Wednesday, April 26, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Fire in Century-Old Rathedaung Township Mosque Under Investigation

Posted: 26 Apr 2017 08:16 AM PDT

RANGOON – The 100-year-old Zay Di Pyin mosque in a rural area of northern Arakan State's Rathedaung Township escaped extensive damage by a blaze on Tuesday night, a police official said.

Zay Di Pyin village, which is around 12 kilometers from Rathedaung town, is located in an area with a strong border police force presence. Around 80 homes in the 1,000-person community belong to Muslim families, said self-identifying Muslim Rohingya resident of Zay Di Pyin Al-Haj Zawhie Thra.

A fire broke out in the village's mosque, which is located near the market and a Buddhist monastery, at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday during a prayer session. Residents phoned the village administrator to report the incident immediately, but the village head was away, leaving Muslim community members to get the blaze under control themselves—Buddhist Arakanese villagers near the mosque also helped in the efforts, Zawhie Thra said.

While rumors have circulated online about the cause of the fire, both Zawhie Thra and Buddhist Arakanese resident Ko Maung Soe Win described the situation as having been "misread" by members the community, as the fire's source remains unknown.

"No one knows who did it. So, how can we assume who was behind this?" Zawhie Thra said.

What Caused the Fire?

According to Rathedaung police—who spoke to The Irrawaddy on the condition of anonymity—a report by the border guard police stated that the building itself did not suffer damage in the fire, but that 50,000 kyats worth of books and prayer mats were destroyed.

The border police reportedly also detained an imam from the mosque, and eight Muslim residents who were involved in putting out the fire, releasing them the following morning. Rathedaung police told The Irrawaddy that the border police suspected that the fire had started when the muezzin—the individual who calls Muslims to prayer—had left candles burning, which later fell and subsequently burned nearby objects.

"Temporarily, the border police have opened the case under Article 285, [which concerns] negligence involving fire. They will conduct a further investigation into the relevant persons," said the Rathedaung official.

Article 285 of Burma's penal code states that anyone who causes a potentially life threatening fire can be punished with a maximum of three years prison and a fine.

Yet local Muslim sources told The Irrawaddy that the Zay Pyi Din mosque has been using solar power for light, rather than candles, and questioned the conclusions in the border police report.

One villager added that copies of the Holy Qu'ran and other books are normally kept on shelves and tables, but that he had witnessed the burning texts piled on the prayer rugs, on the floor. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify this eyewitness statement.

Buddhist Arakanese resident of the village Ko Maung Soe Win said that the fire he saw was small and had not damaged the structure of the mosque, to his knowledge. He criticized other eyewitnesses for taking photos of the blaze rather than gathering water to put it out.

The border police allegedly confiscated the mobile phones of those who took photos inside of the mosque.

Zawhie Thra and Ko Maung Soe Win noted that Zay Di Pyin was spared the violence of riots that spread through several of the state's townships in 2012. Yet, in November 2016, the mosque also caught fire, which reportedly started from within a wardrobe. Police have not identified a responsible party in the incident, and it remains a "puzzle," said Zawhie Thra.

Local sources told The Irrawaddy that the situation in Zay Di Pyin has returned to that which it was before the fire broke out.

The Irrawaddy phoned the President's Office on Wednesday, as well as Arakan State government officials on Tuesday, but was unable to reach any of these authorities for comment on the incident.

The post Fire in Century-Old Rathedaung Township Mosque Under Investigation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Magwe Chief Justice: Misuse of Public Funds Could Finish USDP

Posted: 26 Apr 2017 07:23 AM PDT

RANGOON — The chief justice of Magwe Division said the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party's (USDP) spending of a public fund was illegal and could lead to the party's cessation.

"According to the Political Party Registration Law, you can't use any public property. It openly states that any mishandling of it must put an end to a party," the division's chief justice U San Lin told the media on Tuesday.

He referred to the Union government's recent instruction to the previous divisional government led by U Phone Maw Shwe to return more than 3 billion kyats, including more than 1.7 billion kyats allegedly spent on the USDP when they were in power from 2011 to March 2015.

Chief Minister Dr. Aung Moe Nyo of Magwe Division told the reporters at the press conference that legal action against his predecessor would follow if missing regional development funds collected in taxes from small-scale oil producers under the previous government were not returned.

"We will inform anyone involved in the case [to return the funds]. If they fail to follow the instructions, action will be taken according to the existing laws," he said.

The USDP spokesperson Dr. Nandar Hla Myint was not available for comment on Wednesday.

The Bureau of Special Investigations under the Ministry of Home Affairs launched an investigation and found that the missing funds amounted to 7.5 billion kyats.

The investigation's findings were submitted to the President's Office earlier this month. The office then instructed the USDP to return more than 3 billion Kyats.

The chief minister said his regional government would order the return of the remaining 4 billion kyats and "ask the Union government for help if needed."

The USDP was founded as a mass organization (Union Solidarity and Development Association) by the then military regime in 1993 to support its activities.

It was registered as a political party (USDP) in 2010 to contest in the general election, with most of the army generals donning civilian clothes to stand as USDP candidates.

Both at home and abroad, the election was widely seen as a rigged one and the USDP won the majority of the seats.

The party has never publicly disclosed their source of income or funding. During the election campaign in 2015, the then party's vice chairman, U Htay Oo, said most of the funding came from membership fees across the country.

"We have evolved from a mass organization so that we have millions of members," he said.

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SE Asia Prioritizes Trade Pact Including China as US Rethinks Policy

Posted: 26 Apr 2017 02:56 AM PDT

MANILA, Philippines — Southeast Asian countries will prioritize creating an Asia-focused trade pact this year that includes China, India and Japan, while trade issues with the United States will be put on the back burner, the Philippine trade minister said.

The US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and policy uncertainties cast by President Donald Trump's protectionist leanings, have spurred Asian countries to push ahead with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez told Reuters late on Tuesday.

"That to us would be more of a priority rather than other countries working on another agreement," Lopez said of RCEP during an interview ahead of a summit of the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila.

"Everybody would of course like to have a greater economic relationship with the US, they are a big country, one of the biggest consumers as well, but it may not rank high in the ASEAN agenda."

ASEAN first pushed the idea for RCEP in 2012, but it became eclipsed by the TPP, which former US President Barack Obama had promoted as a progressive deal that would prevent China from "writing the rules of global trade".

Four ASEAN members—Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam—had signed up to TPP, but the pact has lost two-thirds of its members combined gross domestic product when the US backed out.

And with China putting its weight behind RCEP, it has emerged as best alternative to lowering tariffs in the region for Asia's export-driven economies.

RCEP would bring ASEAN—a trading community of 620 million people with a combined GDP of $2.6 trillion—together with six other countries: Japan, India, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea and China.

Since the election in November of a protectionist-minded US president, China has emerged as arguably the biggest advocate of trade liberalization.

China denies it is leading RCEP, and Lopez said the deal would not be skewed in favor of larger nations.

"All the countries are looking at what's mutually beneficial for all, it won't be lopsided, let's say, in favor of China. China is one of the participants," he said.

"What we're all talking about in RCEP is to what extent can we review the products, the products that need to be liberalized for free trade."

Lopez said trade was not expected to figure prominently at the ASEAN summit starting on Saturday, but leaders would be pushing for a conclusion of RCEP by the end of this year.

The Philippine minister said Trump's rhetoric on trade was a concern for Southeast Asia's export-driven economies, but they hoped he would soften his stance, recognizing that an inward looking approach would ultimately hurt the US economy.

"What we just hope is that the US won't really come up with policies that will really be protectionist," he said

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Thai Police to Review Ways to Remove Online Content After Facebook Killing

Posted: 26 Apr 2017 02:45 AM PDT

BANGKOK, Thailand — Police in Thailand on Wednesday said they would discuss how to expedite taking down "inappropriate online content" after a man broadcast himself killing his 11-month-old daughter in a live video on Facebook.

Two videos, which were available for nearly 24 hours before they were taken down, show Wuttisan Wongtalay hanging his daughter from a building on the southern Thai island of Phuket on Monday before he turned off the camera and killed himself.

"In the future, we will discuss inappropriate online content, whether on Facebook or YouTube or Instagram, and how we can speed up taking this content down," deputy national police spokesman Kissana Phatanacharoen told reporters.

It was not immediately clear how authorities plan to speed things up.

Police had asked the Ministry of Digital Economy to contact Facebook about removing the videos. The ministry in turn contacted Facebook on Tuesday and the videos were taken down at around 5 p.m. in Bangkok that day, nearly a day after they had been uploaded.

Google said the video was also on Youtube and it was taken down within 15 minutes of being informed of it by the BBC.

The videos, which drew nearly half a million views before they were taken down, sparked outrage among netizens and prompted questions about how Facebook's reporting system works and how violent content can be flagged faster.

The case is the latest in a string of violent crimes that have plagued Facebook despite making up a small percentage of videos. On Tuesday a Swedish court jailed three men for the rape of a woman that was broadcast live on Facebook.

Last week, Facebook said it was reviewing how it monitored violent footage and other objectionable material after a posting of the fatal shooting of a man in Cleveland, Ohio was visible for two hours before being taken down.

What Took So Long?

Some are asking what took authorities in Thailand so long to act.

Kissana blamed the delay partly on the time difference between the United States, where Facebook is headquartered, and Thailand.

"We did the best we could but there's the time difference issue because Facebook is headquartered in San Francisco," Kissana said, without elaborating.

He said Thai police currently have two ways of being alerted about disturbing content: monitoring by a dedicated technology crime suppression division or a tip-off from the public using police hotlines.

A cousin of the baby's mother told Reuters the family was too traumatized to think about removing the video from Facebook.

"We didn't think about removing the video because all we wanted to do at the time was find them [the father and baby] first," said Suksan Buachanit, 29.

Thailand's digital ministry said it would review how it handles similar cases in the future.

"We will take this as a lesson and come up with a solution…but this is not something we can do immediately," ministry spokesman Somsak Khaosuwan told Reuters.

Police said the killing was the first in Thailand known to have been broadcast on Facebook. They said the crime was driven by jealousy because Wuttisan was afraid his wife would leave him for another man.

Thailand's health ministry said it records on average one to two suicide videos a month that are posted to social media, including YouTube and Facebook.

Thailand has a technology crime suppression police division, which handles inappropriate content and computer crimes that are insulting to the monarchy.

The country's strict lese majeste law makes it a crime to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir to the throne or regent. Each offence is punishable with a jail term of up to 15 years.

Thailand has increased its use of the law since the royalist military seized power in 2014.

The post Thai Police to Review Ways to Remove Online Content After Facebook Killing appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Police Arrest Student Protestors in Mandalay

Posted: 26 Apr 2017 02:21 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Four students protesting draconian rules at Sagaing Teacher Training College were arrested in front of the Department of Higher Education (Upper Burma) in Mandalay on Wednesday.

Student union members Ko Zaw Ye Htut, Ko Hnin Aung, Ko Kaung Zaw Hein, and Ko Ye Myo Swe were detained at Chanayethazan Township's No. 8 police station, an officer from the police station told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

"We are currently questioning them [the students] and it is too early to say whether we will file a lawsuit against them under the Peaceful Assembly Act or not," he said.

During the protest, the students held placards urging the college to respect students' freedom and human rights, to practice democracy, and to stop oppressing students.

"Rules like not allowing mobile phones on the campus and strict timetables are like the rules in the army, not the rules of a college," said Ko Zaw Ye Htut during the protest.

 

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Donors Cut Financial Support to Refugee Camp Workers

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 10:48 PM PDT

MAE SARIANG, Thailand — Some 10,000 community workers in nine refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border will be affected by financial cuts as funding declines, according to sources from the refugee community and aid agencies.

The cuts were announced at a meeting held by the international humanitarian agency The Border Consortium (TBC) in Mae Sot last weekend.

The reduced stipend for camp community workers will begin in July, said Saw Tu Tu, a leader within the Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) who attended the meeting.

Saw Tu Tu told The Irrawaddy at his office in Mae Sariang, Thailand: "They [TBC] will reduce human resources and financial support. They explained that support will be decreased because of a declining budget."

KRC staffers in nine refugee camp are among those who will be affected by the declining funding.

"They said they will also reduce the number of KRC staffers," said Saw Tu Tu.

There are around 10,000 community workers in positions like camp committee leader, health worker, teacher, warehouse manager and security staff, all of whom receive monthly stipends from NGOs, according to TBC.

Among the 10,000 workers, TBC funds some 2,800 people who are responsible for implementing programs such as food distribution; nutrition programs; livelihood, shelter, and camp management; and overall coordination of camp committees.

Sally Thompson, executive director of TBC, said: "Some elements of camp management are covered by specific donors, but most of the camp management administration and stipend costs are supported by general funds from donors and TBC is facing a decrease in funding from some of these donors."

"As a result TBC is making cuts to some of its programs but also is in a continual process of downsizing as an organization and has reduced TBC staff in Thailand by 30 percent over the last 3 years," she added.

The TBC budget for camp management, camp administration, stipend workers and CBOs is approximately USD$1.7 million, but funding has not been secured to cover all of these needs and therefore it is necessary to make cuts, Sally Thompson added.

"They [TBC] will reduce the community worker stipend by 30 perfect. So, if a worker received 1,000 baht per month before, they will receive only 700 baht per month in the future," said Saw Tu Tu of the KRC.

International governments and donors have been cutting funding for humanitarian assistance in refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border as Burma's peace process has gotten underway.

There are also preparations for a "volunteer" repatriation program being arranged by the Thai and Burmese governments along with INGOs such as the UN refugee agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Thai foundation Mae Fah Luang.

Volunteer Repatriation Centers are in all of the camps, facilitating the repatriation process for the refugees who wish to return home to Burma.

There are more than 100,000 refugees living on the Thai-Burma who fled civil war in Burma.

 

The post Donors Cut Financial Support to Refugee Camp Workers appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China Ready to Mediate Between Burma and Bangladesh over Arakan Refugees

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 08:53 PM PDT

DHAKA, Bangladesh — China offered on Tuesday to help tackle a diplomatic row between Bangladesh and Burma over the flight of minority Rohingyas, two Bangladesh foreign ministry officials said.

Around 69,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in northern Arakan State since October, straining relations between the two neighbors who each see the stateless Muslim minority as the other nation's problem.

Chinese special envoy Sun Guoxiang, beginning a four-day trip to Bangladesh, urged Dhaka to resolve the row with Burma bilaterally, but also said Beijing stood ready to help in the matter, a foreign ministry official in Dhaka told Reuters.

Sun made the proposal during a meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, the official said. He declined to be named, saying he was not authorized to speak to the media.

"The envoy told us at the meeting that they were ready to help if necessary," the official said. Another foreign ministry official confirmed the information but also asked not to be named, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

China has strong ties with both Burma and Bangladesh, helping in infrastructure development in both countries. Relations with the former have warmed further since Burma President U Htin Kyaw struck a deal in China on an oil pipeline between the neighbors after almost a decade of talks.

Beijing has established a strong presence in Bangladesh, building roads and power stations and supplying military hardware.

During the talks on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Haque told Chinese envoy Sun that Bangladesh welcomed Chinese efforts to tackle its problems with Burma stemming from the influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh, the officials said.

Dhaka has proposed that Sun travel to Cox's Bazar near the border with Burma to see the plight of the tens of thousands of people camped there. China's ambassador to Bangladesh, Ma Mingqiang, visited a Rohingya camp there in March.

Burma has faced growing international criticism over the latest eruption of violence against the Rohingyas. Burma's government has conceded some soldiers may have committed crimes but has rejected charges of ethnic cleansing.

The post China Ready to Mediate Between Burma and Bangladesh over Arakan Refugees appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to Do in Rangoon This Week

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 07:40 PM PDT

Violent Memories: Trauma and Transformation | April 25-30

Ten writers and poets from Macedonia, Chile, South Africa, Germany and Burma come together for a public reading to explore the essence of trauma.

April 25-30. Ahla Thit Art Gallery, No. 17, University Avenue Road, Bahan Tsp. Tel: 09-31035920

Myanmar International Light Festival | Until April 30

Lights in various shapes and designs decorate the park throughout the month of April at this festival.

Everyday until April 30. 5:30 pm to 10 pm. People's Square. Admission is 3,000 kyats.

Book Fair | April 4-May 1

More than 100 bookshops sell discounted goods and offer sessions on translation literature.

April 4-May 1. Printing and Publishing Enterprise Building, Theinbyu Street.

Shwe Daung Circus | Thurs-Sun through April

Shwe Daung Circus has been performing in Rangoon since February and will continue until the end of April.

Every Thurs. and Fri. at 8 pm, Sat. at 3 pm and 8 pm, Sun. at 11 am, 3 pm and 6 pm. People's Park (Dhammazedi Road Entrance). Tickets start at 5,000 kyats available at City Mart or 09-960012348.

Tuesday Snippets | Every Tuesday

Every Tuesday evening Pansodan opens its gallery space for a gathering, where all sorts of people enjoy conversation and beverages until late at night. Guitars generally come out after midnight.

Every Tuesday, 7 pm. Pansodan Gallery, Pansodan St. Free admission.

Together Festival Yangon | April 29-30

This EDM event is back for the third time, featuring local and international DJs.

April 29, evening. Thuwunnabhumi Event Park, Thingangyun.  Tickets sold at Fuse in Myanmar Plaza and Ice Cream Bar in Junction Square and Junction Maw Tin or Tel: 09-775007750.

International Jazz Day | April 29

Headliner ​Mike Cottone – a jazz trumpeter from New York and the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, joins Burma's accomplished jazz musicians including the 88 Degree Band, the Bamboo Trio and the ISY Jazz Band.
April 29, 7 pm. Institut Français de Birmanie, Pyay Road. Free Admission.

FAB 53 – LGBT Club Night | April 29

DJ C-Thu & Mike (TRACK 404 Myanmar DJs Crew) will spin at Muse Bar.

April 29, 10pm until late. Muse Bar. No. 330, Ahlone Road, Dagon Tsp. Entry fee is 5,000 kyats.

Young Artist's Exhibition | April 1-28

Ten-year-old artist Aung Nay Myo Khant will showcase 41 acrylic works at Eternal Art Gallery.

April 1-28. Eternal Art Gallery, Yuzana Garden Housing.

1+1= 100 | April 26-30

This exhibition of artists Maung Maung Tin Oo and D Ko Zaw will feature 30 acrylic works.

April 26-30. Myanmar Artists and Artisans Organization (Central), Bogyoke Market.

The post Ten Things to Do in Rangoon This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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National News

National News

Trailer drivers protest against discrimination

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:31 PM PDT

Upset that their use of the road has been restricted, some 30 drivers of three-wheeled motorised trailers in Yenangyaung township, Magwe Region, staged a protest early last Saturday.

Prisoners to be allowed to join in religious activities

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:28 PM PDT

The Prisons Department will allow inmates to carry out religious activities once a month starting from the new fiscal year, said the department's deputy director from Security Section.

Farmers demand return of lands

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:26 PM PDT

Farmers in Sagaing Region's Kanbalu township staged a protest demanding the return of their land which were confiscated by the government, claiming that those lands have been farmed since the time of their ancestors.

Slack paddy trading in NPT

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:25 PM PDT

There is a slowdown in the paddy market in Nay Pyi Taw, with prices remaining stagnant since late last year.

Shan ethnic affairs minister’s safe stolen

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:17 PM PDT

The safe from the office of the Shan Ethnic Affairs Minister in Mandalay Region has been stolen, according to the regional government office.

Public drug awareness campaign held in Meiktila

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:12 PM PDT

A public drug awareness campaign was held by local residents in Meiktila township in Mandalay Region, aiming to get the public to cooperate and participate in the national anti-narcotics drug campaign.

New prizes to be introduced for state lottery

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:11 PM PDT

Even with a jackpot offer of K1 billion by the 'Aung Bar Lay' state lottery, the government is planning to introduce more prizes.

Spanish language offered at YUFL

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:09 PM PDT

Spanish language will be offered at evening certificate classes at Yangon University of Foreign Language (YUFL), a university official confirmed yesterday.

President’s Office instructs USDP to return development funds

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:06 PM PDT

The President's Office has ordered the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and relevant organisations to hand over regional development funds paid by hand-dug well entrepreneurs during the previous administration to the Magwe regional government.

Myanmar fisherman shot by Thai boat owner

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT

A myanmar migrant fisherman was shot by his Thai employer in Kuraburi township, Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, according to a witness and Phuket-based Myanmar Migrant Workers' Network (MWN).
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Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

Commander-in-Chief's Europe Visit: Standard Army instead of Professional Army?

Posted: 26 Apr 2017 04:22 AM PDT

The Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing visited Europe at the invitation of the European Union Military Committee (EUMC) November last year and again starting from April 22, by its German counterpart, Chief of Defense of the German Armed Forces General Volker Weiker, which is still ongoing at this writing.

His primary goal is to pay a goodwill visit to the Federal Republic of Germany with stopover in Austria.

According to the various news reports, the Tatmadaw or the Military goodwill delegation also comprises Daw Kyu Kyu Hla, wife of the Senior General, Chief of the General Staff (Army, Navy and Air) General Mya Tun Oo and senior military officers of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army).

Reportedly, according to the Commander-in-Chief's Facebook, his delegation visited the Austria Army Museum in Vienna on April 23, followed by the visit of the Myanmar (Burma) embassy, where he stressed the gathering to welcome him to learn from the industrially developed Austria and applied it at home to help develop the country.

The Austria Army Museum is a renowned museum of Austrian Armed Forces. Built on 15 April 1850, it was inaugurated in 1856. One of the oldest buildings of Austria, it exhibits the historical facts of the Austrian empire since 1867 (mid-19th century), arms and weapon invention and modernization programmes, the development of tanks, armored vehicles, naval vessels and aircraft, and the Austrian involvement in wars including the World War I and World War II sector wise.

On April 24, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was accorded a guard-of-honor welcome by Chief of Defense Staff of the Austrian Armed Forces General Othmar Commenda at the Austrian Defense Ministry.

During the call, the Senior General said the purpose of the tour was to promote ties between armed forces of the two countries and that the two armed forces could make cooperation in many areas, including promoting bilateral relations between the two countries. He stressed that successive Myanmar leaders had recognized European countries as friends and the Senior General invited his counterpart to pay an official goodwill visit to Myanmar.

Likewise, Chief of Defense Staff of Austrian Armed Forces said that he took pride of the goodwill visit of the Senior General and expressed his firm belief that the goodwill visit would promote further relations and cooperation. Armed forces from the European Union countries wished to enhance friendly ties with Myanmar Tatmadaw. Strengthening friendly relations between Myanmar and Austrian armed forces would contribute much to relations between Myanmar Tatmadaw and other EU armed forces. He offered officers from Myanmar Tatmadaw to attend the military training courses in Austria.

On the same day afternoon, the delegation visited the Diamond Aircraft Industry, where the Commander-in-Chief was flown around with a DA-62 type aircraft and the rest of the delegation members with other types of company produced aircraft around the city of Vienna. The delegation members were welcomed by Chief Executive Officer Mr. Christian Dries and officials of the Diamond Aircraft Industry and later in the evening were treated to a dinner.

After the Austria visit, the delegation next stop will be Germany. Although no detailed agendas have been made known by the Tatmadaw or Burma Army, primarily it should be to promote the army-to-army relationship and cooperation between Germany and Burma.

Speculation are that while the Commander-in-Chief would like to materialize his "Standard Army" ambition and not "Professional Army", Germany could also be keen to reactivate its supplier-client relationship that goes all the way back into the early 1950s when Burma newly achieved independence from the British in 1948.

German Industrial-equipment Company Fritz Werner (Fritz Werner Industrie-Ausrüstungen GmbH), specializing in weapon production, has been doing business with Burma since early 1950s during the short parliamentary era and continued to be around even after the military takeover through the coup d'etat in 1962. The then military strongman General Ne Win was a close friend of the company and often visited the company's headquarters (Central) in Geisenheim, according to the report of Zeit Online, on April 11, 2013.

The company helped Burma in manufacturing the G3 and G4 rifles all along, but had to draw back from military-to-military relationship, due to EU's ban on weapon export, including other type of sanctions, after the military crackdown in 1988 that killed demonstrators in hundreds.

Since the Fritz Werner is owned by the German government, the good relationship has been unbroken, even during the Burma's military ruled period from 1962 until 2011. The military-to-military contact now seems to be picking up momentum, due to the lifting of various sanctions imposed by the West following democratization process of the country that is still in progress.

But with the re-establishment of military attache office in Berlin in 2017 by Burma, employing a full General, the Commander-in-Chief's Germany visit should become better said Khin Maung Saw, a former lecturer in Burma Studies, Humboldt University, Berlin, according to the VOA report of April 23.

He further said: "Starting from one two years, EU countries regarding sanction issues, there were argument on whether or not to lift the sanction on weapon sale. If weapon sale sanction is kept, Burma could buy from Russia and China and would only profit them. If Burma would buy and we sell them wouldn't it be better? As we would be selling, we would have military-to-military contact which could lead to the training of their soldiers and officers. That discussion was during a little more than two years ago."

He stressed: "Now Burma has changed and if it would like to buy, they (EU countries) would also sell."

He also speculated that the integration of the East Germany's army into the West Germany's Federal Army or Bundeswehr could also be the topic of discussion, probably to see if this could be applicable in resolving the integration and demobilization of the various ethnic armies that have been fighting against the government of Burma.

But the BBC on April 24 reported that although there has been military-to-military contact between the EU, including Germany, with Burma, military observers said that it would not be easy to immediately lift the weapon embargo.

Especially, with the recent international condemnation of the human rights violations committed by the Burma Army in Arakan, Shan and Kachin States, it is highly unlikely that the EU would come to the stage of lifting the weapon embargo altogether, according to the analysis.

Reports concerning Min Aung Hlaing's Germany visit would, more or less, be in the same tune like Austria, probably paying a visit to Fritz Werner Company's central or headquarters and perhaps discussion over German unification, from the point of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR), where the East Germany's National People's Army and West Germany's Federal Defense or Federal Armed Forces, is concerned.

Perspective

The prospect of Min Aung Hlaing's visit to build better relation with the EU, especially with Germany, could be partly fulfilled. But buying armament and modern weapon technical knowledge transfer might have to wait a little, given the arm embargo is still being maintained.

With the German experience of DDR/SSR, if ever there is any discussion on it, the benefit would be minimum, as the situation are quite different.

The East and West Germans are the one and same nation and the crucial fact is that the East disintegrates on its own and generally, the West has to absorb all the East Germany's institutions, including the armed forces. But Burma's problem is rooted in ethnic conflict and it is not coming together of the same nation or ethnic group. And thus, its solution would be more of the SSR oriented implementation than just DDR, which in German experience seems to be the case.

Germany, a highly industrialized country with deep-rooted democratic system, is aiming and structuring a modern, hi-tech army, where fewer troops are needed, unlike the armies in third world countries.

Min Aung Hlaing according to his own conviction is to build a "standard army" and not "professional army" that takes order from the civilian government and subordinated to it, which he no-doubt means a Bamar-dominated army like it is now, which is materially better equipped and that would continue to call the shots in the country's political decision-making process for sometimes to come until it decides to abdicate on its own timetable.

This would mean keeping the military-drafted constitution in tact as it is and a hybrid, the two-tier administrative system of civilian-military rule.

Lately, human-rights abuses in Burma's Arakan State have led to mounting international condemnation and called for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry, following the insistence of
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma.

The Amnesty International annual report for 2016/17 wrote that "formation of a new civilian-led government did not lead to significant improvements in the human rights situation. The persecuted Rohingya minority faced increased violence and discrimination. Religious intolerance and anti-Muslim sentiment intensified. Fighting between the army and ethnic armed groups escalated in northern Myanmar."

The Human Rights Watch yearly report of 2016 wrote that "Burma's new government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) took office in March 2016 after sweeping the November 2015 elections. Headed by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Htin Kyaw, the NLD controls a majority of both upper and lower house parliamentary seats in the country's first democratically elected, civilian-led government since 1962. However, the new government inherited deep-rooted challenges, including constitutional empowerment of the military, repressive legislation, weak rule of law, and a corrupt judiciary."

To sum up, constitutional empowerment of the military leads to suppression of the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) in various ethnic states, which in turn resulted in human rights violations of the ethnic peoples by the Military, depleting any trust that might have been achieved by the NLD regime. And without trust there could be no negotiation and without it, no political settlement could be reached.

Thus, in the end, we have to come back to the amendment or rewriting of the constitution to end the hybrid two-tier administrative system that is not serving the interest of the country, so that the it could move forward.

For now, the Commander-in-Chief and the Military are determined to only build a standard army and not the professional one, which means the Military has to be subordinated to the civilian government and not vice-versa as it is now the case.

Min Aung Hlaing's vague promises that only if the country is peaceful, will the Military go back to the barracks could be years to come and even more remote, if it is going to draw its own policies, especially where the peace process and ethnic issues are concerned, and execute them as it sees fit, implying that it is the sole responsible party with sole right and ownership of the country's sovereignty and conducts military offensives in ethnic areas.

It should be clear that the ethnic armed conflict today is rooted in the political dissatisfaction over the Bamar-dominated government's sole ownership claim of the sovereignty and forcefully holding it together with the military might. And way out is to correct this wrong conceptual thinking into a kind of shared-sovereignty that the ethnic nationalities are demanding and voluntary participation in forging a genuine national unity, not coercively with military might.

Thus, if the Military would agree to become a professional army, the resolution of conflict could materialize in no time. But if not, the standard army ambition of Min Aung Hlaing, even if he is able to build one, would not benefit the peace process and national reconciliation.

By Sai Wansai
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Chinese Officials Push for Kyaukphyu SEZ to Move Forward

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 08:58 AM PDT

RANGOON – During a trip to Arakan State's Kyaukphyu Township on Monday, Chinese official Wang Yajun emphasized that his country aims for the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to be up and running as soon as possible, local sources said.

Kyaukphyu Township administrator U Nyi Nyi Lwin said that along with Wang Yajun—who is the assistant minister of the international department of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) central committee—a regional official from the Chinese CITIC investment conglomerate and several diplomats were present on the visit, holding talks with local authorities and businesspeople.

U Nyi Nyi Lwin said that CPC delegates expressed an eagerness to begin the SEZ project without delay, as the state-owned conglomerate CITIC was already awarded the tender to develop a deep sea port and an industrial zone by the previous government.

The visitors also explained how they would promote relationships between locals and Chinese businesspeople.

Local businessman U Tin Aung Soe, who operates May Phone More Hotel near the seashore, said that Chinese delegates and 10 Kyaukphyu businesspeople had a one-hour discussion at his hotel. He also asked Wang Yajun whether the Chinese government would develop a railroad in near future, linking Yunnan Province's Kunming with Kyaukphyu, but was told a that memorandum of understanding on the project had not yet been reached.

Another meeting attendee, U Hla Myo Kyaw, said that the Chinese delegates asked for opinions on the ground regarding the SEZ development. He told them that locals still have not yet recovered from land confiscation suffered during the pursuit of offshore gas terminals and pipelines by the China National Petroleum Corporation.

"Negative images of previous projects could hit the forthcoming SEZ project," he said.

Chinese delegates said they assumed that a lack of interaction between locals and the Chinese officials had contributed to misunderstandings, and promised to arrange more meetings in the future.

Kyaukphyu Rural Development Association coordinator U Tun Kyi criticized the meeting between Chinese delegation and the Kyaukphyu business community as lacking in transparency. He also said that the delegates had highlighted past financial support of a 15 billion-kyat livestock project in 2015 in Kyaukphyu.

However, U Tun Kyi added that until SEZ law more clearly addresses rates for farmland compensation, "there will be no advantages for locals if the government proceeds with the project with the [current] SEZ laws."

Recently, about 100 fishermen were charged with trespassing by the fisheries department in Kyaukphyu and fined 50,000 kyats for being in restricted territorial waters, in an area which is now reserved for international cargo ships docking at the Maday Island deep sea port, said U Tun Kyi.

The start of an SEZ project in the area could further harm livelihoods like these, he predicted.

The Chinese delegates, led by CITIC chairman Chang Zhenming, also met with Burma's State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi last week and discussed their joint venture projects in Burma's energy and transportation sectors, including the Kyaukphyu deep sea port. Dr. Than Myint, of the ministry of commerce, also reportedly talked with Chan Zhenming separately in Naypyidaw.

In late February, the International Commission of Jurists urged the government to amend SEZ law in order to meet international standards to protect human rights, and also suggested that the government's SEZ body had breached UN principles.

The post Chinese Officials Push for Kyaukphyu SEZ to Move Forward appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Safe Stolen from Mandalay Minister’s Office

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 07:50 AM PDT

MANDALAY — A safe containing cash and personal documents was stolen from the office of the Mandalay regional minister of ethnic affairs U Sai Kyaw Zaw in the regional government building over Thingyan, the minister told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

According to the minister, 100,000 kyats in cash and his vehicle registration documents were inside the safe. "No documents related to my office or the ministry were stolen," he added.

"Although the safe is small [1.5-feet square] it is quite heavy and would take two or three men to carry," he said, adding that he only noticed the safe was missing when he returned to his office from a trip abroad on Tuesday.

Mandalay District Police officer, Police Col Thet Win said a case had been filed and a special team had been formed to investigate, he said.

"It is still too early to say if an insider was involved. We believe we will find the culprits very soon," said the police colonel.

The Minister said he was burgled around April 20, according to security camera footage, although the robbery itself was not recorded as the CCTV cameras were tampered with.

The office of U Myo Thit, the regional minister of natural resources and environment, was also broken into.

"We saw screwdrivers and tools from U Myo Thit's office in my office, I think they [the thieves] tried to open the safe but were unsuccessful and later took away the whole thing," said U Sai Kyaw Zaw.

"I wonder how the thieves knew U Myo Thit's office had screwdrivers and tools," he said, adding that he believed it was an inside job.

News of the incident was shared widely on social media. Netizens argued that if Mandalay police cannot keep government offices secure, there is little hope for the city's residents.

The post Safe Stolen from Mandalay Minister's Office appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mon Activists Re-Strategize, Launch Signature Campaign to Change Bridge Name

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 07:39 AM PDT

Rights activists from Mon State have launched a signature campaign directed toward the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led Union government concerning the bridge named for Gen Aung San in Chaungzon Township.

The petition is asking the government to give the bridge a local name based on the wishes of the area's ethnic Mon people. The campaign, launched throughout all 10 townships in Mon State, started on April 13 and ended on April 25. Signatures were collected from more than 100,000 people, according to organizers of the campaign.

Nai Min Min Nwe, a Moulmein-based campaign committee member, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the signature campaign proved difficult within the Mon communities, as people were initially afraid to participate.

"Some of our local people did not want to give their ID card numbers. They were afraid that the authorities would take action against them if their ID number was on the petition," he explained.

The 21-member committee intends to send all of the signatures from the first round of the campaign to the President, State Counselor, parliamentary chairpersons, and the ethnic affairs minister on April 27.

Nai Wona, another community leader based in Thanbyuzayat Township, said that the campaign there launched on April 23 and that more than 100 local leaders attended the opening meeting, where they collected signature papers to bring to their respective villages.

"Our plan is to let persons who attended the campaign work in their villages to collect signatures. But, most villages have done it already," Nai Wona said.

Initially, hundreds of people in Chaungzon held a protest near the new bridge on March, but the NLD government did not respond to the action, and the Union Parliament approved the naming of the structure after Gen Aung San.

Then, thousands of ethnic Mon from throughout the state held a second protest and asked the government to give the bridge a local name instead.

"This campaign is our new fighting strategy. We will not stop fighting for our ethnic rights, even if the government is ignoring our voices," said Nai Min Min Nwe.

The post Mon Activists Re-Strategize, Launch Signature Campaign to Change Bridge Name appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

RCSS/SSA-S National-level Political Dialogue at a Standstill

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 07:32 AM PDT

NAYPYIDAW — The Burma government and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S) have not yet reached an agreement on the venue for holding ethnic-based national-level dialogue in Shan State.

"We've asked to hold the Shan political dialogue in Taunggyi or Panglong but we are still unable to agree on a venue," said RCSS/SSA-S spokesperson Col Sai La.

RCSS/SSA-S leaders discussed the issue at a Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting (JICM) on Monday, but government authorities only replied that they would consider it, said Col Sai La.

The RCSS/SSA-S has requested that the dialogue be held in the state capital for convenience of transportation, but it was reported that the Burma Army told the RCSS to conduct the public consultations in remote RCSS-controlled towns.

The national-level political dialogue is a mandatory step of the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA), where regional stakeholders discuss suggestions at large-scale public consultations, the results of which are shared by representatives at the Union Peace Conference.

The RCSS/SSA-S has proposed holding national-level political talks for respective ethnic groups in Shan State, as opposed to dividing the talks by region.

"We don't object to holding talks in respective regions but I'm afraid that such talks will not be complete, as they will not take into account the views of various sub-groups," said Col Sai La.

The RCSS/SSA-S is one of eight signatories of the NCA. The others are the Karen National Union, Chin National Front, Pa-O National Liberation Organization, Arakan Liberation Party, All Burma Students' Democratic Front, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, and the KNU/KNLA Peace Council.

Ongoing territory disputes between the Burma Army and the RCSS/SSA-S also remain unsolved, adding to the Burma Army's reluctance to allow the RCSS to hold ethnic-based political dialogue in Taunggyi.

The JICM on Monday brought no resolution, leaving the issue at a standstill.

Of eight ethnic NCA signatories, only the RCSS/SSA-S and Arakan Liberation Party have not yet held national-level political talks.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Commercial Porn Distribution a Hard Swallow for Burmese Authorities

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 07:24 AM PDT

RANGOON — Burmese police are investigating those involved in the local production of a pornographic movie, reportedly the first to be promoted and sold online in the country.

Art of Myanmar, the production group behind the two-hour commercially produced video, has promoted the film—entitled 'Violet of Myanmar'—on their Facebook page. Shooting took place in December of last year.

The company has said that they aim to produce more genre-specific and hardcore porn films in the future.

On Monday morning, Art of Myanmar launched the video through a social media announcement: "We have now proudly launched Burma's first ever [porn] HD," while providing links for a two-minute trailer that shows performers' faces digitally blurred.

The trailer then went viral on Facebook.

The announcement added that customers would be charged 5,000 kyats to gain access to the complete video. In order to view another film, entitled 'Nurse,' they were required to pay 10,000 kyats.

The trailer provides a bank account for the financial transaction, and encouraged customers to place orders from a Viber account that later crashed after it received more than 2,000 messages in 24 hours.

Quoting Burma's President's Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay, local media reported on Tuesday that the police had started investigating the people behind the production. An official from the Crime Investigation Department said that IT police are also following the case.

Article 292 of Burma's Penal Code says that anyone who produces or possesses any "obscene" object shall be punished with a term of imprisonment of up to three months, and/or a fine.

Even though the porn industry has long been taboo in Burma, the country has seen short sex films distributed by voyeurs on social media, particularly since increased internet penetration accompanied the availability of cheap SIM cards after 2014.

The post Commercial Porn Distribution a Hard Swallow for Burmese Authorities appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

How a Two-Week Army Crackdown Reignited Conflict in Arakan

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 05:15 AM PDT

BALUKHALI CAMP, Bangladesh — When army helicopters fired on Rahim's village in northwest Burma one day last November, the Rohingya schoolteacher told his pregnant wife to take their three young daughters and leave. He stayed behind with his 72-year-old mother.

At dawn the next morning soldiers encircled and then entered the village. Rahim and his mother crept into a rice field. Crouching, Rahim said they saw the soldiers set fire to homes and shoot fleeing villagers.

"I thought we were going to die that day," said Rahim, who like many Rohingya identifies by a single name. "We kept hearing gunshots. I saw several people shot dead."

His account, told in a Bangladesh refugee camp where thousands of Rohingya are sheltering, was corroborated by four people from his village.

The attack on Rahim's village, Dar Gyi Zar, on Nov. 12-13, claimed dozens of lives, Rohingya elders said. The killings marked the start of a two-week military onslaught across about 10 Rohingya villages in northwest Arakan State, a Reuters reconstruction of events has found.

Rohingya elders estimate some 600 people were killed. A United Nations report from February said the likely toll was hundreds. At least 1,500 homes were destroyed, Human Rights Watch satellite imagery shows.

Countless women were raped, eyewitnesses and aid workers said. Doctors in Bangladesh told Reuters they treated women who had been raped.

It was the latest round of ethnic bloodletting in Burma, a majority Buddhist country where the roughly one million Muslim Rohingya are marginalized, often living in camps, denied access to healthcare and education and uprooted and killed in pogroms.

Burma's march to democracy, beginning in 2011, uncorked long-suppressed ethnic and religious tensions between Rakhine's Buddhists and the Rohingya. Clashes between the two communities in 2012 killed at least 192 people and displaced 140,000, mostly Rohingya.

This latest eruption of violence drove some 75,000 Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh, the United Nations said. Burma's government has conceded some soldiers may have committed crimes but has rejected charges of "ethnic cleansing." It has promised to prosecute any officers where there is evidence of wrongdoing.

The military assault involving a little under 2,000 soldiers has presented Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with the first major crisis since her party won elections in late 2015.

Many hoped Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, would bring a new era of tolerance after five decades of military rule. While generals remain in control of a significant part of the government, she now faces accusations of failing to oppose human rights abuses.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National Security Adviser Thaung Tun said some individuals may have committed abuses "in the heat of the confrontation." But he stressed the government did not approve of such conduct. Burma's State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi did not respond to detailed questions from Reuters about events in Arakan.

The army began its "clearance operation" in Arakan after Rohingya militants attacked border posts there on Oct. 9. For a month, it tried to pressure villagers to hand over the rebels, without success. That approach changed on Nov. 12-13 in Dar Gyi Zar and the neighboring village Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son, marking a sharp escalation of the military operation.

This article pieces together how events unfolded, drawing on interviews with Rohingya refugees, diplomats, aid workers and Burma government officials. Reuters also gained rare access to Burma security officials and spoke with a Rohingya militant leader.

The reconstruction of the military operation contains previously unreported details about army negotiations with villagers over the insurgents, a shift in military strategy and the army units involved.

Reuters also learned new details about investigations into alleged atrocities that are being conducted by the Burma Army and by the home affairs ministry.

The violence was brutal. A 16-year-old girl assaulted in the village of Kyar Gaung Taung, said two soldiers raped her. Speaking in a Bangladesh refugee camp, she said she still suffers anxiety and trauma after the attack.

"I am angry with myself for being Rohingya," said the teen, whose name Reuters is withholding. "If I had been Bangladeshi or American, I would never have been raped. But they did it to me because I was born Rohingya."

The army has denied there were widespread abuses and said it was carrying out a legitimate counterinsurgency operation. The army and the ministry of home affairs did not respond to detailed questions from Reuters about events in Arakan.

"It is possible that individual security officers or individual policemen may have reacted in an excessive manner," Thaung Tun, the security adviser, said. "But what we want to make clear is that it's not the policy of the government to condone these excesses."

Clearance

After years of persecution, some Rohingya have begun to fight back. A militant group called Harakah al-Yaqin, or "Faith Movement," was formed by Rohingya living in Saudi Arabia after the 2012 violence, according to the International Crisis Group.

Its leader, Ata Ullah, said hundreds of young Rohingya men have joined the ranks of the group, which now wants to be known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. Burma's government estimates it has about 400 fighters.

"In 2012, they killed us and we understood at that time, they would not give us our rights," said Ata Ullah, speaking by video link from an undisclosed location in Burma.

Before dawn on Oct. 9, Rohingya militants staged attacks on border police. The army set about trying to capture the rebels. For a month, it attempted to pressure villagers to give up the insurgents, according to Rohingya elders and villagers.

The village of Kyet Yoe Pyin, located on the main road north to Bangladesh in northwest Rakhine, was one of the first to draw the army's attention on Oct. 13, according to a military intelligence source.

Insurgents had used logs to erect roadblocks near the settlement of 1,300 houses, blocking the way for military vehicles, residents and the military intelligence source said. In retaliation, about 400 soldiers burned down a part of Kyet Yoe Pyin and shot several people, according to four villagers.

Officials have blamed insurgents and villagers themselves for the burning of homes.
After a few days of trying unsuccessfully to capture the insurgents, the soldiers asked village elders to negotiate.

The meeting took place in western Kyet Yoe Pyin.
About 300 soldiers crowded the road while four commanders led the talks with five Rohingya men, according to a village elder who attended the meeting. The talks, confirmed by the military intelligence source, were an example of the army's attempts in those early weeks to pressure the villagers to help identify the rebels.

"Their first question was: 'Who cut the trees?' We told them we didn't know," the village elder recounted. "They told us: 'We will give you a chance: You can either give us the names of the insurgents, or we will kill you'."

The officers visited Kyet Yoe Pyin on several further occasions, asking about insurgents and taking money in exchange for leaving the remaining houses untouched, the villagers said.

A variation of this scene was repeated in other villages in the weeks leading up to Nov. 12, residents said.

Two Weeks

On Nov. 12, this low-grade violence escalated abruptly when the army clashed with rebels north of two villages in northwestern Arakan—Rahim's village Dar Gyi Zar, a settlement of more than 400 houses, and Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son, with some 600 houses.

Muhammad Ismail, another Rohingya teacher from Dar Gyi Zar, said the army spotted insurgents a few kilometers to the north of his village at around 4 a.m. After a two-hour shootout, the militants fled towards neighboring Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son, where fighting resumed in the afternoon. The area is densely forested, and residents could not say how many militants there were.

The leader of the insurgents, Ata Ullah, said he and his men found themselves surrounded. "We had to fight," he told Reuters. He did not say how many insurgents were involved in the clash.

During a day-long battle, some villagers joined the insurgents, fighting the security forces with knives and sticks, according to Ata Ullah and the military. A senior officer was killed and the army brought in two helicopters mounted with guns as back-up, according to official accounts, which described the incident as an ambush by the insurgents.

The helicopters swooped in around 4 p.m., hovering low over the road connecting Dar Gyi Zar and Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son, according to eyewitnesses.

The villagers dispersed in panic as one of the helicopters sprayed the insurgents with bullets. The other helicopter fired indiscriminately on those fleeing, five eyewitnesses said. The military intelligence source confirmed that the helicopters dispersed the crowd but denied they shot at civilians.

It marked the start of an offensive across a section of northwest Arakan that lasted about two weeks, according to villagers, aid workers and human rights monitors and a review of satellite imagery from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Security and administrative officials confirmed the scope of the sweep but said they were not aware of abuses.

Whole communities fled north towards larger villages and then west to Bangladesh, pursued by the army. Women who were raped said the soldiers shouted "go to Bangladesh."

Three doctors from small clinics near refugee camps in Bangladesh have described treating some three dozen cases of Rohingya women whom they say were raped.

"I treated one woman. She was so badly raped she had lost sensation in her lower limbs," said John Sarkar, 40, a Bangladeshi doctor who has worked with Rohingya refugees for eight years.

National Security Adviser Thaung Tun said a commission, set up by the State Counselor in December and chaired by vice president Myint Swe, a former head of military intelligence, needed time to investigate.

"We find it really difficult to believe that the Myanmar military would use (sexual violence) as a tool, sex slaves or rape as a weapon. In Myanmar this is repulsive, it's not acceptable,” he said.

The Dw Aung San Suu Kyi appointed investigation is one of several. The army is conducting an internal probe and the ministry of home affairs, which is controlled by the army, is also carrying out an inquiry.

Separately, the United Nations has ordered a fact-finding mission to examine allegations of human rights abuses.

A senior government source and a senior military source said the commander of the army division that led the operation, Maj-Gen Khin Maung Soe, had been questioned by investigators in the army probe.

The army did not respond to Reuters questions about Maj-Gen Khin Maung Soe's role and Reuters was unable to contact him directly.

The ministry of home affairs, meanwhile, is examining 21 cases, including five suspected murders, six rapes, two cases of looting and one case of arson and seven unexplained deaths, according to police colonel Shwe Thaung. Investigators were seeking the army's cooperation to interrogate soldiers.

Left Behind

When the sun went down on the villages of Dar Gyi Zar and Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son on Nov. 12, the fighting stopped.

"The night was tense. Some people sneaked out to neighboring villages. Others were preparing to move first thing in the morning," said Muhammad Ismail, the Rohingya teacher who witnessed fighting.

But at dawn the next day, soldiers encircled the two villages and set the houses on fire, five eyewitnesses said. Those who could, fled. But the elderly and the infirm stayed. From the rice field where he hid, Rahim said he saw soldiers shooting indiscriminately.

Police reports from the period confirm that security forces focused their attention on about 10 villages—Dar Gyi Zar, Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son and other settlements nearby.

They detained nearly 400 people between Nov. 12 and 30, according to a senior administrator in the state capital of Sittwe who received the daily dispatches.

The administrator, who briefed Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the reports described a lawful counterinsurgency operation.

One of the villages that bore the brunt of the post-Nov. 12 crackdown was Kyar Gaung Taung, a settlement of about 300 houses in northwest Arakan.

Residents say that for five days starting around Nov. 16, security forces swooped in, searching for men. As in neighboring villages, they arrested or killed most working-age men, and gathered the women in groups, carrying out invasive body searches.

Reuters talked to 17 people from Kyar Gaung Taung from November through March by telephone and in person in Bangladeshi camps, including five rape victims, three close relatives of those raped and several village elders. They corroborated one another's accounts.

Shamshida, a 30-year-old mother of six, was ordered to come out of her house.

"One of the soldiers put a machete to my chest and bit me on the back. Then, they started picking women from the group gathered on the road. I was selected and pulled inside the house. I knelt down thinking that may help and the last thing I remember was one of the soldiers kicking me in the head," said Shamshida, who identifies with a single name.

When her husband and her sister found her several hours later, she was stripped naked, unconscious, covered in bruises and bleeding from her mouth and her vagina.

They carried her to the neighboring village of U Shey Kya several hundred meters away, where she regained consciousness, was showered and taken care of by a village doctor.

After eight days, she returned to her village, where there were no men left and many houses were burned down.

Doctors in Bangladesh said the Rohingya women they treated had torn vaginal tissue and scars inside their mouths from having guns inserted. In some cases, the women couldn't walk and had to be carried by relatives to the clinics. Many were covered in bruises and bite marks.

Sarkar, the Bangladeshi doctor, and others administered abortion-inducing kits, painkillers and antibiotics. In cases where the kits didn't work, they referred the women to regional hospitals for abortions.

Out of the Country

As thousands of Rohingya were fleeing across the river border to Bangladesh, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was not in the country. In early December she went to Singapore, attending meetings and a ceremony to have a purple orchid named after her in the city-state's botanic gardens.

The State Counselor's defenders, including some Western diplomats, say she is hamstrung by a military-drafted constitution that left the army in control of key security ministries and much of the apparatus of the state.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi may be playing a long game, these diplomats said—back the military for now and coax the generals into accepting a rewriting of the constitution to reduce their power.

During her trip, the State Counselor gave an interview to state broadcaster Channel News Asia, in which she accused the international community of "always drumming up cause for bigger fires of resentment," adding it didn't help "if everybody is just concentrating on the negative side of the situation."

She appealed for understanding of her nation's ethnic complexities, and said the world should not forget that the military operation was launched in response to the Rohingya insurgents' attacks on border posts.

Rahim, the village schoolteacher, and his family were among thousands of Rohingya who made the 2-kilometer (1.2 mile) river crossing to Bangladesh.

On April 8, in a Bangladesh refugee camp, Rahim's wife Rasheda gave birth to their first boy, Futu, or "little son." Rahim doesn't know whether Futu will ever see his homeland.

 

The post How a Two-Week Army Crackdown Reignited Conflict in Arakan appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Trafficked Woman Reunited With Parents After 13 Years

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 03:36 AM PDT

RANGOON — A Mon woman trafficked into China 13 years ago was reunited with her parents on April 23 after escaping her captors.

Mi Khin Si (not her real name) was aged 17 when she took a train from her grandmother's home in Ye Township, Mon State, to her own home in Mudon Township. During the journey she accepted a juice that was drugged, and was taken to Rangoon, where she was forced to work in a restaurant for three months.

Her abductors—yet to be identified—then sold the teenager to a Chinese man in the northern Shan State border town of Muse. It was the first of two forced marriages that she finally managed to flee with the help of human rights activist Nai Ko Thu.

In the first forced marriage, the man bought Mi Khin Si for 60,000 yuan (USD$8,750), said Nai Ko Thu, who is also a member of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society. She had two children over 12 years, he added, before the man told her she could visit her parents.

Mi Khin Si did not make it home, as she was trafficked again at the border and forced to marry another Chinese man, who badly abused her. Using the social media app WeChat, she asked Burmese friends for help.

They connected the woman with Nai Ko Thu, who visited her parents and explained the reason behind their daughter's disappearance. They had accepted that she had died or been taken more than a decade before, said the activist, but this time they filed a case at Mudon Police Station.

Mi Khin Si sent her location to Nai Ko Thu, who coordinated with anti-trafficking police on both sides of the border. A lack of action in the case pushed the activist to convince the woman to report to Chinese police.

She was detained and lost contact with Nai Ko Thu when her phone was confiscated after nearly three weeks. Chinese police deported her on April 9, the same day Burmese border police informed Nai Ko Thu of her return.

Burmese police transported her first to Rangoon, then Moulmein, and finally Mudon, where, at the age of 30, she saw her parents again. Her children remain with their father in China.

Five suspects have been arrested and a further five are still at large, said Nai Ko Thu.

"Chinese law does not take action against the person who buys the victim and enslaves her as a wife," he said. "We can only take action against the traffickers."

Thein Zaw Myint, a police officer at Mudon Township investigating the crime, told The Irrawaddy that they would cooperate with Mi Khin Si and border police to find the culprits.

"We will do what we can for the victim," he said.

'Trafficking is Endemic'

There were 85 cases of forced marriage out of 307 victims of trafficking last year, according to government statistics released in January, although the US State Department 2016 Trafficking In Persons shows that the number of victims may be largely underreported.

The Central Body for the Suppression of Trafficking in Persons under Burma's Ministry of Home Affairs said a total of 131 instances of trafficking led to 307 victims, of whom 213 were women and 94 were men. Forty-one were children under 16, according to the office.

China topped the list with 88 cases. Twenty-eight people were trafficked within Burma, while nine were trafficked to Thailand and six were trafficked to Malaysia.

"Human trafficking is still endemic throughout Myanmar," said Matthew Smith, chief executive officer of human rights advocacy group Fortify Rights. "Social media apps have been a double-edged sword throughout the region. We've seen traffickers use a variety of platforms to communicate during the last few years in particular.

"We've also documented how trafficking syndicates with links to Myanmar have used international banks, particularly in Thailand and Malaysia, to transfer funds in the buying and selling of men, women, and children.

"It's difficult to say whether trafficking is on the rise in Myanmar because it's a crime in the shadows, but the authorities certainly haven't done enough to combat it. Through its ongoing use of forced labor, which constitutes a form of trafficking, the military is still likely the region's worst offender."

Last June, the United States listed Burma as among the worst offenders in human trafficking. It classified Burma as a Tier 3 country in its Trafficking in Persons report—the lowest possible ranking–and stated that thousands of people displaced by conflict within the country were especially vulnerable to trafficking.

The post Trafficked Woman Reunited With Parents After 13 Years appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Union Govt Demands Former Magwe Division Govt Return Missing Development Funds

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 03:25 AM PDT

RANGOON — Magwe Division chief minister Dr. Aung Moe Nyo threatened legal action against his predecessor if missing regional development funds collected in taxes from small-scale oil producers under the previous government were not returned.

The Union government instructed the previous divisional government led by U Phone Maw Shwe to return over 3 billion kyats including over 1.7 billion kyats allegedly spent on the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Lower House lawmaker U Tun Tun of Magwe's Pwintbyu Township asked Parliament in May 2016 about the alleged embezzlement of regional development funds by the previous Magwe Division government.

The Bureau of Special Investigations under the Ministry of Home Affairs launched an investigation and found that missing funds amounted to 7.5 billion kyats. The investigation's findings were submitted to the President's Office earlier this month.

"The Union government has instructed the missing funds be returned. If they don't comply, we will take legal action as instructed [by the Union government]," Dr. Aung Moe Nyo told The Irrawaddy.

The Union government sent letters dated April 18 to former Magwe Division chief minister U Phone Maw Shwe and chairman of the Magwe Division Development Foundation and Shwe Thukha Microcredit Association U Nyi Tun asking them to answer for the missing funds.

The letter instructed the two to return 1.7 billion kyats, four cars, a digger, and two boats donated to the USDP through the Magwe Division Development Foundation, as well as over 1.5 billion kyats of funds transferred to the microcredit association.

Lawmaker U Tun Tun said the previous divisional government also needed to provide detailed accounts of its so-called development expenditure of over 4.1 billion kyats from divisional development funds.

"Public funds should only be used for the welfare of the public. It is against the laws of the Union Election Commission to spend [public funds] on a particular party," said U Tun Tun.

"Though it can't be called bribery, it is surely misappropriation," he said.

The current government of Magwe Division also levied a tax on small-scale crude oil producers—3,000 kyats per barrel of crude oil—since June 2 last year, and recorded a taxation of over 1.2 billion kyats until April.

It also recorded an increase of over 1.9 billion kyats in revenues from municipal licensing fees in the 2016-17 fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year.

The Magwe Division government met to discuss the missing funds on Tuesday.

The post Union Govt Demands Former Magwe Division Govt Return Missing Development Funds appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein: ‘I Do Not Think We Can Build Peace Quickly’

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 12:32 AM PDT

Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein is the former vice chairperson of the Karen National Union (KNU). She is a longstanding KNU leader and has served the organization as a schoolteacher, women's rights activist, general secretary and vice chairperson. Recently she lost a KNU election due to a power struggle within the leadership. Because of her cautious approach to the peace process between the KNU and the Burmese government, she is branded by Burmese peace negotiators and some observers as a hardliner. The Irrawaddy's senior reporter Saw Yan Naing sat down with Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein and asked her about the KNU election, newly-elected leaders and the peace process.

MAE SARIANG, Thailand—

You were not re-elected in the KNU congress. What is the overview of that recent congress?

The elected leaders already had plans for this congress. They believed they would move forward with the peace process smoothly if they were elected. People see two groups within the KNU. They think one group goes along with the peace process but they categorize the other as not loving peace. They call us hardliners—including me.

Burmese peace negotiators and outsiders think people like me and Gen Baw Kyaw Heh [second in command in the KNU's military wing] are hardliners and that we don't support the peace process. This greatly impacts the KNU because even our colleagues categorizes us as hardliners, and spread that information.

This congress is worrisome. International governments including the US and the EU worried about who was elected, and the Burma Army and former government worried about hardliners being chosen.

You said propaganda caused people from the Burma Army and the international community to consider you a hardliner. What is your explanation to them? 

We do not see ourselves as hardliners. There is no one within the KNU leadership who does not love peace. But people think of us as hardliners because we stand firmly on our policy. For example, I do not easily agree with the Burma Army. In a dinner meeting with representatives from the Burma Army, they said they would give two cars for use at a liaison office in Pa-an. But before the liaison office opens, the cars will be used for business. I rejected the idea because we have not discussed business among KNU leaders. I do not agree easily if we are not properly consulted. So, they see me as a hardliner.

Why you are cautious with the peace process? What are your concerns?

It has been over 60 years since we began our armed resistance. We cannot find a solution for peace at once. We have to work carefully and be honest in building genuine peace around the country. We need a good foundation and to go step by step. We have been pressured to go quickly but I do not think we can build peace quickly.

When I met a Burmese government delegation for the first time in 2011, I was doubtful because they said we had to rush to bring peace or else the Burma Army would take back power. I feel like we were pressured and threatened even from the first meeting so I hesitated and lost confidence in the process.

What is your expectation of the newly-elected KNU leaders? 

My biggest concern is the Burma Army. It should withdraw its troops from the KNU territories, especially areas near civilians' homes.

My priority is the withdrawal of troops because there should be safety for displaced civilians. If Burma Army troops withdraw from villages, civilians can return home and live without fear. We have asked for this since 2012 and we believed this would happen after we signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA). But it has not happened even a year after signing the NCA and no one mentions it. I want to see the new leaders press this issue for the sake of civilians.

Some newly elected central standing committee members lack political experience, while experienced leaders like you were not re-elected. Do you have any concerns about the new leadership?

It is our ethnic Karen way of thinking; people who love to discuss and debate are not wanted. Some elected leaders do not talk much. They do not complain or point out other people's weaknesses. They worry about being disliked if they complain. Leaders who like to debate are not elected so there is no opposition within the leadership.

There are no women serving as KNU leaders. What is women's role as far as leadership?

Some leaders do not think much regarding the role of women. They think if women are skilled, they will be included in the leadership. And if they are not skilled, they will be excluded. They also think women are talkative and curious because women are not like men. Women are outspoken. But men dare not to speak to each other openly. Women are straightforward.

Women suffer in war. Some serve as local community leaders in conflict areas. Civilian safety is related to women's affairs. Men don't suffer like women. Women suffer even after war. But men do not understand. Making peace is not only about stopping the fighting. It is about ensuring safety for civilians, especially women. Women should be included in the leadership.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

 

The post Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein: 'I Do Not Think We Can Build Peace Quickly' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New App Allows User to ‘Walk a Mile’ in a Rohingya Refugee’s Shoes

Posted: 25 Apr 2017 12:03 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A ping on Kathijah's phone. The Rohingya girl picks up the message, it is from her brother Ishak in Burma.

"Kat, r u safe?" he writes. "It was a raid, they found us. Had to run," he said, before sending a video message of him running in a jungle that was abruptly cut off.

It was a conversation between Kathijah, a fictional character, and her brother in Burma on a new smartphone app that gives users a glimpse into the daily struggles of Rohingya refugees who flee political persecution back home.

The "Finding Home" app effectively takes over one's phone by recreating the mobile operating system of Kathijah's handset, prompting users to answer phone calls, text messages or scroll through her photo gallery.

Advertising agency Grey, which built the app in partnership with the UN refugee agency UNHCR, said the "revolutionary" app aims to increase public empathy toward the plight of refugees.

"We wanted to find a way of getting people to really empathize what these people go through, to feel it as if they were going through it," Graham Drew, Grey Malaysia executive creative director, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The app focuses not just on her life back home, but also on how the 16-year-old Kathijah is trying to build a new life in Malaysia.

One conversation involves her talking to a friend about how she is taking classes in English and Malay.

There are some 150,000 refugees in Malaysia, about a third of who are Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence and apartheid-like conditions in western Arakan state in Buddhist-majority Burma.

Many are children who experience struggles similar to Kathijah's.

"The refugee story is often a deeply personal one, and difficult for people to understand," UNHCR Malaysia representative Richard Towle said in a statement on the launch of the app on Tuesday.

"We hope that this application will allow a viewer to walk a mile in a refugee's shoes in order to understand what they go through every day in order to find safety."

The interactive conversations featured in the app were constructed based on interviews with refugees, according to Grey.

The plight of the Rohingya hit international headlines again in recent months after Burma security forces were accused of carrying out mass killings and gang rapes during their campaign against Rohingya insurgents.

It sparked international criticism but a senior Burma government official denied there was any ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims.

The post New App Allows User to 'Walk a Mile' in a Rohingya Refugee's Shoes appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chief Minister Absent as Rangoon Parliament Discusses YBS Shortcomings

Posted: 24 Apr 2017 11:50 PM PDT

RANGOON — Rangoon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein was conspicuously absent from Rangoon divisional parliament on Monday as lawmakers' called for a transparent review of the Yangon Bus Service (YBS).

Twenty six lawmakers discussed Insein constituency lawmaker U Wai Phyo Han's review proposal that also charged U Phyo Min Thein to respond to criticism of the service as ill-equipped to serve Rangoon's commuters, submitted on April 6, before the Parliament's Thingyan recess.

Several lawmakers, including U Yan Aung of Mingalar Taung Nyunt constituency, noted U Phyo Min Thein excused himself from both parliamentary sessions, claiming official duties elsewhere, and accused the minister of disrespecting Parliament.

U Phyo Min Thein's official Facebook page displayed no engagements on Monday until he met Vice President U Henry Van Thio at Yangon International Airport at 5 p.m.

On Monday, regional lawmaker Daw Kyi Pyar of Kyauktada Township constituency urged the divisional government to rethink the Yangon Region Transport Authority (YRTA) and to consult experts experienced in public transport.

She requested transparency over government and company profits from YBS, decried the government's lack of preparation and consultation before introducing the new system, and said views of experts, lawmakers, and stakeholders were ignored.

"Policy change should be realistic," she said.

Lawmaker U Than Naing Oo cited a cabinet member who proudly said the National League for Democracy-led government was making 600 million kyats each month through YRTA while the previous Ma Hta Tha organization, formally known as Yangon Supervisory Committee for Motor Vehicles, paid only 6 billion kyats to the government between 1962 and its abolishment last year.

U Than Naing Oo noted that under the previous bus system passengers would pay 200 kyats for a long bus ride, but after the YBS reshuffle long routes were changed and commuters now take two or more buses to reach downtown.

Thus, YBS could be expected to make 600 million kyats per day from 2.5 million commuters.

"This news came as the Rangoon public faced inconvenience on the roads. I was really shocked by the government's attitude," U Than Naing Oo said, adding that public transportation should not be about profits but serving commuters.

The regional government's slogan of "YBS for the public" had changed to "YBS for public disappointment" among residents, lawmaker of Dagon constituency No. 2 U Kyaw Zeya joked.

He said Rangoon Parliament is likely to approve the YBS proposal and the government must listen.

"The voice of Parliament should not disappear into the air," he said.

The chief minister will address Parliament on YBS in Thursday's session, according to lawmakers.

The post Chief Minister Absent as Rangoon Parliament Discusses YBS Shortcomings appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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