Wednesday, July 4, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Army-Backed Mytel Ordered to Halt ‘Shake’ Program

Posted: 04 Jul 2018 08:44 AM PDT

YANGON – Deputy Director General U Myo Swe of the Post and Telecommunications Department, a branch of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the agency has ordered the country's fourth telecom operator, Mytel, to halt its "Shake Mytel" program, which offers a "free" service to its customers.

Mytel is a joint venture between the Myanmar Army-backed Star High Company, which owns 48 percent, Vietnam's Defense Ministry, which holds 28 percent, and Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public Ltd, a group of 11 local companies with a combined 23-percent stake.

The company's launch in Yangon on June 9 was attended by Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Deputy Minister of National Defense of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces Senior Lieutenant General Tran Don and nearly a dozen generals from both countries.

Telecommunications Department official U Myo Swe said Mytel initially proposed the Shake program as a lucky draw, but in practice the company has offered free service to users for weeks.

"As you know, in a lucky draw, when you shake the phone you can't win every single time, but their program offers it to you many times every day. If you shake around 10-15 times then you will win a number of times. It doesn’t involve giving cars, phones or other items to participants; it offers 'free service' to phone users," said U Myo Swe.

U Myo Swe said, "The reason the tariff framework prohibits free service is that it could lead to firms fighting each other [in the telecom sector], with the strongest company defeating its rivals. If we allow telecom companies to offer free service, the biggest conglomerates could come in and wipe out their rivals. ”

He pointed out that in recent years unfair competition had become a problem in neighboring countries including India, Laos and Cambodia. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has been drafting a new Tariff Regulatory Framework in order to create a sustainable telecom sector with fair play rules for operators.

Under the current Tariff Regulatory Framework, operators cannot price their voice call, SMS and mobile data services below fixed floor prices. During promotional periods and for their renewed special packages, operators are normally allowed to reduce the floor price by nearly 40 percent but Mytel has been granted permission to decrease the floor prices by 70 percent during its promotion period, which has lasted for about three months, as the ministry assumes it would have little impact on established operators.

U Zaw Min OO, Chief External Relations Officer of Mytel Company, acknowledged that it changed the program on June 27. However, the Shake Mytel program is still active. He explained that Shake Shake offers free Internet MB, text messages and phone calls. According to him, the company gives out a total of 10,000 reward points per day.

To take advantage of the offer, Mytel users need to download the Mytel Android application and simply try the Shake program. The Mytel communications officer said that when users shake the mobile device they can receive 5-10 SMS calls for free, and sometimes 10-100 MB and 10-15 minutes of free calls. He elaborated that such opportunities cannot be won by every subscriber as the promotion only works in Android phones and doesn't function on Java and IOS phones. He also claimed that the company had limited users at that time.

In fact, the free service started six days before Mytel's opening ceremony.  The "Shake Mytel" service began June 9 and ended on June 27 (free service) as the telecommunications regulatory department was besieged with questions by other operators over fair play in the market. Plus, Mytel already offered free Internet service to users amounting to about 1,500 MB and 150 voice calls, which can be used within three months.

U Myo Swe said the agency informed the company on June 20 and the company officially stopped the program one week later, on June 27. Mytel had offered the free service for 19 days and the reward points indicate that the company has given a maximum of 190,000 points to its SIM users. U Zaw Min Oo roughly estimated that the company spent over 100 million kyats.

Although the company has practiced "lucky draw" systems in different ways, they were not fined by the Telecom Department. U Zaw Min Oo said that starting from June 27, it was quickly changed to a traditional lucky draw system, which currently offers car, phone and other electronic items to Shake Mytel participants as the company has reached more than 1.5 million active SIM users across the country.

According to his explanation, if the user shakes the phone they will get a code number. The Mytel company announces Shake winners weekly on its official Facebook page.

The mobile penetration rate in Myanmar has reached a peak since Telenor and Qatar's Ooredoo arrived in 2014, abruptly changing the monopoly market of state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), which charged millions of kyats for a SIM card during the military administration and early in ex-president Thein Sein's term. Now, people can easily get every kind of SIM card for 1,500 kyats on the street.

The three operators jointly announced in a statement in February that about 53 million people use their services across the country. MPT, which partnered with Japan's KDDI in 2014, was on top with 25 million subscribers while Telenor got second place with 19 million and Ooredoo had 9.5 million users.

The post Army-Backed Mytel Ordered to Halt 'Shake' Program appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Families of Detained Reuters Reporters Struggle to Stay Positive

Posted: 04 Jul 2018 07:33 AM PDT

YANGON — Ma Pan Ei pulls herself together for her unborn child and keeps hope alive that a lawsuit against her husband, Ko Wa Lone, and his colleague Ko Kyaw Soe Oo is dismissed before the girl is delivered. Ma Pan Ei found out she was pregnant a few weeks after the two Reuters reporters were arrested on Dec. 12.

Though the journalists have been detained since, she has been able to meet with her husband at each court hearing and visits him at Yangon’s Insein Prison every week. Their meetings at the court can last a few hours at a time, but her prison visits are kept to a strict 30 minutes, often after a long wait.

"The news of having my child gives me hope to make it through my time in prison. I have been able to encourage myself not to get depressed," Ko Wa Lone — whose real name is Thet Oo Maung but is best known by his nom de plume — told The Irrawaddy after a court hearing in June.

Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested after leaving a dinner they were invited to by police in Yangon and had charges filed against them on Jan. 10 under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly possessing classified documents, which could see them sentenced to up to 14 years in jail if convicted.

At the time of their arrest, they were investigating the massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in September in Indin village, in northern Rakhine State’s Maungdaw Township. Reuters published a story based on their reporting on Feb. 8 and by April the Myanmar Army announced that seven soldiers had been sentenced to 10 years in jail with hard labor for participating in the extrajudicial killings.

On Monday, July 9, the Northern District Court of Yangon will rule whether to charge the two Reuters reporters.

The families of both men say they expect the court to drop the case.

"We pray and we believe that the judge's decision at the upcoming court ruling will be the right one," said Ma Pan Ei.

She said her pregnancy has brought joy to the family amid the hardship.

"Maung Wa Lone told me he has a future now that our angel is on her way," she said.

U Tin Myint, Ko Wa Lone’s father, said he was optimistic about Monday’s ruling because his son "did nothing wrong." He said he tells his eldest son to be strong every time they meet, though he has not been able to attend every hearing.

"We did not expect this. Now that we are facing this, we feel very sorry," he told The Irrawaddy.

The baby will be his first grandchild.

"I feel both sad and happy for my first grandchild because we were expecting this moment [the pregnancy]. But now my son is in prison, so my sadness is beyond words,” he said softly.

The families are all smiles when they meet at court under the public’s gaze, but Ma Pan Ei said the cheer is a show to lift each other’s spirits.

"I don't want him to worry, so I try to stay happy and smile as much as I can. I only want him to know that everything is fine. He also always says everything is fine. But we both know the real feeling," she said.

“I just want the father of my child to be releases before she is born,” she said through tears.

Ko Kyaw Soe Oo and his wife, Chit Su Win, hold hands after a court hearing in Yangon on April 4. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

The families of the two reporters insist Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo are not enemies of the state, but journalists and fathers who believe in the truth, respect everyone and reject ethnic or racial discrimination.

After one of their court hearings last month, Ko Kyaw Soe Oo told The Irrawaddy that he did not want his daughter to go through what he has had to.

"We are facing unjust laws, and we have a poor education system. I don't want my child to have an attitude of racial hatred and discrimination,” which a poor education system can breed, he said.

His daughter, who will turn 3 this month, comes along to every hearing, the only chance she and her father have to play together.

Ko Kyaw Soe Oo’s wife, Chit Su Win, hopes her husband will be freed in time for their daughter’s birthday in three weeks.

She said she smiles when they meet so he doesn’t worry too much, “but I can’t help being sad when I see my daughter crying and asking for her father."

She visits Ko Kyaw Soe Oo in prison almost every day and brings him home-cooked meals.

"Even if we live in an apartment, we want to go out. How hard must it be for him being surrounded by those prison walls?" she said.

Ko Kyaw Soe Oo’s daughter, Moe Thin Wai Zin, stands outside court during a hearing in Yangon on May 29. / Reuters

Between prison visits and court hearings, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo spend much of their time reading and even do a little gardening.

"Maung Wa Lone asks for at least five or six books a week, and for seeds and seedlings of different plants and flowers,” said Ma Pan Ei. “When I asked him why he wanted these seedlings, because you won't be staying there forever, he told me that he wanted to leave something good behind."

In 2017 a total of 11 journalists were arrested under various laws, including the Officials Secrets Act, the Unlawful Associations Act, the Telecommunications Law and the Media Law. Though the cases against eight of them have been dropped, the two Reuters reporters and an editor for Myanmar Now are still being prosecuted.

The post Families of Detained Reuters Reporters Struggle to Stay Positive appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Obsession With Statues Only Fuels Distrust in Union Government

Posted: 04 Jul 2018 06:58 AM PDT

YANGON — Looking at images of security forces clashing with local ethnic people protesting a plan to erect a statue of General Aung San in the Karenni state capital Loikaw the other day, one could only wonder why state governments are so obsessed with putting up likenesses of the national independence hero.

It was not the first time a state government has faced serious criticism over the issue, especially in ethnic areas. Since 2015, ethnic Chin, Mon and Kachin demonstrators have confronted their state governments over plans to put up statues. Karenni State was only the latest one. These governments have taken an uncompromising approach, treating the issue with the utmost seriousness while ignoring local criticism. They claim that erecting such statues honors the national hero and is done in the spirit of Aung San's vision of national unity.

In Myanmar, Gen. Aung San, the father of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is nationally regarded as the country's independence hero for his struggle to free the country from British colonial rule 70 years ago. Shortly before independence, he pledged to transform Myanmar into a country exemplifying federalism and ethnic equality in the 1947 Panglong Agreement. However, 71 years after the general's untimely death that same year, those pledges remain unfulfilled.

That is the source of ethnic people's discontent. With state governments apparently more concerned about putting up statues of Gen. Aung San than fulfilling his promises, ethnic people have taken to the streets to vent their anger and opposition to the statue plans, occasionally resulting in clashes.

It's embarrassing to see state governments so determined to erect the statues while failing to listen to the public's voice. It's ridiculous that this should happen under a democratic government.

If the state governments — who are footing the bill in most cases — want to avoid controversy, they should take the money budgeted for statues and spend it on regional development. While the cost of a bronze statue varies depending on its size, the minimum cost is around 10 million kyats (more than US$7,000). It was alarming to learn that Karenni State — one of the least developed regions in the country — plans to spend more than US$56,800 on its statue. That amount of money could make a big difference in the lives of ethnic people in far-flung areas.

Known for his modesty, Gen. Aung San himself would not be happy to see what his so-called admirers are doing: paying more attention to superficial activities than trying to achieve what he longed to see in Myanmar—unity and equality among all people residing in the country. Make no mistake: The state governments' deafness to the voices of their people is an insult to the feelings of ethnic people and will only fuel distrust in the central government. If that happens, it will hinder the peace process the National League for Democracy-led government has been promoting as it strives for the national reconciliation that was the essence of the 1947 Panglong Agreement.

The post Obsession With Statues Only Fuels Distrust in Union Government appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

All Members of Northern Alliance Invited to Attend Panglong Peace Conference

Posted: 04 Jul 2018 05:21 AM PDT

MON STATE — The government has invited all members of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC) to attend the third session of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference in Naypyitaw next week, according to an official from one of the members of the alliance of northern ethnic armed organizations.

"We received the invitation yesterday," Major Tar Aike Kyaw, a spokesperson for the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. He said the TNLA is still discussing who will represent it at the peace conference.

"[The TNLA] will attend the conference, but we are still negotiating who will lead the delegation," he said.

The FPNCC is a political alliance of armed groups based in northern Shan and Kachin states. It has seven members: the United Wa State Army (UWSA); Kachin Independence Army (KIA); National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA); Shan State Progress Party (SSPP); TNLA; Arakan Army (AA); and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).

The Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw) and the government initially said they would not invite the TNLA, AA or MNDAA, with the UWSA, KIA, NDAA, and SSPP being the only groups from the alliance allowed to attend the conference.

However, all FNPCC members received invitation letters from the government. To prepare for the conference, the alliance will hold a meeting in Panghsang, the capital of the Wa Self-Administered Zone, in northern Shan on July 5.

The third session of the Panglong Peace Conference is scheduled to start on July 11.  China, which has served as a peace negotiator between the FPNCC and the Myanmar government in the past, will help arrange travel to the conference for all FPNCC members. They will first travel to China, and fly from there to Naypyitaw.

According to the peace conference's rules, participation in discussions is limited to existing ethnic armed groups who have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, while those who have yet to sign the NCA are excluded from negotiations.

The individual FPNCC members are not yet clear on the degree to which they can participate in discussions at the peace conference. However, Maj Tar Aike Kyaw said, "This time they invited us not only to attend the opening ceremony and dinner, as in the past, but also to attend meetings. They did not mention whether we would participate in the meetings as representatives, however," he said.

The FPNCC's policy in the past has been not to participate in peace conferences unless all of their members are invited. All the member groups will attend the peace conference next week, but it was too early to say whether the invitations are a positive development.

"First, we will see what the conditions are like in terms of what we can say at the conference," Maj Tar Aike Kyaw said.

The Myanmar Army and government wants all of the members of the FPNCC to sign the NCA, but the alliance wants the agreement to be amended before signing.

The army has rejected this demand, and fighting between the Tatmadaw and ethnic rebels from the north of the country continues in Kachin and northern Shan.

The post All Members of Northern Alliance Invited to Attend Panglong Peace Conference appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Corruption Czar Puts Bribe Payers on Alert

Posted: 04 Jul 2018 02:44 AM PDT

YANGON — Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman U Aung Kyi warned on Monday that those who pay bribes will also be punished, not just those who take them.

His warning, at a seminar on business ethics hosted by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce, follows amendments made to the 2013 Anti-Corruption Law in early June.

"We've amended Article 3 (a), defining in greater detail the giving and receiving of bribes. The original article didn't specify the giver and recipient. Now the amended provision allows us to take action against anyone involved," U Aung Kyi said.

The law had already been amended on three prior occasions — in 2014, 2016 and 2017 — but the changes were not significant.

"There is a Burmese saying that you succeed by giving. Myanmar people by nature are willing to give out of generosity. But according to the [new] law, I would say that it is too risky now," said U Aung Kyi.

The government has also broadened the definition of a bribe.

"Not only cash and pricey gifts, but also treating [to lavish dinners, etc.] and service charges will be regarded as a bribe. If we pay attention to these, corruption will surely decline," the chairman said.

U Aung Kyi said the key to combating graft was to promote integrity and that the fight against corruption would only succeed with the cooperation of each and every citizen.

The commission was also planning to establish anti-graft bodies within public service agencies and government departments, said U Aung Kyi, and would provide the necessary training.

In what’s considered the most significant new amendment to the Anti-Corruption Law, the commission will be allowed to launch investigations into civil servants who appear to be suspiciously wealthy at its own discretion. Until now it could only act in response to formal complaints filed with strong supporting evidence.

The amendments also expand the country's anti-graft body, with commission branches to open in other states and regions. U Aung Kyi reaffirmed that the commission would also educate the public about combating corruption, starting in primary schools.

The commission is also formulating a by-law to facilitate the enforcement of the amended Anti-Corruption Law and expects to finish it within three months.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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World Bank Denies Blocking Myanmar Projects to Pressure Govt on Rohingya Return

Posted: 04 Jul 2018 02:37 AM PDT

YANGON — The World Bank has denied a report from Bangladesh that it has stopped approving projects in Myanmar in order to pressure Naypyitaw to peacefully repatriate displaced Rohingya to Rakhine State in accordance with an MoU signed between the government and two UN agencies.

"We have no plans to halt ongoing projects in Myanmar. We confirm that we will continue to support new projects in Myanmar, especially in Rakhine State," said the World Bank's Myanmar communications officer, U Kyaw Soe Lynn.

On July 2, Bangladesh's The Independent newspaper reported that the World Bank had stopped approving projects for Myanmar as part of international moves to pressure Naypyitaw to facilitate the peaceful return of Rohingya people currently sheltering in refugee camps in Bangladesh. The story quoted Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith after his meeting with World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim in Dhaka.

Kim and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited a Rohingya camp in southeast Bangladesh near the Myanmar border on July 2. More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to camps in the area from Myanmar since a security crackdown was launched by the Myanmar military last August.

The World Bank last week promised to provide US$480 million to Bangladesh to support its Rohingya assistance operations.

The false report of a suspension of World Bank activity in Myanmar spread rapidly on social media after some local media outlets translated the Independent's story and published it on their websites in Burmese.

"There might be some misunderstanding," said U Kyaw Soe Lynn regarding the Bangladesh finance minister's comment.

"I have received phone calls from government officials asking whether we had really stopped approving projects in Myanmar," he told The Irrawaddy.

"Our projects will continue to focus on peace, social inclusion and economic transition across the country. We will start new programs to build peaceful and prosperous communities in Rakhine State," he added.

The World Bank's vice president for East Asia and Pacific, Victoria Kwakwa, is due to visit Myanmar from July 8 to 10. She will meet State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, other high-ranking government officials and relevant stakeholders in the bank's partnership with Myanmar. According to a statement issued by the World Bank, she will discuss the use of resources from the International Development Association for investments to enhance social inclusion and foster peace within the country.

The World Bank is supporting the government's implementation of its MoU with the UNHCR and UNDP, and of the recommendations of the Annan Commission Report on Rakhine State, U Kyaw Soe Lynn said.

According to the World Bank statement, the bank has since 2012 committed US$2 billion in soft financing to support economic transition and peace building, focusing on improving school enrolment and learning outcomes, strengthening basic health services, extending rural electrification, increasing agricultural productivity and enhancing management of public resources.

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Disaster Cave Slated to Be Thailand’s Next Tourist Attraction

Posted: 04 Jul 2018 02:07 AM PDT

BANGKOK — The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) plans to promote Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai province as a key attraction after its time in the global spotlight, which climaxed with the missing soccer team of 13 being found alive on Monday night.

Karuna Dechatiwong, director of TAT's Chiang Rai office, said the agency will work with local authorities and the private sector to promote the cave and other attractive nearby venues as it anticipates a number of tourists will flock to the area in the near future.

"After the rescue team found the 12 young soccer players and their coach on Monday night, the cave has become of interest for both local and foreign travelers," Karuna said.

She said people may want travel and activity information before visiting the area, and the agency is ready to work out a route to the cave and other destinations in Chiang Rai.

The tranquil and beautiful cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Mae Sai district is suited to the summer season, but permission from authorities is needed before entering in the rainy season.

Initially, TAT is considering creating a new route not only to promote the cave but also nearby communities such as a village that makes mulberry tree paper, an Isan Lanna community, and a community that produces seed tea.

All the communities are located along the road in between Chiang Rai town and Mae Sai on the border with Myanmar.

TAT will ask local administrations to prepare tourism management, improve safety standards and upgrade services, she said.

The promotion of Chiang Rai province as an adventure destination was also floated by Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat and Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osot-Thanakorn. The two also talked with hotels and transport companies in Chiang Rai to arrange an appreciation trip specifically for the rescue teams.

TAT Chiang Rai reported the province attracted 2.7 million tourists last year and generated tourism income of nearly 30 billion baht (US$905 million). The number of visitors is expected to increase gradually as the province also plans to promote elderly tourism along with adventure and cross-border tourism.

Earlier this year, the renovated river port in Chiang Saen was opened to serve higher demand from southern China.

The post Disaster Cave Slated to Be Thailand's Next Tourist Attraction appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

3 Civilians Reportedly Killed by Landmines in Shan State in June

Posted: 04 Jul 2018 02:00 AM PDT

Mon State — At least three people were killed by landmines in northern Shan State last month, according to a local resident and an aid group, amid ongoing fighting in the area between the Myanmar Army and ethnic armed groups.

A man and woman from Kyaukme Township were killed on June 20 when their motorbike hit a mine in a conflict area, according to a resident.

Some locals in Kyaukme believe the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) planted the mine after it heard that the Myanmar Army was heading that way, but the pair ran over the mine before any soldiers arrived.

"The TNLA already warned locals not to travel in the area. But those two were not from the area, so they did not know about it," said Mai Yan Naing, a township resident.

In another incident, Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian aid group, reported that a 65-year-old man in Kutkai Township was killed when he stepped on a mine while foraging for mushrooms on June 17.

The Myanmar Red Cross reported that 95 people were killed and 106 were wounded by landmines between 2014 and 2018.

The Myanmar Army usually blames ethnic armed groups for laying the mines, mainly the TNLA and Kachin Independence Army (KIA), while the armed groups tend to blame the army or each other. The KIA has accused the army of planting many mines in Kachin State’s Tanai and Injangyang townships recently while withdrawing their troops.

"They withdrew from some amber and gold mining areas, but they did not withdraw from all of their bases. They continue to be based in some important areas," Colonel Naw Bu, a spokesman for the KIA, told The Irrawaddy.

The KIA says its fighters recently defused about 80 landmines in Injangyang, in northern Kachin.

"The Tatmadaw [Myanmar Army] planted those landmines," Col. Naw Bu said.

The colonel said the army had also planted many mines in areas the KIA claims in Tanai, but he did not know how many of those the KIA had defused to date.

Col Naw Bu said KIA and army mines were easy to distinguish because the KIA’s mines were improvised and the army’s were factory-made.

Free Burma Ranger also reported that four civilians were killed and four were wounded by mines in Kachin since April. It accused the army of laying the mines.

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Is Modi Govt Getting its Act Together for a Better Act East Asia Policy?

Posted: 04 Jul 2018 01:49 AM PDT

GUWAHATI, India — Every year we hear about India's much-touted 'Act East Asia' policy and how it will catapult the country's northeastern region into the international market, connecting Myanmar and the rest of Southeast and East Asia and beyond. The Act East Asia (AEA) policy, which was rechristened as such in 2014 from the earlier 'Look East Asia' policy after the ascension of Narendra Modi as the country's 15th prime minister under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, does not have much to show in terms of actual achievement, except that it has continued to play up the importance of inter–regional connectivity and linking northeast India to Myanmar, Thailand, other ASEAN countries and China.

Without any malice intended, it must be said that apart from the tall talks of connectivity, the only thing that has been visible is grand events hosted by Indian Prime Minister Modi, such as the hosting of the 10 ASEAN leaders as chief guests at India's 69th Republic Day Parade on February 26 this year. Prior to that, Modi invited all of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) leaders to his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014. The BRIC (originally Brazil, Russia, India, and China, before the induction of South Africa in 2010) summit in October 2016 also saw an outreach summit organized with all seven leaders of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation). Besides these events, Prime Minister Modi has not left any stone unturned to organize grand road shows at home for leaders from China, Japan and, most recently, Israel, who visited India in the past four years, and also to spice up his frequent foreign visits with huge get-togethers with India's diaspora abroad.

After so much showbiz, it is only natural that just about everyone – at least in Northeast India – is asking "how has all of this helped AEA achieve its objectives," and more importantly, where does Northeast India fit in all of this? The Modi-led government has been especially loud about how the government had planned to make Northeast India the most sought after business and tourist destination with the rolling out of the AEA policy. Thus, while the BJP gears up for general elections early next year, calls asking what AEA has achieved are gaining momentum.

The AEA promises a lot at least on paper. It aims to focus on the extended neighborhood of the Asia-Pacific region. The endeavor, according to India's ministry of external affairs, "promotes economic cooperation and cultural ties, and develops strategic relationships" with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. The other perhaps more crucial feature is that the policy would help in providing enhanced connectivity to the states of the Northeastern region including Arunachal Pradesh with other neighboring countries. This was emphasized recently by India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in a meeting with the chief ministers of all of the northeastern states.

But what is perhaps missing from New Delhi's list of 'do's' is the political will and the willingness to translate its plans into action, at least insofar as the northeast is concerned. This is perhaps because India's northeastern region, which comprises the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, is extremely complex, given its enormously diverse ethnic composition and distinctly different cultures from the rest of India, as it shares an international border of 5,182 kilometers (about 99 percent of its total geographical boundary) with neighbouring countries such as China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, making it an exceptionally important geo-strategic space. India surely does not want to make any mistake, especially regarding the security of the region.  It has been a hotbed of insurgency, cross-border militancy, migration issues and extreme forms of communal violence – making the area a prime concern and a top priority.

It would also be wrong to say that the need to engage the northeastern states has not been felt by the Indian establishment in New Delhi since its Look East policy which was launched in 1991 by the then Congress Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao. Following that, the BJP government under Atal Behari Vajpayee and the subsequent Congress-led government under Dr. Monmohan Singh took it forward. However, with few gains since then, it was renamed the Act East policy by Modi in 2014 after he took over as prime minister and he placed emphasis on engaging the northeastern states in order to unlock the vast potential of the region.

Indian PM Narendra Modi with other global leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit held from June 9-10, 2018.   / Ministry of External Affairs India.

However, efforts to involve these states have been piecemeal to say the least, with occasional exchanges and visits from chief ministers and junior ministers and some India-ASEAN motor rallies through Myanmar ending up in Malaysia or Singapore. There has not been a concerted effort to engage even the key states of Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram or even Assam in any of the business conclaves that have been held either in New DelThe recent meeting of the northeastern chief ministers with India's external affairs minister Swaraj made up for some lost ground, as most of the chief ministers that attended the meeting voiced their concerns. A laundry list of what needed to be done was handed over to Swaraj, including a need to address the issues that confront the people of the northeast, to build better connectivity within the states that make up northeast, and to display cautiousness in handling security issues involving the Indian military establishment and the various insurgencies in the region.

Soon after the meeting with Swaraj, chief minister of Meghalaya State Conrad Sangma wrote to the former reminding her that the Northeast states need to be kept at the heart of the Act East policy. In his letter to Swaraj, the Meghalaya chief minister floated the idea of all eight chief ministers of the northeastern states traveling together in a bus to the neighboring countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar.

"Along this journey the chief ministers and officials can interact with civil society groups, farmers, youth and the people of these countries," the chief minister said.

The Meghalaya chief minister also acknowledged the creation of the NITI forum (a platform under the Planning Commission of the government of India) for the northeast as "a welcome step," convinced that it would accelerate the Act East policy. He also suggested the creation of an 'Act East Cell' in the NITI Aayog (Planning Commission) that would coordinate between the states. Another suggestion that went out was for the meetings of the NITI Forum for northeastern states to take place on a rotational basis in each of the capital cities of the eight states "with a specific theme which can bring out the common concerns of the region."

A final suggestion was to hold the next meeting of the NITI Forum in Shillong with the theme, "A Stronger Northeast for a better Act East."

Meghalaya Chief Minister Sangma who heads a BJP supported coalition government admits that on the ground "there is more that needs to be done." In a recent interview with The Irrawaddy held at Shillong he said, "To be fair to the whole thing is not easy. To get all the states of the Northeast along with the countries in ASEAN and BIMSTEC together with Nepal and Bhutan there is a challenge at a very high level." The Meghalaya leader also pointed to "intra-regional and intra-state politics," stating that in his view these complicate the situation further.

"Let us not forget that though the similarities are there, there are also differences among us in this region. There are challenges and a lot of work needs to be done," the young political leader from Meghalaya said, perhaps echoing other chief ministers of Northeast India.

The author is a former senior journalist who has worked for national and international news media in India and elsewhere. Currently he is a contributing editor for The Irrawaddy.

The post Is Modi Govt Getting its Act Together for a Better Act East Asia Policy? appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

India Asks WhatsApp to Curb Spread of False Messages

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 09:33 PM PDT

MUMBAI — India has asked Facebook Inc.-owned WhatsApp messenger to take steps to prevent the circulation of false texts and provocative content that have led to a series of lynchings and mob beatings across the country in the past few months.

With more than 200 million users in India, WhatsApp’s biggest market in the world, false news and videos circulating on the messaging app have become a new headache for social media giant Facebook, already grappling with a privacy scandal.

So far this year, false messages about child abductors on WhatsApp have helped to trigger mass beatings of more than a dozen people in India — at least three of whom have died.

In addition, five people were beaten to death by a mob on Sunday in a fresh incident of lynching in India’s western state of Maharashtra on suspicions that they were child abductors.

“Deep disapproval of such developments has been conveyed to the senior management of WhatsApp and they have been advised that necessary remedial measures should be taken,” India’s IT ministry said in a strongly-worded statement on Tuesday.

The ministry said law enforcement authorities were taking steps to apprehend culprits responsible for the killings but the repeated flow of fake news messages on WhatsApp was also a matter of deep concern.

It also said that messaging platforms “cannot evade accountability and responsibility” when such services are abused by users to spread misinformation.

“The government has also conveyed in no uncertain terms that WhatsApp must take immediate action to end this menace and ensure that their platform is not used for such mala fide activities,” it added.

WhatsApp said it does not want the platform to be used for spreading misinformation, adding the dissemination of false messages was a challenge that companies and society should address.

The firm also announced awards for researchers to explore misinformation related issues and share their proposals with the messaging service, its parent Facebook, academia and policymakers.

Facebook did not respond to a request for comment on the government’s statement.

WhatsApp previously told Reuters that it is educating users to identify fake news as well as considering changes to the service. For example, there is now a public beta test that is labeling any forwarded message. Last week, it also introduced a new setting which allows only the administrators or owners of groups to send messages.

The post India Asks WhatsApp to Curb Spread of False Messages appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ambitious Plans for Southern China Megalopolis Trigger Big Hopes and Fears in Hong Kong

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 09:32 PM PDT

HONG KONG — Some Hong Kong officials and lawmakers are encouraging younger residents to consider living across the mainland China border so that they can escape the territory's sky-high apartment prices and find more job opportunities. It is not an easy sell but some pro-China business leaders say resistance to the idea will eventually crumble.

The government has seized upon a Beijing plan to integrate the former British colony into the Pearl River Delta to create the Greater Bay Area, a region comprising nine cities in China’s Guangdong province, plus Hong Kong and Macau, that would have the equivalent of the fifth-largest economy in the world by 2030 and a population of nearly 70 million. Hong Kong’s population is currently about 7.4 million.

Moving to one of those other cities would mean that Hong Kong's millennial generation, many of whom have been priced out of Hong Kong's housing market, could afford to buy their own homes or rent more than a shoe box. They would also have a wider range of jobs to choose from.

They may, though, miss the freedoms of Hong Kong that are guaranteed under a “one country, two systems” system for the 50 years after the British handover of the territory to China in 1997. In Hong Kong, for example, the media and the Internet are relatively freewheeling, while in China they are censored vigorously.

A further diffusion of people who are Hong Kong born and bred into the mainland may dim support for the pro-democracy movement in the territory, especially if more rich mainlanders move into Hong Kong to replace them.

But Beijing has made it clear that economic integration is key to reinforcing its sovereignty over Hong Kong – and it gets support from within the business community.

“We will no longer be Hong Kong people, but Greater Bay Area people,” Jonathan Choi, Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong, told the Hong Kong Economic Times last month. “We should therefore focus on integration rather than on the interests of Hong Kong,” said Choi, who is also a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the top advisory body to China's Parliament.

Building Bridges

A series of major infrastructure projects due to be finished in the next three months are going to connect major cities in the region through fast trains and road bridges, reducing the time to commute to and from Hong Kong significantly.

"That distance, I believe, will no longer be a problem once they have learned about the latest progress of our growing transport infrastructure links with the Bay Area,” Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said in a blog in June titled, “Debunk the myths over Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area."

The migration has already been happening. At least 500,000 Hong Kong people resided in the mainland last year, up from 155,000 in 2009 and just 62,000 in 2003, according to official data.

It is a stunning transformation from the days only 40 years ago when the Pearl River Delta was more of a sleepy, poor agricultural region that was not much more than a curiosity to people in Hong Kong. It is now one of the world’s industrial engines, whose cities have among the highest per capita incomes in China.

Property agents in southern China said they had seen a jump so far this year in the number of Hong Kong people looking to buy homes across the border, especially in cities such as Zhuhai and Zhongshan, although most were sophisticated investors rather than the youth the government is targeting. One said the increase had been as much as 40 percent.

Jackie Chan, a Hong Kong investor unrelated to the movie star of the same name, bought a home in the southern Chinese city of Zhongshan in April, betting that Beijing’s backing of the Bay Area plan was sure to bolster prices.

“I bought for the Greater Bay Area concept because it’s a national initiative and it will support the development of many new industries,” said Chan, who already owns four apartments in Hong Kong, among the world’s most expensive real estate markets.

In Zhongshan, homes can be snapped up for 1,400 yuan ($209.47) per square foot, while those in Zhuhai go for around 4,000 yuan per square foot – a steep discount to the roughly HK$15,000 ($1,923) per square foot for an apartment in Hong Kong.

Still, the bulk of Bay Area purchases so far have been for investment purposes or holiday homes, rather than as primary residences.

Another barrier is China’s “Great Firewall," which ensures many foreign websites are blocked on the mainland in the name of maintaining social stability, but that is not the case in Hong Kong.

Reluctance Shown in Poll

While supporters of Hong Kong independence remain a small minority in the city and the pro-democracy camp faces a crisis of confidence over its future, younger residents overwhelmingly identify themselves as Hong Kong people, rather than mainland Chinese.

Hong Kong Youth Power Association, a pro-establishment organization, published a survey in May that showed almost 60 percent of the 878 young people polled said they would not consider working or living in the Bay Area.

Reasons included not wanting to be far from home, higher income taxes on the mainland and being unfamiliar with Chinese government policies.

Hardline activists say that young people will just never buy into the idea of living across the border.

“Many young people don’t reject the idea of visiting the mainland for fun. But if you want them to live there, you have your head in the clouds,” said prominent activist Nathan Law, 24, who was elected as Hong Kong’s youngest legislator in history before he was ousted by the government. “You can’t even use WhatsApp or watch YouTube videos. You are isolated from the world.”

The post Ambitious Plans for Southern China Megalopolis Trigger Big Hopes and Fears in Hong Kong appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Former Malaysian PM Pleads Not Guilty to Breach of Trust, Abuse of Power

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 09:07 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR — In a stunning fall from grace, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged in court on Wednesday as part of an investigation into allegations of extensive corruption and misappropriation at a state fund he founded.

Najib pled not guilty to three charges of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power, in relation to a suspicious transaction involving SRC International, a former unit of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Each of the four charges carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years. The abuse of power charge carries a fine of not less than five times the “value of gratification."

“As a public official, which is prime minister and minister of finance, used your position for self gratification (for a) total of 42 million ringgit,” Attorney General Tommy said referring to the abuse of power charge.

The charges relate to funds that allegedly went from SRC International into Najib’s personal bank account, but are only a fraction of the total amount allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB.

The US Department of Justice has said more than $4.5 billion was siphoned from the fund.

Najib has denied wrongdoing since news of the scandal emerged.

SRC is the initial focus of Malaysian investigators as all the suspicious transactions involving the firm were made through Malaysian entities, unlike other 1MDB related transactions that went through foreign banks and companies.

Najib was arrested at his home on Tuesday, less than two months after an unexpected election defeat to a coalition led by his mentor-turned-foe Mahathir Mohamad. Police and anti-graft agency officials have revived investigations into the fund’s missing billions since his ouster.

Some of Najib’s children were present in court, including his stepson, Riza Aziz, who on Tuesday was questioned by anti-graft officers.

Najib, who spent the night in lockup, arrived at 8:20 a.m. at the court complex in Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur, wearing a dark blue suit and a red tie.

Crowds of media and onlookers jostled to catch a glance of the former premier as he was led to a sessions court to face the charges.

Some members of Najib’s UMNO party chanted and held up placards in support of their former leader.

Earlier, state news agency Bernama broadcast the movement of Najib’s convoy live as it moved through rush-hour traffic during the drive from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s offices in the administrative capital, Putrajaya, to the court in Kuala Lumpur.

A spokesman for Najib said on Tuesday that the SRC charges and the 1MDB investigations against the former leader were “politically motivated," and that Najib will contest the charges and clear his name in court.

Mahathir said in an interview with Reuters last month that embezzlement and bribery with government money were among the charges that Malaysia was looking to bring against Najib, 64, adding that Najib was fully responsible for the 1MDB scandal.

Since his loss at the polls, Najib has been barred from leaving the country and had millions of dollars of items seized from properties linked to his family.

In a pre-recorded message posted on Twitter after his arrest, Najib said he was not perfect and not all the accusations against me and my family are true.

“Let investigations be carried out. I have not had a chance to defend myself,” he said.

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Local Clothing Brand Gives Humble Cotton the Feel of Luxury

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 09:22 AM PDT

A local artist is offering her customers a taste of luxury by mixing traditional and contemporary production processes to create hand-woven cotton clothing designed with a unique artistic flair.

Amara Khit, which launched three years ago, is a local luxury cotton brand run by a woman named Shwe Thiri Khit that has become popular with women in the 35 to 40 age bracket.

"I'm a married woman and after delivering my first child I got depressed thinking my life would be spent doing sundry tasks related to raising the kid and taking care of the household. A couple of months later, I started trying to do something that would earn me my own income and I thought about every business that is based on creativity. Shortly after, I started doing Amara Khit," Shwe Thiri Khit recalls”.

The cotton cushions produced by Amara Khit/Supplied

Since the beginning, she wanted the brand's distinguishing feature to be the mix of traditional and temporary designs infused with her keywords "timeless", "simplicity" and the "feel of luxury". At first she didn't start with cotton, but another fabric from Shan State.

"Then, I reached out to weavers in Amarapura and had a chance to learn the cotton hand-weaving process and its advantages and disadvantages. Then, I changed my brand to follow the concept of 'Luxury Cotton'," she said.

All of the clothing designed for Amara Khit is based on Shwe Thiri Khit's own drawings and creative ideas.

Women pulses (purses?) by Amara Khit/ Supplied

"Painting is my hobby and I have been drawing since I was young. That's why I like all things that include a creative element. I have my own characters and my hobby helps me a lot while doing Amara Khit," she said.

Shwe Thiri Khit said she changed to the 'Luxury Cotton' concept because of Myanmar's mostly hot weather. "Most of the days are sunny and people find it hard to choose what to wear; that's the one problem we all face in daily life. People want to wear clothes that are simple and really light but that are still stylish," she said.

Furthermore, she said, local people don't have a high opinion of cotton clothes because they think it isn't colorful, that it looks like old clothes, and yet is still expensive. "I want to explain that the cotton is expensive because it comes from hand-weaving and the colors are dyed with natural plants. Once they wear the cotton clothes, I hope they will change their minds about cotton."

A model wearing the Amara Khit clothing top to bottom/Supplied

Shwe Thiri Khit herself likes to wear cotton blouses and dresses as her day-to-day fashion choice and she believes that cotton helps keep the skin healthy.

"Skin is a layer that also breathes. The nature of cotton is good for allowing air in and out. So, when you are wearing cotton clothes the skin will be able to breathe."

The cotton clothing concept actually started with home decorative items.

"It was because those small pillows used in furniture are easy to make and don't need to be washed frequently. The cotton is easy to shrink after washing. I was doing cotton furniture items about two years ago and trying to get familiar with cotton's nature. Then, I started making the dresses, blouses, pulses (purses?), bags and scarves," Shwe Thiri Khit said.

A model with Amara Khit’s cotton long coat/Supplied

Amara Khit clothing can be worn at any time because the designs are simple, classic, elegant and suitable for any of the city's weather patterns. Shwe Thiri Khit promises that her customers will feel comfortable and luxurious when they are wearing it.

The brand uses both hand-woven and machine-spun cotton but most of the items are made with the hand-woven variety.

"The look between hand-woven and machine-produced cotton is different. We would also have to order a lot of cotton if we ordered it from the machine weavers, as they don't produce in small quantities. Hand weaving, however, can produce cotton in small quantities and there's only limited amounts of it. So, the hand-made products feel more special and unique. But the production system is in line with the customers' request and the prices are different for each item," she said.

She added that hand-weaving also allows her more opportunities to be creative in the designs of the products.

A model with Amara Khit’s cotton one-set/ Supplied​

People go with the easy way and machine-weaving is more trendy than hand-weaving, she says. But she is determined to see the local hand-weaving tradition survive and wants to help those businesses by using their goods.

Most of the cotton suppliers for the Amara Khit brand are based in Amarapura near Mandalay and she collects the fabric from a range of suppliers.

"Sometimes, I order what I want and sometimes we produce a new fabric design together. The problem we always face is when we launch a new design that people love and that collection sells out and we can't produce the same item again. Once we finish the weaving on the loom, it's all gone and we have to start from the beginning. So, it can't be the same as before and we can't produce great quantities for one design, it's limited," she said.

As a result, when she launches a new collection or design, the quantity is limited and expensive. That fact makes her brand unique and a luxury item.

In the beginning, Shwe Thiri Khit had a plan to open showrooms in shopping malls but she changed her mind and decided to focus more on production.

"I just want to use the money on the production process and want to do more product development. That's why Amara Khit is still an online clothing brand (on Facebook) and why I have fitting rooms. If customers want to see the products, they can come to my fitting room and they can choose whatever they like," she said, referring to her business space at Bahosi Housing in Yangon's Lanmadaw Township.

Once every three months, Amara Khit organizes a sales event at a local gallery with her own customers. Later, she is planning to launch different collections based on the seasons, such as summer and winter collection.

The post Local Clothing Brand Gives Humble Cotton the Feel of Luxury appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

President’s Office Probing Source of Leaked MOU on Rohingya Repatriation

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 07:31 AM PDT

YANGON – The Myanmar President's Office is trying to determine who uploaded to Facebook a classified Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees recently signed between the government and two UN agencies, spokesman U Zaw Htay told The Irrawaddy.

On June 29, a Facebook page named "Yangon Informer" posted a number of documents described as the "Full text of the recent 'secret' MoU between the Myanmar government, UNDP and UNHCR," referring to the UN agencies for development and refugees. The following day, Reuters published a story based on the documents headlined "Secret U.N.-Myanmar deal on Rohingya offers no guarantees on citizenship," but it did not mention where it saw the documents. Some officials at the UN agencies speculated the posted documents were draft versions of the MoU, as the phrase "clean text as of 30 May" appeared on the first page.

The documents were disclosed ahead of the launch of a plan — the first involving the UN agencies — to bring back nearly 700,000 displaced Rohingya from neighboring Bangladesh. The Rohingya were driven out by Myanmar security forces' clearance operations in 2017. The UN Security Council described the mass exodus as "ethnic cleansing" after a Council delegation paid a visit to northern Rakhine. Rights groups and credible non-government watchdog groups have demanded that military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take responsibility for the operation.

The leaked papers contain 35 points grouped into General Principles; Scope of Cooperation; the Responsibilities of the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population (MoLIP); Responsibilities of the UNDP and UNHCR; Implementation Arrangements; Confidentiality, Monitoring and Evaluation; Review, Suspension and Termination; and Entry into Force of the MOU.

The President's Office spokesman declined to confirm the authenticity of the leaked papers but said officials had learned that the Facebook page is followed by many journalists. According to an analysis by The Irrawaddy, the facts in the Reuters report match those in the documents posted by the Yangon Informer page.

U Zaw Htay said, "We will examine whether it [the Facebook page] was created by people from UN circles, the diplomatic community or journalists. If it was someone linked to those groups, it's a breach of ethics and they must take responsibility. This is a classified document."

He said the government would gather concrete evidence relating to the disclosure and then officially lodge a complaint with the UN though official channels if anyone from the UN was found to be involved. He acknowledged that this is not the first such leak; a leaked copy of a bilateral agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh also went viral on Facebook. The spokesman said the moves were systematic and aimed to destabilize the situation in northern Rakhine State.

"We won't lodge a motion with the UN unless we get concrete evidence that is good enough to prove our case. We were initially informed that the documents were given to some reporters. I hope the UN [agencies] are not involved in this case, and we don't believe they would act in that way."

Some exiled Rohingya refugees have expressed their dissatisfaction with and objection to the tri-party MOU in several reports, and even claimed they would not participate in the repatriation process as the agreement does not mention the contentious term "Rohingya". Most Myanmar residents refer to Rohingya as "Bengalis", implying that they were brought to Burma by British colonial authorities to address a labor shortage in the agriculture sector. Additionally, the document does not guarantee citizenship status for Rohingya or freedom of movement and education.

U Zaw Htay said, "Citizenship status should be determined according to the Constitution and existing laws. We must clearly understand that the government should not reach beyond the laws. There is no automatic citizenship scheme in any country in the world."

The Irrawaddy asked government spokesman U Zaw Htay whether the disclosure of the MOU could greatly impact the two nations' agreed repatriation process for displaced Rohingya, who have already rejected the agreement. He said it would not negatively affect the deal, as it will be carried out in accordance with 1992-93 bilateral agreements. He assumed the Rohingya rejection of the document was a political tactic aimed at undermining the activities of the Myanmar government in order to raise pressure on Naypyitaw on the international stage.

The Irrawaddy on Tuesday contacted the UNHCR's media officer for Myanmar, who briefly replied that he is on leave from June 29 to July 8 and not in contact with his colleagues. Some political commentators were also hesitant to speak on the issue, as the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government has not publicly announced whether the leaked documents are fake or real.

Arakan National Party (ANP) Lower House lawmaker U Oo Hla Saw said Arakanese lawmakers are very interested in the MOU, but most knew very little about it. He said the Union government needed to officially clear the issue up first.

"Criticizing the government without knowing whether the documents are authentic could draw criticism of being overly pessimistic," U Oo Hla Saw said.

He said some points in the MOU are acceptable, though some were the subject of significant concern among the public. He reiterated that his party's perspective on refugee repatriation was that it generally accepted the voluntary return of refugees as well as the granting of basic rights to those who have already successfully met the conditions included in the 1982 Citizenship Law. However, he claimed that ANP lawmakers and Arakanese locals would not accept resettling the returnees in southern Rakhine State and expected that the Army might have the same stance, because southern Maungdaw is geographically important for security reasons.

"The government should analyze whether its earlier policies on refugee repatriation and the agreements in the recent MOU are contradictory or consistent. If we speculate on this too early, we will be caught between the refugees and the government, and viewed as obstructionist," he said.

The post President's Office Probing Source of Leaked MOU on Rohingya Repatriation appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Protest Against Planned Statue of Gen. Aung San in Loikaw Turns Violent

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 06:48 AM PDT

YANGON — Demonstrators clashed with police in the Karenni State capital, Loikaw, on Tuesday during a march to protest the regional government's plan to erect a statue of General Aung San.

About 1,000 local ethnic people marched in three groups to protest against the statue-building project in the capital, shouting the slogans, "We don't want discord sown among ethnicities," "We don't want the distortion of Karenni history" and "We don't want the arbitrary construction of [a statue of] Gen. Aung San by the state government." The marchers condemned the regional government for failing to heed local people's voices.

"We have our own respected ethnic heroes and martyrs. I oppose the plan, as the state government is forcing it upon us while neglecting our traditions and values. They need to respect ethnic minorities' rights and listen to our voice," a protester said in a live video streamed on KNGY's Facebook page on Monday.

Another protester said that instead of erecting a statue of Gen. Aung San, the government should fulfill the promises he made.

Demonstrators march in Loikaw on Tuesday to protest the regional government's plan to erect a statue of General Aung San.

When the groups arrived near the city's clocktower, about 70 police equipped with shields and batons blocked the march.

Khun Thomas from the Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY) group said that in their original proposal to police, organizers said they planned to continue the march to the park where the statue is to be installed, and then to hold speeches in the city's speakers' corner.

"The police waited for us there and stopped us. We negotiated with the [Loikaw Township] general administrator. But they wouldn't allow us to march to the park or to the speakers' corner," he said.

Administrators told them to change the route, and refused to allow the groups to march to speakers' corner, which is near the State Parliament.

Khun Thomas said that as the protesters tried to continue the march, some of them were beaten with batons and received minor injuries. Some police sustained minor injuries in the clash, he added.

During the clash, an organizer was briefly detained by police and released shortly after protesters staged a sit-in protest in front of the police van.

On June 18, local youth groups sent an open letter to the state government asking it to review the statue-building project and for the ongoing construction of the statue to be halted.

The next day, the chief minister told The Irrawaddy the regional government would push ahead with its plan, for which it has allotted a budget of 80 million kyats (US$58,000).

The post Protest Against Planned Statue of Gen. Aung San in Loikaw Turns Violent appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Director of Govt Investment Body Bullish on New Companies Law

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 06:15 AM PDT

YANGON — The new Myanmar Companies Law takes effect on Aug. 1 and is intended to encourage foreign investment in Myanmar. Despite strong GDP growth, however, recent surveys suggest the business community is losing faith in the government’s economic reform agenda.

Replacing and incorporating elements to two older laws, the Myanmar Companies Law aims to make it easier for foreigners to invest in Myanmar via joint ventures while making business regulation more efficient and effective.

U Aung Naing Oo, Director General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), spoke with The Irrawaddy's Nan Lwin about the main changes the new law and accompanying regulations will bring about, his views on the future of Western investment in Myanmar, and the country’s business landscape heading forward.

Do you firmly believe the Myanmar Companies Law will encourage foreign investment after Aug. 1? 

Yes, I expect it. The new Myanmar Companies Law will allow foreign investors to own up to 35 percent of local companies. I believe foreign investors have been waiting for this chance and for the law to take effect. The law will take effect in August. However, we have a [six month] reregistration period. I can say that we cannot expect a huge amount of foreign investment during the reregistration period. But investment will definitely increase after we pass the reregistration period.

What are the key aspects of the Myanmar Companies Law that will encourage foreign investment?

We have sectors that are off limits to foreign investors. For example, foreign investors are not allowed to invest in the trade sector or the insurance sector. Once the Myanmar Companies Law takes effect, they can invest in local companies in those sectors. The law creates new opportunities for them.

In the past, foreign investors had to apply for a "permit to trade" after they registered a company. Now we have abolished it. The Myanmar Companies Law will make it easier to do business in Myanmar.

Companies can pay registration fees, penalty fees and upload company reports by using the online system. We also designed the online process to be easy.

Many local investors are concerned that Western investors won't come to Myanmar. They believed Western investors are under pressure over human rights abuses relating to the Rakhine crisis and the civil war in ethnic states. What is your opinion about their concerns?

It is a political issue. People have been wildly exaggerating the crisis. That crisis affects us. It also affects the country’s image. Especially among Western and European countries, the way they see our country has changed. Honestly, we cannot expect investment from Western and European countries for the time being.

However, the ASEAN economic community has been accelerating and we can expect more investment from ASEAN countries. We also have countries that fully understand the reality of our country, for example [East] Asian countries like China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. Their investments have never decreased during difficult times. If we can't expect investment from the West, we will try hard to get investment from the East.

Some economists say the Myanmar Companies Law puts foreign investors at an advantage. Local investors are concerned they won’t be able to compete with them. Are there any restrictions in the regulations to protect local investors?

There are no restrictions in the Companies Law regulations. The essence of the Companies Law is to provide guidelines on how to form a company and how to dissolve it. As for protecting the interests of local investors, only the government can do that.

What are the most important aspects of the Companies Law regulations?

We have imposed the most important regulations on the company owners. They must know the changes under the new Companies Law. They must know the reregistration period. Under the old law investors needed both memoranda and articles of association, but that will no longer be necessary.

Under the new law we only have a constitution. In the past the company owners needed to specify the purpose of the company. They don't need to do that under the new one. They also needed to show the amount of capital they had when they registered the company, but they don't need to show it under the new law.

Another important thing is that we have added two important chapters for company directors in the Myanmar Companies Law. Company directors must follow rules and regulations under the new law. We have imposed specific duties and powers on company directors. We also have an "offence and defence" chapter for company directors. If directors fail to do their duties, they will face legal proceedings. We didn’t have that chapter in the past. They need to be aware of those regulations. We have plans to publish a journal for company directors. They can read it on our website later.

The new law does not discard the existing Companies Act in its entirety. So what does the new law not change?

The company categories have not changed. The company dissolution process remains the same. We used 50 percent of the old law.

Now we have both the Investment Law and the Myanmar Companies Law. So what is the future for Myanmar's business landscape?

We need to look at the country’s economy as a whole. We need to consider whether we are making progress with financial, banking and trade sector reforms. We need to look at all the sectors that will create a new business landscape in Myanmar.

The Investment Law was approved successfully. The law is strong enough legally. We also changed the 104-year-old Companies Act into the modern Myanmar Companies Law. I can assure that we have new laws that are legally strong. We have made a lot of improvements. I hope these laws will help increase investors’ trust.

However, this is not enough. We have a lot more to do. For example, we need an intellectual property law, and laws dealing with the trade sector need to be legally strong. But we can say that we have established the foundation for foreign investment.

Foreign investors have complained that the Myanmar Companies Law was delayed and said Myanmar has missed its chance. Do you think we have missed our chance?

It is literally just exaggeration. The law couldn’t take effect as soon as it was approved by Parliament. It does not work that way. We need to impose rules and regulations. They criticized us because they just wanted to attack our country. In Hong Kong, they took one year and eight months to bring their companies law into effect after they approved it in Parliament. Singapore also took one year and three months. Malaysia also took 13 months to bring its companies law into effect.

Here, we only took eight months. During that period we also managed to finish the online registration system. Let's compare with other countries. We are not delayed. We are not late. Our law aims to give equal opportunity to foreign investors, local individual investors and also to small and medium enterprises in the country. If you register online under the new law, you will see opportunities.

The post Director of Govt Investment Body Bullish on New Companies Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Soil Dumping Worsens Impact of Flooding in Mining Areas, Activists Say

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 05:31 AM PDT

MANDALAY – Environmental activists in the Hpakant and Lonekin jade mining regions of Kachin State have urged the government to impose strict controls on the dumping of waste soil by mine operators, as the practice exacerbates seasonal flooding.

More than 1,000 local residents were affected and dozens of homes were inundated with mud as floodwaters in the area washed the waste soil into residential areas on Monday.

According to local residents, the nearby Uru River commonly floods in the monsoon season. However, the muddy floodwaters that have inundated the area since 2006 have been even more damaging than regular floods, they say.

"Jade mining has intensified dramatically in our region since 2006, and we've experienced muddy flooding," explained Ko Nawng Latt, the director of Green Land, a local environmental conservation group.

According to the group, the main cause of the muddy inundations is the dumping of waste soil by jade mining companies. It said the dumping destroys the watershed area of the Uru River, which flows through the Hpakant and Lonekin regions, and urged the government to prioritize the creation of proper rules regarding the dumping of waste soil.

"The waste soils are dumped directly into streams that flow into the Uru. These fill in the riverbed and pollute the river, resulting in the muddy floodwater," Ko Nawng Latt told The Irrawaddy.

After the river flooded on Monday, many houses were inundated with 1 to 2 feet of mud. Locals had to use pumps to clean up their homes.

In June, landslides caused by heavy rain in Hpakant killed at least five and destroyed 60 houses, along with bridges and roads.

"Climate change and deforestation in the region also contribute to these disasters," said Ko Nawng Latt. "We want the government to impose strict environmental controls on jade mining companies. If it does not, our region will face even more severe disasters in the very near future."

In 2012, severe, weeklong muddy flooding displaced thousands of people in the Hpakant and Lonekin regions.

People whose homes were affected by the recent flooding and landslides had been able to return to their homes with the help of local civil society groups, according to local residents.

"The flooding only lasted a day, so we were lucky. However, we are still worried that more flooding is possible, as this is just the beginning of the monsoon season, and more rain will come," said U Kaung San, the secretary of the National League for Democracy's office in Hpakant.

"Although we face seasonal flooding every year, we really dread the muddy flooding, as it is more destructive than normal flooding," he said.

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NLD Won’t Support Quota for Women in Political Positions

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 03:15 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW — The ruling National League for Democracy does not support the implementation of a quota system for women in positions of political leadership. However, party chairwoman Daw Aung San Suu Kyi believes women could take up such roles when they have the necessary skills, said Dr. May Win Myint, the head of the NLD's Central Women's Committee.

Thus, the party is focusing more on empowering its women members, she told reporters in Naypyitaw on Monday, the last day of the NLD women members' three-day meeting.

"We do not accept a quota system [for female participation in leadership], and neither does Daw Suu [Aung San Suu Kyi],” said Dr. May Win Myint, also a lower house lawmaker. She said she met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the first day of the Women's Committee meeting [June 30] “and she told us to empower women and to build up their skills and not to talk about a quota."

But Dr. May Win Myint reaffirmed that "if our women become more interested in politics and are capable, we will take up to 50 or 60 percent (of the leadership positions), not only a 30 percent quota. She [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] also stressed that if a quota is implemented for women but those women are not capable, it "would attract more condemnation of them."

Given her position as the de facto head of the state, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is not physically participating in the NLD party congress or this meeting. This was the first such gathering held by the NLD of its approximately 800 representatives of its women's committees at the township, state and regional levels. They were also joined by the party's central executive committee members. The women exchanged views about their activities in their respective regions and how they could be empowered by financial procedures, the law, health and the peace process.

The committee's chairwoman said they could not include women leaders at the village and ward levels this time due to difficulties related to the venue, but promised they would try to include them in their second meeting after 2020.

The NLD's stance of not pushing for a quota for women raised doubts among some advocates as to whether the party understands their needs and the significance of having a stepping-stone to bring more women into politics, especially in this period of peacebuilding. Women organizations have been long calling for more women participating in the peace process so that women could represent the voices of their more vulnerable peers and women in conflict zones.

Nang Phyu Phyu Lin, a women's rights advocate, said that when enough information is shared among the women representatives and their will to push their case is supported, it will help change perspectives.

"If those women delegates who have the right to speak for others are provided with the information on the political sector as well as on gender equality, and if they discuss these issues effectively, there won't be questions on why women are central to the peace process," she told The Irrawaddy.

Dr. May Win Myint acknowledged the suffering of women in conflict zones and noted that the peace talks would only be "comprehensive" when the voices of those war-displaced women are heard.

The role of women in politics is not a simple one, however, as they are not always equipped with the skills they need to perform ably, in addition to struggling to win acceptance from the community. Women have been village-heads in conflict-torn Karen State for the past four to five decades and a few women continue to take up the top roles in local administrations nationwide, either as village heads or as the head of wards in each community, in the cabinet and in the legislature.

The 2008 Constitution does not specifically state that there should be a quota for women in leadership positions. Unlike in Nepal, where a quota for women is enshrined in the Constitution, Myanmar does not have such a legal stipulation, added Dr. May Win Myint.

"When people gain trust in women, they will vote for them," she said, referring to women administrators, "thus, we have to empower our women first." In Myanmar, there are currently 89 women village or ward administrators who were elected by their communities, up from 87 in 2017.

Dr. May Win Myint recalled that even though Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party always prioritize women and youth in the selection for candidates when their skills are equivalent to those of men, as a result of the selection process at the ground level, the NLD currently has very few women representatives in the party.

The NLD leadership has been upholding its policy that the constitutional changes will be made through peace negotiations and the peace conferences. However, in the upcoming third session of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference, only the gender equality issue under the social affairs sector and the economics, land and environmental sectors are in focus, as it has been agreed the key federal principles in the political and security sectors would not be discussed during the planned six-days talks next week.

Despite the NLD's efforts to amend the charter, under which a quarter of parliamentary seats are reserved for military appointees, Dr. May Win Myint also cautioned members about talking about removing Tatmadaw appointees from the legislature.

"I would like to warn you not to say anything about soldiers because it is a causes friction," said the NLD lawmaker. "In our history, the Tatmadaw has always been involved in politics and we cannot remove them, thus we don't accept it [removing them]."

Meanwhile, news that the NLD had selected the wife of an incumbent major as its representative from the Sagaing Region on its committee had caused a dispute over whether to accept someone affiliated with an active member of the military.

Dr. May Win Myint added that she was amazed to learn about the woman and she had no comment as the local members from Sagaing had selected her as their representative.

Written by Nyein Nyein. The Irrawaddy reporters Htet Naing Zaw and Moe Moe, who are based in Naypyitaw, contributed to this. 

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Monk Who Predicted Thai Cave Rescue Hailed for ‘Intervention’

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 03:01 AM PDT

YANGON — Monday night's successful location of a youth soccer team and their coach who had been missing in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand has put the spotlight on a local monk who had earlier predicted that the group would be found alive.

Phra Khuva Boonchum hails from northern Thailand, and is already known to a number of prominent leaders in Myanmar, including State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In this country he is known as Maing Hpone Sayadaw.

The monk visited the Tham Luang cave complex in Chiang Rai late last week, by which time the 12 soccer players and their coach had been trapped for several days.

Braving monsoon rains on Friday, the 54-year-old monk performed religious rites and prayed for the wellbeing of the missing youth and their coach, as well as cave-dwelling spirits. On his departure, the monk told Thai journalists, "They are all still there; they will be found in one or two days," according to Thai media.

The rain that had been pouring in the area for days stopped the next day; the hiatus lasted until Monday night, when the missing group was found.  Many Thais believe it was the monk's intervention that stopped the rain.

Maing Hpone Sayadaw visited the cave again on Saturday and repeated the prayers. Asked about the trapped soccer players, he stood by his prediction.

The Buddhist monk known in Myanmar as Maing Hpone Sayadaw is escorted by officials after praying near the Tham Luang cave complex in Thailand's northern province of Chiang Rai on June 30. / Reuters

On Monday night, two British cave-diving experts who have been working alongside Thai rescue teams since the search-and-rescue mission was launched more than a week ago came into contact with the missing group. Later, to the relief of those following the news, which by this time was being reported around the world, the Thai government announced that all 13 missing people had been found alive — and the monk was vindicated.

"I was really surprised; it happened just as the monk said," a Thai volunteer rescue worker said outside the cave on Monday night.

He said the rain had stopped after the monk visited and said his prayers, adding that this had helped the rescue mission greatly.

"When the rain stopped it made it much easier to pump water from the cave. Earlier, the rain made things really difficult for us; it flooded the cave and forced the divers to retreat," he told The Irrawaddy.

A woman at the scene told The Irrawaddy the incident had boosted her belief in monks.

"I have heard that when people are in trouble, he [Maing Hpone Sayadaw] always appears [to help them]. Now he's done just that. I was so happy [for the boys] that I cried," she said.

A lifelong vegetarian famous for his long, solitary periods of meditation in caves in Thailand, Bhutan and Myanmar's Shan State, the monk's Burmese name derives from Mong Phong (pronounced "Maing Hpone" in Burmese) village in eastern Shan State, where he spent time at a forest retreat when he was 16. Revered for his highly moral conduct, Maing Hpone Sayadaw has many devotees in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. He survives on fruits and biscuits, and always walks barefoot, no matter the weather. Many of his followers believe he has psychic powers.

Apart from his solitary retreats, during which he maintains total silence, Maing Hpone Sayadaw or Phra Khuva Boonchum is well known for his generosity; he donates everything that is offered to him to others. Among his followers is Myanmar's former Military Intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt. Before his fall from power, Gen Khin Nyunt used to donate large amounts of money to Maing Hpone Sayadaw, but the monk simply gave it all to his followers.

Not everyone in Myanmar has held the monk in such high regard, however. The former military government accused him of helping ethnic Shan leaders attempt to secede from the Union in 2004 and tried to arrest him. Heeding his followers' requests that he avoid arrest, the monk stayed in Thailand until 2013, when he was allowed to return to Myanmar.

He recently paid a visit to ailing former Senior General Maung Aye, once the second-most powerful man in the military regime.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi paid a visit to Maing Hpone Sayadaw during his trip to Naypyitaw last year.

Irrawaddy reporter Kyaw Kha contributed to this story from Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand.   

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Man Who Attacked Aung San Suu Kyi Residence Jailed

Posted: 03 Jul 2018 12:25 AM PDT

YANGON — A Yangon court has sentenced the man who threw a bottle filled with gasoline into the residence of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to five years in prison.

Win Naing pleaded guilty to the attack during the trial at the Bahan Township Court.

The leader of National League for Democracy (NLD) was not at her residence when he threw the bottle filled with gasoline into the compound in Yangon's Bahan Township around 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 1.

It caused little damage, just burning a water pipe, said the police.

After police arrested Win Naing, news spread on social media that he was admitted to a mental hospital in 2016.

"Whoever violates the law should be punished according to the law. He should be given an appropriate punishment no matter what [medical] issues he has. It is good that action was taken according to the law. This will set an example," said lawmaker U Thaung Htut of Bahan Township.

Police have opened a case under Article 436 of the Penal Code against Win Naing. The article prescribes transportation for life, or imprisonment up to 10 years and also a fine if found guilty for mischief by fire or any explosive substance with intent to destroy property.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Man Who Attacked Aung San Suu Kyi Residence Jailed appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week

Posted: 02 Jul 2018 10:28 PM PDT

Thai Film Festival

Famous Thai films such as "Bad Genius," "Pee-Mak," "Die Tomorrow," "Premika" and "From Bangkok to Mandalay" will be screened.

July 6-8, JCGV Junction City, Bogyoke Aung San Road. Free Admission.

Road to Raw Music Festival

This is an electronic dance music festival.

July 7, 8 p.m. Area 51, Yangon International Hotel Compound.  Tickets start from 17,000 kyats at 09-43020145, 09-960090078.

8118 Reborn Sin Pauk Mini Concert

Sin Pauk will perform at this event.

July 7, 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Yangon Yangon Bistro Bar, Bogyoke Aung San Road. Reservations at 01-255131.

Educational Opportunities

This event presents educational opportunities for students who failed matriculation examinations.

July 7, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Novotel Yangon Max.

Digital Cameras and Accessory Sale

Famous brands will be up for grabs at a discount.

July 6-8, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. No. 27/29, 35th Street, Lower Block, Kyauktada Tsp.

Housing Sale

Hundreds of apartments will be on sale at this event.

July 7-8, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Myanmar Culture Valley.

Brazilian Dance Party

There will be samba music and dance.

July 6, 6 p.m. till late. Club Rizzoli at the Chatrium, No. 40 Natmauk Road, Tamwe Tsp. Reservations at 01-544500.

 

71st Martyrs' Day Children's Art Exhibition

This exhibition features award-winning paintings of school children to mark the 71st Martyrs' Day.

July 3-7, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Secretariat Building. Free Admission.

Seven Decades Art Exhibition

Artists feature what they have experienced over the past 70 years since Myanmar gained independence.

July 7-31. Pyinsa Rasa Art Space, Secretariat Building. Tickets: 1,500 kyats for locals and 5,000 kyats for foreigners.

Group Art Exhibition

Fourteen female artists aged over 60 will showcase their works.

July 4-9, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Myanmar Artists Organization Central, Bogyoke Market.

The post Ten Things to Do in Yangon This Week appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Vietnam Jails Former Central Bank Official Amid Graft Crackdown

Posted: 02 Jul 2018 10:02 PM PDT

HANOI — A court in Vietnam on Monday jailed a former deputy governor of the central bank for three years, his lawyer said, the most senior banking official put on trial in the Southeast Asian nation amid a crackdown on corruption.

Vietnam’s banking system was rocked in the early 2010s by a string of mismanagement scandals and under-regulated lending, and is still reeling from nonperforming loans.

In 2012, Dang Thanh Binh, 64, and four accomplices were accused of “lack of responsibility,” leading to losses of up to 15 trillion dong ($654 million) at the privately owned Vietnam Construction Bank, lawyer Pham Van Dam said.

“The trial has ended and Binh and four other defendants were charged with ‘lack of responsibility, causing serious consequences,'” Dam said, without saying if Binh would appeal.

Binh had failed to fulfill his duties and follow the instructions of the central bank and the prime minister, the official People’s Police newspaper said, citing the indictment.

Vietnam Construction Bank, formerly known as Great Trust Commercial Joint Stock Bank, suffered heavy loses and was forcibly taken over in 2015 by the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank.

“I regret that I did not fulfill the tasks assigned to me by the state, but I and other leaders at the central bank were innocent in our motives,” the paper quoted Binh as telling the jury at his trial.

The court in Ho Chi Minh City also handed prison terms ranging from one to two-and-a-half years to Binh’s accomplices on Monday, the lawyer said.

The trial came amid a corruption crackdown in which several senior government officials and executives of state-owned enterprises have been arrested and jailed.

Vietnam this year jailed former Politburo member Dinh La Thang for 31 years for financial irregularities at PetroVietnam, formally known as Vietnam Oil and Gas Group.

Thang, 57, who denied any wrongdoing at his trial, was the highest-level politician Vietnam has jailed for decades.

The recent legal cases should not affect Vietnam’s efforts to meet its socioeconomic goals, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Monday.

“He who hesitates, who doesn’t work and doesn’t rush to make products and fulfill his duties should be questioned,” Phuc said.

The post Vietnam Jails Former Central Bank Official Amid Graft Crackdown appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Found Alive on 10th Day, Thai Boys’ Cave Ordeal Not Over

Posted: 02 Jul 2018 09:46 PM PDT

CHIANG RAI, Thailand — Twelve boys and their soccer coach found alive after 10 days trapped deep inside a flooded cave will have to bear their ordeal for longer while rescuers work out how to bring them safely out, the governor of Chiang Rai Province said on Tuesday.

Divers struggled through narrow passages and murky waters to discover the boys late on Monday night on an elevated rock about 4 km from the mouth of the cave.

A video shot by rescuers in flickering torchlight revealed boys clad in shorts and red and blue shirts sitting or standing on the rock above an expanse of water.

“How many of you are there — 13? Brilliant,” a member of the multinational rescue team, speaking in English, tells the boys. “You have been here 10 days. You are very strong.”

“Thank you,” one of the boys says.

One of the boys asks when they will get out of the cave, to which the rescuer answers: “Not today. You have to dive.”

Two British divers, John Volanthen and Rick Stanton, were first to reach the boys, having had strong experience in cave rescues, according to Bill Whitehouse, the vice chairman of the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC).

They found the group along with a team of Thai navy SEAL divers.

Rescuers had been focusing on an elevated mound, which cavers have named “Pattaya Beach,” in the cave complex’s third chamber, knowing that it could have provided the boys with a refuge when rains flooded the cave.

“The SEALs reported that … they reached Pattaya Beach, which was flooded. So they went 400 meters further where we found the 13 … who were safe,” Narongsak told the cheering group of reporters.

The boys’ survival was greeted with jubilation nationwide by Thais who have followed every twist of the harrowing story. Relatives of the boys, who have been at a shelter near the cave hoping for a breakthrough, were seen cheering, smiling and receiving calls after being given the news. Rescuers shook hands and congratulated each other as occasional cheers broke out.

Aged between 11 and 16, the boys went missing with the 25-year-old coach after soccer practice on June 23 after they set out to explore the Tham Luang cave complex in a forest park near Thailand’s northern border with Myanmar. Rescuers now have to decide how best to get the group out in their weakened condition. They have been given energy gels to sustain them while a plan is worked out to bring them to safety.

Options considered included waiting until water levels subside or teaching the group to use diving gear to navigate the flooded cave.

“If you ask me now while we are still assessing all sides then I don’t think they will be home soon,” Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters.

The group’s health was assessed overnight by medical teams which will continue to check the health of the group on Monday, said Narongsak, explaining that the boys had sustained light injuries.

“We categorized their health condition as red, yellow or green, red being the most severe injuries, yellow being mild and green being light. Yesterday, unofficially, we assessed that most are in the green category,” said Narongsak.

Narongsak said rescue workers would now focus on the “rescue” phase and then a handover to medical teams waiting outside the cave.

The post Found Alive on 10th Day, Thai Boys’ Cave Ordeal Not Over appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Trump Moves to Block China Mobile’s US Entry, Citing Security Concerns

Posted: 02 Jul 2018 09:17 PM PDT

The US government moved on Monday to block China Mobile from offering services to the US telecommunications market, recommending its application be rejected because the government-owned firm posed national security risks.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should deny China Mobile’s 2011 application to offer telecommunication services between the United States and other countries, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said in a statement posted on its website.

“After significant engagement with China Mobile, concerns about increased risks to US law enforcement and national security interests were unable to be resolved,” said the statement, which quoted David Redl, assistant secretary for communications and information at the US Department of Commerce, which NTIA is part of.

China Mobile, the world’s largest telecom carrier with 899 million subscribers, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The move by US President Donald Trump’s administration on China Mobile comes amid growing trade frictions between Washington and Beijing. The United States is set to impose tariffs on $34 billion worth of goods from China on July 6, which Beijing is expected to respond to with tariffs of its own.

And ZTE Corp, China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker, was forced to cease major operations in April after the US slapped it with a supplier ban saying it broke an agreement to discipline executives who conspired to evade US sanctions on Iran and North Korea. ZTE is in the process of getting the ban lifted and announced a new board last week.

China Mobile Communications Corp, a state-controlled firm, owned almost 73 percent of China Mobile as of December, according to Thomson Reuters data.

China Mobile’s shares fell 2.6 percent on Tuesday morning to their lowest in more than four years.

But Ramakrishna Maruvada, a Singapore-based analyst with Daiwa Securities, said the impact of the ruling on China Mobile’s business is “very tiny” since it derives most of its income from the domestic market.

“This doesn’t move the needle,” Maruvada said, adding the timing of the decision was to be viewed in the context of the US-China trade frictions.

In its recommendation, the NTIA said that its assessment rested “in large part on China's record of intelligence activities and economic espionage targeting the US, along with China Mobile's size and technical and financial resources.”

It said the company was “subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government” and that its application posed “substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks in the current national security environment”.

US senators and spy chiefs warned in February that China was trying, via means such as telecommunications firms, to gain access to sensitive US technologies and intellectual properties.

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UN Chief Calls for More Pressure on Myanmar for Rohingya Returns

Posted: 02 Jul 2018 09:12 PM PDT

KUTUPALONG REFUGEE CAMP, Bangladesh — UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for more international pressure on Myanmar to create conditions safe for the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled the country since a military crackdown last August.

The United Nations and Myanmar struck an agreement in May that the UN hopes will eventually allow thousands of Rohingya to return safely and by choice.

“This memorandum of understanding is the first step on the way of progressive recognition of the rights of the people,” Guterres said, speaking inside a bamboo shelter at a refugee camp on Bangladesh’s southeastern coast.

“This is the kind of concession that was possible to obtain at the present moment from Myanmar … Let’s test the sincerity of this concession and then let’s move on in relation to the full rights of the people.”

No one was available from the Myanmar government to comment on Guterres’ statement on Monday.

The visit by Guterres came 10 months after attacks by Muslim militants in Myanmar triggered a military offensive that has forced more than 700,000 Rohingya – a mostly Muslim ethnic minority – to escape to neighboring Bangladesh. The UN has described the crackdown as ethnic cleansing, an allegation Myanmar denies.

The MOU, details of which were reported by Reuters last week, does not offer explicit guarantees of citizenship or freedom of movement – which have been among the key demands of many Rohingya, a long-persecuted group that Myanmar doesn't consider citizens.

Along a rain-soaked, muddy road outside the shelter where Guterres spoke to the press along with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, a group of refugees stood holding cloth banners listing their demands: “Include Rohingya in agreements about Rohingya” and “Dignified repatriation must include full citizenship right as Rohingya ethnic group."

Some Rohingya leaders have said they wouldn’t accept the deal in its current form.

Guterres said the agreement was the UN’s effort to try to force the Myanmar government “to pave the way for potential future returns."

“So it is like that it must be considered. Not as a final agreement on returns,” he said. “We know that Myanmar will probably not accept everything at the same time.”

He and Kim also stressed that while safe and voluntary returns of the Rohingya to Myanmar was the first priority, the immediate need was to support Bangladesh in dealing with the humanitarian disaster.

Their visit follows the World Bank’s announcement last week that it would provide $480 million to Bangladesh to help support the refugees, living in congested bamboo-and-plastic shelters built on sandy hills and at risk of deadly monsoon floods and landslides this month.

Kim said on Monday the World Bank would look for ways to bring more development resources to Bangladesh – among the world's poorest nations – “because of the contribution they’ve made to the world in hosting the Rohingya."

Rohingya who have arrived in Bangladesh in recent months have reported mass killings, arson and rapes by Myanmar security forces. Guterres and Kim met some of those victims at the camps, whose conditions they said were some of the worst they had ever seen.

“It is probably one of the most tragic stories in relation to the systematic violation of human rights,” Guterres said. “We need to push and will be pushing in the right direction.”

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