace treaty with the United States and a halt to US military exercises with South Korea to end its nuclear tests. But US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said then that Pyongyang needed to demonstrate by its actions that it was serious about denuclearization before any dialogues could start. The Korean War ended in 1953 in an armistice, not a peace treaty, signed by the United States, representing United Nations forces; the North Korean military and the Chinese army. Now North Korea wants those three sides and South Korea to sign a treaty. The post US Rejected N.Korea Peace Talks Offer Before Last Nuclear Test: State Dept. appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Indian Army Deploys to Quell Protests, Water Cut to Delhi Posted: 21 Feb 2016 08:30 PM PST Demonstrators from the Jat community sit on top of a school bus as they block the Delhi-Haryana national highway during a protest at Sampla village in Haryana, India, February 21, 2016. (Photo: Adnan Abidi / Reuters) BAHADURGARH, India/NEW DELHI — India deployed thousands of troops in a northern state on Sunday to quell protests that have severely hit water supplies to Delhi, a metropolis of more than 20 million, forced factories to close and killed 10 people. Rioting and looting in Haryana by the Jats, a rural caste, is symptomatic of increasingly fierce competition for government jobs and educational openings in India, whose growing population is set to overtake China's within a decade. The latest unrest threatens to undermine Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of better days to come for Indians who elected him in 2014 with the largest majority in three decades. As before, the 65-year-old leader ignored the protests—instead giving a speech on rural and urban development in the eastern state of Chattisgarh, unveiling a statue to a late Indian guru and praising a 104-year-old woman for backing his campaign for a Clean India. The federal government deployed 4,000 troops and 5,000 paramilitaries in a massive show of force, and ordered an end to the protests by Sunday night. Home Minister Rajnath Singh met Jat leaders and offered to meet their demands. In Bahadurgarh, on the road west from Delhi, around 2,000 protesters occupied a highway intersection and stopped truck traffic. Shops in the town were closed. "We are here to die," said Rajendra Ahlavat, a 59-year-old farmer and protest leader. "We will keep going until the government bows to our pressure. There is no way we will take back our demands." TV reports from Jhajjar, further west, showed troops fanning out on the streets against a backdrop of burning and damaged buildings—evidence of the fury of Jats who make up a quarter of Haryana's population and number more than 80 million in all. Haryana's police chief said the death toll had risen to 10 and 150 more had been injured. "We are trying to identify the conspirators and take action," Director General of Police Yash Pal Singal told a televised news conference. An official from Singh's nationalist party—which also rules Haryana—said after talks at his residence that it would bring a bill in the state assembly to grant "reservation," or a guaranteed quota of government jobs, to Jats. Water Station Attacked Protesters have attacked the homes of regional ministers, torched railway stations and staged sit-ins on tracks, blocking hundreds of trains. They sabotaged pumping equipment at a water treatment plant that provides most of Delhi's water. "No water available now. Still no hope to get it," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said in a tweet on Sunday. The Delhi government ordered schools to shut on Monday and rationed water supply to residents to ensure that hospitals and emergency services have enough. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, India's biggest carmaker by sales, suspended operations at its plants in the state after the protests disrupted the supply of some components. Modi wants to attract foreign investment to back his 'Make in India' drive to create 100 million manufacturing jobs by 2022. At the current rate India may only create 8 million jobs in that period, by one independent estimate. The post Indian Army Deploys to Quell Protests, Water Cut to Delhi appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

India Pledges US$250 Million to Help Rebuild Quake-Hit Nepal Posted: 21 Feb 2016 08:24 PM PST Children play near a house that was damaged during the earthquake last year, in Bhaktapur, Nepal, January 29, 2016. (Photo: Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters) NEW DELHI — India on Saturday pledged US$250 million for post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal as the two countries try to heal strained ties following protests in Nepal over the country's new constitution. The assistance, covering housing, health, education and cultural heritage in Nepal's earthquake-hit areas, is part of an accord signed by the countries' foreign ministers during Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli's visit to India. Nearly 9,000 people were killed in a 2015 earthquake and aftershocks in Nepal. Nearly a million houses and buildings were damaged. Oli and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also inaugurated on Saturday a transmission line for the supply of Indian electricity to Nepal under an Indian credit line of $13.5 million. Nepal will use $100 million of the Indian assistance for the construction of 50,000 houses in the 14 districts most severely affected by the quake. Under the accord, $50 million each would be utilized in the health, education and cultural heritage sectors in 31 earthquake-hit districts of Nepal. Oli said the main purpose of his visit "is to clear the misunderstanding that surfaced in the last few months." Political protests in Nepal disrupted the supply of petroleum and other products from India, creating a rift in bilateral relations. Nepal blamed India and its support of ethnic Madhesi protesters for the disruption in supplies, a charge denied by India. The Madhesis called off their blockade early this month, easing severe shortages of fuel, medicine and other supplies that persisted in Nepal since the blockade and a general strike in the south started late last year. The Madhesis in southern Nepal say the new constitution carved Nepal's seven states unfairly with borders that cut through their ancestral homeland. They want a larger state, more government representation and more local autonomy. More than 50 people were killed in protest-related violence in the past six months. The post India Pledges US$250 Million to Help Rebuild Quake-Hit Nepal appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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National News

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• Guns fall silent in Kyaukme, but tension high on the front lines
• UNFC display of unity casts doubt on new ceasefire talks
• Amyotha committee takes aim at resource extraction
• US embassy raises alarm over clashes
• UNFC seeks to broker end to Shan fighting
• NLD leader calls region Speakers to Nay Pyi Taw
• Ethnic unity at the fore in Chin National Day celebrations
• High Court to hear ATM fraud allegations

Guns fall silent in Kyaukme, but tension high on the front lines Posted: 21 Feb 2016 02:30 PM PST The fighting may have died down in northern Shan State, but the scars, physical and mental, remain. Tensions are still high.

UNFC display of unity casts doubt on new ceasefire talks Posted: 21 Feb 2016 02:30 PM PST Government plans to coax armed groups that refused to sign the nationwide ceasefire back to the negotiating table may already have hit a snag, with armed group sources saying they are already headed for a dispute over the format of the meetings.

Amyotha committee takes aim at resource extraction Posted: 21 Feb 2016 02:30 PM PST With the country's deadly jade industry increasingly under international scrutiny after hundreds of scavengers were buried in landslides, the Amyotha Hluttaw is taking the infamously unregulated extractive industries sector to task.

US embassy raises alarm over clashes Posted: 21 Feb 2016 02:30 PM PST The US embassy in Yangon said it was "deeply concerned" over clashes involving ethnic armed groups and the military in northern Myanmar that have displaced thousands of people, warning that the violence threatened to unravel the country's delicate peace process.

UNFC seeks to broker end to Shan fighting Posted: 21 Feb 2016 02:30 PM PST An umbrella organisation of ethnic armed groups has formed a five-member team to help negotiate an end to fighting in northern Shan State that has forced up to 5000 people to flee their homes.

NLD leader calls region Speakers to Nay Pyi Taw Posted: 21 Feb 2016 02:30 PM PST Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will today meet her party's Speakers from the state and regional parliaments in Nay Pyi Taw, although they say they are in the dark as to why they have been summoned to the capital.

Ethnic unity at the fore in Chin National Day celebrations Posted: 21 Feb 2016 02:30 PM PST As the National League for Democracy presided over Chin National Day in Nay Pyi Taw on February 20, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called for unity of "all ethnic races".

High Court to hear ATM fraud allegations Posted: 21 Feb 2016 02:30 PM PST Five foreigners accused of multiple offences of fraud involving the use of fake bank cards or electronic equipment to withdraw cash can be tried together, Yangon Region's High Court has decided.

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Thant Myint-U: ‘The Number One Challenge is De-Isolation’ Posted: 20 Feb 2016 04:55 PM PST Thant Myint-U, historian and founder of the Yangon Heritage Trust, discusses Burma's challenges, economic outlook, and relations with China. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — With a new government still almost six weeks from taking power, The Irrawaddy's founding editor-in-chief Aung Zaw speaks with author and founder of the Yangon Heritage Trust Thant Myint-U on the country's challenges and economic outlook, the peace process and relations with China. Following is an edited transcript of a longer interview, which can be viewed in full below. Welcome to The Irrawaddy, Thant Myint-U. We're very happy to have you here. I'd like to shoot with the first question. As the NLD [National League for Democracy]-led government comes to power in April, I'd like you to share your perspective, your optimism. What are the challenges and opportunities facing the country and the government? Thank you very much, I'm very happy to be here. I think in general I'm very optimistic. We all know the challenges: The transition to democracy is at best half-finished, there's no agreement on constitutional change, we have major economic challenges, issues from land to electricity to other things related to the growth of the economy. We have very weak institutions. On the other hand, I think what unites almost everyone in this country, 99 percent of the people in this country, is that there is a desperate desire to catch up with the rest of the region. And I can feel from everyone, from very top to ordinary people, that they don't want to remain the poorest country in the region. They want to see growth, they want to see economic change, and they want to see it in some kind of freer country and, if possible, a more democratic country. And I think that energy is what's going to animate a lot of what comes next… We know more or less what the prescription is, and we've seen so many other successful transitions to democracy as well. Before we talk about this "prescription," I'd like to hear your opinion on the reform process, because there has been renewed interest in Burma among donors and investors. But how can the country maintain its momentum, attract new foreign investment and donors, and increase its international engagement and image? I think that even if not much more happened in terms of economic reform and everything else, I think we will still see growth, because we're moving from a situation of really bad policies to not so bad policies, and usually when that happens, you see explosive growth. It's just because people suddenly have electricity, people have a solar panel, people have a motorbike, people have some stability. They can do five times, 10 times more than they could before. So I think just that momentum alone will help improve the livelihoods of a lot of people—not everyone, but a lot of people. I think the question is whether we move from that kind of growth—5 percent, 6 percent—or can we really have the explosive growth of countries like Korea in the 1980s—10, 15 percent. That will require strategic government policies. We're talking about the NLD and economic policies, which stay very much vague, but we're also talking about expectations. It's very difficult once a government comes to power to manage expectations. There are lots of news articles talking about "high expectations." But Burmese usually have very modest expectations. That may be a good thing for the new government. But on a business level, for international investors and donors, I think they will have very high expectations. I think you're exactly right. Sometimes I think the problem here is people are too patient, and I think people will continue to be quite patient. To some extent, among the top people on different sides of the political establishment, there's some degree of "we have all the issues right now about the immediate transition," but in general, there's a sense of what the way forward is. It's not like you have royalists on one side and communists on the other. It's not that kind of huge ideological division that we've experienced in this country as well in the past… Myanmar needs hundreds of billions of dollars to invest in infrastructure. It needs tens of billions of dollars, literally, in foreign investment for the infrastructure it needs for the economy to take off. It has a unique opportunity now to try to attract the investment needs. But again, for those things it needs the institutions that are going to come up with policies. When you talk about institutions, we have very, very weak institutions. The question is: How can the international community and donors and investors help assist and encourage building stronger institutions in the country? It has to be demand-driven, not supply-driven. It's the responsibility of a democratic government to have the policies, have the programs and compel the donors to have their aid fit with that strategy and with that program. It's not for the donors to decide. But you don't want Burma to be aid-driven. It shouldn't be aid-driven. Aid is going to be and should only be a small part of the picture. The main thing is how to attract the private investment, and then that donor assistance that might be required in the short or medium term that can complement that assistance… I think in terms of institutions, if you go back to the last democratic period in the 1950s, it was very messy politics. But in the 1950s, we had a Burma civil service, we had a foreign office, we had a Rangoon university, we had a central bank, we had institutions that were some of the best in the region. We don't have any of those institutions now. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said herself a few weeks ago that peace is the biggest issue that our government will tackle and will try to resolve. Do you think they're setting a very ambitious look at the peace and conflict issues? Because when we talk about peace, that's also related to business and industries in neighboring countries that are very influential in domestic politics in Burma's ethnic conflicts. How do you see this? On every issue, I think it's wrong to have an economic prescription that doesn't first look at the reality of the political economy here—who is making money; how? Unless you have that analysis first, it's impossible to think about how the economy can change. What I mean is you can't have people coming in from outside coming up with ideas on what's worked outside without thinking about how the current system works… That has to be the basis for thinking about how things can change. U Nu said in 1949 we'll have peace within one year, so I think there's always been a hope and an expectation that we will have peace very soon. And I think it's a noble expectation, and I think it's a good focus. But I think we have to be clear that peace means different things. One is, peace and reconciliation between the different peoples of the country—linguistically, religiously, ethnically defined. If we move toward a more federal system of government, more local democracy, more equality, less discrimination, a lot of those issues can be, I think, slowly, resolved—a more inclusive civil service, for example, more inclusive institutions in general. That's slightly different from the question of how to deal with the armed groups, many of whom want those things, but many of whom will also have other aims and ambitions, on a personal level or an institutional level in terms of economic interests, in terms of revenues and everything else. I think there will be many armed groups who feel that they are legitimately fighting for the self-determination of their people or for non-discrimination. But we all know that in different parts of the country, where you've had a war for seven years, you also have an entrenched political economy from which all sides benefit in often illegal ways, corrupt ways… President Thein took the credit for building peace and signing the NCA [nationwide ceasefire agreement], but critics have said it's half-baked success. A Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-government will carry the torch, I believe, and I don't think they want to reset this whole issue; they will continue to proceed. But I think [the new government's] approach will be very much different. I think that because there's this NCA framework, this very broad framework, you can read many different things into it, you can take it down very many different paths. I think there's going to be a lot of both the kind of homework I mentioned, but also I think we need a lot of out-of-the box thinking. We don't need the kind of peace deal that wouldn't work in 1949. We need the kind of peace deal that's going to work in 2020 or 2030. If you look at the past and the history of our country, particularly those in the north have never been governed. We talk about federalism and a federal union, but the "hill people" are still very resentful toward this "Burmanization" and the army playing a very dominant role. At the national level I mentioned the issues of inclusivity, of non-discrimination, of equality. At the local level, it has to be some degree of local democracy. People have to feel that they're governing themselves or at least that people from another part of the country aren't coming in and governing them. There are issues of state-building, building basic state capacity, but there hasn't been state capacity ever, even in British time… In a way, one could argue, why not have the most liberal approach, why not give everyone autonomy, why not give maximum autonomy and let people govern themselves all the way down to the village level? And I think it makes a lot of sense up to a point. But when you factor in that we're still a relatively small country, where what defines being Burmese is partly that we're not of India or China, then it becomes a much more complicated calculation to think about… The important thing to think about is, what can meaningfully be achieved in five years? And I think at least no violence is one thing. That alone benefits a lot of people who have been subject to violence and displacement over many decades. Basic development—that's inclusive, that's not exploitative—that's actually going to benefit millions of people in conflict-affected areas by building some local institutions and self-government. Talking about China… Recently you wrote in the Financial Times that Burma should reset its policy, rebalance its policy with China. How do you see an NLD-led government doing that? First of all, I think it's good that sanctions have virtually been lifted, that there's a potential to rebalance relations, that relations with the West are getting better, that relations with Japan are getting deeper. I think there's absolutely no reason why this country can't be friends with everyone… China is a very special case, because over the last 20 years China has had a track record that people will judge. China has been involved in projects that have been very unpopular. And many people have a view of China that is often very negative, so that's a very different case than with any other country. At the same time, we are next to the greatest industrial revolution in human history. China is an enormous engine, or has been, for global economic growth. China has the tens of billions of dollars that can be invested for the kind of infrastructure investment that this country desperately needs. The question is, how can we fit these two stories together? How can we attract and have the kind of Chinese investment that will actually be good for this country? And that means not simply responding to Chinese requests, whether it's a dam project or a deep-sea port. It's for the Burmese side to think through what does it want—does it want one deep-sea port, two, where should it be, does it want railway lines improved, where should it run—and then to ask the Chinese as well as the Japanese as well as the Americans as well as everyone else to invest within a framework that the Burmese people themselves decided democratically and in an informed way. When we talk about China… I think the conventional wisdom is that China is unhappy with the US coming in, the Western influence. Do you agree with that notion? Not completely. Because we've been so isolated, because we're so used to no competition over Burma, we see a little bit of competition and we overestimate it sometimes. I don't have a sense that in Washington or Tokyo or Beijing that they want this to be a point of conflict. There are many other more serious issues strategically. We need to make the case for how Burma can be the place for cooperation between all of these countries… So for Burma, the biggest challenge when we talk about democracy—we think about the economy, we think about the peace process—the number one challenge is de-isolation. It's been isolated for 40, 50 years on its own and then under sanctions, coming out of this isolation brings so many different challenges. If we go back into the global world and global economy and global society with the kind of narrow nationalisms that have developed in this country over 60, 70 years, we will not succeed. When we talk about de-isolation, we talk about how Burma looks at itself and the world. If Burma fails to acknowledge its prominence, its strategic location and its potential, I think there's also a danger in that. Burma will fail. Our No. 1 asset is our geographic location between Asean and China and India—the biggest markets that are growing in the world… Now we have millions of Burmese living in Thailand. We also have hundreds of thousands, millions of Burmese who have relatives in Australia, the UK, America, all these places, for the first time ever. The Burmese are becoming, without knowing it, globalized again in a certain way. Talking about foreign policy, how do you want to move the country to the next [phase]? I think in terms of foreign policy, it's about moving a little bit away from the old, non-aligned approach, which is a little bit defensive, at least since the 1960s, and toward a much more active foreign policy… This country should be much more involved with international issues like climate change, for example, which is going to deeply affect this country more than almost any other country. Our discussions about climate change, international peace and security, health risks like the spread of infectious disease, we should raise our profile on all of these things. The post Thant Myint-U: 'The Number One Challenge is De-Isolation' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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• Ye Htut’s Take on 59(f) Criticized as Conjecture over Presidency Rolls On
• Rapid Migration and Lack of Cheap Housing Fuels Yangon Slum Growth
• The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Feb. 20, 2015)
• Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘It’s Unacceptable That the Ministry Competes with Private Newspapers Using the State Budget’
• Hpakant Protests on Hold after Agreement Signed: Officials
• Burma Govt Looks to Shed Burden of US Sanctions
• Mon State Cement Plant Nearing Completion amid Ongoing Opposition
• Will Suu Kyi Give Up 59(F)?

Ye Htut’s Take on 59(f) Criticized as Conjecture over Presidency Rolls On Posted: 20 Feb 2016 01:22 AM PST Ye Htut, Burma's outgoing minister of information, gives a speech during a World Press Freedom Day ceremony in Rangoon, May 3, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) RANGOON — Until March 17, when the Union Parliament is finally scheduled to consider nominations for Burma's next president, speculation will continue as to possible contenders and, more specifically, whether Aung San Suu Kyi will be among them. With the National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman constitutionally barred from the role, supporters continue to hold out hope, however faint, that the offending clause, Article 59(f), may somehow be sidestepped. The article in part bars anyone with a foreign spouse or children from assuming the presidency, disqualifying Suu Kyi as her two children are British nationals, as was her late husband. As negotiations between the NLD and the military continue behind closed doors, one notion first floated late last year centers on the possible suspension of the clause. Opinions are divided on whether this has currency, with several military representatives expressing their opposition to such a move. Burma's outgoing information minister Ye Htut had a different take on the much-debated issue when speaking to Voice of America this week. "In my point of view, if her two sons and their spouses seek Burmese citizenship, everything will be alright. If her children want her to become the president, all they have to do is apply for citizenship according to the 1982 Citizenship Law," Ye Htut told VOA on Tuesday. Asked if it was fair to suggest that Suu Kyi's children renounce their British citizenship, Ye Htut replied: "If they don't want to live in a country their mum governs or seek citizenship [of that country], it's their family matter, not a constitutional problem." In fact Ye Htut's suggestion—the sincerity of which may be questionable—has been referred to by Suu Kyi herself in the past, including during a rally for constitutional change in mid-2014. "Some suggested that I could be president if my two sons seek Burmese citizenship," Suu Kyi said at the rally in Pakokku, Magwe Division. "Let me say this: it doesn't matter whether I become president or not. We want to change it as it is not fair from a legal point of view." Suu Kyi explained that her two sons were registered as Burmese citizens when they were born, a classification revoked by the military regime following the nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988. "What I don't like about the clause is that it is trying to bar someone if their children or relatives are foreigners. I don't care about being the president or not," the pro-democracy leader told supporters. The NLD's Tun Tun Hein was quick to criticize Ye Htut's comments on the matter this week, labeling them "flippant" in an interview with the Myanmar Times. "If we carefully read the constitution's section 59(f), its limitation includes even the spouses of the daughters and sons of the president. And the citizenship application is not an easy process in such a situation," the NLD central committee member, told the Myanmar Times on Friday. Khin Zaw Win of the Tampadipa Institute think-tank said the NLD should be wary of suspending the clause, given the military's apparent reticence. "They should explore legally liable alternatives, including something like reinstating her children's citizenship, rather than rushing ahead—that could lead to a constitutional crisis as the 25 percent of military representatives in the Parliament will have final say on the issue," he said. For newly minted NLD lawmaker Nay Phone Latt, whether Suu Kyi formally leads the country is immaterial. "She has already said she will be 'above the president,'" he said. "Amending or suspending the clause is something that is uncertain. But what is sure is that she will lead the government." The post Ye Htut's Take on 59(f) Criticized as Conjecture over Presidency Rolls On appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rapid Migration and Lack of Cheap Housing Fuels Yangon Slum Growth Posted: 19 Feb 2016 10:13 PM PST OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA YANGON — Ei Cho Khine once had dreams of becoming a tour guide. As a student back in her village in Magwe Region in central Myanmar, she would often encounter groups of foreigners being led by tour guides while helping her parents at their Bein moke snack stall. "My dream was to be a tour guide so I wanted to study English and computers, which is why I moved to Yangon," she said, recalling how in 2000, at the age of 19, she headed for the country's then-capital. Since then, however, her hopes have floundered. She arrived in Yangon empty-handed and had to find cheap housing and take any available work to make ends meet. For the past 16 years she has toiled in one of the many garment factories in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone on Yangon's northwestern outskirts. "When I moved here I had ambitions. I had no intention of working in a garment factory but I couldn't afford to keep studying English. Now it's only about the money," she said wearily. Ei Cho Khine's story is typical of the tens of thousands of people who move to the country's commercial capital every year to escape rural poverty. Many of them of end up in Hlaing Tharyar's slums, which are home to some 700,000 people. The process of rural to urban migration is likely to accelerate as Myanmar's economy grows following democratic and economic reforms, while the new National League for Democracy (NLD) government is likely to attract more foreign investment and the prospect of city jobs. Urban planning experts warn that Yangon is ill-prepared for the rapid influx of poor internal migrants and the unruly urbanization this will bring. They urge the government to come up with policies and measures to provide cheap housing and economic opportunities for the new arrivals. "If you don't have a proper response to urbanization then you run a very big risk of widespread slums forming, of rising social inequality, an increase in gated communities, negative environmental consequences and urban poverty," said Jack Finegan, urban program specialist at UN-Habitat. He said authorities should take measures now if Yangon's housing and infrastructure expansion is to keep up with population growth. Bright Lights, Big City Most of those moving from rural areas to Yangon are young people of working age who are abandoning the agriculture sector, where work is seasonal and underpaid, said Michael Slingsby, former UN-Habitat representative for Afghanistan, now an urban development and poverty advisor. "In the city, there are opportunities to do something. Families have multiple sources of income and you have the possibility to work most of the year," he told Myanmar Now. With increased connectivity between cities and villages brought on by mobile phones and the internet, young people in rural areas learn about modern city life from relatives living there, prompting many to move. For some, the bright lights of the city promise freedom from the constraints of Myanmar's conservative rural society. "Now, I'm learning a lot and I've got freedom to do what I want. My parents aren't here to control me," said Khin Myat Noe Swe, 20, a garment factory worker in Hlaing Tharyar, who moved 5 years ago after hearing about the garment jobs in Yangon from her cousin. When she first left Myothit, a town in Magwe Region, for Hlaing Tharyar, she lived in a 10-by-10 foot hostel room that she shared with three other workers. They ate, slept and washed in the hostel, which provided cheap accommodation to newly arrived migrants; its 14 rooms housed 56 people who shared three toilets. Her living situation has markedly improved since then. She now lives in accommodation provided by Thone Pan Hla, a not-for-profit organization which focuses on the welfare of women garment workers where she lives with other, single women of her own age. While some are drawn to the city by its opportunities, others are pushed there by the difficult circumstances in their villages: a failed harvest or indebtedness that may lead to loss of land, or the destruction wrought by natural disaster. Kyi Soe has lived in a bamboo hut in Nyaung Yar, a slum area in Hlaing Tharyar, for 19 years. He has seen many migrants arrive over the years, but said the slums here swelled overnight after Cyclone Nargis devastated Ayeyarwady Delta in 2008. Myanmar's worst-ever disaster killed an estimated 138,000 people and destroyed the livelihoods and assets of many more farmers. "We live from hand to mouth and the cost of living goes up day by day. All of my wage is spent on just surviving," he said, adding that in recent months, rumors have been circulating that the Nyaung Yar's several thousand residents will be forcibly evicted by the government. "Now, I am really anxious, I worry that when I'm at work my house will be destroyed by the government; the same thing they've done to other squatters in Yangon," he said. Reforms Speed Up Urban Growth As in many developing countries, urbanization in Myanmar is seen as a logical and important step for its economic and social development. Urban incomes are higher and health care and education are more easily accessible to city dwellers. Industries and business can develop in thriving cities, which are also home to a rising middle class. Due to its isolation under the former military regime, urbanization in Myanmar has lagged behind; 70 percent of the nation still lives in rural areas, making it the third-least urbanized country in Southeast Asia. Following democratic reforms and drastic steps to modernize and open up the economy in recent years, GDP growth is taking off, reaching 8.4 percent in 2015. According to UN-Habitat in Myanmar, Yangon's population is set to grow at 4 percent annually and could expand from around 5.7 million residents now to more than 11 million in 2040. Much of this growth will come from rural migrants finding their way to the city, experts said. "With Myanmar opening up, there will be more non-agricultural jobs, so people will be heading from rural to urban areas. This is just an irreversible trend and there's nothing anybody can do about it," said Mitchiko Ito, program manager of International Organisation for Migration. "It's a global trend, but what's special about Myanmar's case is that it in the past this hasn't happened at the rate of other countries, so it will now happen quickly." Learning from Neighbors After five decades of army rule, which saw the regime move the government capital to Naypyitaw, Yangon's infrastructure and housing sectors are poorly developed, its crumbling colonial-era downtown is neglected, and its transport system dysfunctional. Yet, Yangon is a clean slate for urban planners when compared to mega cities in the region, such as Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta, where authorities have tried to manage rapid urban growth and modern city development decades earlier. Several experts who spoke to Myanmar Now said Yangon's authorities now have a brief window to learn from the successes and mistakes of these cities in order to achieve sustainable urban growth that also provides adequate living conditions for migrants. Effective, cheap housing solutions for the new city dwellers should be the first priority for Yangon authorities, they said. "Urban poverty is difficult to address so prevention is easier than curing. There is a very good opportunity for Yangon to take stock of what hasn't worked [elsewhere] and how it can plan for a better integration of new migrants into the city in the future," said Finegan, of UN-Habitat. Yangon has experienced a real estate boom since President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government took office in 2011, this has driven up property and rent prices across the city, including in slum areas. Yangon Region authorities said they are taking measures to provide affordable housing for the poor. In the 2015/16 budget year, authorities commissioned the construction of 10,160 "low cost" apartments, but officials acknowledge that with each apartment costing around US$9,000, they would offer little opportunity to those living in slums. "We've tried to sell them to low income earners but they couldn't afford them, they were too expensive for the poorest," said Min Aung Aye, deputy director of the Housing Development Division of the Department of Urban and Housing Development. Subsequently, the government decided some of the new housing would be made available as rental apartments for the lowest income groups; officials are now drafting eligibility criteria and pricing models according to income. Affordable Housing, Not Evictions Despite Yangon authorities' public commitment to developing affordable housing, some activists and politicians question the government's approach, saying its housing policies are ineffective, while slum dwellers usually face evictions rather than support. Yangon authorities are accused of routinely cracking down on what are deemed "illegal squatter" areas. Often, security forces are ordered to forcibly evict slums, an approach that activists say violates the poor's land and tenure rights. Activists say the practice worsened under the Thein Sein government and in January authorities twice sent in police and bulldozers to clear squatter communities on the outskirts of Yangon, destroying hundreds of homes and condemning families to the streets. There is hope that the incoming NLD government, which won a huge mandate in the November election, will end the forced eviction of squatters and controversial land grabs. Although NLD officials have said little about specifics, the party's 2015 election manifesto outlines such reforms. "We will establish, as quickly as possible, a program for the rehousing of homeless migrants, who have moved to the cities as a result of natural disasters, economic opportunities, and land confiscation," the manifesto says. Win Maung, a Yangon Region lawmaker from Hlaing Tharyar representing the NLD told Myanmar Now: "Using armed force to destroy people's homes simply because they have no legal rights is not a realistic solution to this [housing] problem." Van Liza, director of Yangon-based non-profit organization Women for the World, said government policies on land tenure and low-cost housing had failed to help the poor. "Who are these projects really for? Those with money," she said of the affordable housing developments. Women for the World, which Van Liza co-founded, ran a pilot scheme in a Yangon slum that established a collectivized loan scheme. The community used it to fund small infrastructure projects in the area and the scheme provides low interest rate loans for individual households who use the money to upgrade their homes. "Community-based saving is a key tool that empowers people. Poor people don't want a free house, they just want to be able to own some land," she said. A successful model used in other developing countries gives slum dwellers de-facto tenure or actual legal tenure, after which the government provides infrastructure to the area. This allows people to invest in upgrading their houses and improve the neighborhood, said Finegan, of UN-Habitat. "The key issue is tenure. People need certainty that they will be able to stay in place. Slum upgrading has proved effective when we allow people to do it themselves," he said.     CAPTION:   CATEGORIES:      Development, Drugs & Crime, Politics, Economy, Labor Issues   FOCUS KEYWORD:   META KEYWORDS:        Slums, poverty, housing     The post Rapid Migration and Lack of Cheap Housing Fuels Yangon Slum Growth appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Feb. 20, 2015) Posted: 19 Feb 2016 04:25 PM PST People are pictured through electric cables and wires at a street inside Bogyoke Aung San market in Rangoon. (Photo: Minzayar / Reuters) Power Development Could Fall Short, Say Analysts Delays and suspensions to hydropower dams and coal power developments mean that Burma will not realize its energy-producing potential in the next decade, according to analysis by BMI Research that will raise concerns about continued power shortages. With state media this week predicting serious droughts as the effects of the El Niño cyclical weather events hit the country in coming months, some fear that annual power shortages could worsen. Hydropower dams, which are relied upon to provide energy to the major cities, cannot run at full capacity toward the end of Burma's long dry season. BMI Research, in an industry trend analysis sent out this week, predicts that electricity consumption in Burma will grow by an average of 8.5 percent a year until 2025. But while this creates a big opportunity for companies to come in and offer power supply options to the state-run power supply company, the analysts noted that many projects are currently being delayed by suspensions or even canceled. Numerous hydropower projects have been announced on rivers around the country, with many not progressing past the planning stage. The Chinese-backed Myitsone dam in Kachin State, which was suspended in a highly political move by President Thein Sein in 2011, remains in limbo. Local conglomerate Asia World recently said it was divesting entirely from a project to build a coal-fired power plant at Kyun Gyan Gon in Rangoon Division. BMI Research said that power projects with an electricity-producing potential of 18.56 gigawatts were technically in the pipeline. However, it said, "there are still a number of barriers to project realisation, and if projects that are currently suspended or cancelled are not accounted for, the project pipeline shrinks to 6.4GW. "This aligns with our view that the potential in Myanmar's power sector will not be fully realised, based on regulatory hurdles, limited financing availability, local opposition to projects and grid infrastructure inefficiencies." The outlook was better for gas-powered power generation, it said, adding that a slowdown was expected in new investment in coal and hydropower. "Myanmar is significantly ramping up its domestic gas usage," the analysis said. "[A]lthough we believe natural gas reserves will decline strongly over the next decade, as low oil prices slow investment in upstream activities—we expect gas to gradually gain share in Myanmar's power mix, rising to a 36% contribution in 2025, from a current level of just below 30%." Nissan to Assemble the 'Sunny' Sedan at New Pegu Plant Japanese auto company Nissan Motor Co Ltd announced this week that it will soon be assembling as many as 10,000 'Sunny' compact sedans at a new factory in Pegu Division. The move was announced in a company statement issued after a ceremony with local government officials and Nissan's Malaysian partner Tan Chong Motor Group. "Nissan will initially use an existing Tan Chong facility to assemble the Sunny compact sedan, before transferring production to the new plant with a work force of approximately 300 and a production capacity of 10,000 units at full production," the statement said. Nissan was already training 200 employees at a Tan Chong factory in Malaysia, it said. "Nissan's expansion in Myanmar forms part of the company's wider growth in emerging markets, which includes production in countries including India, Brazil, Russia and Nigeria," the statement said. "Demand in Myanmar is expected to grow rapidly following economic and political reforms in the country." Food Imports From Thailand Up By Almost a Quarter Burma's imports of foodstuffs from Thailand increased by 24 percent last year, according to figures quoted in a report in The Nation newspaper, which said Thai companies were being encouraged to target Burma as a growth market. The statistic came from Thailand's National Food Institute, a quasi-autonomous body under the country's Ministry of Industry. The report said the increase makes Burma the fourth largest importer of Thai food products, after Japan, the United States and China. In August, the Federation of Thai Industry's club of food processors cut its growth target for 2015 by almost 2 percentage points to 6.9 percent, citing ongoing drought, currency volatility and the poor global economic outlook, according to the Bangkok Post. The Thai food industry has also been hit by a series of scandals of late about the abuse of labor in supply chains, particularly in the fishing industry. An investigation by the Associated Press last year revealed that migrant workers from Burma and Cambodia were regularly employed in slave-like conditions on Thai fishing boats. Other labor abuses have also been alleged in other parts of the food-production industry that also rely on migrant workers. Regardless of these concerns, Burma is importing more and more Thai-made foodstuffs. The Thai institute predicted that the imports would continue to grow as Burma's economy grows. Thai small- and medium-sized enterprises producing food should look to the Burmese market for more growth, The Nation quoted National Food Institute President Yongvut Saovapruk as saying, citing data purportedly from London-based market research firm Euromonitor International. "Euromonitor predicted that the average growth of the market for processing foods in Myanmar between 2014 and 2018 will be about 15 per cent per annum," Yongvut told The Nation. "However, the market growth of non-alcohol beverages in Myanmar is as high as 23 per cent per year over the period." Woodside and Daewoo Strike Gas off Arakan Coast Australian and South Korean partners Woodside and Daewoo have discovered gas in one of Burma's offshore exploration blocks, according to a statement. An announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange from Woodside Petroleum this week said that a gas column approximately 64 meters long had been found in Block AD-7, off the coast of Arakan State. The discovery came in an area where the sea is some 836 meters deep, the statement said. The firms had drilled to a total depth of more than 3 kilometers, it said, where the presence of natural gas was confirmed by "pressure measurements and gas sampling." Woodside is a minority partner in the project, holding 40 percent to Daewoo International Corporation's 60 percent interest. Woodside announced a separate discovery just last month in a different exploration block, A-6, in which it is working with local firm MPRL E&P and France's Total. Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said in the announcement that the two finds were "very encouraging" for the company's chances of finding significant amounts of gas in Burmese waters. "These discoveries provide evidence of the high quality of offshore Myanmar as an exploration focus area," he was quoted saying. Siam Cement Group Investing in Burma Concrete Business Thai cement giant the Siam Cement Group is reportedly setting up a concrete production business in Rangoon, putting some $5.8 million into the project. Citing the Burmese government's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, the website Deal Street Asia reports that SCG Myanmar Concrete and Aggregate Co Ltd, a local subsidiary of the large Thai conglomerate, could begin production by the end of the year. "The investment is in the production and marketing of concrete including readily mixed concrete, precast, reinforced and pre-stressed concrete as well as post-tensioned products of SCG brand," a government spokesperson told Deal Street Asia. The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Feb. 20, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘It’s Unacceptable That the Ministry Competes with Private Newspapers Using the State Budget’ Posted: 19 Feb 2016 04:10 PM PST This week, the panel discusses the role of the media in a new political order, with the National League for Democracy set to govern from April 1. Thalun Zaung Htet: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy. This week, we'll discuss the role of the media and the challenges facing it as the National League for Democracy (NLD) prepares to come to power. Ko Zaw Thet Htwe from the Myanmar Journalist Union and Ko Thiha Thway from NHK will join me for the discussion. I'm Irrawaddy Burmese editor Thalun Zaung Htet. Before talking about the role of the media in a new political order, I want to note one point—the media has been restricted in covering the new Parliament session that convened on Feb 1. I myself was there to cover the session and found too many "no media access" areas and "no interview" areas across the Parliament building, which were nonexistent in the first Parliament. The NLD government has not yet come to power, but we have started to see signs of restrictions on media. Ko Thiha Thway, you also covered the Parliament session. What do you think of it? Thiha Thway: The problem can be divided into two parts—one is the problem between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the media, and the other, between the Parliament and the media. These two problems are intertwined. But in fact, they should be handled separately. The problem between the Parliament and the media has existed since the time of the first Parliament when Global Post Journal presented a photo in which a military representative was casting a proxy vote. Then, reporters were no longer allowed to enter the "interpreter booth" from which they monitored and covered the Parliament session over the past three, four years. TZH: The restriction was in response to the article "Multi-Handed Persons…" [featured in Global Post]… TT: Since then, we haven't been able to monitor the inside of the Parliament chamber. We haven't been allowed to use the interpreter booth and have had to cover the session through TV. Still, we can freely interview [ministers] outside the chamber. Usually, it is difficult for journalists to meet ministers. But ministers have to come to the Parliament when asked to do so. So the Parliament is a very important place for us since we can meet, interview and take photos of ministers there. Regarding the problem between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the media, during the election period, reporters crammed into the polling station where Daw Aung San Suu Kyi cast her vote and that was a mess. I've noticed that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has tended to avoid the media since then. She can't stand the light from flashguns and seems to be worried that she might be harmed in the crowd. And she tries to regulate the media for fear that exaggerated speculation [on the post for president] by journalists may harm the political path she is taking. Since the new Parliament convened, journalists have tried to interview and take photos of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi because of their interest [in what shape her government might take]. But she does not want to reveal any information to the media for the time being, and the new military representatives are not yet ready to talk to the media. Because of these factors, the Parliament has imposed restrictions. A space is designated for media personnel to interview [lawmakers and ministers]. However, it is difficult to get someone you want to interview to that box. It is even more difficult to get ministers to that box. They wouldn't be happy to be there. So we've lost a chance to carry out some reporting. We don't know how to solve this. TZH: Designation of such areas has largely affected reporting. The NLD said that there are also restricted areas in other international parliaments. But the media have complained that hundreds of journalists now have to cover Parliament through a TV, thereby restricting their ability to interview freely. Is this because the NLD does not understand the nature of media very well, or because it does not know how to handle the media? Zaw Thet Htwe: It seems that the NLD does not even have a strategic plan for media flow. The Parliament is an integral part of the country. There should at least be a media center in the Parliament. In international parliaments, there is a well-equipped media center with Internet access and a power supply. Generally speaking, the NLD needs something like this to facilitate the flow of information. The fact that it has restricted the news is a negative political sign. In [Burma], there has hardly been an institutionalized system, and usually, the lower-level workers take actions that hinge on the feelings of the top leader. For instance, in the time of the late General Ne Win, his subordinates would issue instructions and regulations based on his feelings. This also happened in the time of General Than Shwe and President U Thein Sein. The democratic government is said to have emerged now. But then, instructions and regulations emerge depending on the feelings of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. It is natural that she might be annoyed being followed by so many journalists. However, a responsible NLD would understand that the media can't be restricted. Once they adopt rules and regulations for the flow of information and the managing of the media, this problem will be solved. If no action is taken, because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi refuses to say something, this would likely breed problems. I think the NLD should handle this and also set up a media center in the Parliament. TZH: The NLD government has not yet officially taken power, but the media has started to lose their rights after an NLD-dominated Parliament convened. At present, NLD lawmakers do not answer questions posed by the media. They evade it. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has released a statement that no one other than her is allowed to talk about the transfer of power. So lawmakers dare not answer these sorts of questions. It has therefore been very difficult for the media to get news. Yet the media represent the people, and they ask questions on behalf of the people on issues that people want to know about. So the problems we have mentioned during this conversation will continue if the NLD does not understand that journalists are working on behalf of people. Let's talk about the role of the Ministry of Information in the new government. To start, there have been suggestions that ministry should be abolished. What do you think about this, Ko Thiha Thway, about whether the Ministry of Information should be abolished? TT: In fact, every government should keep a propaganda department. When industries were nationalized during the time of the Socialist Program Party, newspapers were also nationalized, so all the newspapers became government-run newspapers. Since then the government has used newspapers for propaganda. Consequently, the Ministry of Information has gradually grown up. I think those newspaper houses should be privatized. If no private businessman is willing to take them, those propaganda newspapers should be downgraded—the budget and workforce of those newspaper houses should be reconsidered. The [new] government can reduce unnecessary things, just keep the required workforce and change the ministry into an information department, because those newspapers spend a huge amount of budgets. At a time when free media is about to be established, it's unacceptable that the ministry competes with private newspapers using the state budget, rather than encouraging them. Private media outlets are having a hard time. They are also facing other challenges. At a time when print media is declining and online media has become more popular, it is hard for print media to compete with government-run newspapers, which are invulnerable to financial loss. When the NLD government comes to power, I think it will reduce all the unnecessary things and just keep an appropriate workforce for an information department. TZH: So, shouldn't the Information Ministry be abolished? ZTH: I have found two facts regarding the question of if Ministry of Information should be abolished. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said that there should not be government-run newspapers in a democratic country. And Information Minister U Ye Htut said that the Ministry of Information has been in existence since the time of the government Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League. These two views are different. But as Ko Thiha has said, if government-run newspapers would operate with a state budget as a [profit-making] business, it is unacceptable. If they are to run as a business, they should not take money from the state, but operate on their own. If they take money from the state, they should not run as a business, but provide the service of sharing information to the people for free. So the NLD government, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has to choose one of these two options. Regarding the abolishment of Ministry of Information, a ministry can be abolished in principle, but there are consequences we have to consider. Where will we use the staff and infrastructure of the ministry if it is abolished? There are branches of newspaper houses in divisions and states. If the Ministry of Information is abolished, capital investment in those facilities would be wasted. If the next government abolishes the things done by the previous government, and this pattern will repeat ad nauseam, our country would end in grinding poverty. I like what the senior members of the NLD have suggested. They've suggested combining three or two ministries into one. It is realistic. For example, it is realistic to combine the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development and Ministry of Commerce like the combination of Ministry of Health with Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. It is doable that the Ministry of Information can be changed into a department. TZH: There is no Ministry of Information in democracies. But surely they have an information department from the government. Let's discuss the role of private media. The role private media is playing is very limited in our country. There is no purely private broadcast media and they have to work in partnership with the government. There is no private independent broadcast media. The role of the media to criticize the government is therefore restricted. State-run media like Myanma Alinn, Kyemon and Myanma Radio and Television [MRTV] are commercially sustainable as they get advertisement orders. But private media is facing a hard time as they do not get advertisement orders. What is your view on this, Ko Thiha Thway? TT: As government-run newspapers have stood as the official papers for a long time, people think that by only putting ads in them, [their ads] will reach the entire country or that [putting notifications in them] will legitimate them. We need to get rid of such thought. So as I have said before, the government-run newspapers should provide information to people for near free without accepting commercials. If that happens, private media will be able to sustain itself with commercials. TZH: What do you think, Ko Zaw Thet Htwe? ZTH: It seems that obituaries, weddings and notifications about land [ownership] can be legitimate only when they are put in government-run newspapers. So people do not put ads in private newspapers. The government-run newspapers therefore earn up to millions in advertisement revenues a day. If they no longer accept ads and those wishing to put ads switch to private media, it will create a breathing space for private media. And they [government-run newspapers] will become as good as their words to transform themselves into public service media. The post Dateline Irrawaddy: 'It's Unacceptable That the Ministry Competes with Private Newspapers Using the State Budget' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Hpakant Protests on Hold after Agreement Signed: Officials Posted: 19 Feb 2016 04:01 PM PST Trucks are seen at a Hpakant jade mine in Kachin State, November 25, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) MANDALAY — Protests in Kachin State's Hpakant Township over the dumping of mining waste in the area have ended after authorities and villagers negotiated an agreement, according to township officials. However, some locals said they were not aware of the apparent settlement. Officials said that local authorities, representatives from mining companies and concerned villagers signed an agreement on Friday stipulating that the mining companies would halt the dumping of waste soil from jade mines in areas near local villages. "The companies … will go to the valley far away from the [village] areas to dump their mining waste. And the companies and authorities will begin reservation work on the Waikhar river," said Tin Swe Myint, an official of the Hpakant township administration office. According to locals, the mining companies also agreed that dump trucks would only pass through the villages only at night in order to prevent accidents. "The locals are satisfied with the results [of the negotiations] and assured [officials] that they would cease protesting. In turn, we assured them that we will work to restore the creeks and rivers in the area as soon as possible," Tin Swe Myint added. Yet in the Lone Khin jade mining area, local protesters said that the agreement was inked without some locals' knowledge. "We heard that the agreement was signed between authorities and mining companies without informing us. We're now asking for another appointment with both parties so that they can explain the situation to us," said Naung Latt, one of the Lone Khin protesters. All locals knew, they said, was that the negotiations had stalled because the mining companies in the area did not agree with some of the locals' requests. "They said that they won't dump waste in our area, but they couldn't come to an agreement on the time constraints for when trucks could pass through the villages," Naung Latt said. Protesters said that their next appointment with local authorities and the mining companies will be in a few days, at which point they will decide if they will continue to protest. "If they trick us, we will resume our protests," Naung Latt added. Protests were staged last week in three areas: Sabaw, Seikmu and Seng Taung. Protests were halted a few days later, however, when local authorities allegedly brought protesters and mining company representatives together at the negotiation table. The post Hpakant Protests on Hold after Agreement Signed: Officials appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Govt Looks to Shed Burden of US Sanctions Posted: 19 Feb 2016 03:55 PM PST US President Barack Obama holds a press conference following the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Rancho Mirage, California, February 16, 2016. (Photo: Mike Blake / Reuters) RANGOON — The US should further ease sanctions on Burma, Vice President Nyan Tun told US President Barack Obama at a US-ASEAN summit this week, according to Burma's information minister. At the Feb. 15-16 meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in California, Nyan Tun claimed that although the US has been giving economic support to ASEAN countries, Burma has received relatively little developmental assistance because of US sanctions, according to Ye Htut, as quoted in state-run media on Friday. According to Ye Htut, Nyan Tun informed participants that "Burmese businesspeople still can't compete with other businesspeople [in the ASEAN region] because of sanctions." "[Nyan Tun] said that [Burma] is improving politically and that sanctions should be lifted. The US said that this will depend on how the country moves forward," Ye Htut added. The United States restored diplomatic ties with Burma in 2012, after Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government came to power the previous year. While economic sanctions were eased for some sectors and individuals, many businesspeople remain on the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. US investment in Burma remains relatively low, as many potential investors are opting for a judicious approach to entering the frontier market. Still, some major American brands such as Coca-Cola, Gap and KFC have already broken ground in the country. Ye Htut made clear to the media neither which sanctions should be lifted first nor which individuals should be removed from the SDN list. Meanwhile, the American Chamber of Commerce's Myanmar chapter hosted a meeting in Rangoon on Feb. 17 with leaders from the health care, manufacturing and retail sectors. Maung Maung Lay, vice chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), told The Irrawaddy that meeting delegates talked about the limits placed on money transfers between the US and Burma due to sanctions. "There are some people still on the SDN list, and most US banks don't want to take risks or waste their time, which is why transferring money is difficult. The Burma government as well as various sectors want the US to totally lift sanctions," Maung Maung Lay said. "US involvement [in Burma] can bring many benefits to our country. If it lifts sanctions, other countries will feel confident about investing here." Since last year, the Chamber has been pushing for the lifting of trade sanctions on Burma, urging the US government to re-examine the sanctions list and remove some companies and individuals. This, the body argues, would create a level playing field in Burma for US companies with otherwise limited business power and that incur steep costs as a result of undergoing lengthy compliance reviews. Hope, however, may be faint in the near-term. "President Obama will be busy this year. I don't see much potential for sanctions to be lifted soon," Maung Maung Lay said. President Obama's recently confirmed nominee for ambassador to Burma, Scot Marciel, said in December that he does not anticipate major changes in US sanctions in the wake of the country's historic general election in November. "I would not anticipate, nor recommend, any dramatic change," Scot Marciel said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Marciel added that the sanctions system is "somewhat dynamic" and does allow for the measures to be eased if countries are deemed to have made progress. The post Burma Govt Looks to Shed Burden of US Sanctions appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mon State Cement Plant Nearing Completion amid Ongoing Opposition Posted: 19 Feb 2016 03:46 PM PST A sign for Mawlamyine Cement Limited at the entrance to the cement factory in Kyaikmayaw Township. (Photo: Nai Ko Thu / Facebook) RANGOON — A Thai-backed cement factory under construction in Mon State is on track to begin operations in mid-2016, the company said this week, despite ongoing opposition from locals over the presence of a coal-fired power plant on the site. The factory in Kyaikmayaw Township, situated near the Zami River—an important water source for at least five villages in the area—is owned by Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL), a subsidiary of Siam Cement Group (SCG). "Once operations begin, it is expected to produce 1.8 million tons of cement per year and the plant will create more than 300 direct jobs," MCL said in a statement dated Feb. 17. The cement factory is 65 percent complete, the company said, explaining that US$400 million had been invested in the undertaking that was approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) in 2013. Locals from nearby villages, however, contend they were not consulted before a coal-fired power plant was built on the site to power the cement plant. MCL said in a separate statement released earlier this month that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted in 2013 and submitted to the MIC. The Kyaikmayaw CSO's network said it had handed a letter to MCL representatives during a meeting arranged by the firm on Feb. 10, requesting to see the EIA report. "The whole country does not accept coal," said Aye Thein, the coordinator of Kyaikmayaw CSO's network. "We don't need to reject [the project] if they run it with other [energy sources], but not coal." In a statement on Feb. 5, MCL set out details of the project, including the coal-fired plant. "Outlined in the EIA, our facility includes an integrated cement plant consisting of a small self-use electricity utility that generates 40-megawatt energy power from coal and biomass and a 9-megawatt Waste Heat Generator (WHG) to assist in producing power," the company said. "The WHG system helps lessen the dependency on electricity as well as reduces greenhouse gas emissions." However, Aye Thein said the company had not properly explained the impact of a coal-power plant, instead only emphasizing the positives of the project. He said the company informed stakeholders about some measures, including that smoke from the coal plant would be absorbed, but locals remained unconvinced. "We use premium quality coal with low sulfur, standardize all processes and strictly abide by the law. In the manufacturing process, MCL utilizes technology to ensure very low emissions, meeting the highest international standards," said MCL managing director Wijit Terasarun in the Feb. 5 statement. "During storage, the coal is protected from exposure to water, accounting for flood conditions. We also provide indoor storage and closed-system water management. Coal is considered an essential energy source in the industry and is well accepted as the global standard, utilized in markets across the globe." MCL said unofficial visits were made to the plant by Mon State ministers, Kyaikmayaw Township administrators and other government officials, as well as village heads, last year. The firm also said they hosted four "open houses" for community members to learn about the facility during 2015—meetings that Aye Thein said were not widely publicized. The company invited a group of monks to Thailand for a study tour to explain the project this month. "In February 2016, MCL invited 14 monks from the local community to visit The Group's cement plant in Lampang, Thailand, with similar technology and environmental preservation as the MCL plant in Myanmar," the company said. Sandar Non, a central committee member of the Mon National Party, said local villagers only found out about the coal plant when local monks were invited to preach at the site. "The villagers told us [the company] never explained [about the coal plant]. They don't want this coal-power plant in their region. The company can use… gas to run their plant. They will not agree to the coal-power plant," she said. A local committee from pya-taung, or Bee Mountain, region, comprised of village representatives, including local monks, has been formed to oppose the plant. "The villagers are now trying to get consensus from all villages to oppose the plant," Sandar Non told The Irrawaddy. Kyi Maung Win, the general manager of MCL in Kyaikmayaw Township, would not speak over the phone when contacted by The Irrawaddy this week. Htun Naing, director general of the Mon State general administration office, said all approvals for the project had come from the national government and state authorities had no role. The post Mon State Cement Plant Nearing Completion amid Ongoing Opposition appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Will Suu Kyi Give Up 59(F)? Posted: 19 Feb 2016 03:38 PM PST Tin Oo, a patron of the National League for Democracy (NLD) celebrates the 25th anniversary of the founding of the NLD in Rangoon on September 27, 2013. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) Aung San Suu Kyi is the rightful leader of Burma and should be president of the country. The charismatic National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman would raise the nation's profile and navigate a dignified entry into the international community. The armed forces' leaders, including Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, whom Suu Kyi has met three times in recent months, have no doubt reached a similar realization, but that doesn't mean she will be the country's next president. Time is running out: if the 2008 Constitution cannot be amended now, then the Lady will have to formulate a back-up plan. It is generally accepted that the military leadership is reluctant to negotiate a waiver of the constitution's controversial Article 59(f). The clause prohibits any Burmese citizen with a foreign spouse or children from assuming the presidency, thereby excluding Aung San Suu Kyi from the position, since her two sons hold British citizenship, as did her late husband. Yet Snr-Gen Than Shwe, former regime leader and an architect of the military-drafted constitution, reportedly backed Suu Kyi's political ambitions after meeting her on December 5 last year. "It is the truth that she will become the future leader of the country. I will support her with all of my efforts," Than Shwe was widely quoted as saying at the meeting with Suu Kyi. There is no doubt that the former general has remained influential in shaping Burmese politics and the military. Yet the official line from both the armed forces and government is that Than Shwe no longer exercises his power in these circles. It is an interesting time indeed: top army leaders remain tight-lipped on the controversial issue of a Suu Kyi presidency. Some recent reports suggest that military leaders have expressed strong resistance to amending the constitution. But this also could be interpreted to mean that a crack has appeared in the ranks. This week, Suu Kyi held a third round of talks with army commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, but no details of the meeting were provided. It is confirmed that he has maintained a good relationship with Suu Kyi, but he also needs to watch his back: he knows there is military objection to her leadership. However, at their second meeting, the two sides discussed the rule of law and the ongoing process of creating lasting peace in the country. It is quite curious that both have stayed mum on the status of 59(f), but former and active army leaders have privately said that waiving or suspending the ban is unlikely. Min Aung Hlaing is rumored to be extending his tenure in the army for the next five years. Alone, he can't order constitutional change, but it should be noted that he also has 166 military MPs sitting in both houses of Parliament, known to vote as a bloc based on orders from above. First, the issue of a potential amendment would have to be discussed in Parliament. But a big hurdle remains: to amend any clause requires the support of at least 75 percent of its members. The continued quota of 25 percent military in the legislative body maintains the army's powerful political role in Burma. They are careful to preserve this privilege; in June 2015, army MPs shot down a proposal aimed to reduce the share of house votes needed to amend the Constitution to 70 percent. Time is running out as Suu Kyi and her party need to nominate candidates for a president who can take power in April. In any case, she has said that she will be "above the president": her pick for the leading role will most likely be a trustworthy follower. She will have to select someone she can work with for now—some optimists say that even if she cannot assume the role immediately, the Lady will become president sometime later this year. Local and international news has speculated about several potential presidential nominees, including Tin Oo, the former army chief; Dr Tin Myo Win, Suu Kyi's personal physician; Dr. Myo Aung and Win Htein, key members of the NLD's central executive committee and Htin Kyaw, a senior party member. Suu Kyi has kept everyone guessing. Some insiders in the NLD have said that the two most likely candidates are Tin Oo and Dr. Myo Aung. A concern about Tin Oo, 89, is his advanced age, despite appearing to be in good health. If he becomes head of state in Burma's young and fragile democracy, even temporarily, he will be one of the oldest serving presidents in the world. A former military commander in chief loyal to the late Gen Aung San and strongman Gen Ne Win, Tin Oo joined the army in 1946, two years before Burma's independence. He was forced to retire in 1974 and served seven years in prison after being accused of treason by Ne Win. Released in 1980, he returned to university to study law, preparing him to later co-found the NLD. He was active in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising and remained loyal to Suu Kyi in the years that followed. Recently, he told reporters that he believed Suu Kyi should be Burma's president. Tin Oo appeared with Suu Kyi at the last campaign rally before November's general election. Was it a signal? Again, the respected former army chief was seen giving a speech on February 12, which is celebrated as Union Day. Now is the time to watch, rather than speculate—those with definitive analyses or answers can easily be fooled. With the exception of Suu Kyi and the NLD's inner circle, who knows if Tin Oo will become president instead of the Lady? At the end of the day, many say that the outcome is simply a matter of the country's fate. The post Will Suu Kyi Give Up 59(F)? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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