The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Third Session of 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference to Convene in January
- Top General to Take Active Role in Govt Reconciliation Efforts
- Govt Frets UN Will Invoke Genocide Doctrine to Intervene in Rakhine
- ‘Localization’ is Very Important: Viber
- Parliament Approves Proposal to Ensure Transparency in Extractive Industries
- Two Foreign Journalists Charged With Immigration Violation
- Rakhine Parliament Debates Tourism Plan for Manaung Island
- Pope Arrives in Yangon, Begins Diplomatically Fraught Visit
- Bali’s Erupting Volcano Raises Air Travel Warnings
| Third Session of 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference to Convene in January Posted: 27 Nov 2017 05:52 AM PST NAYPYITAW–The third session of the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference will convene in the last week of January, it was agreed at the 6th Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting (JICM) in Naypyitaw on Monday. The government and eight Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) that signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) set the date, which is later than State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's preferred date of next month. "It's not about delaying the timeframe of the 21st Century Panglong. We agreed to a time that worked for all stakeholders," said U Zaw Htay, a spokesperson for the State Counselor's Office. The government has announced its intention to hold twice-yearly peace conferences. Matters discussed at Monday's meeting included details of the national-level political dialogue (ND) with the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and efforts to establish one with Rakhine's Arakan Liberation Party (ALP). The meeting also approved the standard operating procedures and terms of reference drafted by the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) and a discussion of the implementation of the Union accord. Dr. Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, one of eight leaders of the EAOs' Peace Process Steering Team (PPST), told reporters in Naypyitaw on Monday that the RCSS would convene its ND in Linkhay township in Shan State in January. Efforts to establish an ND with the RCSS had faltered over the venue. The RCSS proposed Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, but Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw, rejected this, insisting on Mong Pang or another smaller town in RCSS controlled areas. The Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) and the government spokesmen said the dilemma was resolved by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's recommendation of Linkhay. The details of where and when to convene an ND in Rakhine State with the ALP, they said, had yet to be resolved. However, PPST member U Than Khe told The Irrawaddy that "Today, a result was reached regarding the nature of the negotiations", adding that the team would continue pushing for an ND to be held in Rakhine State. "The ALP's national-level dialogue cannot be held at this time," added Zaw Htay. He told reporters in Naypyitaw that this was due to the current crisis in Rakhine, which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has described as Myanmar's most crucial challenge. He also said they would establish a channel to deliver the ALP's recommendation papers to the Union Peace Conference (UPC) through a working committee. The UPDJC has working committees for five sectors: political, social, economic, security and land and environment. Participation of all of the country's EAOs in the peace-building process has yet to be secured. Two key blocs have yet to sign the NCA: the seven-member northern alliance known as the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC) led by the United Wa State Army based in the northeast of the country; and the five-member United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) based in the southeast. The FPNCC is pushing for an alternative NCA that the government and Tatmadaw do not accept, while the UNFC is still negotiating the terms under which it would sign the NCA pact. Vice Sen. Gen. Soe Win, the Tatmadaw's deputy commander-in-chief, said during his opening speech to the JICM meeting on Monday that "We all have to continue trying to bring all of the non-signatories of the NCA to sign it and take part in the political dialogue process." The post Third Session of 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference to Convene in January appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Top General to Take Active Role in Govt Reconciliation Efforts Posted: 27 Nov 2017 04:22 AM PST NAYPYITAW — Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Vice Snr-Gen Soe Win has pledged to take an active part in efforts by the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government to bring about national reconciliation in Myanmar. "In shaping a new political culture of solving political problems at the table instead of by military means, all of members of JICM [Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting] and UPDJC [Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee] are to play an active part in bringing those groups to the negotiation table," said the deputy army chief at the 6th Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting on the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in Naypyitaw on Monday. However, Vice Snr-Gen Soe Win insisted that efforts to build a federal, democratic union should be based on "our three main national causes," namely non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity and the perpetuation of sovereignty, further confirming that the Myanmar Army would not let any ethnic area secede from the country. "It is important that we should take necessary actions without losing track of building a Union based on democracy and federalism with permanent peace," he said. Monday's meeting focused on terms of reference and standard operating procedures designed by the UPDJC, national-level political dialogues, and the progress of NCA implementation. "Our Three Main National Causes and the desire for a multi-party democracy must take precedence over self-interests in peace talks," stressed the deputy army chief. "To build harmony among key stakeholders in the country, it is important that the foundation of democratic federal principles that are acceptable to all is laid down," said Gen Saw Mutu Say Poe, chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU). The KNU chairman suggested taking time to reach a clear consensus rather than signing peace agreements hastily, calling for negotiations based on national reconciliation. "It is physical courage that armed groups need on battlefields to fight enemies, but at the negotiation table for peace they need mental courage to face themselves," said State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. "We all must have the courage to find correct answers for peace. And we must be able to assess correctly if we can get those answers," she said at the meeting. The deputy army chief also urged Tatmadaw troops at different levels to avoid activities that could create misunderstanding or intervening in the administrative functions of the government during the peace process. The 6th JICM, held at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center in Naypyitaw, was attended by leaders of the government and Tatmadaw and NCA signatories. The post Top General to Take Active Role in Govt Reconciliation Efforts appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Govt Frets UN Will Invoke Genocide Doctrine to Intervene in Rakhine Posted: 27 Nov 2017 04:11 AM PST The government is worried that the United Nations will invoke the Responsibility to Protect, or R2P, to interfere in the Rakhine State crisis, according to national security advisor U Thaung Tun. U Thaung Tun made his comments during a roundtable talk on state-owned MRTV on Sunday, saying that Myanmar and Bangladesh would do their best to solve the Rohingya problem as the Myanmar government was worried the UN would intervene, citing R2P. The UN has listed Myanmar as a code red country, meaning it is experiencing a crisis. "They have listed us as a red color country. It is very dangerous for our country," U Thaung Tun said. Under the R2P framework, there are three levels. The first is yellow, which indicates that conditions are present to cause worry, the next is orange, which is triggered by the first signs of genocide in the country, followed by red, which indicates a crisis. The UN used R2P to take action in other regions including Yugoslavia, Libya, Rwanda and Darfur. "For us, we cannot leave this problem. We need to solve it the best way. We need to repatriate them back to our country. When we do the reparation, we need to bring them back based on their wishes, not force them," U Thaung Tun said. China and Russia would stand by Myanmar, he said, although it was because they have their own national interests for doing so as they have repeatedly sided with Myanmar in the past. Myanmar came under intense international pressure in 1988 following the violent suppression of a popular uprising by the military that resulted in the death of many rights activists and students. Again in 1990, the government was placed under a lot of pressure by the international community after the military refused to respect the result of a general election. "The international pressure did not hurt our sovereignty at that time. But, it could this time, as well as the stability of the country," U Thaung Tun said. David Mathieson, an Independent analyst working on conflict and peace issues in Myanmar, said the military is "driving the efforts at international justice because of their culture of denial of any wrongdoing." "If they actually took steps to address the reports of widespread human rights violations and conducted credible investigations and punished alleged perpetrators then these calls would not be as loud and instant as they are," he said. "And the government’s utter disdain for anyone making allegations of human rights abuses that have driven so many people into Bangladesh is actively supporting the military, not committing to a credible process that permits real investigations." At the same time, Mathieson said that Myanmar needed to understand the limitations of international efforts at seeking accountability and the limited reach of R2P. Those cases were not always successful, and especially in the case of Darfur, not always based on an accurate assessment of the conflict. But Myanmar should also understand that using China and Russia as shields to deflect international accountability had consequences that could deeply damage the country's transition to democracy. It is important not just to view how R2P could intrude on Myanmar, but how closer links with China, which believes it is owed concessions for the diplomatic cover it has provided Myanmar, could impact the country in the long term. What U Thaung Tun should be assessing, said Mathieson, is the potential range of international investigations that could be conducted, not just R2P, but the UN fact-finding mission and what the U.S. has signaled will be its own investigation. This is the closest that Myanmar has come to a major international human rights investigation since the ILO commission of inquiry in the 1990s, he noted. There are 57 Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries that are members of the UN, and a further 28 from the European Union. The OIC proposed a resolution at the UN General Assembly meeting that action be taken against Myanmar since the violence broke out in the middle of August. Many Western countries support the OIC resolution. The UN chief has even said the situation in Myanmar had reached a crisis point. The UN has demanded that Myanmar take four steps including halting its military activities in the area, offering humanitarian aide to refugees who remain on the ground, repatriating refugees who have fled the state, and fulfilling the recommendations of the Advisory Commission chaired by Kofi Annan. The UN Security Council issued a statement on Nov. 6, condemning rights abuses by the Myanmar Army, but the government has called the accusations baseless. The UN has even said it would take action against Myanmar in the event it needed to. The post Govt Frets UN Will Invoke Genocide Doctrine to Intervene in Rakhine appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘Localization’ is Very Important: Viber Posted: 27 Nov 2017 02:36 AM PST Viber, a leading messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application, has reached 900 million users since it was founded in 2010. Since Myanmar opened its telecommunications market, Viber has become the country's market leader. The Irrawaddy's Burmese editor, Yeni, sat down with Anubhav Nayyar, Viber's head of business development for Southeast and South Asia, last week in Yangon to talk about the company's strategies and plans locally and globally. How has Viber become one of the leading messaging and VoIP applications globally? Viber has reached some 900 million users in seven years. What makes us special is that we have strong markets across the world including Southeast and South Asia along with Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe. People love using Viber across markets. Myanmar is an important market. They appreciate the service and we are happy to invest time and resources in the country. Can you explain your advantage globally and regionally in reference to competitors like LINE, Facebook and WeChat? A number of things differentiate us. We offer features that are relevant and appealing at the local level, and they differ regionally. We ensure that not only are we constantly innovating but innovating in a relevant manner — that is number one. The second point is that localization is very important, so we have the term "glocalization," ensuring that while you are global you are also locally relevant. We offer a lot of local content and local partnerships, varying from country to country. To give you a Myanmar example, we have partnered with various organizations and various business groups inside Myanmar, ranging from partnerships with telcos, media, brands, etc. We also work with some of the local influencers such as Sai Sai and Phway Phway. Localized, relatable and relevant content [such a localized stickers] helps, while also taking user feedback to heart. We know that in 2014 Viber controlled 79 percent of the market in Myanmar. What percent of the market do you hold today? Unfortunately there are no official reports on the market, not only here but globally. Messaging is also very personal, so it's sometimes very difficult for anybody to track because there are people who are using multiple apps. The challenge for us as the market leader is to get more and more people to use Viber, which basically means that we look at it from two perspectives. There are existing users; we need to keep offering new and more relevant features to them. And then there are smartphones, which are really growing in Myanmar right now. What that means is that every day there are thousands of people across the country who are using a smartphone for the first time, who are probably using the internet for the first time. So it's important that we offer services that are very, very relevant to them. Our ambition is that practically anyone and everyone here in Myanmar uses our services. Is Myanmar still small compared to other regional markets? Can you explain how Viber can monetize its services here? Myanmar is not a small market. From a regional perspective, Myanmar is very important to us. I try to make a trip at least every month, which is not a lot. But at least, I ensure that I am meeting our consumers. Smartphone market penetration is exploding. Internet is now starting to be available in every corner of the country. This is a good area for us to focus on going forward. There are currently three areas that we monetize. First is Viber Out. You can use your Viber application and call any number in the world that does not have Internet or does not have Viber. The second is stickers. We have paid stickers and stickers that are completely free. In Europe, the United States and other parts of Asia people pay for stickers, but here not so much. The third is partnering with businesses looking for native advertisements within the app. How does Viber ensure safety and security for its customers? Viber has end-to-end encryption, which means that conversations between two individuals or in a group setting are completely private and everything that is spoken or shared between those people stays that way. The conversation cannot be accessed by anybody, including Viber. There is concern that Viber and other social media platforms can be used for hate speech, illegal activity and exploitation by banned organizations. How can you stop that? It is very difficult for us to state an opinion about conversations between two individuals that are encrypted end-to-end — what is right and what is wrong — as we are a communication platform. We also have public accounts, where companies can talk brands, promote content, etc. In some countries such as Sri Lanka or the Philippines, we even have governments partnering with us and having their own public accounts. If it's a conversation happening between two people, we do not have access to that data, so it's very difficult to have any opinion on that. But in a public chat or public account, there is already a way for people to flag content as offensive. We have a content moderation team for our public accounts that is always accessible, and such content is flagged off. There is a new generation of IT innovators growing here in Myanmar. How do you view them, and does Viber have any plans to work with them? The growth that Myanmar has shown over the last two to four years is deeper and steeper that before. I think it is because of this particularly young force. It is a fairly young market. When I say young market I mean a lot of working-class, young people out there who have their entire careers ahead of them. We have been working with a lot of companies and we have a lot of partners over here, and it's just been a great experience working with people over here. We are very open to working with different companies, different brands, different organizations, and in some cases freelancers. I have also got some idea of the talent over here, and the talent is very good. In the case of some specific projects or assignments we connect with locals over here purely because only from Myanmar would you understand Myanmar and the smaller things very well. The post 'Localization' is Very Important: Viber appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Parliament Approves Proposal to Ensure Transparency in Extractive Industries Posted: 27 Nov 2017 02:01 AM PST NAYPYITAW —Myanmar Lower House of Parliament on Thursday approved a proposal to ensure transparency in the country's extractive industries and transfer back the gross revenues of the enterprises under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation into the Union budget. Seven lawmakers discussed in favor of the motion proposed by Daw Thet Thet Khaing of Dagon Township and the Lower House approved the proposal despite the objection by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation and the Ministry of National Planning and Finance. Lawmakers have questioned the transparency of revenues from the country's extractive industries, pointing out that the natural resources ministry has more than 10 trillion kyats (US$7.3 billion) in its accounts—an amount far more than combined budgets for health and education in the 2017-18 fiscal year. According to lawmakers, only about half of the ministry's revenues go to the Union budget while the other half is kept by the ministry without transparency. Enterprises of the resources ministry such as Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise, and Myanma Petroleum Products Enterprise currently have more than 10 trillion kyats held in their other accounts, according to the Ministry of National Planning and Finance. MOGE alone has more than 4.6 trillion kyats in its account, far exceeding the budgets of education and health, which only received a combined 13 percent of the total 20.59 trillion kyats budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. "If we use that amount for building roads in rural areas, we will be able to build over 30,000 miles. If we use it for building schools, we will be able to build over 100,000 school buildings, and if we use it for rural electrification, we will be able to electrify over 75,000 villages," said lawmaker U Naing Htoo Aung of Natogyi Township. Ministry officials defended that the money held by the ministry currently belongs to the Union budget, but U Naing Htoo Aung claimed that lawmakers are unable to monitor those accounts. While operation costs, overhead, staff salaries and debts of those enterprises are paid from the Union budget, they have accumulated money in their accounts over time, U Lwin Ko Latt of Thanlyin Township pointed out. According to a report after Myanmar was accepted as a candidate country to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Mexico in January 2014, the Ministry of Energy non-publicly awarded licenses for 16 natural gas fields in October 2013 and 14 gas fields in March 2014, said U Lwin Ko Latt. "The most important thing is transparency. Without it, people will think the old practices are still alive no matter what changes we introduce," he added. Lawmaker Dr. Khin Sithu of Loikaw Township, citing the 2017 Resource Governance Index, said that Myanmar is among 13 countries that receive the least benefits from natural resource mining. "Those state-owned enterprises are running a large surplus and I can't understand why those surpluses go to their other accounts [and not into the Union budget] while they have no specific economic responsibilities. Those accounts should be audited with external audits," said the lawmaker, who also called for equal distribution of benefits from resources to ethnic states. Ministry officials told Parliament that the ministry has been taking steps to transfer the money back into Union budget, and that a national level committee has also been formed to ensure transparency in extractive industries. According to the Ministry of National Planning and Finance, there are 19 state-owned enterprises that are allowed to open other accounts for their operation. These include the News and Periodicals Enterprise under the Information Ministry, Myanma Railways and Road Transport Administration under the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Myanma Timber Enterprise, mining enterprises under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, heavy industries under the Ministry of Industry, the Electricity Supply Enterprise of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy and more. The post Parliament Approves Proposal to Ensure Transparency in Extractive Industries appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Two Foreign Journalists Charged With Immigration Violation Posted: 27 Nov 2017 01:53 AM PST NAYPYITAW — The court in Naypyitaw's Zabuthiri Township charged two foreign journalists, who were also facing lawsuits for attempting to fly a drone near Parliament in Naypyitaw, with the additional charge of violating the Immigration Act on Monday. The judge, U Zaw Win Htoo, said during the court session on Monday that the immigration officer of Zabuthiri Township had filed a lawsuit against the two foreign journalists under section 13(1) of the 1947 Myanmar Immigration Act. Section 13(1) of the Immigration Act states: "Whoever enters or attempts to enter the Union of Burma or whoever after legal entry remains or attempts to remain in the Union of Burma in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made there under or any of the conditions set out in any permit or visa shall be punished with imprisonment for a term." The penalty is a minimum of six months to a maximum of five years, a minimum fine of 1,500 kyats, or both. According to the defendants' lawyers, the visas of producer Mok Choy Lin from Malaysia and freelance camera operator Lau Hon Meng from Singapore, who were working for Turkish state broadcaster TRT World, expired on Nov. 17, while the two were detained. U Khin Maung Zaw, the lawyer for the two Myanmar nationals, told The Irrawaddy that they were being charged for overstaying, which occurred because of their detention. He added that their respective embassies had been notified. The journalists were arrested on Oct. 28 in Naypyitaw with their interpreter Ko Aung Naing Soe and driver U Hla Tin, while they were trying to fly a drone near Parliament. They were charged under section 10 of the 1934 Aviation Act and received two months imprisonment on Nov. 10 for attempting to fly the drone without permission. The journalists are still facing a lawsuit under the 2012 export and import law for illegally bring the drone into the country. The next court hearing for the journalists will be on December 4. The post Two Foreign Journalists Charged With Immigration Violation appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rakhine Parliament Debates Tourism Plan for Manaung Island Posted: 27 Nov 2017 01:10 AM PST Sittwe—The Rakhine State Parliament on Friday discussed a proposal to develop tourism on Manaung Island, agreeing that a decision on whether to allow it should be made only after the concerned developers explained their plans in detail to local lawmakers. On Oct. 30, the state government signed an MoU with a public company based in Rakhine State for tourism development on Manaung Island, which lies in the Bay of Bengal close to Ramree Island off the coast of Rakhine State. Rakhine State Minister for Electricity, Industry and Transportation U Aung Kyaw Zan sought the remarks of the state parliament about the project last Tuesday. The minister said the Rakhine State government had requested approval from the union government for the project, and that 10 union-level ministries including the Ministry of National Resources and Environmental Conservation and Ministry of Transport and Communications had provided recommendations. In response, five lawmakers discussed the proposal and suggested that the concerned companies present their master plans and business models to the parliament before any further decisions were made. Lawmaker U Nai Kywe Aye of Thandwe Township (2) said: "We'll see first if the project will be beneficial to locals and discuss its pros and cons." Another lawmaker, U Zaw Zaw Myint of Buthidaung Township (1), said no citizen was opposed to development. "But we have to make sure these development projects have minimal negative consequences." Lawmakers also urged the state government to learn the lessons from the Ngapali tourism development project, which due to a lack of clear procedures and regulations had resulted in a lot of land disputes, and also affected the livelihoods of local fishermen. Many local landowners had ended up as staff working at hotels built on disputed land, said the lawmakers. In October, the Rakhine State government also signed MoUs with private companies for the establishment of a 3.5 billion-kyat Kanyin Chaung border economic zone on the outskirts of Maungdaw and to upgrade the Thandwe golf course. The post Rakhine Parliament Debates Tourism Plan for Manaung Island appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Pope Arrives in Yangon, Begins Diplomatically Fraught Visit Posted: 26 Nov 2017 11:49 PM PST YANGON — Pope Francis has arrived in Yangon on Monday afternoon, becoming the first Pope to visit Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where only one percent of the population is Roman Catholic. Hundreds of faithful Catholics lined the road outside Yangon International Airport to welcome him, holding the flags of Myanmar and the Vatican. The Papal visit coincides with international pressure on the Southeast Asian country regarding human rights abuses against the Rohingya Muslim minority. More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh after army security clearance operations in late August and allegations of killings, rape and arson. Pope Francis was warned, including by Myanmar's Cardinal Charles Bo, to avoid using the term 'Rohingya' during his visit, so as not to upset the host country or trigger a backlash, as the government, military and majority of the people reject the term and instead refer to the Rohingya as 'Bengali,' inferring they are immigrants from Bangladesh. Vatican officials said the Pope's six-day visit was meant to send a message of "reconciliation, forgiveness and peace." During the trip, the 80-year-old pope will have meetings with Myanmar's President U Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw. He will hold a mass in Yangon on Wednesday and meet with the country's military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing the following day before flying to Bangladesh, where he is expected to meet with Rohingya refugees. Diplomatic relations between Myanmar and the Vatican were established in May during the State Counselor's trip there. The papal visit was marked at the time as well. Myanmar has about 700,000 people who profess to be Catholic and for many of them it is the first time they have had a chance to see the pope in person. On Friday, about 7,000 Catholics from Kachin State in northern Myanmar took a two-night train ride down to Yangon to welcome the pope. Members of other ethnic groups such as the Karen, Kayah and Chin are also expected to travel to Yangon to witness the visit. The post Pope Arrives in Yangon, Begins Diplomatically Fraught Visit appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Bali’s Erupting Volcano Raises Air Travel Warnings Posted: 26 Nov 2017 08:04 PM PST DENPASAR, Indonesia — Indonesian and regional authorities heightened flight warnings around Bali's Mount Agung on Sunday as the volcano's eruptions sent a plume of volcanic ash and steam more than 6,000 meters into the skies above the popular holiday island. Ash covered roads, cars and buildings near the volcano in the northeast of the island, while scores of flights were cancelled and overnight a red glow of what appeared to be magma could be seen in photographs by Antara, the state news agency. "The activity of Mount Agung has entered the magmatic eruption phase. It is still spewing ash at the moment but we need to monitor and be cautious over the possibility of a strong, explosive eruption," said Gede Suantika, an official at the volcanology and geological disaster mitigation agency. Bali, famous for its surf, beaches and temples, attracted nearly 5 million visitors last year but business has slumped in areas around the volcano since September when Agung's volcanic tremors began to increase. Agung rises majestically over eastern Bali at a height of just over 3,000 meters. When it last erupted in 1963 it killed more than 1,000 people and razed several villages. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VACC) in Darwin issued maps showing an ash cloud heading southeast over the neighboring island of Lombok, away from Bali's capital, Denpasar, where the main international airport is located. "Red" Aviation Warning Indonesia also upgraded its Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) to red, its highest warning, and said the ash-cloud top could reach 19,654 feet (6,142 meters) or higher. However, officials said the airport would remain open for now as the ash could be avoided. "The volcanic ash has only been detected in a certain area," the airport and other officials said in a joint statement. All domestic flights and the airport itself were operating as "normal" and tests for ash had been negative, it said. Yunus Suprayogi, general manager of Bali airport operator Angkasa Pura I, said food and entertainment would be provided as well as extra bus services if conditions changed and passenger numbers increased. The airport would also "make it easier" for passengers to seek refunds and make other arrangements, he said, while noting that airlines had their own rules. After resuming flights on Sunday morning, Virgin Australia again cancelled flights on Sunday afternoon following a change in the aviation color code from orange to red. "Due to the significant volcanic ash and current weather conditions, we have made the decision to cancel the rest of today's flights to and from Bali as a precautionary measure," Virgin said in a statement on its website. AirAsia also cancelled its remaining flights to Bali and Lombok. Qantas and Jetstar flights were continuing as of Sunday afternoon but Jetstar warned on its website that flights could be subject to change at short notice for safety reasons. Indonesia's flag carrier Garuda said it was cancelling all flights to and from Lombok. Lombok airport was closed late on Sunday afternoon and authorities would assess the situation in the morning, a transport ministry spokesman said. Indonesia's disaster agency has said Bali is "still safe" for tourists except for a 7.5-kilometre (4.7-mile) zone around Mount Agung. "Despite the string of eruptions, there has not been an increase in volcanic activity," it said in a statement, noting that the emergency status for Agung remains at level 3, one below the highest. China's Consulate in Denpasar warned citizens on Sunday to "be prepared for the possibility of being stranded" in Bali. The post Bali's Erupting Volcano Raises Air Travel Warnings appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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Gen Ne Win and Chinese Foreign Minister Zhou En Lai are welcomed by an honor guard in this undated photo. (Photo: Unknown)1963