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Saturday, April 23, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘We Cannot Accept the National Education Law’
The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (April 23, 2016)
Thailand Lags as Myanmar Gains Ground

Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘We Cannot Accept the National Education Law’

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 07:20 PM PDT

Thalun Zaung Htet: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, we'll discuss the student protestors, who were released following President Htin Kyaw's presidential pardon, and their expectations for the country's education system, with Phyoe Phyoe Aung, general secretary of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) central work committee, and Nan Linn, a university student union leader. I'm Irrawaddy Burmese editor Thalun Zaung Htet.

First of all, I'm happy that students, including you, were released on April 8. Everyone was happy that day. But after the release, we saw statements on social media from the released student protestors, including you, which said the protest had not been called off because 11 demands remained unfulfilled. This drew critical comments on social media like "if students want to go back behind bars [they should say so]," and other similar criticisms. Why haven't the student protestors called off the demonstration?

Phyoe Phyoe Aung: Throughout the year while we were on trial, especially after there was speculation that Aung San Suu Kyi would become education minister, we explained the student protests [against the National Education Law] whenever we gave interviews. Those 11 demands are what the students wish for, which they expressed at the students' conference in November 2014. We cannot accept the National Education Law, which was drafted and approved by the [former] government and Parliament. It is over-centralized and would be an obstacle to the development of a democratic education system in our country. Therefore, students unanimously decided to protest that law. The protest depends on whether or not their demands are met. The decision [to call off the protest] cannot be made by an individual person or organization. In our understanding, it is the nature of a protest to end automatically once demands are met. People failed to take note of what we have continuously said, but many have taken notice of news that has spread on social media about the protest continuing and students taking to the streets. Lately, we have explained [the law and our demands] comprehensively through interviews and statements.

TZH: Nan Linn, the National Education Law was enacted in 2014 and [former President] Thein Sein made some amendments to the law in 2015. How much does the existing education law meet the demands of students? Does the law still need to be changed?

Nan Linn: Surely, it needs to be changed. We pressed for 11 demands. Some have been met and some have not. And others are only nominally met.

TZH: Can you tell me what the 11 demands are?

NL: Roughly, they are about the education budget, ethnic languages, restructuring student unions and changing the university admission system for matriculating students.

TZH: Which demands have been met and which have not?

NL: The law unexpectedly includes provisions about student unions. [An article] of the law provides the formation of student unions at respective universities. The law also touches on ethnic languages and introduces changes to structure and power within the National Education Commission. But, taking a deeper look into its essence, it has yet to pave the way for the implementation of these provisions. Although the law includes so and so provisions, those provisions still need to clear legal barriers to pave the way for educational reforms. If you take a closer look, you will see restrictions behind those provisions.

TZH: So, you mean the National Education Law is not a driving force for promoting education, but rather a tool to make sure the education system is under government control?

NL: Sure, it is.

TZH: The National Education Law formed the National Education Commission and the Higher Education Coordinating Committee. Phyoe Phyoe Aung has said that the law is over-centralized. Does the country's education system even need the National Education Commission and the Higher Education Coordinating Committee?

PPA: We attended the student representatives' discussions with scholars. Generally, I think we do need to form a body of independent scholars to shape policies, manage funds and monitor the quality of universities and schools. But if that organization is under the influence of the government, the government will retain control. It will be a question of the ratio [of government representatives in the body]. It is reasonable that it will include government representatives because the government provides funds. But if the ratio of government representatives is unreasonably large, it will not be an independent entity. This concerns us. Regarding the coordinating committee, if universities become independent and have autonomy, they will be able to coordinate with other universities, either local or international ones. Then, universities can act freely. But if law forms an unnecessary committee, a committee for show—our country used to have many committees and organizations for show—it might not work at all. If possible, we prefer that universities have autonomy and can coordinate with other universities as they wish.

TZH: So, you mean the existing National Education Law is over-centralized and needs to be decentralized?

PPA: Because the first National Education Law that passed was over-centralized, we continuously pressed for our demands. We staged protests as a last resort, after negotiations had failed. In response, the government introduced some changes to the law. It has been decentralized to a certain extent, for example, the ratio, as Nan Linn has said. The proportion [of government representatives] has been reduced in the National Education Commission. But still, there remains a certain extent of centralization in the law.

TZH: The National League for Democracy (NLD) government is in power, as we voted for it in the poll last November. The NLD is leading both the government and Parliament. Nan Linn, to what extent are the students prepared to negotiate with the current government and Parliament? Will students continue to press for their demands? I ask this question because you said you have not called off the protest. As far as Burmese people understand, a protest means taking to the streets and shouting slogans. How will you continue to press for your demands?

NL: We staged the protest against the National Education Law, which was one-sidedly approved by Thein Sein's government, because that law was unacceptable and over-centralized. As a manner of protest, we took to the streets. As Phyoe Phyoe Aung said, we have not called off the protest. There will be different ways and means to continue making changes to the law. Will we negotiate with the government? Will we rewrite the National Education Law or change sections of it? How much will we be able to work with the new government? [Calling off the protest] depends on these factors. We want to choose how we negotiate. We are still staging the protest against the National Education Law, but we want to settle this through negotiation. As you said, the NLD is the people's government, elected by the people. We hope that they know what students and people want, and what is best in order to guarantee democratic education reforms. We hope to work out an agreement with them.

TZH: The incumbent Education Minister Myo Thein Gyi served as the rector of University of West Yangon. He served as the government representative during talks with students about the National Education Law. We heard feedback from students and teachers that they do not like him much. You have spoken with Myo Thein Gyi. Do you think he will be able to create the National Education Law you want?

PPA: I have not yet talked directly with Myo Thein Gyi but we know some things about him, such as the alleged discord during the NNER [National Network for Education Reform] meeting in Naypyidaw. I don't know about his personal life. But I am sure that the education circle—especially teachers, education staff, and some of the students who have engaged with him—are not very satisfied with him. I am also not quite satisfied with him. He is one of those people who took a lead role implementing the education reform policy of the previous government. The NLD has its own education policy, and I am concerned how he would do with the two different policies. I am concerned that his education reform is just a duplication of the former government's plan. I'm concerned that it will deviate from the education reforms aspired to by the NLD government and the people because he has the power as the education minister. But if Aung San Suu Kyi can handle Myo Thein Gyi, we will be able to have some relief. Education is instrumental in the country's reforms. Once the education system of a country is changed, the future of that country will change a lot. We prefer an education minister who is dedicated and can fix the system. It is best if Myo Thein Gyi takes the lead role in education reform but keeps the door open [for students to negotiate].

TZH: Education is of fundamental importance for the development of a country. There are many countries that have achieved development by improving their education systems. One example is Singapore, in Southeast Asia. It has no resources but it built itself through excellence in education. Education is extremely important. The future of our country's education now depends on the policies of the NLD government. Phyoe Phyoe Aung, Nan Linn, thank you.

The post Dateline Irrawaddy: 'We Cannot Accept the National Education Law' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (April 23, 2016)

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 07:12 PM PDT

A woman collects harvest on a field in Kanyutkwin, Pegu Division, on Nov. 4, 2015. (Photo: Olivia Harris / Reuters)

Investors Urged to Update Anti-Bribery Rules After Suu Kyi Order

After the new government issued new rules to civil servants on accepting gifts, an international law firm is advising its clients working in Burma to update their anti-bribery and corruption measures.

In one of her first acts as President's Office Minister, Aung San Suu Kyi on April 4 issued new guidelines that bar government staff from accepting any gifts with a value over 25,000 kyats (just over US$20).

The order came after the National League for Democracy (NLD) put fighting corruption at the center of its campaign for the November 2015 elections. And in a sign that the new government is serious about tackling graft, the President's Office this week issued a warning to a local media company for allegedly trying to hand a gift of 5 million kyats to a government official's assistant during a Thingyan celebration in Naypyidaw.

London-based law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner issued a note on April 20 advising its clients to "take note" of the new guidelines.

International investors working in a "high risk" country like Burma should already have anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) measures in place, the firm said, especially those from Britain and the United States, which both have strict laws on foreign corruption that apply overseas.

However, the note said, "Given that the [new Burmese government] Guidelines contain a number of exceptions, a robust approach is recommended to avoid scenarios where a public official may avoid censure under the Guidelines but US or UK ABC legislation may still be engaged."

Lawyers at Berwin Leighton Paisner urged foreign investors to "revisit and revise their ABC compliance policy" to take into account the new guidelines.

"Further, investors would be well advised to conduct or obtain proper and accessible ABC training for their local staff, suppliers and contractual counter-parties," the note said.

"It would also be prudent to conduct appropriate levels of compliance due diligence on potential counter-parties before entering into any joint ventures or partnerships in Myanmar."

Chevron Looking to Sell $1.3b of Burma Assets

Reuters reported this week that US oil and gas major Chevron has put its assets in Burma, estimated to be worth $1.3 billion, up for sale.

The newswire cited "banking sources familiar with the matter" and said the disposal would be part of a broader retreat from the company. With interests around the globe, Chevron may need to preserve cash as oil prices continue an extended slump due largely to a glut of supply from Middle Eastern oil producers.

Chevron was among the winners when the Burmese government issued a slew of offshore exploration blocks in 2014. After negotiations, the company signed a production sharing agreement with the government's oil and gas company for the shallow-water Block A5, off Arakan State, in May 2015.

Chevron is also a minority shareholder in the Yadana and Sein offshore gas fields that are operated by French company Total and supply most of their gas to Thailand via pipelines. Reuters reports that Chevron's production in Burma amounts to 117 million cubic feet, or about 2.2 percent of the company's global gas output for 2015.

Analysts have previously warned that falling global oil prices could mean delays in converting recent exploration licenses in Burma into production deals. Production is wanted sooner rather than later to provide much needed funds to state coffers as the new government looks to address infrastructure needs and invest in public services.

But there may be interest in Chevron's assets, particularly since Burma is seen as one of the world's last largely untapped locations for conventional hydrocarbon deposits.

Reuters sources named Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production and Australia's Woodside Petroleum as possible buyers, who would likely want to take all three assets together. It also noted there could be interest from China and Japan.

Woodside, which did not comment to Reuters on the Chevron assets, has issued public announcements about two gas discoveries in the Arakan Basin in recent months and is not hiding its excitement about prospects in Burma.

The Australian Associated Press reported on Thursday that Woodside Petroleum Chief Executive Peter Coleman said the company was looking to "snap up" more assets in Burma while oil prices are low. Coleman offered few details, but promised more information on the company's plans soon.

"The investor day in May will give a better line of sight to where we think commerciality in Myanmar will come from," the AAP quoted him as saying.

New Investment Rules Could Help Agriculture: KPMG

Global auditor KPMG said this week that a recent amendment to Burma's foreign investment rules could help the development of the country's agricultural sector.

In a tax alert issued Thursday, KPMG gave a rundown to changes made by the Myanmar Investment Commission on March 21, before the new government took power.

Under the Foreign Investment Law, the MIC has the power to issue rulings on what economic activities foreign firms can perform, and what activities can only be performed by local firms or joint ventures.

The latest notification removed from the list of prohibited activities for foreign companies the manufacture of rubber, as well as the production and distribution of hybrid, high-yield and local seeds used to grow crops.

"The above removal of need for joint ventures [and thus potentially could be carried out by a wholly foreign-owned entity] for the above activities should bode well for the development of the agricultural sector in Myanmar," KMPG said in the alert.

The alert also noted a change that allows joint ventures to produce and distribute vaccines, under certain conditions, and a change to the circumstances when foreign investment is totally prohibited.

The new rules state: "Economic activities … deemed to deteriorate the watershed or catchment protection forests, religious places, traditional belief, pasture land, shifting cultivation farms and water resources will now be prohibited."

KPMG did not comment on the latter amendment, but other observers have noted the broad wording could cause complications for foreign investors.

ADB Hails Burma as 'Fastest Growing Country in Asia'

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is predicting that Burma's economy will grow faster than any other in Asia in the coming year.

"Despite flooding that devastated one fifth of the country's farm land, and moderating economic activity in the People's Republic of China [PRC], Myanmar's economy is expected to grow 8.4 percent in 2016 and early 2017, the highest rate in Asia and the Pacific," the ADB said in a statement to mark the release of its 2016 Asia Development Outlook.

The ADB hailed relief efforts after Cyclone Komen and intense rains in July and August 2015 that wrecked about a fifth of Burma's cultivated land and displaced more than 1.6 million people.

The bank also praised the economy's resilience. "The storm did little to slow down the rest of the booming economy, with garment exports increasing by 28 percent to $2 billion," the statement said.

"Natural gas exports slightly increased as well. Tourism was also a major driver of the economy with 4.7 million arrivals in 2015 with about 70% of visitors entering overland from neighboring countries. Spending by tourists rose by 19% to $2.1 billion in 2015."

While it noted risks from the country's ongoing conflicts, the continued reliance on natural resource extraction and vulnerability to bad weather, the ADB said the "prospects look sunny for the country," predicting a healthy 8.3 percent gross domestic product growth in 2017.

IFC Provides $40m for Rangoon Container Port Development

The World Bank's International Finance Corporation has provided $40 million in financing for the expansion of a privately owned port in Rangoon.

The loan is the first phase of $200 million of support the IFC has pledged to the Myanmar Industrial Port, which it hopes will expand the port's annual handling capacity from about 300,000 containers (or 20-foot equivalent units) to 500,000 containers or more.

"The investment is IFC's first in the transportation sector in Myanmar and is part of a broader strategy to help Myanmar do business more efficiently and more competitively, thereby unlocking the country's potential for increased international trade and supporting job creation and economic development," the IFC said in a statement this week.

"Myanmar's container volumes are estimated to have increased by 90 percent over the last 3 years due to rapid growth in imports and exports following the government's implementation of political and economic reforms."

The Myanmar Industrial Port on the Rangoon River is operated by Myanma Anwa Swan A Shin Group, a family-owned local company headed by Capt. Ko Ko Htoo. The company built and began operating the port in 2003 with the blessing of the then-ruling military junta.

"IFC's financing for MIP comes at a critical time in Myanmar's development when transport infrastructure is urgently needed to realize the country's growth potential," Hyun-Chan Cho, IFC's head of infrastructure and natural resources for Asia, said in the statement.

"The MIP loans will also help to catalyze investment by other private developers and financiers in Myanmar's infrastructure sector for which long-term US dollar funding has not been readily available."

The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (April 23, 2016) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand Lags as Myanmar Gains Ground

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 07:04 PM PDT

Myanmar's former President Thein Sein, second left, welcomes Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, left, as their wives hold hands before the opening ceremony of 25th Asean summit in Naypyidaw on Nov. 12, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

Few next-door neighbors have moved so far in an opposite political direction than Thailand and Myanmar, also known as Burma. After more than half a century of military dictatorship from 1962, Myanmar has returned to democratic rule with a free and fair election last November and now a civilian-led government under Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Over the same period, Thailand progressed in fits and starts from military-authoritarianism to popular rule only to revert to dictatorship, enabled by two military coups in 2006 and 2014.

The reversal of political fortunes in these two Southeast Asian countries is instructive. It shows the imperative of compromise and accommodation in deeply polarized societies to reach a moving, workable balance.

While under its long military-authoritarian rule, Myanmar faced international opprobrium, suffocated under the weight of Western sanctions, and became a sick member of Asean. With its Myanmar baggage, Asean frequently had to skip or scale down top-level meetings with major democratic governments, and Myanmar itself had to ignominiously forego its rotational chairmanship of the 10-member grouping in 2005.

When they ushered in reforms, Myanmar's top generals wanted to survive by making concessions and keeping much of what they previously had. But they also underestimated how political liberalization could generate its own infectious momentum, especially when spearheaded by a quiet but committed leadership. When President U Thein Sein, a retired top general, freed political prisoners, released Ms. Suu Kyi from her house arrest and instituted broad-based reforms to open up the economy and politics from 2011, his administration was quickly overwhelmed by the force and logic of basic rights and freedoms that had been unleashed.

The costs of rolling back Thein Sein's reforms soon became too high for Myanmar's military—also known as the Tatmadaw—which stood by its constitutional compromise. By constitutional design, the military automatically takes a 25 percent cut in the legislature where a 75 percent majority is required for charter amendments, and controls three security-related ministries for home affairs, defense, and borders. With another clause banning Ms. Suu Kyi from the presidency for having family members who are foreign nationals, this set-up represented the military's end of the bargain.

As the NLD won 77 percent of contested seats in parliament (compared with 10 percent for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party), the ball has been in Ms. Suu Kyi’s court. Appointing a lifelong confidant, Htin Kyaw, as a titular president, she has astutely carved out an unprecedented new role as "state counsellor" to oversee government affairs. As a complement, she has also become a minister attached to the President's Office and Myanmar's foreign minister, effectively the country's spokeswoman.

So far the Tatmadaw has kept its word and allowed Ms. Suu Kyi and the NLD a free hand. Led by Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the generals apparently do not want to return to their old atrocious ways under dictatorship. The onus will be on Ms. Suu Kyi to reciprocate by displaying magnanimity over vindictiveness. If she were to immediately go after vested interests of the generals and their cronies or somehow ram through constitutional changes to make her president in short order, for example, the civil-military accommodation could unravel.

Yet she has to assure a semblance of transitional justice for past military misdeeds and tackle corruption from the military period. Ms. Suu Kyi will need to manage expectations and deliver results on the ground while ensuring her civilian-led administration keeps the military at bay, a tightrope exercise of the highest order for Myanmar.

Unlike Myanmar, Thailand has been stuck in a holding pattern between the electoral forces of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his party machine on one hand and his royalist-conservative adversaries on the other. Against the old political order from the Cold War that gravitated around the military, monarchy and bureaucracy, Thaksin exploited the inexorable tide of globalization and democratization to great success by winning all Thai elections since 2001. But the vested interests and family-business links that accompanied his rule led to corruption and abuse of power by his personalized regime.

His conflicts of interest and unassailable parliamentary majority paved the way for a military takeover in September 2006 after months of yellow-clad anti-Thaksin street protests. The generals routinely came up with a new constitution designed to clip Thaksin's electoral power by making the Senate half-appointed and shifting power to the judiciary.

Yet Thaksin's party still carried the polls, and more yellow-shirt demonstrations ensued and ended up with an opposition-led government. But Thaksin eventually came back through his youngest sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who won the election in July 2011.

Just as his sister's government became stable in power, Thaksin gave his rivals another chance by introducing an amnesty bill in October 2013 that would have freed him of all criminal charges and a conviction, enabling him to return home. The amnesty gambit led to more street protests by the yellow side and yet another putsch in the following May by the same fraternal band of generals who staged the preceding coup.

This time, led by Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, Thailand's generals are taking no chances. They have ruled directly in government and appointed only a handful of technocrats. The junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order, came up with an interim constitution that equipped Prayut with absolute power in a remarkable reincarnation of past military dictatorships. Hundreds of dissidents have been detained for up to seven days at military barracks against their will. Human rights advocates have been intimidated, journalists harassed.

The National Council for Peace and Order installed a rubber-stamp legislature, "pro-reform" assembly, Constitution Drafting Committee, and cabinet led by none other than Prayut himself. The culmination of the coup is now a military-inspired draft constitution that vests substantial power in a military-appointed Senate that can keep any elected government in check for an interim period of five years during the generals' 20-year reform drive to take Thailand to where they think it should be going. In addition, the constitution stipulates that the elected prime minister does not have to be an elected representative, thereby opening the door for a junta choice.

If the constitution passes the referendum on Aug. 7, polls are supposed to take place in 2017. Tensions have mounted as civil society and political parties have come out against the overtly pro-military charter.

Many who earlier encouraged a military intervention to restore law and order, and others under the impression that the military's safeguarding role during the royal transition was essential, are having second thoughts. For the foreseeable future, Thailand's ruling generals appear to be hunkering down for long-term rule and brooking no dissent in the process. Thus the road ahead for Thailand will mostly likely be marked by more turmoil.

What Thailand needs is the kind of compromise and accommodation seen in Myanmar. To get there, Thailand's political crisis and polarization has to bottom out to a point where all sides exhaustively come to the realization that none could win it all and therefore bargaining and negotiation cannot be avoided. It took Myanmar's military regime almost five decades to come to terms with this reality. Many Thailand watchers at home and abroad hope it will not take Myanmar's neighbor as long.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak is an associate professor at Chulalongkorn University. This opinion piece first appeared in the Bangkok Post.

The post Thailand Lags as Myanmar Gains Ground appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Friday, April 22, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Blast Mining Threatens to Destroy Hpakant Villages: Locals
Lack of Aid Leaves Kokang Refugees in ‘Dire’ Situation
Tributes Flow as Final Rites Held for Sayadaw U Pandita
Military Accused of Forced Portering as IDPs Rise in Arakan Conflict
Suu Kyi Scores Obama Byline With 5th ‘Most Influential’ Listing
Three Years After Rana Plaza Disaster, Has Anything Changed?
Ex-Top Peace Envoy Invites Previously Shunned Armed Groups for Talks
China’s Xi Moves to Take More Direct Command Over Military
From Prison to Burma’s Halls of Power: An NLD MP’s Journey

Blast Mining Threatens to Destroy Hpakant Villages: Locals

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 06:58 AM PDT

A settlement is seen in Kachin State's Hpakant Township. (Photo: Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy)

HPAKANT, Kachin State — Two villages near the town of Hpakant in Kachin State are at risk of dangerous shifts in the terrain due to jade mining and require immediate evacuation, according to local residents interviewed over the last week.

Explosions due to blast mining in the jade-rich region have disrupted the livelihoods and threatened the safety of the villagers, local residents told The Irrawaddy.

"They [the mining companies] are mining right in the middle of the mountain ridge. So the mountain could collapse at any time. They are using backhoes and explosive mines. If they want to continue with [the mining], they need to move us to a safe place," said Than Zaw, a resident of Saijabum, one of the two villages in danger.

Ten jade mining companies are detonating explosives every day, shaking the ground, damaging houses and opening fissures in the streets, according to the villagers.

Saijabum villagers reported that items placed on shelves and desks had fallen down and broken when the powerful explosives were used at the mines, and now they have asked the village administrator to help them relocate.

Thala Sai, the village administrator, told The Irrawaddy that he had no authority to move the village and that the decision was up to higher-level authorities and the mining companies operating in the area.

"The jolts caused by the mining have stopped my chickens from hatching, and even worse, my daughter-in-law had a miscarriage because of the sounds of the explosions," said Ywe Ja, a Saijabum resident. "We live in a state of panic every day."

Villagers staged a demonstration on April 4, demanding a reduction in the use of heavy machinery and powerful explosives. The village administrator, however, cut the demonstration short, the locals said.

Meanwhile, residents of Thayargon, the other village under threat, said they had already moved twice due to jade mining. And with jade companies now mining in areas surrounding their new village, they have lost much of their land.

"They have drilled in the village area, which is outside of their official mining zone, and now we have lost almost 200 acres of land. Our creek was also clogged with the miners' waste products," said Dai Khaung, the vicar of Thayargon village.

There are around 70 households in the village of Saijabum, which has a population of over 200 people, and Thayargon is home to 207 families totaling about 2,350 people.

The mining companies have been tapping into jade deposits adjacent to the two villages, causing rainwater to leak into the villages' foundations and putting them at imminent risk of collapse, according to Kai Ra, a spokesperson for the Kachin National Organization.

"They are in danger now, but the companies have refused to take responsibility for moving the villages. They said they would give compensation in case a landslide happens. Do the locals have to wait until that happens?" said Kai Ra.

Residents of the two villages want to move before the rainy season, which usually starts in the third or fourth week of May.

The companies mining around Saijabum are owned by the conglomerate Shwepyitha and several of its subsidiaries, whereas operations around Thayargon are primarily owned by a firm in the family of former strongman Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

Private companies were given permission to engage in mining in 2007, and since then more than 850 licenses have been issued allowing firms to operate mines at over 8,000 sites.

Dangerous conditions at jade mining sites in Hpakant have been highlighted for months by several deadly landslides over the last year that have killed scores of people.

The post Blast Mining Threatens to Destroy Hpakant Villages: Locals appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Lack of Aid Leaves Kokang Refugees in ‘Dire’ Situation

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 06:52 AM PDT

Makeshift camp for Kokang refugees on the Shan State-China border. (Photo: Shan Human Rights Foundation)

As thousands of ethnic Kokang refugees remain stranded in China, tens of communities have been emptied and transformed into "ghost villages" on the Shan State-China border, according to recent updates by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF).

In early 2015, up to 100,000 people fled the region during four months of clashes between government forces and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a non-state Kokang armed group.

More than one year later, increased militarization in the region and continued Burma Army abuses against villagers who attempt to return have left thousands of members of the ethnic Chinese minority homeless.

SHRF has released new estimates that over 20,000 Kokang are living in limbo in makeshift camps in neighboring Yunnan Province in China, a number much greater than a UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) figure from January 2016 stating that about 4,000 Kokang remain displaced, out of the 70,000 who reportedly were uprooted in 2015.

"It has been difficult to confirm population movement estimates," said Pierre Peron, a spokesperson for UNOCHA in Burma, on the differing figures offered by the UN agency and the community-based SHRF. Due to ongoing insecurities in the region, he said that UNOCHA has had limited access to the Kokang area.

In March, SHRF conducted interviews with displaced Kokang originally from 20 villages that in the past year have been "deserted." From this survey, the most urgent concern raised by refugees across the Chinese border is the blackout of humanitarian assistance.

Contributing to their vulnerability is their location, positioned between the Burma Army and Chinese authorities—both of whom have reportedly restricted aid access.

Vivian Tan, regional spokesperson for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), confirmed to The Irrawaddy that the UN refugee agency "does not have access" to the areas in which the displaced Kokang are staying on the Shan State-China border.

"These refugees are in a dire situation," SHRF spokesperson Sai Hor Hseng told The Irrawaddy on Friday, describing food shortages. Other than local assistance, "there is no aid to reach them," he said. "They don't have anything."

One 61-year-old farmer has been in a displaced people's camp in China since he left his village of Shung Diao Ai in February 2015. Two months later, the camp itself was shelled during fighting between the Burma Army and the MNDAA. In SHRF's update, he is quoted as saying that his community has not received donations of rice in two months.

In order to survive, the displaced Kokang "have to rely on themselves," Sai Hor Hseng added, explaining that relatives who are able seek work on farms in China, and those left in the camps forage for edible plants and vegetables in the surrounding forest. Those who try to cross the porous border back to Burma to reach their farms—usually to cultivate their primary crop of sugarcane—have described being detained, tortured, shot at and sexually assaulted by Burma Army troops now occupying the area.

According to UNOCHA's Humanitarian Response Plan for 2016, the UN aims to provide 10,000 returnees to the Kokang Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) with aid through the World Food Programme.

For displaced Kokang trying to return to Burma, another obstacle is a lack of full identification papers.

"My parents had proper Burmese ID cards, so I should have been given one too," a 73-year-old farmer told SHRF. The authorities, Sai Hor Hseng explained, are not granting national ID cards to the Kokang, despite their classification as one of Burma's 135 "national races" recognized by the government. They are instead given a "three-fold" paper restricting their movement and effectively denying them citizenship.

"We are not treated equally," said the farmer, who wished to remain anonymous. "This is one of the reasons for the war now."

Addressing the conflict in the Kokang region means envisioning a new peace process in Burma, argues SHRF. In October 2015, eight out of the country's more than 20 non-state armed groups signed a so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the former Burmese government. A handful of ethnic armed groups were excluded from participating in the accord—among them was the MNDAA.

"If every armed group is involved in the peace process, it will bring a more meaningful solution to the conflict in Burma," said Sai Hor Hseng. "Only political dialogue will solve the problems in our country," he said.

In early April, a newly elected administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) stepped in to the country's leadership.

Sai Hor Hseng said he hopes the NLD "will implement a policy of national reconciliation," that "brings all armed groups to the table to talk," including the MNDAA.

The post Lack of Aid Leaves Kokang Refugees in 'Dire' Situation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Tributes Flow as Final Rites Held for Sayadaw U Pandita

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 06:45 AM PDT

The funeral for Sayadaw U Pandita attracted hundreds of followers to Panditarama Hse Mine Gone Forest Meditation Center in Pegu Township on Friday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Funeral rites were held for esteemed monk and Vipassana meditation master Sayadaw U Pandita at the Panditarama Hse Mine Gone Forest Meditation Center in Pegu Township on Friday, as tributes to the 94-year-old teacher, who died on April 16, flooded in from around the world.

Revered in Burma by admirers ranging from President Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to thousands of ordinary people who turned to his teachings on Buddhist practices and ethics, U Pandita also had significant influence within Buddhist circles internationally.

In the United States, many have credited him with influencing the rapid rise of Buddhism and Buddhism-inspired thought there in recent decades.

Joseph Goldstein, a prominent American Vipassana teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) based in Barre, Massachusetts, was an early Western student of the monk.

"Many of us here are saddened to hear of Sayadaw U Pandita's passing. He was such a powerful influence in all of our lives, urging us on to realize our highest aspirations. His great service to the Dhamma is inestimable. It feels like the passing of an era," Goldstein told the Lion's Roar Buddhist magazine this week.

Goldstein first met U Pandita in 1984, when the Burmese master taught what was then a rare three-month insight meditation course in the United States.

Years later, in a preface to the monk's book "In This Very Life," Goldstein credited the course as "a turning point in the transmission of Theravada Buddhist practice in the West."

Another founding IMS teacher Sharon Salzburg said: "We brought Sayadaw U Pandita to the Insight Meditation Society in 1984. Joseph and I had never met him before but sat that retreat under his guidance. U Pandita Sayadaw turned out to be quite fierce and demanding. He absolutely brought out my best effort, no holding back, and revitalized my meditation practice."

"I can't even find the words to describe how important he's been for me," Salzburg told the Lion's Roar.

American author and Buddhist Alan Clements spent eight nights interviewing the monk in February this year, in a series of conversations titled "Dhamma Advice to the People of Myanmar and Beyond," which will be included in a forthcoming book.

U Pandita illuminated the "Requisites of Reconciliation," the very basis of Suu Kyi and her new government's policy of peace-building during Burma's transition from dictatorship to democracy, which brings oppressors and the oppressed together through the practice of non-hostility and active metta (loving kindness in action).

The monk's long connection with Suu Kyi was discussed in an article published in 2015 by her confidante Htin Kyaw.

Writing under the pen name Dalaban, the president wrote that whenever he met the monk while Suu Kyi was under house arrest, U Pandita always inquired about the health of the woman he referred to as "daughter."

In 2002, after Suu Kyi was briefly released from house arrest, the late teacher accepted invitations to visit her home to receive donations. The heavy security presence around the house at that time made some junior monks nervous, but U Pandita would even alter his travel schedule to respond to requests for a visit, wrote Dalaban.

Once, the monk asked Suu Kyi to promise "to spare some time to practice Vipassana," Dalaban recalled. Suu Kyi simply replied: "I will, Sayadaw, when I have time."

In 2011, following her latest release from house arrest, Suu Kyi took refuge at the Panditarama Shwe Taung meditation center in Rangoon for a few days, according to Htin Kyaw's article in a 2015 publication commemorating the silver jubilee of the center.

U Pandita was born in Rangoon's Insein Township in 1921. He entered the Mahabodhi Monastery at the age of 7 and became an accomplished Buddhist scholar before studying meditation under the late venerable Mahasi Sayadaw. He was considered to be one of the leading authorities in the practice of both Samatha and Vipassana meditation, and for more than 40 years was a spiritual advisor for many retreat centers and Buddhist organizations in different countries.

In 1991, he founded the Panditarama Shwe Taung monastery and retreat center in Rangoon.

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Military Accused of Forced Portering as IDPs Rise in Arakan Conflict

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 03:49 AM PDT

Civilians purportedly displaced by conflict in Arakan State's Buthidaung Township. (Photo: Myat Moe Kyaw / Facebook)

RANGOON — Displaced people from Rathedaung and Buthidaung townships in Arakan State continued to increase this week amid fighting between soldiers of the Arakan Army and government troops, with the latter accused by local lawmakers of forcing locals to porter.

The clashes have reportedly intensified in recent days, prompting hundreds of civilians to flee their homes for safer locales.

At least 300 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are sheltering in Saidaung village, in Buthidaung Township, and many others have arrived to Yae Soe Chaung and Yae Gaung Chaung villages in Rathedaung Township, from nearby settlements affected by the conflict.

Two lawmakers from the Arakan National Party (ANP) allege that civilians have been forced to porter for the Burma Army in the affected townships, with some then being allowed to return to their homes, but others still missing. Most cases occurred in Rathedaung, but some were also reported in Buthidaung, the lawmakers said.

Food shortages are also a concern among a largely agrarian displaced population that tends to rely on subsistence farming. Civil society organizations, local lawmakers and township authorities from Buthidaung are helping those displaced gain access to food and shelter.

"It is not enough that we are providing them food and temporary placement for the moment, they need to have permanent shelter to live safely," Khin Maung Lat, one of the ANP lawmakers leveling the forced portering accusations, told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

Fellow ANP parliamentarian Aung Thaung Shwe put blame for the conflict on the Burma Army, which he said had failed to invite locals, not just in Arakan State but among ethnic minority populations more broadly, into a discussion about their states' needs.

"Even though the government does not act on it, we will talk about it in the [Union] Parliament because we are lawmakers," Aung Thaung Shwe told The Irrawaddy. He said the Arakan Army was formed to meet the local ethnic Arakanese population's unmet needs and should be brought into a discussion with the new National League for Democracy (NLD) government and the military.

The Burma Army has not allowed locals to venture into the forest to forage or collect firewood at villages in both Rathedaung and Buthidaung townships since the conflict first flared up again this month, Aung Thaung Shwe said.

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Suu Kyi Scores Obama Byline With 5th ‘Most Influential’ Listing

Posted: 22 Apr 2016 12:57 AM PDT

US President Barack Obama and NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi step outside to hold a press conference after their meeting at her residence in Rangoon on Nov. 14, 2014. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

Time magazine on Thursday released its annual list of the world's "100 Most Influential People," with National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi taking a spot for the fifth time among its pantheon of the powerful.

Suu Kyi's profile for Time's 2016 iteration was written by US President Barack Obama. In his text Obama, who with 11 appearances holds the record for being featured on the list the most times, described his meetings with the NLD leader and what her guidance could mean for Burma's future.

"Burma still faces huge challenges, and its success will depend on ending long-running conflicts and upholding the human rights of all ethnic groups and religions. But democracy is poised to deliver a future of greater promise and prosperity," Obama wrote.

The magazine began compiling the annual list in 1999, and Suu Kyi was also among Time's top 100 in 2013, 2011, 2008 and 2004.

Her NLD won an overwhelming majority in last year's election, trouncing the then-ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and, since then, pledging to form a "national reconciliation" government to work toward ending decades of ethnic conflicts by uniting the country around the NLD's governing coalition.

"We human beings are so riddled with imperfection, [but] in spite of the imperfections, democracy still remains a beacon of hope for all of us," Obama recounted the Lady as saying, heralding her as the sort of leader who can steer the former pariah state after more than a half-century of direct and indirect military rule.

Obama has twice visited Burma during his presidency, both times meeting Suu Kyi at her home in Rangoon. Suu Kyi was first invited to the White House, in September 2012.

The Obama administration has tried to claim a degree of credit for political reforms in Burma that helped Suu Kyi assume power. Beginning in 2011, relations between Burma and the United States underwent a thaw after decades of diplomatic standoff. Washington had previously punished the former ruling junta for its poor human rights record with economic sanctions that were lifted in 2012 as reforms by ex-President Thein Sein unfolded.

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Three Years After Rana Plaza Disaster, Has Anything Changed?

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:58 PM PDT

Rescue workers attempt to find survivors from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar, outside Dhaka, on May 4, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

MUMBAI — Three years after the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 factory workers, the rights and safety of workers are in greater focus, but progress in fixing problems in the supply chain is slow, experts and activists say.

Global fashion retailers say the tragedy prompted them to work together more closely to protect workers in developing nations and ensure the safety of buildings. There has also been legislation to ensure greater supply-chain transparency.

"You have about 200 brands working together, and there's definitely more transparency, more attention to the issue of human rights in the global supply chain," Sarah Labowitz, co-director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at the NYU Stern School of Business in New York, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"But in addressing fire safety, building safety, workers' protection—there aren't enough practical discussions around these issues, not enough financing. So not enough has changed," said Labowitz, who wrote a report on the aftermath of the disaster, published in December.

In the Rana Plaza disaster, one of the worst ever industrial accidents, 1,135 people were killed when an eight-story building housing five garment factories supplying global brands suddenly collapsed.

The collapse of the complex, built on swampy ground outside the capital Dhaka, sparked demands for greater safety in the world's second-largest exporter of readymade garments and put pressure on companies buying clothing from Bangladesh to act.

Low Wages

The duty-free access offered by Western nations and low wages for its workers helped turn Bangladesh's garment exports into an industry with US$25 billion in annual revenue. Sixty percent of the clothes go to Europe, 23 percent to the United States and 5 percent to Canada.

The minimum monthly wage for garment workers in Bangladesh is $68, compared with about $280 in mainland China, which nevertheless remains the world's biggest clothes exporter.

British budget fashion chain Primark, which was sourcing some clothing from Rana Plaza, said companies had recognized the need to ensure that workers were paid fairly and conditions were good, but building safety had not been an issue.

"It is fair to say that the industry had not considered structural integrity of buildings as a risk," Paul Lister, head of Primark's ethical trading team, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a recent interview.

"You would look inside the building, but not onto the floor above or below. You would see all the certificates, however these with Rana Plaza were later proved to be false. I don't think industry anticipated those buildings would collapse."

After the Rana Plaza collapse on April 24, 2013, a former chief engineer of the state-run Capital Development Authority said the owner had not received proper consent for the building, and that an extra three stories were added illegally.

More than 40 defendants face charges over the disaster, but about 24 of the accused have absconded.

Behind Schedule

The disaster led to the creation of two international coalitions designed to assess and help fund improvements to building and fire safety at thousands of garment factories in Bangladesh.

Most European retailers signed up to an Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which oversees more than 1,600 factories used by retailers like H&M, Marks & Spencer and Primark.

Accord inspectors set out structural, electrical and fire-safety improvement plans for most of the factories.

But nearly three years on, about 70 percent of those plans are behind schedule, according to data on its website.

North American brands, meanwhile, signed up with a different inspection group, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Setting and maintaining standards is tough, Labowitz said.

"There are economic, geographic and political factors with supply chains. How do you ensure governance across them? A global inspection system is difficult," she said.

The slow pace of inspections led Primark to employ its own structural surveyor to monitor the 100 factories in Bangladesh and 60 or so in Pakistan from which it sources its products, Lister said.

"These are the countries where you have these high-rise factories and the added corruption of allowing these factories to be built when they should not be," said Lister. "The risk is greater."

A Tinder Box

In neighboring India, also a hub for clothing manufacture and export, retailers H&M, Inditex, C&A and PVH committed earlier this year to improving the lives of workers in the southern city of Bengaluru, after a report said employees lived in appalling conditions and were denied decent wages and freedom of movement.

Activists say workers' conditions are still far from ideal, and chances of another disaster like Rana Plaza remain high.

"While compensation for victims became a priority after the disaster, the perennial problems of safety, health and prevention still need to be addressed," said Gopinath Parakuni, general-secretary of non-profit Cividep India.

"Every factory is still a tinder box, and effective ways to ensure day-to-day safety are still not in place," he said.

Legislation such as the UK's Modern Slavery Act, passed a year ago, is expected to put added pressure on companies to clean up their supply chains.

But garment workers in Bangladesh still face daunting challenges to unionization, and remain at risk of interference and threats, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Thursday.

"Let's remember that none of the factories operating in Rana Plaza had trade unions," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.

"If their workers had had more of a voice, they might have been able to resist managers who ordered them to work in the doomed building a day after large cracks appeared in it."

Ethical Consumers

As well as companies and governments, consumers are getting involved in the campaign for greater supply-chain transparency.

Global retailers' efforts will have little impact unless consumers demand more ethically produced goods, industry experts said at a Thomson Reuters Foundation panel last week.

Fashion Revolution, a UK-based charity established in response to the Rana Plaza disaster, has popularized the Twitter hashtag #whomademyclothes, while The Human Thread Campaign, similarly set up after the disaster, asks Catholics to reflect on the origin of their clothes.

"Politically, socially, there's a big debate about the real cost of globalization," Labowitz said.

"If the fashion industry were to disappear tomorrow, it wouldn't be good for Bangladesh and other countries where workers are dependent on it. But we are going to need to keep the debate going, keep the pressure on retailers, on governments, on consumers," she said.

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Ex-Top Peace Envoy Invites Previously Shunned Armed Groups for Talks

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:27 PM PDT

Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) soldiers look on during the 51st anniversary of Ta'ang National Resistance Day at Homain in Nansan Township, northern Shan State, on Jan. 12, 2014. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — Three ethnic armed groups that have been actively fighting against the Burma Army in northern Shan and western Arakan states have agreed to meet a former Burmese government peace delegation in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai next month, according to a leader from one of the groups.

Aung Min, the previous government's chief peace negotiator, reached out to the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army and the Kokang rebel group known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Mai Aike Kyaw, a spokesperson for the TNLA, told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

The former government representative recently formed the Aung Min Peace Foundation, and contacted the groups through the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a coalition of opposition groups representing various ethnicities in Burma. Former army Lieutenant General Khin Zaw Oo will represent the Burma Army at the informal talks, according to Mai Aike Kyaw.

"This meeting is with the U Aung Min Peace Foundation," the TNLA spokesperson said. "It is not with the new government. We will meet with them early next month."

Leaders of the TNLA will have a meeting soon to prepare for their discussions with the former peace broker.

"It is too early to tell what we will talk with them about," the TNLA's Mai Aike Kyaw said.

The Burma Army and the former peace delegation had refused to meet these three groups in the past, demanding that they first lay down arms before any consideration was given to their joining a so-called Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement process, which suspended hostilities last October between the Burma Army and eight former UNFC member groups. The TNLA, Arakan Army and MNDAA continue to fight against Burma Army forces that they say are attempting to exert greater control in their home regions.

The UNFC expects to meet with the new government soon and they recently hosted three days of discussions to prepare for future talks.

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China’s Xi Moves to Take More Direct Command Over Military

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:09 PM PDT

China's President Xi Jinping attends a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 14, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping has assumed a more direct role over the country's powerful armed forces as head of its increasingly important joint operations, displaying both his strong personal authority and China's determination to defend its interests.

The move to make Xi commander in chief of the military's Joint Operations Command Center bolsters his status as China's most powerful leader in decades and comes at a time when Beijing is becoming increasingly bold in its territorial assertions, despite a growing pushback from Washington and others.

Xi already enjoys special influence with the armed forces, largely because his muscular foreign policy is popular among Chinese nationalists and the defense establishment.

That's especially true in the disputed South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety and where it has constructed airfields on former coral reefs and sought to limit the US Navy's ability to operate in the area.

Xi has remained resolute in that approach, although it has been blamed for raising tensions with China's Southeast Asian neighbors and has prompted the United States to devote more resources to Asia and strengthen its cooperation with traditional allies and even former foe Vietnam.

Xi visited the Joint Operations Command Center—reportedly located underground in the western outskirts of Beijing—on Wednesday and said officers need to prepare for conflicts and effectively handle "all sorts of emergencies," state media reported Thursday.

Xi was shown publicly for the first time in camouflage battle dress with the joint center's insignia, rather than the featureless olive drab attire he usually wears when acting in his capacity as chairman of the Communist Party commission that oversees the 2.3 million-member People's Liberation Army (PLA), the world's largest standing armed forces.

Xi's choice of apparel "indicates that he not only controls the military, but also does it in an absolute manner, and that in wartime, he is ready to command personally," said Ni Lexiong, a military affairs expert at Shanghai's University of Political Science and Law.

"The most important message he meant to send to the world is that he will not make a concession on the issue of territory even at the cost of a war," Ni said.

The joint center is under the direct supervision of the Central Military Commission, whose two vice chairmen, Gen. Fan Changlong and Gen. Xu Qiliang, accompanied Xi on his visit.

Xi's new title and appearance in battle dress may also be a deliberate message to China's chief rivals, including the United States, Japan, the Philippines and the self-governing island of Taiwan, that China has vowed to conquer by force if necessary.

"The combat uniform is not only to show he is in charge of the military, but also shows that China is ready for a fight amid a tense external situation. It is a bit like telling China's opponents that he is ready for combat," Ni said.

Three years since taking on the presidency, Xi is widely seen as having accumulated more power and authority than any Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping in the late 1980s. A cult of personality has also sprung up around him rivaling that of the founder of the Communist state, Mao Zedong, with Xi's slogans, sayings and signature political themes widely disseminated in the media.

Xi's cachet with the armed forces is enhanced further by the reputation of his late father, who was a military commander during China's revolution, as well as by Xi's own brief service as an aide to a former defense minister.

Among his other titles, Xi is also leader of the ruling Communist Party and chairman of a recently created National Security Council, which gives him greater control over the domestic security services.

As head of the military, Xi has overseen a reorganization of the PLA's command structure into five theater commands aimed at better integrating the different services. He has ordered a 300,000-person reduction in forces that will see the elimination of many outdated and non-combat units, and shift the emphasis further from ground forces to the navy, air force and missile corps.

Xi has highlighted the PLA's importance with frequent, highly publicized visits to military bases and a massive parade last September in which the army's latest equipment was wheeled through the center of Beijing while warplanes and helicopters roared overhead.

Yet his reputation has also been called into question by anonymous letters, allegedly from Communist Party members, calling for his resignation. Revelations in the international media about vast wealth accumulated by members of his extended family have flown in the face of his relentless campaign against corruption in the party, military and state industries.

Xi's new title is "more political than military" in significance and doesn't imply he will take charge of the day-to-day running of the PLA, said Andrei Chang, Hong Kong-based editor of the magazine Kanwa Asian Defense and a close observer of Chinese military affairs.

"Throughout Chinese history, political power has always been founded on control of the military," Chang said. "This was a visit to show off his muscle to his potential enemies and show that he is tough and in charge."

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From Prison to Burma’s Halls of Power: An NLD MP’s Journey

Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:46 PM PDT

Bo Bo Oo, a Lower House MP representing the National League for Democracy (NLD), works in an office in Naypyidaw's parliamentary complex. (Photo: Swe Win / Myanmar Now)

NAYPYIDAW — In one of the many rooms of Burma's massive Parliament building in Naypyidaw, the country's sprawling military-designed capital, Bo Bo Oo is busy reviewing a stack of letters on his desk.

The newly minted National League for Democracy Lower House parliamentarian is going through numerous invitations, meeting requests from foreign embassies, and several letters from businessmen seeking appointments.

Bo Bo Oo, the secretary of the Lower House's International Relations Committee, said he would politely decline the latter since he does not want to be persuaded into serving any business interests. "Many positive things are coming our way. It is very important that we are not tempted by some of them," he said.

For the 52-year-old, his new place in the halls of power presents a sharp contrast with how he spent most of his adult life. Bo Bo Oo was jailed by the former military junta at age 26 for participating in the 1988 democratic uprising; from 1989 to 2009 he was held in different prisons across the country.

"These days, people often ask me if I ever imagined these changes in the past. I say I never even thought about it," he told Myanmar Now in an interview in the capital.

Bo Bo Oo's move from dank, dark prison cells to a key legislative position is dramatic, but he is just one of many former political prisoners in Myanmar who suddenly find themselves with great legislative and executive powers after their NLD party won a resounding election win last year.

The former inmates turned politicians are now faced with the tremendous task of reforming and developing a country left crippled by decades of authoritarian rule, conflict and economic mismanagement. While doing so, they have contend with a still powerful military.

20 Years Behind Bars

Bo Bo Oo came from a wealthy Rangoon family and was a final year English major student at Rangoon University when the '88 uprising changed his life. Like so many people of his student generation, he spent the prime of his life behind bars, and it changed his goals forever.

"My childhood dream was to become a successful businessman, but for the sake of democracy and human rights, I became involved in politics," he said.

During his long incarceration, he experienced solitary confinement, hunger and illness, and saw friends die due to ill treatment. While in prison, his father passed away and his then-wife, the daughter of a top-ranking military officer, abandoned him.

When he was released in 2009, he married a former political prisoner who was set free on the same day. He opened an art gallery in Rangoon and immediately returned to politics.

Bo Bo Oo became an active member of the NLD and is known for his social skills and organizational capacities. He became a member of the party's disciplinary committee for Rangoon and NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi put him in charge of organizing fundraising events.

In the 2015 elections, he won a Lower House seat in Rangoon's Sanchaung Township.

Former Prisoners Under the Same Roof—Again

Now, he lives with many other new lawmakers at the residential quarters in Naypyidaw, located a few miles from Parliament. These house many longtime NLD members, some of whom are former cellmates.

The residences are so simple that they have been compared to students' hostels; they have bare concrete floors, an attached toilet, and three wooden single bedsteads. Most MPs do not bring their families to the remote capital and its Spartan government residences.

"One thing that is similar to prison life is that you have to sleep all alone at night. We have no social life, no personal life, here. I swim or read for leisure." Bo Bo Oo said. "Sometimes, I cannot sleep at night because it is too hot," he said about his room, which is only equipped with one electric ceiling fan.

But Bo Bo Oo quickly brushed away comparisons with prison to express his joy about being part of a democratically elected Parliament. "Everything is so good now," he said.

Bo Bo Oo is the NLD's party whip for Lower and Upper House NLD MPs from Rangoon Division, an important position that sees him ensure that lawmakers follow the party leadership. Every Monday, he manually delivers the NLD's weekly paper—called "D-Wave"—to each MP, so that they stay informed of the party's plans.

Fighting corruption among the newly powerful NLD MPs is another important task, he said, adding that he regularly meets with more than 50 lawmakers to brief them on party plans and check on their personal situation.

"Bribery and corruption can sometimes happen due to individual difficulties. That's why I ask my fellow members of Parliament to tell me if they need money, and I would lend them some. It's very important; [being incorruptible] is the lifeblood of our party," he said.

Bo Bo Oo is hopeful that the NLD government and the party's parliamentary majority will be able to push through comprehensive reforms, despite resistance from the army, which controls a quarter of Parliament and many other levers of power.

"Bit by bit, things will improve. I am full of optimism about the country's future," he said, before adding that sometimes he is overcome with sadness when he remembers those who died in prison before they could witness democratic change.

Asked whether he wants the army generals responsible for their deaths to be brought to justice, Bo Bo Oo shook his head and said the focus should be on national reconciliation.

"We must let go of the past. Seeking redress is a form of revenge. It is still a very delicate job to make sure that the generals exit smoothly [from the political stage]," he said.

This story first appeared on Myanmar Now.

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