The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- 88 Generation Peace and Open Society Stand by Govt on Rakhine
- USDP-led Alliance Criticizes Govt for Action on Rakhine Report
- Independent Cinema Resists Censorship at Local Film Festival
- Govt to Implement Recommendations on Rakhine Issue ‘Without Delay’
- Rakhine Govt Forges on With Maungdaw Economic Zone
- State Counselor Calls Citizens to Curb Betel Chewing
- Al Qaeda Warns Myanmar of ‘Punishment’
- Rakhine State Education Department Instructs Staff to Return to Duty
- A Struggle for Authority
- Senate Leader Opposes ‘Lecturing’ Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
- What Have NGOs Done Wrong in Rakhine?
| 88 Generation Peace and Open Society Stand by Govt on Rakhine Posted: 13 Sep 2017 07:23 AM PDT YANGON — At a press conference on Wednesday, 88 Generation Peace and Open Society said it stands by President U Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi regarding conflict in northern Rakhine State. "The government is working hard for democratic transition, it would be wrong to criticize or weaken them," U Jimmy, one of the leaders of 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, told reporters. Muslim militants attacked police outposts in Rakhine State on Aug. 25, killing at least 13. International pressure has been mounting on Myanmar, after military clearance operations that followed have sent some 400,000 self-identifying Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. Prominent 88 generation leader U Min Ko Naing said the state's problems were not racial or religious but to do with immigration laws and terrorism. "They [self-identifying Rohingya] are not one of 135 ethnic groups in Myanmar," he said. U Min Ko Naing warned of violence elsewhere in the country, threatening stability, but said the 88 generation would not resort to violence. U Min Ko Naing warned of possible instigation of violence elsewhere in the country. He said 88 Generation Peace and Open Society does not accept this behavior but would not use violence to stop it. Leaders of 88 Generation Peace and Open Society urged citizens to exercise caution and not be played by those who would take advantage of the situation to instigate instability. One man was arrested in Magwe Region's Taungdwingyi after a nationalist mob—some armed with swords—attacked a mosque and property owned by Muslims before being dispersed by riot police with rubber bullets on Sunday evening. On Tuesday, a 27-year man was detained after shouting on the street to kill followers of Islam in Yangon's Sanchaung Township. A high-level meeting including members of Myanmar's National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) was held in Naypyidaw on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the situation in Rakhine State and issues relating to rule of law in Myanmar. Joining the talks was President U Htin Kyaw, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, both of the country's vice presidents, the Upper House Speaker, military chief, deputy military chief, and the ministers of home affairs, defense, and border affairs. The government has instructed security forces to take harsh action in line with the law against those who exploit the concerns and fear of people who commit violent acts. The post 88 Generation Peace and Open Society Stand by Govt on Rakhine appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| USDP-led Alliance Criticizes Govt for Action on Rakhine Report Posted: 13 Sep 2017 07:17 AM PDT YANGON — A coalition of 29 political outfits headed by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has condemned the government for agreeing to implement recommendations of the Rakhine advisory commission led by Kofi Annan. In a joint statement released on Sept. 12, the parties accused the government of neglecting Myanmar Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing's remarks on the commission's final report. By doing so means the government "is disregarding the advice of an institution that is mainly responsible for the country's defense and security, which could hinder national reconciliation," read the statement. The parties, which had opposed the formation of the advisory commission, rejected its report and "the traitors and foreign groups who would destroy the national interest." The report suggested a review of the 1982 Citizenship Law—the main source of ire for the opposition parties. The statement also protested the terms "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide" that have been used by some in the international arena to describe the situation in Rakhine. It said those who used the terms are provoking external interference in Myanmar's internal affairs. It demanded the government hold a National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) meeting in order to lay down a national security policy for Rakhine State. The parties met on Sept. 10 to discuss the Rakhine conflict. They have accused foreign media and international humanitarian organizations of worsening the situation and also reserved some blame for the government. A post on Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing Facebook's page said the commission could not get perfect data and facts because of time and movement limitations, and that the report included factual inaccuracies. "The Myanmar Citizenship Law 1982 is an existing law; citizenship process must go in line with that law. Even in the UN general provisions, a person needs to register to become a citizen. Therefore, all Bengalis in Rakhine State need to register. Those identified will be allowed to live freely and those unidentified will have to be restricted," read the statement, using a term to describe the self-identifying Rohingya Muslims. The report encouraged the government to accelerate the national verification process in line with 1982 Citizenship law in Rakhine State and create a transparent strategy and timeline for granting citizenship to those eligible. The government on 24 August agreed to speedily implement the recommendations, which also advised the issuing of birth certificates and citizenship to children born in Rakhine State. On Tuesday the President's Office announced it would form a committee to handle the implementation process. Members of the NDSC held a high–level meeting on Sept. 6 to discuss the situation in Rakhine State. The post USDP-led Alliance Criticizes Govt for Action on Rakhine Report appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Independent Cinema Resists Censorship at Local Film Festival Posted: 13 Sep 2017 05:19 AM PDT YANGON — The seventh edition of Myanmar's pioneering Wathann Film Festival showcasing independent cinema wrapped up on Monday. The festival jury presented five awards from nearly 30 competing films. The Best Documentary Award was most remarkable, however, as the winning film had not actually been shown at the festival. The 21-minute documentary "A Simple Love Story" directed by Hnin Pa Pa Soe tells a love story between a transgender woman and a transgender man, challenging norms surrounding gender identity and love. The decision not to show the film was, in the end, the director's choice. Myanmar's censorship board advised that the closing line of the film be re-edited for public screening at the festival. But the director wanted the film to be shown as she created it and refused to modify it. Cinematic Freedom The film censorship board is chaired by the director-general of the Ministry of Information's Motion Picture Development Branch (MPDB) and is made up of more than a dozen representatives from different organizations including the Myanmar Motion Picture Organization (MMPO), the Myanmar Music Association, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, the Attorney General's Office and the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs. The regulations that were used to scrutinize the content of movies cover multiple principles, ranging from politics, religion, culture and goodwill among ethnicities. The ending line in the film that made the censorship board unhappy was a question which asks, "Does love have man, woman, tomboy and shemale?" However, the film remained in the festival's competition section and was also reviewed by the jury even though there was no public screening. The film festival organized a panel discussion about freedom of expression with director Hnin Pa Pa Soe, program director Hla Myat Tun of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights organization Colors Rainbow and writer Han San on Saturday in lieu of the screening of the short documentary. Thaid dhi, co-founder of the Wathann Film Festival who moderated Saturday's panel discussion, stressed that Myanmar's 1996 Motion Picture Law, which grants authority to the censorship board to scrutinize films, needs urgent reform to be in line with democratic norms supporting cinematic freedom. "The country is heading towards a democratic path but this legislation restricts [filmmakers] with undemocratic provisions," Thaid Dhi said.  Tackling Discrimination Presented in Everyday Movies Referring to mainstream Myanmar films that portray transgender and homosexual characters as wacky, flamboyantly-dressed stereotypes, Hla Myat Tun highlighted that films at box offices mischaracterize the lives of the LGBT community in Myanmar society. During the discussion, he also questioned the accountability of the censorship board and why it would repress a short film that sheds light on human dignity and tells a real story of actual people but allow hour-long fictionalized movies that mock, discriminate and damage the dignity of the LGBT community—especially transgender women—to be shown at cinemas. "Such a film doesn't insult anybody or harm any individual's rights, but rather promotes [gender] identity," Hla Myat Tun said. "We are accountable for the films we produce. I question if the censorship board holds the same accountability for tens of thousands of movies they have allowed to be screened," he asked. Even though the audience did not have a chance to watch the film, the jury members mentioned at the awards ceremony on Monday that choosing her film as the best documentary was not for political reasons but it was simply the best film in their view. "With well-composed images and well-balanced rhythm, the filmmaker explores the depths of love beyond gender conventions and social boundaries," said jury member Marc Eberle, who teaches documentary filmmaking at the Goethe Institute in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, when he announced the prize on stage. The storytelling managed to surprise the audience and communicated great intimacy in portraying what it means to love oneself and another, he added.  Shift to Rating System Besides the award-winning documentary film, the censorship board also put pressure on organizers of the film festival by claiming scenes from regional and international films that include nudity and sexual activities such as masturbation and lovemaking were not suitable to be shown to the public. Festival organizers had to manually block the scenes in front of the movie projector throughout the six-day festival. Filmmakers and audiences who came to the festival said they felt bothered and annoyed to watch movies that had been tempered by censorship at the film festival. Lamin Oo, a producer at Tagu Films Production, said it was disrespectful to filmmakers who have worked very hard to make the films and also ruined the audience's experience. Lamin Oo explained that sexual content is something that Myanmar censors always interfere with and often give two explanations—that sexual content is inappropriate for some audiences and that sexual content does not fit with Myanmar culture. "I think the latter explanation is ridiculous," he told The Irrawaddy. "We are all sexual beings and filmmakers have every right to explore that part of the human experience in their work," he stressed.  He agreed, however, that some sexual content isn't suitable for audiences of all ages and it can easily be solved with a rating system instead of blocking the screen or censoring subtitles or censoring sound—all of which he encountered at this year's Wathann Film Festival, he said. Lawmaker Daw Phyu Phyu Thinn, a member of the parliamentary committee drafting a new version of the Film Law, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the bill is now nearly complete and it will be submitted to parliament this month after consulting with film industry experts. She said that the new legislation would constitute a rating system based on age of the audience, instead of censoring content, and creating a government council to regulate the industry. Filmmakers have stressed that the censorship board's regulations and principles can become a potential threat for freedom of artistic expression and those who have long worked under the country's strict censorship practices cannot help but continue to self-censor while making films. However, the country's rebellious and enthusiastic young filmmakers, like Hnin Pa Pa Soe, are determined to resist censorship. "I won't let self-censorship hinder my future works and will continue creating films that the LGBT community can always be proud of," she said. The post Independent Cinema Resists Censorship at Local Film Festival appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Govt to Implement Recommendations on Rakhine Issue ‘Without Delay’ Posted: 13 Sep 2017 04:58 AM PDT YANGON— A new 15-member committee was formed this week to implement the recommendations of the Kofi Annan-led Advisory Commission on Rakhine State and a government investigation commission led by vice-president U Myint Swe, the President's Office announced on Tuesday. Both commissions—which were mandated to advise on fostering stability in the area—made recommendations in final reports submitted to the government last month. A day after the committee's official formation, The Irrawaddy spoke to chair of the Implementation Committee for Recommendations on Rakhine State, Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Win Myat Aye. The President's Office announced the new committee is responsible for accelerating the national verification process and ensuring "equal access to education and access to health services regardless of religion, race, citizenship or gender." The newly-formed implementation committee is also tasked with "fighting terrorism and eliminating drugs in the region as a priority." The implementation committee—co-chaired by Rakhine State chief minister U Nyi Pu—will also work towards improving rule of law, stability, harmony between the different communities, security, the economy, social affairs, basic infrastructure including the maintenance of ethnic villages, distributing humanitarian aid, and closing camps for internally displaced persons. Other members include deputy ministers from the Office of the State Counselor and Ministry of Border Affairs, a representative of the President's Office, and permanent secretaries from the ministries of home affairs, information, religious affairs, agriculture, transport, labor, education, health and sport, construction, and social welfare. The committee will report its progress to the public every four months. What will the committee do first? Firstly, we will call a meeting [on Thursday]. All members of the committee need to examine in detail and clearly understand the recommendations [of the two commissions]. After that, we will begin implementations that are beneficial for the people and are possible with the reality on the ground, as fast as we can. Will the committee accept and implement 100 percent of the recommendations of the two different commissions? We will only know after all members examine the recommendations carefully and discuss what to do. We will prioritize those recommendations that match with the situation on the ground and benefit the people. The government vowed to implement the recommendations as soon as possible. When do you think the committee can begin? We have already started. Before the committee was formed, I visited ethnic minorities groups in Rakhine whose members were killed in recent violent attacks such as Hindu, Daingnet, Mro and Kaman. Those minorities have a lot of requirements including for education, health and employment. Only after we know their real emotions and needs on the ground, can we implement [recommendations]. We will meet with the people on the ground and discuss and negotiate with them. We will act based on their needs and without delay. How will you cope with the volatile situation on the ground? We want to speedily carry out recommendations that can lead to better conditions and stability in the area. We won't do anything that could make the situation worse; we only try to benefit the people. There is some fake news out there but the committee will act with transparency and release only true news. How long do you expect it to take to implement all the suggestions? We will have systematic short-term and long-term strategies for implementation. Only after the strategies are drawn, can we know the time period. We will let everyone know our strategies once they are decided. What is your response to the 29 political parties—including opposition party the Union Solidarity and Development Party—that signed a statement rejecting all recommendations of the Kofi Annan-led commission? We are a civilian government and we will do everything for the benefit of the people. I don't want to say anything about their statement. We know their concerns. We will implement the recommendations based on the situation on the ground. The post Govt to Implement Recommendations on Rakhine Issue 'Without Delay' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rakhine Govt Forges on With Maungdaw Economic Zone Posted: 13 Sep 2017 02:24 AM PDT YANGON — The first part of the 100-acre Kanyinchaung border economic zone in Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township will be completed this year, according to the state government. "Originally, we planned to complete Zone A by March, but it was delayed because of violence," finance, revenue, planning and commerce minister of Rakhine State U Kyaw Aye Thein told The Irrawaddy. "We will restart once stability is restored [in Maungdaw] and complete it this year." Violence has swept Maungdaw since Muslim militants attacked 30 police outposts on Aug. 25—killing 13 members of Myanmar security forces and prompting thousands of ethnic Arakanese, Hindu and Muslims to flee to safety. Subsequent Myanmar Army security operations have been labelled as "ethnic cleansing" by the UN and sent some 400,000 self-identifying Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. Zone A of the economic zone is expected to cost 2.2 billion kyats (US$1.6 million). The Rakhine State government will invest 1.5 billion kyats and Nat Myit Alintan—a consortium of four companies from Maungdaw and three from Yangon—will invest the rest. According to the Rakhine State government, it established an economic zone rather than a border trade zone because the former provides business opportunities for both manufacturing and service industries. The economic zone was initiated under the previous government in 2015, but there was little progress due to the transfer of power to the National League for Democracy-led government and construction only resumed this year. Foreign investment will be invited and security will be tightened for the economic zone, said minister U Kyaw Aye Thein. The state government believes that low income and a lack of job opportunities contribute to instability in Maungdaw and hopes the economic zone can create jobs, wealth and peace. U Aung Myint Thein, chairman of the Maungdaw Border Traders Association, told The Irrawaddy he envisions labor-intensive factories such as cold storage, shrimp processing plants, garment factories, rice mills, and consumer product factories in the economic zone. It is not yet clear, however, when construction will restart. "It is still early to say whether the economic zone will be beneficial to locals or not. We have to wait and see. No business can be successful without stability. We want the government to ensure stability first," said U Maung Saw Win, chairman of the Mayu Region Development Association. Kanyinchaung economic zone will be the third economic zone in Rakhine State. According to statistics for the 2016-17 fiscal year, there are three foreign companies and 136 local companies operating in the state. The value of trade with Bangladesh through the Maungdaw trade station for the 2017-18 fiscal year is targeted to be US$6 million and reached $5 million by Sept. 1 this year. The trade station was closed from Oct. 9 to Dec. 24 last year because of militant attacks on border guard police posts in October, and has also been closed since Aug. 25. Additional reporting by Min Aung Khaing. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko KO. The post Rakhine Govt Forges on With Maungdaw Economic Zone appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| State Counselor Calls Citizens to Curb Betel Chewing Posted: 13 Sep 2017 02:08 AM PDT YANGON — State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has urged citizens to avoid chewing betel quid in order not to have "remorse." More than 7 million Myanmar citizens regularly chew betel quid and tobacco, which causes more than 60,000 deaths yearly, said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in her message at the launch of a six-week media campaign to eradicate betel chewing on Monday. "It is a huge health challenge," she said, calling the fight against the unhealthy habit a "national cause." Since the state counselor assumed office, she has instructed for public campaigns on the issue in hopes of deterring betel chewing. Just one month after she assumed office, she introduced a new anti-betel policy to reduce the habit. The President's Office opened an online poll in June to collect the public's thoughts on reducing betel quid chewing and spitting in government offices and public places. No official ban has been put into effect to date. In her message, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called for public cooperation, especially to discourage schoolchildren under 13 years from starting. Myanmar has the highest consumption of varieties of tobacco in betel quid among Asean countries, read Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's message. The anti-betel campaign will be conducted in six cities in Yangon, Mandalay and Magwe regions, and aims to raise awareness about the adverse effects of betel chewing, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports. Educational clips about the adverse effects of betel chewing will be screened at cinemas as well as on state broadcaster Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) and Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). The Public Health Foundation has provided 250 million kyats (US$185,000) for the campaign, according to the ministry. The post State Counselor Calls Citizens to Curb Betel Chewing appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Al Qaeda Warns Myanmar of ‘Punishment’ Posted: 13 Sep 2017 02:03 AM PDT YANGON — Al Qaeda militants have called for support for Myanmar's self-identifying Rohingya Muslims, who are facing a security crackdown that has sent about 400,000 of them fleeing to Bangladesh, warning that Myanmar would face "punishment" for its "crimes." The exodus of Muslim refugees from Buddhist-majority Myanmar was sparked by a fierce security force response to a series of militant attacks on police and army posts in the country's west on Aug. 25. The Islamist group behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States issued a statement urging Muslims around the world to support their fellow Muslims in Myanmar with aid, weapons and "military support". "The savage treatment meted out to our Muslim brothers … shall not pass without punishment," al Qaeda said in a statement, according to the SITE monitoring group. "The government of Myanmar shall be made to taste what our Muslim brothers have tasted." Myanmar says its security forces are engaged in a legitimate campaign against "terrorists," whom it blames for attacks on the police and army, and on civilians. The government has warned of bomb attacks in cities, and al Qaeda's call to arms is likely to compound those concerns. "We call upon all mujahid brothers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines to set out for Burma to help their Muslim brothers, and to make the necessary preparations — training and the like—to resist this oppression," the group said. The post Al Qaeda Warns Myanmar of 'Punishment' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rakhine State Education Department Instructs Staff to Return to Duty Posted: 13 Sep 2017 12:01 AM PDT NAYPYITAW — The Rakhine State Education Department has instructed education staff who have fled violence in the state to go back to their concerned duties in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships by September 17. The instruction said action would be taken against those who fail to return to their positions by that date, according to the code of conduct for civil servants. "We asked them to go back because it is safe now. They may choose to resign if they don't want to return," U Aung Kyaw Tun, chief of the Rakhine State Education Department, told The Irrawaddy. Schools have been temporarily closed since violence broke out on Aug. 25, and locals and teachers have fled to urban areas. U Tun Hla Sein, a lawmaker in Rakhine State Parliament, said he still does not know how schools will reopen at this time, as they are being used as shelters for displaced persons. "I think only schools in urban areas can be reopened. It will be impossible in rural areas due to security concerns. Government staff will be scared," U Tun Hla Sein told The Irrawaddy. Locals suggest that it would be better to open temporary classrooms at camps because in some cases, entire villages have fled their homes. One such village is Nan Tha Taung, where some 500 villagers are taking shelter at Myoma Monastery in Maungdaw. "It will be difficult to reopen schools in our village," said the abbot of the Nan Tha Taung village monastery. The State Education Department has also instructed the township education departments to make daily reports on the return of teachers and education staff. The government also encouraged local residents to return to their villages in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships. On Tuesday, 1,472 people taking temporary shelter at relief camps in Kyein Chaung, Taung Pyo Let We, Nga Kyitauk and Inndin villages and Wakhot Chaung battalion, returned home escorted by Myanmar Army troops. The government's Information Committee and the Office of the Commander-in-Chief said locals returned home as “peace and security had been restored" following security operations in the region. The post Rakhine State Education Department Instructs Staff to Return to Duty appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Posted: 12 Sep 2017 11:44 PM PDT This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, a series of mass protests led by Buddhist monks against Myanmar's military government. In this interview from November 2007, anthropologist Gustaaf Houtman explains how the ruling generals' claim to legitimacy is based on false documents. Independence hero Gen Aung San saw the Sangha as having a key role in guiding the nation. The current struggle between the Sangha and the military is a fight the junta is likely to lose.  You say the military rulers have no legitimate title to govern Myanmar—why? Every government, to rule effectively, needs a minimum of goodwill and cooperation from the population it aspires to rule. The various military regimes of Myanmar over the last half a century have squandered any goodwill they earned by persisting in attempting to legitimize themselves—not by means of elections—but by sheer force and by projecting the “desire of the people” framed within a hollow account of the role of the army as central to Myanmar's history. The army is caught up in a network of lies of their own making. They tolerate no dissent and have silenced intellectual life. Instead of holding them to account, it is disappointing to see how inaccuracies are being perpetuated as history, sometimes even by reputable, well-meaning academics. Why is Aung San so important to Myanmar people? Aung San is a hero-martyr widely revered in Myanmar as particularly astute and effective in wrestling national independence from the British and from the Japanese. The nation celebrates episodes in his life through national holidays and his image used to be on every banknote. Even today, six decades after his assassination, we see Aung San's image carried by protestors. Because his personality is of such mythical proportions, the army turned him into a myth of their own in order to justify military rule. In your book Mental Culture you say Aung San’s legacy was manipulated by the army and challenged by his daughter, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Yes, I argued that Aung San's popular legacy was a unifying factor for successive political parties and governments right from immediately before national independence in 1948 until 1990, when the rumor spread that Aung San's image on a new banknote had been doctored to look like Aung San Suu Kyi's. Because his personality is of such mythical proportions, the army turned him into a myth of their own in order to justify military rule. Once Aung San Suu Kyi challenged the military over their interpretation of her father, however, the search was on for a substitute unifying symbol, preferably impersonal and so easier to control. The army replaced Aung San with a hastily cobbled together idea of national culture: we have seen a large-scale program of Myanmafication, including an invented state-sponsored idea of Myanmar culture (yes, in the singular) under the post-88 military regimes. Aung San's image on the banknotes was substituted with impersonal objects: notes brought into circulation after 1990 have Aung San replaced by the chinthe, the mythical lion guardian at the foot of pagodas, which is also used as the symbol of the dreaded Union Solidarity Association (USDA) and army units. Anyone who does not support the army wholeheartedly risks molestation by the USDA. To justify this state of affairs, falsification of history has taken place on a grand scale. Whole populations are being displaced and Pagan and other historical sites have now been irretrievably destroyed. In a chapter entitled "Aung San's Way: The Blue Print and the Japanese Occupation of Burma" you say his popular image was subverted by the military to serve its own interest. What is your evidence for this? The army that is in control of Myanmar today traces itself back to Aung San's first visit to Japan between January and February 1940, where the army was founded. This period is of considerable historical significance. After Aung San found himself stranded in Taiwan in search of support from the Chinese for help in the struggle for national independence, he was then smuggled into Japan unofficially by a renegade intelligence-led faction under Col Suzuki without support from the Japanese Imperial army. Since secrecy was of the essence at the time, There are not many formal historical documents left regarding the founding of the Myanmar army. One document, however, has been widely proclaimed as Aung San's from that period, namely “The Blue Print for a Free Burma.” This is claimed not just by the regime, but even by some academics recently. It is usually referred to as an example of how Aung San Suu Kyi could only have misjudged her father's politics: namely, where it is asserted that Myanmar needs to set aside parliament in favor of authoritarian one-party rule. This document clearly subverts Aung San Suu Kyi's claims to follow up on the true political intentions of her father that she claims the army has misrepresented. However, this document is falsely attributed to Aung San. It was not composed by Aung San at all, but by this intelligence-led faction for the purpose of gaining support from the Imperial Japanese army. The Blue Print first came to be attributed to Aung San under the machinations of Dr Maung Maung, who was behind its first publication in 1957 in the Yangon-based Guardian (of which he was a founding editor) long after the Japanese occupation was over, and long after Aung San had been assassinated. Its publication took place at a time when the army was developing a program of psychological warfare operations to influence and gain control over public opinion. Aung San, however, had asserted a firm denial of ever writing down his own plan while in Japan, saying instead that Col Suzuki dictated a plan, which he then asked Aung San to write down in his own handwriting. Aung San said he never knew what happened to the document. It is a tragedy that a military regime so proud of indigenous heritage should proclaim to be inspired by documents written by the WWII foreign occupiers of Myanmar that Aung San had worked so hard to eject. So you are saying the military’s rule since 1962 has been illegitimate? Well, this is just one instance of deliberate falsification of a critically important episode in the biography of Aung San, and of a critically important moment in national history, both of which have been rewritten to favor military rule. What the army cites in its favor turns out to be a document that prepares for a Japanese invasion of Myanmar. That such blatant lies are permitted to carry through from propaganda into scholarship and then into the historical record are a matter of concern: how many more such falsifications are there? As I have pointed out, the army has persisted with the Blue Print even after its first publication in 1957 and with a substantively different variant published in the army's official record in Myanmar in 1998, which eliminated, among other things, centrality of the Japanese to Myanmar affairs and condemnation of the monarchy. Scholars must dig much deeper and assess what the army has presented as history. This is difficult because the regime limits access to scholars favorably disposed towards them. It is disturbing that even reputable intellectuals uncritically circulate lies such as these because it undermines the calls for democratic reform in and effectively legitimates the regime. If Aung San was not in favor of authoritarian rule, what did he support? Aung San did not envisage the army at the center of the political order. The army has falsely used Aung San to legitimate themselves in history politically. As I have argued elsewhere, Aung San originally aimed for socialism, but after the Japanese occupation he called for democracy first. You are on record that the monastic order is the only Myanmar institution that remains independent from, and to a certain extent ungovernable by, the military regime. Why should this be so? The Buddhist liberation rhetoric that underlay the anti-colonial struggle back in the first half of the 20th century resurfaces during crises. Monks continue to have an influence on the regime, if only because soldiers’ wives seek merit and protection for their husbands. Also, once the 1990 elections were over, the regime stalled in handing over power to the NLD, to which monks responded by offering to host the first democratic parliament since 1962 in one of their monasteries. Today, after eliminating so heavy-handedly all civil opposition, only monks remain with any sense of organizational independence—resulting in direct conflict. I am not sure how many monks are among those who have been quietly cremated by the regime recently, but The idea that the country can ever be governed or developed by an army so cruel and so out of touch with the people suggest to me that their position is becoming untenable. But surely, secular politicians, such as Aung San, never approved of Buddhism as a political instrument? Approving of Buddhism as a political instrument is one thing: understanding by means of Buddhist concepts how disorder arises and order may be established, and what kind of political intervention might be necessary, are another. To proclaim that Buddhism here serves as a political instrument would be to grossly oversimplify what has been going on. In raising fuel prices to unaffordable levels, the regime has made it impossible for the laity to support Buddhist monastic practice and so has politicized Buddhism. In his essay on “Various Kinds of Politics,” Aung San describes how politics was invented by human beings so as to contain deterioration in the social order caused by the arising of mental defilements and selfish behavior. Here elimination of mental defilements by Buddhist practice is simply another way of resolving disorder. Indeed such practice is characterized as prior to politics: so the presence of successfully practicing monks are broadly seen as ensuring necessary conditions for people to respond to political measures. The first king was elected by the people for his good morality, concentration and understanding (indeed he was characterized as a Buddha-to-be), so that he could intervene wisely in any disorder that arises from our conditioned lives in loka or samsara (i.e. by helping contain the worst excesses produced by our mental imperfections that lock us into the cycle of rebirth). Aung San looked at these notions and ended up defining politics as dealing specifically with loka and samsara, as is commonly done by Myanmar speakers and political leaders generally (See, for example, the Myanmar biography of Ne Win). Aung San condemned selfishness in politics (in particular the magical variety of loki pyinya that top army echelons seek today) and was well aware of the critical role of the monastic order in stabilizing society. This is why Aung San called for monks to preach unity and dispense metta as the ‘highest form of politics.” This is indeed what the monks did on this occasion, namely to go out onto the streets reciting the Metta Sutta, sending loving-kindness to everyone, including soldiers. The Buddha recommended reciting the Metta Sutta en masse for situations in which peaceful Buddhist practice is threatened. So what the monks did was not a political protest, but simply a quiet and peaceful assertion of their right to return to the normalcy of their Buddhist practice without interference for the benefit of everyone. Aung San said that monks work for the benefit of both this mundane existence (loki) and the supramundane (lokuttara), which makes nonsense of the regime's recent threat against monks “interfering” in the lokaaffairs of ordinary laity: since their practice is now threatened, they have a perfect right, indeed a duty, to go onto the streets en masse reciting the Metta Sutta. You often refer to loka. How does this relate to politics? Yes, it takes a narrative shift to understand why the realm of politics should be conceived of in the Myanmar vernacular in terms of loka and samsara. Loka refers to conditioned existence in either a particular or a general sense. The regime has been attempting to legitimate itself within, and demonstrate its control over loka largely by means of force, magic, numerology and the pretence of possessing some superior supernatural agency, which were all condemned by Aung San. After 1988, the regime sought to play itself up as Buddhist and embarked on reconstructing pagodas all over the country, but particularly in Pagan—an army in defence of a holy land. However, any merit they have built up restoring pagodas has now been undone by the arrest, torture and, seemingly, the killing of monks, which constitute an enormous sin in Myanmar society. You say the current junta has inadvertently politicized the monks by assuming it has a monopoly over loka? Aung San Suu Kyi's politics is often characterized as Buddhist, which is generally not a point made in relation to Aung San. However, in my analysis of Aung San's communications, I demonstrated that for Aung San to be considered secular did not mean that he abandoned Buddhist ideas in his politics the way it is widely thought. It is just that in his English communications he did not address the same sensibilities or the same audience as in his Myanmar communications, which has led scholars relying on the first to oversimplify his politics. Aung San brought into play the most valuable and complex ideas in the Myanmar language to convince Myanmar of the nobility of his struggle: metta, byamaso taya, loka, nibbana, samadhi, and many other terms. He conceived of, and attempted to gain respect for, his political aspirations in a vocabulary that he shared with his people and pitched this as high as he could. On the other hand, he simultaneously sought to impact the colonial regime by mastering the intricacies of the English language. Aung San sometimes declared emphatically that politics is not about nibbana, but he also proclaimed that politics should not be dirty and encouraged people to be self-critical. In proclaiming to have a monopoly over loka, the present military regime has politicised monks and ensured that they will surely continue to have a prominent role in Myanmar politics. Does this not parallel the moment the army of Mara, realising that the Buddha's teachings would lead all people away from his control of loka, (as subjected to the cycle of rebirth or samsara), decides to wage war on the Buddha to prevent this from happening? Footnotes [1] As included in Mental Culture chapter 6 – on military authority… p 159 (see also p 218): Bibliography Aung San. Nainganyei amyo myo (Various arts of politics). (Dagon Magazine, February-March 1940/November 1948. Later published in Mya Han 1998:89-113 and Mya Han 2000:50-61. Houtman, G. 1990. Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics. ILCAA Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia & Africa Monograph Series 33, Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1999. Houtman, G. Aung San's lan-zin, the Blue Print and the Japanese occupation of Burma. Chapter 8 in Kei Nemoto (ed). Reconsidering the Japanese military occupation in Burma (1942-45). Tokyo: ILCAA, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, pp 179-224 (including an English-Burmese bibliograpy of Aung San's communications (pp 213-224). Myá Han 1998. Bogyok Aung Sanà sapei lekya [The writings of General Aung San]. Rangoon: Universities’ Historical Centre, 1998. (Though published by the foremost historical research group, this has two separate censorship permissions, one for the cover and one for the text). Saw Maung, U. 1990. State Law and Order Restoration Council Chairman commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services General Saw Maung’s addresses (12.09.1988–09.01.1990). Rangoon: Ministry of Information. The post A Struggle for Authority appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Senate Leader Opposes ‘Lecturing’ Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Posted: 12 Sep 2017 10:19 PM PDT WASHINGTON, United States — US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he would not support a resolution targeting Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi over the treatment of the country's self-identified Rohingya Muslims, and said Washington should not be "lecturing" her. "I don't favor a resolution going after her," McConnell, who has been engaged with issues related to Myanmar, also known as Burma, for years. "I think she's the greatest hope that we have to move Burma from where it has been, a military dictatorship, to where I hope it's going." Senators John McCain, a Republican, and Richard Durbin, a Democrat, introduced a resolution last week condemning the violence and urging Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to act. But McConnell said he did not support the resolution. "My personal view is America kind of singling her out, and lecturing her when she's in a very challenging position is not helpful. So … I don't intend to be a part of that," he said at a weekly news conference by the Senate's Republican leaders. McConnell did not respond to a question about whether there was any consideration of reconsidering Democratic former President Barack Obama's lifting of sanctions on Myanmar. International pressure has been mounting on Myanmar to end violence that has sent about 370,000 self-identified Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh. The Trump administration has called for protection of civilians, and Bangladesh has urged safe zones so refugees can return home. While Washington has been a staunch supporter of Myanmar's transition from decades of harsh military rule being led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate has been criticized as doing too little to stop the violence. In addition to co-sponsoring the resolution, McCain, the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Tuesday he would seek to remove US military cooperation with Myanmar from a sweeping defense policy bill now making its way through Congress. The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, had called for expanded military cooperation. "While I had hoped the NDAA could contribute to positive reform in Burma, I can no longer support expanding military-to-military cooperation given the worsening humanitarian crisis and human rights crackdown against the Rohingya people," McCain said in a statement. The post Senate Leader Opposes 'Lecturing' Daw Aung San Suu Kyi appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| What Have NGOs Done Wrong in Rakhine? Posted: 12 Sep 2017 07:27 PM PDT SITTWE, Rakhine — Over the last few years, a number of disgruntled ethnic Arakanese in Rakhine State have consistently demonstrated against NGOs operating in the state. They claimed projects run by aid organizations were only benefiting self-identifying Rohingya Muslims, not the ethnic Arakanese community. Arakanese frustration burst into anger in March 2014 when a crowd attempted to raid an NGO premise in state capital Sittwe. In some parts of the state, NGO workers continue to be frowned upon by local Arakanese. The opposition to NGOs in Rakhine State represents a truly worrying trend in this sensitive, conflict-riven area. But are NGOs really the bad guys? What have they done to make some ethnic Arakanese so annoyed? It is generally accepted that NGOs—non-governmental organizations—play a vital role in providing social services to those who the state fails to reach, often giving crucial aid to marginalized people. In Rakhine State, however, lack of communication strategy, lavish display of material wealth and failed attempts to include the Arakanese in development projects of the NGOs have often proved harmful to relations between communities in conflict with one another. Although they may have produced positive impacts on the lives of people, they have also fostered a negative reality in the minds of some Arakanese people. Socially and politically-motivated Arakanese are frustrated with the perception of being "left out" at the expense of the "other" community—self-identifying Rohingya Muslims. This sense of animosity between the two communities needs to be reduced and then eliminated, but an imbalance of resource allocation sustains and nurtures these feelings. NGOs' arguments that Arakanese communities are better-off than Muslim communities economically and receive more government social services fall on deaf ears. Arakanese are also suffering from deprivation in what is Myanmar's second poorest state. NGOs have been operating in Rakhine State for more than 20 years, but they must consider including Arakanese in humanitarian aid and development initiatives in order to reduce sensitive feelings of animosity toward others. One member of a local civil society organization told me that many poor Arakanese people rarely receive material or financial assistance from international NGOs compared to the Muslim population. She provided the example of an NGO-led project to build small water reservoirs in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships of northern Rakhine for Muslim farmers, which Arakanese farmers did not have access to. She also said NGOs provided learning materials for Muslim students in the same area—the bulk of which ended up on the black market, being sold to Arakanese students. It was incidents of imbalance like these, she said, that was fueling resentment among the Arakanese community. The perception of imbalance—whether real or imagined—can, and will, contribute to ethnic and sectarian conflict in Rakhine. Some people in Rakhine wish NGOs would better communicate with communities on the ground to prevent Arakanese people feeling suspicious of projects and wondering why they do not feel the direct benefits. There have been instances of aid being transported to camps for internally displaced Muslim persons passing through Arakanese communities, fueling resentment. Other people I talked to mentioned that NGO workers displayed their material wealth with blunt disregard to the situation of locals by driving expensive cars, being transported in speed boats, and staying in expensive hotels. Some NGOs rent the best houses in Sittwe, locals have said, destabilizing the property market and pushing up rental fees. In 2015, an overloaded passenger ferry sank between Sittwe and Kyaukphyu, claiming the lives of at least 72 people. One survivor criticized NGO workers for failing to help, and speculated that they would have done so if it were Muslim lives at risk. Ethnic Arakanese also feel the NGO community does not consider their community in development initiatives. One local CSO member told me there was no assistance from international organizations to help Arakanese CSOs counter foreign investment in Sittwe port, while organizations stepped in to support local community objections in projects in Myitsone, Letpadaung, Dawei, and Thilawa. The perception most Arakanese have of NGOs may be misguided, but NGOs failure to properly communicate and consult ethnic Arakanese has led to dangerous misunderstandings and suspicion. Aung Myo Oo is a native of Sittwe and a commentator on Rakhine politics. He received a Master of Human Rights and Democratization from the University of Sydney. The post What Have NGOs Done Wrong in Rakhine? appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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