Saturday, May 20, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Village Administrator Found Beheaded in Arakan State

Posted: 20 May 2017 08:00 AM PDT

RANGOON – An administrator for 100 households in Pazunchaung village was found beheaded in Arakan State's Rathedaung Township early Friday morning, said border police deputy major Naing Naing Htun.

The victim's name was Noru Slin.

"A group of men grabbed him from the house while the victim's family was sleeping and hacked at him right near the fence," Naing Naing Htun told The Irrawaddy.

According to the deputy major, the head of ten local households, a man named Mawzi Raman, has also gone missing. Investigating the crimes, he said, remains challenging due to the remote location of Pazunchaung.

Local media reported that Noru Slin and Mawzi Raman had assisted the authorities in pursuing militants involved in attacks on three police outposts in Maungdaw Township in October of last year, killing nine policemen.

However, the deputy major said the crimes were not linked to any contact the two men might have had with authorities in the past. He added locals reported that both villagers and those from outside the community could have been involved in the murder.

 

The post Village Administrator Found Beheaded in Arakan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Protesters Demand Apology From Religious Affairs Minister, Release of Nationalists

Posted: 20 May 2017 05:38 AM PDT

DATELINE — Nationalists accusing the government of neglecting Buddhism and favoring Islam listed a set of demands—starting with an apology from the religious affairs minister—at a protest in Naypyidaw on Saturday.

About 300 protesters, including nationalists and Buddhist monks from across Burma, along with roughly 2,700 of their supporters, gathered at Shwe Nantha football ground in Ottara Thiri Township to claim the Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Aung Ko is not doing enough for Buddhism.

The organizers expected 30,000 to attend the rally but authorities gave permission for 300 participants. As the organizers ringed off the protest of 300 with ropes, police said they would not take action.

U Tint Lwin, one of the organizers, and most others at the protest believe the religion minister must give more protection and encouragement to Buddhism.

"If actions are taken against the religious affairs minister or if the minister shows remorse and apologizes to all the Buddhist monks in the country, we won't continue our activities. Otherwise we will continue to do what we should do," U Tint Lwin told The Irrawaddy.

The nationalists listed other demands: they said the state Buddhist authority the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee should lift its nationwide preaching ban on ultranationalist monk U Wirathu, imposed because of his religious hate speech, which began for one year from March.

The protestors also demanded that a number of nationalists guilty or accused of crimes have the charges against them dropped, or be released from prison. These include Win Ko Ko Latt, Naung Daw Lay, Thet Myo Oo, and Nay Win Aung—hardline nationalists who were charged for a protest outside the US Embassy in Rangoon on April 28 last year against the American mission's use of the word "Rohingya."

The four men rejected the term Rohingya—with which the Muslim minority self-identifies—and instead refer to the group as "Bengali," implying that they are migrants from neighboring Bangladesh.

The protesters want the release of four nationalists who were involved in a violent confrontation with Muslims in Rangoon's Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township on May 9, when a nationalist mob stormed into the Muslim neighbourhood at midnight, claiming Muslim Rohingya were there "illegally," although police could find none.

Three more nationalists, including two Buddhist monks, who were involved in the incident have been charged with incitement to commit violence, but are still at large.

The protesters accused the religious affairs minister of ignoring activities they believe are taking place in mosques and Islamic schools, including teachers from India and Pakistan "secretly preaching" and the teaching of the "mujahideen spirit."

A mob of 50 Buddhist nationalists shut down two madrasas in Rangoon's Thaketa Township last April. The group threatened journalists and reportedly attacked a videographer filming the incident.

Nationalists in the country's capital on Friday said if the president's office did not respond to their demands within one month, they would stage more peaceful protests.

They argued that successive regimes since the government of Prime Minister U Nu have done more to promote Buddhism than the National League for Democracy (NLD). Burma's former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe and president of the former quasi-civilian regime, U Thein Sein, built pagodas, they said.

A supporter of the protesters was temporarily detained after allegedly swearing at Buddhist monks, leading to a scuffle during the protest.

"He was being drunk and disorderly," said police officer Aung Than of Ottara Thiri Township, adding the man was from Rangoon. "We have detained him, and the nationalist leaders from Rangoon will take him back. We won't take action against him."

More than 200 police provided security for the protest and more than 100 traffic police managed the traffic.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Protesters Demand Apology From Religious Affairs Minister, Release of Nationalists appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Chinese Navy Ships Visit Burma for Joint Exercises

Posted: 20 May 2017 12:00 AM PDT

SHANGHAI, China — Chinese navy ships are visiting Burma and will conduct communications, search and rescue, and other joint exercises with the Burma Navy, China's defense ministry said on Saturday.

The ships arrived in Rangoon on Thursday for a four-day visit, spokesman Wu Qian said in remarks posted on the ministry's website.

Wu said China was willing to strengthen strategic communication and deepen cooperation with Burma, while making joint efforts to safeguard regional peace and stability and promote bilateral ties.

The ship visit started the day China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to a framework for a long-mooted code of conduct for the disputed South China Sea.

It comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping met Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi—who serves as Burma's foreign minister while also being de facto head of its civilian government—in Beijing earlier this week following China's Belt and Road Forum.

China had a close relationship with Burma's former military-run government, and has carefully watched the democratization process in its strategically located southern neighbor.

The post Chinese Navy Ships Visit Burma for Joint Exercises appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (May 20)

Posted: 19 May 2017 11:19 PM PDT

Rangoon Food Delivery Firm Gets Boost

Rangoon-based food delivery business Food2U has received a six-digit sum in seed capital from three individual local investors to aid its expansion plans.

The investors are from the real estate sector and include U Nay Min Thu, founder of iMyanmarHouse.com, Dealstreet Asia reported.

The company was founded by U Kyaw Myo Thet who holds the majority share in the business, followed by U Nay Min Thu and director Ma Yi Mon Han, according to the report.

U Nay Min Thu told DealStreet that the investment values the company at US$1.5 million. The new financing would help the company to form exclusive partnerships with more restaurants and expand to new areas, including Mandalay, he said.

The service focuses mainly on local consumers and has enrolled about 120 restaurants in Rangoon. It carries out about 5,000 deliveries a month. Annual revenue is expected to be about $700,000 this financial year, according to the report.

Telenor Expands Stakes in Digital Ads

Norwegian telecoms company Telenor is expanding its footprint in the regional digital advertising industry, including in Burma, with two separate deals reported.

The global telecoms giant entered an agreement with international media company Schibsted to divest from a joint venture with the firm in Latin America and buy Schibsted's stakes in the Burma, Malaysia and Vietnam markets, according to VietnamNet.

In the second deal, Telenor inked a $110 million agreement with Singapore Press Holdings to buy shares in advertising online sites in Burma, Malaysia and Vietnam, according to the Vietnam News.

When all the deals are finalized, Telenor will hold a 100 percent stake in e-commerce site OneKyat in Burma, Mudah in Malaysia, ChợTốt in Vietnam and ImSold in Malaysia and Vietnam, according to Vietnam Net.

ChợTốt is one of the leading digital ad markets in Vietnam, the Vietnam News said. It was launched in 2012 and Telenor representatives have been on the board of the company's holding vehicle, 701Search, since the following year. ImSold, the second company now wholly owned by Telenor, had the same ownership structure but is targeted at different customers.

Telenor is one of the world's largest telecom groups with revenue of $15.3 billion in 2016 and is owned mainly by the Norwegian government.

Last year it announced a plan to set up a separate unit to tap into Asia's mobile advertising market.

Phandeeyar Gets New CEO

The Rangoon-based tech hub Phandeeyar has appointed a new chief executive officer (CEO).

Jes Kaliebe Petersen is the tech-hub's current accelerator director and will take up the new position in July, replacing founder and current CEO David Madden who will focus on long-term strategy as president and chair of Phandeeyar's board.

Madden said, "Jes has already shown the big impact that he can have on the tech ecosystem, running Myanmar's first-ever startup Accelerator, launching Founder Institute Yangon and organizing the country's biggest startup competition."

Petersen has more than a decade of experience as an entrepreneur working with mobile technology in emerging markets. Before moving to Burma, he founded Paywast, Afghanistan's largest social network, and he founded a mobile marketing and tech company in India, according to Phandeeyar.

Thilawa to Offer Space for Small Operations

Small rental factory spaces are to be made available at the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, in a bid to attract small and medium size enterprises to the location.

The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the spaces in the 2,400-hectare zone, the Japan Times reported.

The OCCI is comprised of businesses around Osaka in Japan and the move will add "diversity to the tenant base," according to Myanmar Japan Thilawa Development.

The rental spaces will be 500 to 750 square meters in size.

More than 95 percent of Thilawa's Zone A is occupied, the report said. A total of 78 companies, including 39 from Japan, have committed to operating at the site. Their combined total investment amounts to more than $1 billion. Of the total, 24 companies have already begun operations.

Zone B of the zone is slated for completion by the middle of next year.

New Holland Agriculture to Deliver 600 Tractors

Burma is due to receive 600 tractors to help boost crop production and modernize agricultural production.

The equipment will be delivered by leading international agriculture equipment firm New Holland Agriculture, under a project of the agriculture ministry, a trade journal reported. The 75-horsepower and 90-horsepower tractors will come from New Holland's manufacturing plants in India and Turkey.

New Holland worked on the deal with its Rangoon-based subsidiary CPCL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yoma Strategic Holdings. The firm will also provide trainings in the use and maintenance of the tractors.

Yoma Bank is offering farmers a financing option for the tractors based on a 10 percent down payment with the balance payable at six monthly intervals over three years.

U Soe Hlaing, director general of the agriculture ministry, said, "The delivery of 600 tractors will take us another step forward in Myanmar's wide-reaching agricultural modernization program. This project will play an essential part in improving our country's crop quality, crop yields, and food security."

The agriculture sector contributes 38 per cent of Burma's gross domestic product, accounting for 25 to 30 per cent of total export earnings, according to the report.

MoU signed with China for Northern Economic Zone

Burma signed a memorandum of understanding for an economic cooperation zone on the Burma-China border during the visit of the State Counsellor to the One Belt, One Road forum in China last week.

The zone is likely to link Houqiao port in Tengchong county, Yunnan Province, and Kan Pike Tee port in Kachin State, Zhou Rong, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

Zhao Jianglin, an expert on Southeast Asia affairs at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the paper that the project would increase border trade and provide job opportunities. It would encourage Chinese companies to invest in the fruit industry, including banana production, in the region, Zhao said.

The zone may strive to develop the manufacturing industry, especially labor-intensive industries such as textiles, electronics and component manufacturing, Zhao added.

Titan Petrochemicals Entering Burma

Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed ship builders and commodity traders Titan Petrochemicals will form a joint venture with the Yunnan Investment Group (YIG) to promote an oil refinery project in Burma and develop other businesses in tourism, energy, rail and finance, according to a company statement.

Titan Petrochemicals is seeking to diversify its portfolio into downstream aspects of the oil business.

Its subsidiary Surplus Plus will take 49 percent of the joint venture in Burma while YIG will hold 51 percent.

YIG is the investment vehicle and financing platform of the Yunnan Provincial Government. It is involved in diverse industries including energy, railways, finance, information, tourism, agriculture, forestry and health care.

The Titan Petrochemicals statement did not identify the location of the refinery.

 

 

The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (May 20) appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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Shan Herald Agency for News

Shan Herald Agency for News

NLD-MILITARY MUST MAKE A CRITICAL CHOICE: Secession or trust-building?

Posted: 19 May 2017 08:37 AM PDT

Following Zaw Htay, the director general of the State Counselor's Office, statement that a consensus with ethnic delegations within the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) has been reached, in which secession rights of the ethnic groups would be curtailed, need more in-depth discussion. In other words, the federal constitution for the federal and state levels would have no secession clause included, like the Union of Burma constitution in 1947, is not a pressing issue as promoted by the government and, in fact, could even be said as a badly timed pitch given the convoluted political atmosphere prevailing at the moment.

"Due to our [Burma's] geopolitical status, it is strategically imperative that we do not break into pieces," said Zaw Htay. "We reached a consensus with ethnic delegations that they will be granted the right to draft their own constitutions, provided unity is maintained," according to the DVB report of May 15.

What is exactly behind all this political jockeying and maneuvering?

Let us have a closer look.

The Working Committee for Political Discussions produced a paper on May 9, 2017, signed by Khin Zaw Oo from the government part and Dr. Lian Hmong Sakhong representing the 8 Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), in which secession issue is mentioned as below:

1.     No portion of democratic federal union will be allowed to secede.
2.     To be a federal union without secession.
3.     No portion of the country's regions, stated, union territories and self-administrative zones are to secede. [Unofficial general translation by the writer from UPDJC's analysis and report on the compilation of political discussions;  paragraph 6 (b) May 9, 2017]

According to the Global New Light of Myanmat report on March 9, 2017, the Working Committee for Political Discussions was led by U Khin Zaw Oo, Dr. Lian Hmong Sakhong and Sai Kyaw Nyunt and discussed on the committee's procedures and other various other topics on securing a strong foundation for a federal system.

Remarkably, the analysis paper of May 9 is only signed by the government and EAOs and the political parties' representative, Sai Kyaw Nyunt was not included. UPDJC is actually represented equally by the government (including Military and Parliament); the EAOs; and the political parties with equal representatives of 16 each. Thus, it would mean the political parties bloc within the UPDJC has no voice in its present decision-making.

Regarding this government and Military position on secession the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) made a massive rebuttal, following the statements from government quarters and as well the UPDJC.

According to the Shan Herald Agency for News report of May 17, Sai Leik, spokesperson of the SNLD said: " The Union Peace Conference (UPC), more popularly known as 21st Century Panglong Conference as dubbed by the State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, is going on according to its procedure. The State Counselor has personally said that the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) must not influence (or envelope) the Panglong Agreement (of 1947) and we also understood as such and has accepted it. But we heard that the Tatmadaw (Military), during the UPDJC meeting that ended on May 12 was said to have demanded that endorsement on prohibition of secession from the union would be included. If it is really going to be done that way, it is the breaching of union (Panglong Agreement) promises. In a way, it could be taken as breaking the (promises of) union treaty."

"If the government would like the ethnic states to promise not to secede, it would also need to prove, do things and promise, spelling out on how it would undertake (on achieving genuine federalism), in front of the international community," he said.

Furthermore, he explicitly made a point by saying: "All has already understood that this secession clause is included (in the treaty), so that the government  side won't deviate from the path of genuine federal union."

"The inclusion of secession clause in 1947 Union of Burma constitution is a control mechanism of `checks and balances´ between the union and states and has been made by the country's founding forefathers," added Sai Leik.

Whatever the case, it will be well advised for the government and the Military to refrain from pushing this secession issue to the forefront, especially when trust between the ethnic nationalities and  Bamar political elites, including the Military, is at its lowest ebb. As this kind of move would only reinforce the ethnic distrust, which they have been all along suspecting of the Bamar wanting to maintain its political supremacy stance like a colonial master on his colonial possession, but not out of brotherly love that it has propagated but, in fact, doing just the opposite, proven by years of forced union through human rights violations, oppression and occupation of the ethnic states with sheer military might.


Thus, trust-building and stimulation to increase trust should be the place to start with and not coercive, hand-wringing signature of the ethnic nationalities to keep the so-called union together. 
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Friday, May 19, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Yuzana Reps and Farmers Clash in Kachin State

Posted: 19 May 2017 08:57 AM PDT

Tension over contested land led to a confrontation between members of Yuzana Company Ltd and local farmers in a Kachin State village on May 17.

The village in question, Nawngme, is in the Hukawng Valley in Hpakant Township.

Locals told The Irrawaddy that around 60 people representing Yuzana came to the area with knives and sticks, telling 10 farmers: "We will take back our place. You need to go away from here." The farmers then reportedly called for assistance from other locals, and the confrontation eventually de-escalated.

One local man had a small wound on his neck, after a man allegedly affiliated with Yuzana put a knife to his throat and threatened to cut him, said land rights activist Sai Awng from Mungchying Rawt Jat (MRJ).

"We did not dare to respond to anything when they first came. But, when more and more of our farmers came to join, then they dared to fight us," he said.

U Ye Myint, a manager from Yuzana, said that members of his company had gone to plough the land but that it was they who had been attacked by local farmers.

"They brought other farmers from Nawngme and Nanmati. They confronted us, to attack us," he said.

The village head from Nawngme, the township authorities from Hpakant, and the Karmine police reportedly called U Ye Myint, asking him to resolve the dispute through the law, and to halt cultivation of the land in the meantime; he said he had complied.

Yuzana—which is involved in many industries, including agriculture, construction, and hospitality—now claims ownership of large amounts of forested land in Kachin State, where people have complained that up to 8,000 acres of land has been confiscated by the company.

The land was reportedly taken by Yuzana in 2007. Since last year, around 100 families have returned to 1,000 acres of the land to grow food, according to U Brang Seng, a local farmer from Nawngme.

The company did not complain after their return in 2016, but has reportedly began to grow hostile.

U Ye Myint said that an increasing number of farmers from Myitkyina and Nanmati townships have come to occupy land near the Yuzana compound since last year. But, even though the company has sent a letter of complaint, the regional government has not take action in response, he added.

When Yuzana got the land, U Ye Myint said that it "belonged to no one," and alleged that only after it had been cleared did locals claim it.

Both Yuzana and local farmers say that they have official documentation demonstrating that they own the land in question.

The post Yuzana Reps and Farmers Clash in Kachin State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD Patron U Tin Oo Suffers Stroke, Remains in Critical Condition

Posted: 19 May 2017 07:32 AM PDT

RANGOON — National League for Democracy (NLD) patron U Tin Oo is receiving medical treatment at the intensive care unit in Rangoon General Hospital after falling in his bathroom and suffering a stroke, although his condition is improving, according to doctors at the hospital.

"His right side is paralyzed because of the stroke," said Dr. Win Min Thit, head of the hospital's neurological department, on Friday. "He still can't speak. But his left side can move well. We have to wait and see because his condition may change within a week."

The 91-year-old politician slipped in his bathroom on Wednesday evening and was rushed to Shwe Gon Dine Hospital before being transferred to Rangoon General Hospital at around 3 a.m. on Thursday.

He developed a small blood clot in one of the three cerebral arteries, which does not require an operation, said Dr. Myat Thu of the neurological department. According to the doctors, he has abnormally high blood pressure and a heart condition, but he did not break any bones in the fall.

The hospital formed a committee of medical experts led by its superintendent Dr. Aye Ko Ko to treat U Tin Oo in the intensive care unit, where he will remain for at least three weeks.

"His condition has improved compared to yesterday," said U Aye Ko Ko.

U Tin Oo served as the Burma Army's commander-in-chief and defense minister from 1974-1976. He was imprisoned for alleged involvement in an attempted coup in July 1976, and released in 1980 during an amnesty. Eight years later he co-founded the NLD, becoming its vice-chairman and chairman.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Court Rejects New Arrest Warrant in U Ko Ni Murder Trial

Posted: 19 May 2017 07:24 AM PDT

RANGOON — The Rangoon Division High Court rejected a petition from a lawyer in the U Ko Ni murder trial requesting a new arrest warrant be issued in Naypyidaw for fugitive Aung Win Khaing on Friday.

Lawyer U Nay La—representing the family of the National League for Democracy's (NLD) assassinated legal adviser U Ko Ni—presented the criminal revision to the divisional court on April 28.

Aung Win Khaing is suspected of involvement in the murder but remains at large. He was last seen in Naypyidaw, according to CCTV footage.

Prominent Muslim lawyer U Ko Ni was shot by gunman Kyi Lin outside Yangon International Airport on the afternoon of Jan. 29. Police have put forward four suspects: gunman Kyi Lin, and alleged co-conspirators Zeya Phyo, Aung Win Zaw and Aung Win Tun.

Lawyer U Nay La initially requested that the northern district court issue the warrant in Naypyidaw in March, but the court ruled against the move.

Last month at the divisional court, he claimed that the district court has been handling the case "carelessly" and is "weak" in examining the case surrounding the fugitive in accordance with designated procedures.

"We still don't know the reason why the court rejected our request to issue a new arrest warrant," U Nay La told the media after the Friday's court hearing at the divisional court.

"There are different legal perspectives between our side and the court," he said. "We will consult with our legal team for the next move."

The next court hearing will be held at the northern district court on May 26.

According to U Nay La, a police order dated Feb. 15 calling for the arrest of Aung Win Khaing was sent to only six of the force's stations—in Dawbon, Thaketa, Bahan, Mingaladon, Gyobingauk, and Meiktila townships.

The first warrant issued by the district court on Mar. 3—before the trial—only covered Aung Win Khaing's home address in Rangoon's Dawbon Township.

He said that an arrest warrant that only allows for a fugitive to be apprehended at his permanent address is unfitting for the situation.

Referring to the police reports, he said that Aung Win Khaing had not passed through the country's border gates since the assassination and that a new arrest warrant covering where the fugitive was last seen should be issued.

Shooter Kyi Lin and three alleged co-perpetrators—Aung Win Zaw, Aung Win Khaing and Zeya Phyo—are being charged under Article 302 of Burma's Penal Code for murder.

Zeya Phyo, a former military intelligence officer, is also charged under Article 67 of the Telecommunications Law for the possession of restricted telecommunications equipment and Article 468 of the Penal Code for the forgery of national identity cards.

Two of the suspects—gunman Kyi Lin and alleged co-conspirator Aung Win Zaw—are being charged under Article 19(d) and (f) of the country's 1878 Arms Act for illegal arms possession and transportation, in addition to the murder charge.

The post Court Rejects New Arrest Warrant in U Ko Ni Murder Trial appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

KIA Reports Clashes with Burma Army

Posted: 19 May 2017 05:49 AM PDT

Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops clashed with the Burma Army in Hpakant Township of Kachin State, according to Lt-Col Tang Seng of KIA Battalion 6.

"We are closely watching the [Burma Army] troops after they entered areas under our control," he told The Irrawaddy on Friday. "We have had only small clashes so far, but we are expecting a big fight."

He estimated that at least five battalions from the Burma Army, also known as the Tatmadaw, entered KIA-controlled areas.

"We did not negotiate with them, they would not accept that even if we tried, as we have no ceasefire agreement," he said.

The KIA's bilateral ceasefire with the government broke down in 2011.

The Irrawaddy was unable to reach the Burma Army or speak to people on the ground to confirm the KIA's reports.

Clashes between the KIA and the Tatmadaw had simmered down after government troops launched a large-scale offensive in December last year and seized the strategically important KIA base Gideon and two other mountain posts.

The National League for Democracy-led government will hold the second round of its Union Peace Conference, also known as the 21st Century Panglong peace conference, next week.

Although State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that all ethnic armed groups would be invited attend, it is unclear in what capacity.

The KIA had previously suggested that if the organization was invited as an "observer" to the peace conference it would not attend.

The post KIA Reports Clashes with Burma Army appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ministry Apologizes After Posting Burma Army Chief Photo Alongside Elephant Story

Posted: 19 May 2017 05:43 AM PDT

RANGOON — The official Facebook page for Burma's Ministry of Information (MOI) has apologized to the army's Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing after posting his picture alongside a story about a wounded elephant on Thursday morning.

The photo showed Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and the Philippines' armed forces chief Gen Eduardo Ano at the ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM) in Manila, with an article titled 'A Wounded Wild Elephant was Found and Treated.'

In the story, the forestry department and police found a wounded elephant in the forest near a village in Thabeikkyin Township of Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Division. The team treated the elephant's injuries, including a wound from a poisoned arrow, and returned the animal to the forest.

The unfortunate juxtaposition was shared by social media users and prompted the MOI to apologize that night. Its website and newspapers released the correct pictures for both stories.

"We mistakenly published the commander-in-chief of the military's photo in the news titled 'A Wounded Wild Elephant was Found and Treated' around 8 a.m. on May 18 on the MOI Webportal Myanmar Facebook page. We seriously apologize to the commander-in-chief for the mistake," the apology read.

On May 11, the Facebook page published a photo-shopped photograph of US President Donald Trump holding an executive order imprinted with the words 'James Comey You're Fired!'

The post Ministry Apologizes After Posting Burma Army Chief Photo Alongside Elephant Story appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Nationalists Prepare for Protest Against Religious Affairs Minister

Posted: 19 May 2017 05:29 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Nationalists claiming Burma's government is failing to support Buddhism began traveling to the country's capital of Naypyidaw on Friday to voice their anger against the religious minister.

Organizers said about 30,000 people, including monks and nationalists from Mandalay, Rangoon, and Irrawaddy divisions, will join the protest on Shwe Nantha field in Ottara Thiri Township against the Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture, U Aung Ko.

Naypyidaw's general administration office stated, however, that the organizers have requested a protest of up to 15,000, and the authorities have allowed only 300.

"Buddhism is the major religion of the country and the religious affairs ministry must protect, support and encourage the Sasana [Buddhist mission]. It was clearly stated in the Constitution," said U Eain Daw Bar Tha, one of the leaders of the Nationalist Buddhist Monks Organization in Mandalay.

"However, Thura U Aung Ko fails to do this and repeatedly upsets the Buddhists of the country. That's why we're going to express our dislike of the minister," he added.

The monk cited Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's speech marking the one-year anniversary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government in which she said the party would be "ready to step aside" if people are dissatisfied with the leadership.

"We believe the government will keep their promises after seeing our objection to Thura U Aung Ko," said U Eain Daw Bar Tha. "After the protest, we will wait and see the government's reaction. It is too early to say what we will do next."

U Aye Thaung, officer of Ottara district, told The Irrawaddy that local authorities would take legal action against the organizers if the protest exceeded more than 300 people.

'The local authorities will stop them in accordance with the Peaceful Assembly Act if they do not follow the permitted numbers," said the officer.

The planned protest follows an arrest warrant for seven nationalists and Buddhist monks last week who were involved in a recent confrontation between Buddhists and Muslims in Rangoon's Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township. They have been charged with incitement to commit violence.

The post Nationalists Prepare for Protest Against Religious Affairs Minister appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mandalay Division Govt Takes Tough Line on Illegal Logging

Posted: 19 May 2017 04:20 AM PDT

MANDALAY — Mandalay Division government will crack down on illegal logging in the area, said division minister for planning and finance U Myat Thu.

The divisional government is planning to punish smugglers under the Public Property Protection Law and the Public Utilities Protection Law, both enacted in 1947, rather than the Forest Law, as is the current case.

The divisional government had not been able to effectively punish smugglers of smaller quantities of logs and looked at other ways to fight smugglers, said minister U Myat Thu.

"Previously, if we seized less than one ton of logs, we had to hand over the case to the Forestry Department," explained the minister. "According to the law, smugglers could pay a fine and the logs were returned—some smugglers even handed themselves in to authorities to legitimize the logs."

Under the new punishment system, the divisional government will levy penalties according to type and amount of timber seized.

It will charge culprits under the 1992 Forest Law for seizures of up to one ton of teak, or up to three tons of other hardwood. Under the Forest Law, the penalty is a fine of 10,000 kyats plus double the value of seized timber. The timber will also be confiscated.

The government will charge under the Public Property Protection Law for seizure of between one to three tons of teak, or between three and five tons of other hardwood.

It will charge under Public Utilities Protection Law for seizure of above three tons of teak, and above five tons of other hardwood.

Both Public Property Protection Law and Public Utilities Protection Law grant no bail and prescribe sentences of up to seven years in prison.

The divisional government announced the laws under which actions are to be taken against illegal logging on April 24, and informed the Mandalay Division Advocate-General Office, and the division's police force, forestry department, parliament, security and border affairs ministry and general administration departments.

Police Col Tin Zaw Htun of Mandalay Division said: "Under the new system, those who smuggle in large quantities will get harsher penalties—this will effectively deter them."

Smuggled timber, mainly teak, tamalan and padauk, are mostly seized at three checkpoints in Mandalay Division—16th Mile, Shwekyin and New Sagaing Bridge—as they are smuggled to China through Mandalay, according to Mandalay Division government.

Union minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation U Ohn Win said at the Union Parliament in March that the government seized over 40,000 tons of smuggled timber and took actions against over 7,000 smugglers including 11 foreigners in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

The post Mandalay Division Govt Takes Tough Line on Illegal Logging appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

World Bank Arm Considering Support for Businessman Linked to Blacklisted Bank

Posted: 19 May 2017 03:54 AM PDT

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank, is considering providing funding for a cement factory project in Mandalay Division’s Thazi District led by a division of the Shwe Taung Group, a conglomerate whose majority stake is held by the family of the company’s chairman, Aik Htun.

The US government previously alleged that Aik Htun had "connections with the narcotics trade" while running a now-defunct bank more than a decade ago that was also alleged to be involved in money laundering. These accusations were dismissed by the Sino-Burmese entrepreneur as falsehoods driven by petty jealousy.

The IFC posted details of its proposed involvement in the cement project last month on its website in line with the Washington-based group's disclosure policy. The IFC plans to invest up to US$15 million in the project and provide a loan of up to US$20 million; the project’s total cost is estimated to be US$110 million.

According to details disclosed by the IFC, the project—if it goes ahead—will involve the expansion of an existing cement factory run by Shwe Taung Cement in Pyi Nyaung Village. In addition to expanding the factory’s cement production capacity, it will also involve the construction of a Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) and an "improvement in emission control systems." The IFC will be playing a key role in supporting the project. In addition to providing the aforementioned funding, the IFC says it is also looking to "mobilize up to US$20 million through syndication of Parallel Loans and up to US$20 million investment in common equity from IFC AMC Emerging Asia Fund (EAF)."

The Shwe Taung Cement group also operates an open pit coal mine in Sagaing Division that exclusively supplies the factory. According to the IFC's outline of the project review, mining operations at this site will more than double from current levels of 60,000 tons of coal mined per year to an estimated 150,000 tons of coal per year. The IFC summary of the project acknowledged that a visit to the coal mining site by the IFC team in September 2016 during the project review process was not possible due "to access constraints" associated with the rainy season. The mine is some 4.6 km west of the Maharmyaing Wildlife Sanctuary, described by the IFC as an important bird area.

A native of Shan State, Aik Htun was a co-founder of the Asia Wealth Bank, of which he served as vice chairman. The bank was targeted for sanctions in Nov. 2003 by the Bush Administration who labeled it a "Financial Institutions of Primary Money Laundering Concern" using a provision granted under the 2001 Patriot Act. A summary in the US Federal Register accompanying the announcement of the proposed action against the bank described Aik Htun as having been "specifically identified as having connections with Burma's narcotics trade." The announcement also claimed that the bank was "affiliated with prominent organizations and figures in the drug trade, including members of the Kokang ethnic group headed by notorious drug lord Peng Chia-Sheng." The latter is a reference to former the Burmese Communist Party rebel commander and long-time leader of the MNDAA Peng Jiasheng, who at the time was on good terms with the Burmese military regime.

A follow-up announcement issued in March 2004 announcing that the sanctions had been put into effect, declared that both the Asian Wealth Bank and Myanmar Mayflower Bank, another Burmese bank targeted by the US Treasury Department, were being used by their owners to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking. "Individuals owning and controlling both banks are linked to drug trafficking and money laundering, including using the banks for such purposes."

In less than a decade since its founding in 1995, AWB had become Burma's largest bank. A financial crisis in the country's banking industry that culminated in a massive run on the bank in early 2003 untimely led to the demise of AWB, which eventually had its license withdrawn by government authorities in 2005. A move that the State Department described as being done in response to information passed on by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

According to a New York Times article from 2015, "After the United States imposed sanctions on Asia Wealth Bank and the Burmese authorities withdrew its license, Mr. Aik Htun changed the name of his corporate holdings, which were part of the same group as Asia Wealth Bank, to the Shwe Taung Group."

Despite the obvious commercial setback associated with the fall out from AWB, Aik Htun's other business interests in construction and real estate, including such high-profile projects as the building and operating of several malls including Rangoon’s Junction Square, appeared to do very well in the years that followed the bank’s demise.

A US diplomatic cable disclosed by Wikileaks, penned following a meeting between the businessman and diplomats in 2007 when Burma was still ruled by a military regime noted that "Aik Htun enjoys the regime’s confidence, and benefits handsomely from its business." The cable went on to note Aik Htun's annoyance at being subject to US restrictions on visa issuance before adding that "he seeks every opportunity to profess his innocence to Embassy employees."

Aik Htun has also on at least one occasion publicly denied the claims about him and his now defunct bank, chalking up the allegations to rumor mongering by those envious of his success. "In Myanmar at that time the government was not transparent. There were so many rumors; [there was] so much jealousy," he told the Financial Times in Nov. 2015.

Although he was previously on the European Union sanctions list, Aik Htun was noticeably absent from the US government's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, which was expanded to include the names of prominent Burmese businessman in 2008, several years after his bank had already become defunct. An attempt by the Washington-based campaign group US Campaign for Burma to have Aik Htun and his son, Aung Zaw Naing, who serves as CEO for the Shwe Taung Group, added to the SDN list in 2011 was unsuccessful.

Aik Htun has claimed to have come from modest origins and through hard work has become the successful businessman that he is today, a narrative that has been called into question by some, including Australian economist Sean Turnell in his book on Burma’s banking crisis Fiery Dragons. According to Turnell, "Aik Htun maintained an elaborately constructed public image that belied the stories of his links to narcotics, and in numerous public appearances and press profiles, he affected a 'rags to riches' story that chronicled his rise from being the son of a small farmer from Mong Kung in Shan State. The narrative even included the vignette that he "walked two miles to school each day, after which he completed his chores on the farm."

While it remains to be seen if the IFC's board of directors will give the green light to Shwe Taung's cement project at their meeting next month, the IFC's involvement with Shwe Taung, is in many ways a test case for possible future involvement with other firms and individuals who were previously targeted by the US government for alleged connections to previous military regime and the drug trade, such as Asia World.

The IFC, whose primary focus is giving financial assistance and other support to businesses that invest in developing countries was, along with its parent the World Bank, largely absent from Burma until the lifting of most sanctions in 2012. Since the sanctions were lifted, the IFC has become involved in a number of Burmese projects including backing the expansion of Rangoon's Shangri La hotel and a high-end apartment complex also operated by Shangri La, a firm controlled by Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok.

The IFC is also currently assisting Burma's government to

carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Hydropower Sector, an effort criticized by environmentalists in Kachin State opposed to further dam projects.

The IFC has also come under heavy criticism for its connection to a controversial coal mining project in Tenasserim Division, near the Thai border, that is run by a Thai mining firm whose bank shareholders the IFC has equity investments in.

The post World Bank Arm Considering Support for Businessman Linked to Blacklisted Bank appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Report: Burma Rapidly Losing Forest Cover

Posted: 19 May 2017 03:05 AM PDT

RANGOON — Satellite imagery indicates that intact forest cover in Burma has declined rapidly over the last decade, according to a study.

A countrywide analysis of Landsat data for the period 1990–2000 showed that Burma had retained much of its original forest cover during that time, stretching across 65 percent of the country's land.

More than a decade later in 2014, more than 63 percent of Burma remained forested, but intact forest had declined by 11 percent, or by more than 2 million hectares, with an annual loss of 0.94 percent.

The total intact forest, which is vital for biodiversity and conservation, was just 38 percent in 2014, according to the study in the journal PLOS ONE.

The reduction of armed conflict in some areas and the expansion of commercial agriculture, including plantations, were identified as key contributing factors to forest loss.

The report identifies nine township "hotspots" of deforestation.

The areas around Homalin Township in Sagaing Division, Bokpyin Township in Tenasserim Division and Hpakant Township in Kachin State lost the most intact forest between 2002 and 2014. Other areas most affected included land around Myitkyina and Tanai townships in Kachin State and mangrove forests in the Irrawaddy Delta.

The authors found a large area of some 6.3 million hectares of intact forest in northern Burma. The Southern Forest Complex in Tenasserim still jointly covers around 1.7 million hectares of intact forest, the study found.

Burma is "at a crossroads," according to the authors. "Protection of remaining intact forests, and restoration of degraded forest are critical to ensuring the long-term future of the country's forests," they said.

The post Report: Burma Rapidly Losing Forest Cover appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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National News

National News

73 Myanmar deaths in Malaysian custody: Media

Posted: 18 May 2017 02:09 PM PDT

More than half of the foreigners who died at Malaysian immigration detention camps over the past two years are Myanmar citizens, according to a report by the Malaysian National Human Rights Commission Human Rights, Suhakam, the Malay acronym.

Elderly social pension for 2017/18 to be allocated in June

Posted: 18 May 2017 02:01 PM PDT

The government has allocated a budget of K420 million for social pensions for the elderly for the 2017-2018 fiscal year budget. The cash will be handed out to senior citizens within the last two weeks of June, according to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.

Myanmar included in assessment on emergency disaster response

Posted: 18 May 2017 01:56 PM PDT

A baseline assessment on emergency disaster response will be done by Asia Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) in six countries, including Myanmar, in the last week of May and lasting for about a month.

City hall officials face suit for canceling event

Posted: 18 May 2017 01:53 PM PDT

Farmers from the Mandalay Region's Pyin Oo Lwin township said they will sue the township development committee for failing to host an event at City Hall despite being paid rent for the premises.

Myanmar Liver Foundation to be formed

Posted: 18 May 2017 01:50 PM PDT

The Myanmar Liver Foundation will be formed in Mandalay city to help patients with liver diseases.

Myanmar needs to change with the times: Speaker

Posted: 18 May 2017 01:47 PM PDT

Myanmar's national interests are now its main priority as policies and processes are transforming the nation in the context of international changes.

350 garment workers go on strike

Posted: 18 May 2017 01:45 PM PDT

Over 350 garment workers from the Join-Profit garment factory Industrial Zone (3) of Hlaing Tharyar, launched a strike on May 17, asking for labour rights as factory officials had committed violations, say strike workers.

NLD patron in critical condition

Posted: 18 May 2017 01:35 PM PDT

NLD  patron U Tin Oo has been hospitalised since May 17 after slipping in the bathroom of his house. He is currently in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of Yangon General Hospital.

Why the five ethnic armed organisations should sign NCA

Posted: 18 May 2017 01:30 PM PDT

The meeting between the government and five non-signatory ethnic armed groups in Chiang Mai, Thailand on April 28 was a big disappointment after it failed to secure promises from the EAOs that they would sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.

Chinese war ships weigh anchor at Yangon

Posted: 18 May 2017 01:11 PM PDT

A Chinese destroyer and frigate have docked in Yangon, and will stay for four days, in a show of diplomatic goodwill between Myanmar and China.
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Thursday, May 18, 2017

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Election Commission: NLD Did Not Violate Regulations in By-Election

Posted: 18 May 2017 07:38 AM PDT

RANGOON – The Union Election Commission (UEC) announced in a statement on Thursday that they would not take action against the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, after 13 rival political parties accused the NLD of violating election rules and regulations during Burma's by-elections in April.

NLD chairperson and State Counselor Daw Aung San Su Kyi, NLD patron U Tin Oo and central committee member U Win Htein addressed the country in a televised speech on April 1, the day of the by-elections. Members of 13 other political parties pointed out that the NLD leadership referenced their party's new campaign slogan, "Together With the People," during the speech, thereby breaching UEC rules.

In Thursday's statement, the UEC said that, according to their assessment, the NLD party leaders had not reached beyond the code of conduct, as the speeches mainly served to explain government activities to the public.

"Hence, the UEC announces, no action will be taken [against the NLD] regarding the complaint letters," the statement read.

Dr. Nanda Hla Myint, a spokesperson for the Union Solidarity and Development Party—which had initially complained to the UEC—told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the electoral commission's decision was "unfair" and criticized the UEC's statement as being too broad.

He added that the parties in question had presented the complaint in accordance with party registration law, electoral law and laws laid out in the Constitution.

"We will consult with others to continue the objections, but I can't provide details right now as I am not a professional lawyer," said Dr. Nanda Hla Myint.

The NLD's by-election campaign slogan was made official after it was posted on the official Facebook page of the State Counselor's Office on March 30.

The post Election Commission: NLD Did Not Violate Regulations in By-Election appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

ANP Chairman: NLD Should Build Trust With Military, Amend the Constitution

Posted: 18 May 2017 05:43 AM PDT

NAYPYIDAW — Arakan National Party (ANP) chairman Dr. Aye Maung has urged the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) to build trust with the Burma Army, with an eye to amending the military-drafted 2008 Constitution through Parliament.

"Wouldn't a constitutional amendment benefit the peace process? If the NLD thinks so, there must be a channel to amend the Constitution—and that would be amending it in Parliament," U Aye Maung, who is also the lawmaker for Ann Township, told reporters in Naypyidaw.

While in opposition, the NLD held nationwide campaigns with the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society to amend Section 436, which restricts further amendments to the Constitution.

The section requires that at least 75 percent of lawmakers approve proposed amendments to much of the Constitution, a difficult feat in a Parliament that guarantees 25 percent of seats to the military.

"Constitutional amendments will mean a positive turn in civil-military relations. There must be negotiations and compromises between the forces," said U Aye Maung.

"The Parliament under the previous government had tried to amend it but it didn't happen. Shouldn't the current Parliament give it a try?" he added, referring to parliamentary votes proposed by an NLD lawmaker in June 2015.

The votes posited to trim the share of ballots required to amend the Constitution to 70 percent and amend a constitutional clause that bars anyone whose spouse or children are from foreign countries from becoming president or vice president. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's late husband and two sons are British citizens. Both votes were rejected.

U Aye Maung said the Constitution cannot guarantee self-determination and equality for Burma's ethnicities.

"We have to try to amend the 2008 Constitution if we want to establish a genuine Union," he said.

"Our party has a policy to try to amend the Constitution within the legal framework within five years," Dr. Soe Win Oo, vice chairman of the NLD Rangoon Division chapter, told The Irrawaddy. "Given the situation of the country, we have to take careful steps, taking everything into account."

NLD chairperson and State Counselor. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has also suggested amending the Constitution within the legal framework in a way that least impacts "national reconciliation."

The country has had three Constitutions: the first was drafted in 1947 and used from Burma's independence in 1948 to 1962, when the regime under dictator Ne Win suspended it.

Ne Win became president at the time the second Constitution was introduced in 1974. The military-based State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) suspended the 1974 Constitution in 1988 and Burma remained without a Constitution until 2008. The 2008 Constitution has been widely criticized for being undemocratic.

Lower House speaker U Win Myint told reporters last year that the Constitution could be amended only after peace is achieved in the country.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post ANP Chairman: NLD Should Build Trust With Military, Amend the Constitution appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Northern Alliance Plans to Send Committee to Panglong

Posted: 18 May 2017 05:34 AM PDT

RANGOON — The Northern Alliance urged that all ethnic armed groups and political parties be invited to attend the upcoming 21st Century Panglong conference without restriction, in a statement issued by the group.

The statement added that it would send a committee—known as the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee—to the peace conference if other groups were not left out.

Northern Alliance members—the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)—recently met with the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) and National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) in Panghsang, the capital of the Wa Self-Administered Zone.

Representatives from each group agreed that if the government did not invite all of the groups, then none of them would attend.

The groups also asked the Burma Army to cease offensives in ethnic areas and to meet with their committee soon.

Sources from the government's Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) said Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) non-signatories would be invited to join the Panglong conference as observers, and only after they signed a deed of commitment (DoC). Under this status, they would be unable to participate in discussions during the conference.

The Northern Alliance statement did not comment on whether it would join if it were invited under observer status.

Brig-Gen Tar Phone Kyaw, General Secretary of the TNLA and a member of the Northern Alliance, told The Irrawaddy: "If we do not have equal rights, we [the TNLA] will not attend."

"If Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government and the Tatmadaw [Burma Army] want peace in the country, they should have courage and let all ethnic armed groups attend the conference. There should be no restrictions. Otherwise, it will be difficult to build a Union," he said.

The post Northern Alliance Plans to Send Committee to Panglong appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Family of Three Dies After Eating Toxic Puffer Fish in Arakan State

Posted: 18 May 2017 05:28 AM PDT

RANGOON – A family from southern Arakan State's Gwa Township died after eating a lunch of puffer fish curry late Wednesday morning, according to local police.

The puffer fish is recognized as a potentially toxic delicacy among Gwa residents, but some consume the tender flesh by removing the thorny skin, as well as the stomach, intestines and liver. These parts contain tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that causes rapid paralysis, leading to respiratory failure.

A Gwa police officer said that fisherman Ko Toe Myint Swe, of Shweya Chai village in Ma Kyi Ngu village tract, brought home a puffer fish and cooked it without properly removing the intestines or liver.

The police official said Ko Toe Myint Swe, his wife Ma Nwe Nwe Hlaing and six-year-old daughter Ma Lin Latt Wai were unconscious within moments of having lunch.

Locals transported the victims to Gwa hospital, arriving at around 11:30 a.m.

"As the patients reached the hospital, Ko Toe Myint Swe died within a couple of minutes. Then, his daughter passed away. Ma Nwe Nwe Hlaing was able to explain the troubles to doctors for a few minutes and then her soul left her body," the police said.

A local free funeral service volunteer Ko Kyaw Myint Maung, who helped bring the victims to Gwa general hospital on Wednesday, said that villagers from the region typically know that the bile in the gallbladder of the puffer fish can be life threatening, and noted that hunters use it as poison to kill wild animals.

"Every fisherman knows that eating meat of the blowfish is okay, but having the liver and intestines can be life threatening," Ko Kyaw Myint Maung said, speculating that the victims may not have fully removed the bile.

Police said that the medical report listed the cause of death as food poisoning. The Irrawaddy was not able to obtain comments from Gwa general hospital at the time of reporting on Thursday.

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Govt Details $460 Million Plan to Combat HIV/AIDS

Posted: 18 May 2017 04:21 AM PDT

RANGOON — The Union minister for Health and Sports Dr. Myint Htwe announced details of a US$460 million plan to combat HIV/AIDS in Burma at an event in Naypyidaw on Wednesday.

The Burmese government will contribute 18 percent of the budget with the rest funded by international organizations and NGOs—including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Three Millennium Development Goals Fund, and UN agencies, according to the Myanmar National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS (2016-2020).

Savings of $100 million compared to the previous five-year plan were outlined by a stringent review of costs, with a reduced number of organizations and agencies implementing services to reduce overheads—a crucial move as global funding to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Burma wanes.

According to the Myanmar Medical Association, there are around 200,000 people living with HIV in Burma, with an estimated 115,000 receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART).

The plan commits Burma to achieving UNAIDS' "five 90s" by 2020: 90 percent of priority populations having access to HIV combination prevention services, 90 percent of people living with HIV knowing their status, 90 percent of people living with HIV and knowing their status receiving treatment and having repressed viral loads, and 90 percent of people affected by HIV reporting no discrimination.

The plan promises further decentralization of HIV/AIDS treatment away from major cities—a process which began in 2013 and has expanded to 140 townships—as well as a shift as to who provides treatment, from NGOs to government hospitals and clinics.

Independent consultant on HIV Dr. Jamie Uhrig, who has worked in Burma, said transferring care for patients who previously received HIV treatment from nongovernmental organizations to government facilities was a "major undertaking."

"Global Fund financial resources for HIV treatment have been limited so there is a risk of a return to longer waiting periods before people living with HIV can start treatment," he told The Irrawaddy.

UNAIDS Country Director for Myanmar Mr. Eamonn Murphy noted that some NGOs would need to continue to provide treatment as the services are taken over by the government closer to 2020, but welcomed the plan for identifying and prioritizing the most effective ways of responding to the epidemic.

"It is a plan to be used, not to just [stay]sit on the shelf," he told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

Mr. Murphy also praised geographic prioritization which categorizes townships based on HIV epidemic burden and risk of new infections and awards resources accordingly. The plan also allocates different approaches to reach different priority populations—including sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs—and improve their access to services.

The government's move to integrate prevention and treatment was a crucial step in ending the epidemic, he said, and applauded Dr. Myint Htwe's pledge to improve "health literacy" which will help to combat social stigma around HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Myint Htwe explained that "expanding health services for HIV/AIDS is good, but the real success is to bring down the number of new infections," and encouraged the prioritizing of an HIV awareness campaign, according to the health ministry's website.

Despite the government's commitment to HIV treatment, a black market for ART in Burma remains.

A doctor from Waibagi Communicable Disease Hospital in Rangoon's North Okkalapa Township who asked not to be named said: "Some HIV patients or those who work at organizations that supply ART sell it on the black market to HIV patients who are too afraid to take the medicine at hospitals."

The first five-year strategic plan was introduced in 2005 under Burma's military regime, and a second plan was finished in 2015. The National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government, after reviewing the new strategic plan, gave it the green light.

Since 2010, new infections in the country have fallen by 24 percent, and AIDS-related deaths have decreased by 40 percent, according to UNAIDS figures.

The post Govt Details $460 Million Plan to Combat HIV/AIDS appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Civil Society Forum Calls for End to Forced Conscription

Posted: 18 May 2017 02:49 AM PDT

RANGOON — The 16th session of the Civil Society Forum on Peace (CSFOP) has called for a countrywide halt to forced conscription.

Militia forces under the Burma Army and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) have been conscripting locals in Kachin and Shan states, according to the CSFOP, a quarterly gathering of more than 70 civil society organizations (CSOs) and networks, held at The Orchid Hotel in Rangoon on May 15-16.

U Tin Oo, a CSFOP delegate and secretary of the Shan State Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC-S), said: "All the armed groups in northern Shan State are recruiting the locals without their consent."

He said militia under the Burma Army based in the Kaung Kha area had been recruiting one person per household in the region's Kutkai Township.

U Tin Oo also urged both sides to deescalate military tensions and refrain from planting mines in places accessible to civilians.

Daw Esther of the CSFOP claimed militias under the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) were forcibility conscripting in Kachin State.

"There is always recruitment when clashes are fierce," said Mi Kun Chan Nom, a CSFOP delegate and spokesperson for Mon Women's Organization. "But we call for a stop to forced recruitment. We urge both sides not to conscript."

More than 170 locals fled their homes in Mawkmai Township, southern Shan State, for fear of conscription in the second week of May. According to the national ceasefire agreement, signatories are not allowed to recruit new members.

In an open letter of recommendations for the peace process, the CSFOP has asked the government, the Burma Army, and EAOs to stop conscription.

The letter urges the government to inform concerned signatories of the NCA two weeks in advance before holding national-level political dialogues in ethnic states so that they can properly prepare.

The letter also presses the government to clear mines, educate locals about the danger of mines, and not to block humanitarian aid for displaced people, but instead ensure aid for them in cooperation with CSOs.

It tells the government not to take action against CSOs under section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, introduced during the colonial era in 1908. Anyone who "aids and abets members of an unlawful association" can face two to three years in jail and a fine under the act. Most EAOs that have not signed the NCA are considered illegal organizations under the law.

In the letter, CSOs also urged the government to allow NCA non-signatories to participate in the discussion at the second round of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference, to begin on May 24.

Dated May 17, the letter was sent to State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee chairman Saw Kwe Htoo Win, and the Delegation for Political Negotiation of the United Nationalities Federal Council leader Khu Oo Reh.

Launched in August 2012, the CSFOP is held to represent and address the needs of people in the country's peace process. In the 16th session of the CSFOP, 175 delegates were in attendance.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

 

The post Civil Society Forum Calls for End to Forced Conscription appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

KNPP: We Will Not Attend Panglong Peace Conference

Posted: 17 May 2017 09:30 PM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) confirmed it will not join the upcoming Union Peace Conference next week nor sign the government-proposed deed of commitment (DoC) at a central committee meeting on Wednesday.

Khu Plu Reh, a KNPP secretary and spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy the KNPP would not join the upcoming peace conference—also known as the 21st Panglong peace conference—if it was invited as an "observer."
It would not sign the DoC as that was a pledge to pursue the government's path of the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA), he said.

"We stick to the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)'s eight points until they are negotiated," he said, as the UNFC's delegation for political negotiation has been in talks with the government's Peace Commission for them to sign the NCA if their proposed terms are agreed.

"The government obstinately moves forward with the NCA roadmap, but they do it without finishing one step before another," Khu Plu Reh added, referring to the fact that national level dialogues—ethnic stakeholder consultations that are a key step in signing the NCA—had not been conducted by all groups.

At the peace conference, which begins May 24, delegates would sign a Union accord on five key sectors, despite many groups not being represented, he said.

KNPP appointed new central committee members on Wednesday, including the vice chairman and secretariat team, from its leading 33 committee members elected at their 13th congress last week.

Khu Oo Reh, former vice chairman, was reappointed into the same position and Shwe Myo Thant, Khu Plu Reh and Khu Daniel were appointed as secretariats.

The New Mon State Party, also a UNFC member, said they would not attend the upcoming conference as an observer.

The KNPP representatives joined the first round of the peace conference in August and September 2016, together with its bloc the UNFC and shared their position with the conference.

The government said they would invite NCA non-signatory ethnic armed groups with delegate status if they agreed to sign the DoC.

Although the government's peace commission led by Dr. Tin Myo Win and the UNFC's delegation for political negotiation, led by Khu Oo Reh, agreed at their last meeting on April 28 that they would meet again prior to the second round of Panglong, the UNFC has reportedly been unavailable to meet.

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