Thursday, September 20, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Lawmakers Call for End to Disciplinary Transfers of Corrupt, Incompetent Officials

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 08:50 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW—Lawmakers have criticized the unofficial but long-standing practice of transferring civil servants to border and ethnic areas of the country as a disciplinary measure.

Such disciplinary action should no longer be practiced in a country that is preparing to establish a federal Union system, lawmakers from underdeveloped areas told reporters in Naypyitaw on Thursday.

Disciplinary transfers of civil servants for corruption or poor performance have a negative impact on the development of ethnic regions, said Lower House lawmaker Dr. Khin Sithu of Karenni State's Loikaw Township.

"I was quite upset when a police colonel said at a recent meeting of the bill committee that he had consigned some policemen to Chin State because they hadn't performed their duties properly," the lawmaker said.

Whenever a newly transferred civil servant arrives in Karenni State, his colleagues ask him what he did wrong to be transferred there, the lawmaker said.

It had become a cliché among officials to speak of punitive transfers to ethnic states like Kachin, Karenni, Chin and Rakhine, whose development lags behind other parts of the country, she said.

The practice showed a disregard for ethnic regions that belied the rhetoric of a federal Union, democracy and equality, she said.

Karenni State is not a prison, said Dr. Khin Sithu, who is a former chairperson of the Karenni State chapter of the ruling National League for Democracy.

Ni Shwe Lan, a Lower House lawmaker from Chin State's Htantalan Township, said, "We are unhappy that civil servants are transferred to our areas as a punishment. There are not many educated persons [civil servants] in Chin State. Most of the people here are inexperienced. So we want to receive those who can educate and mentor our staff and enhance their capacity."

Transferring civil servants to less-developed parts of the country not only ends their career but also impedes the development of the region, she said, adding that civil servants who are punished in that way lose all enthusiasm for their work.

Lower House lawmaker U Ar Moe Si of Kachin State's Khaung Lam Pu said the current township and assistant township education officers in his constituency had been transferred there as a form of disciplinary action.

"The Union education minister said in the Union Parliament that the two were transferred to Khaung Lam Pu as a punishment," he said.

No one has passed the matriculation examination in Khaung Lam Pu for the past nine years, so assigning such officials to the township education office discourages the existing staff, who have been working in very poor conditions and bad weather, the lawmaker said.

The lawmaker said he had raised questions about the practice in Parliament, and suggested that officials who break the code of conduct for civil servants be assigned to offices in Naypyitaw instead.

Deputy Education Minister Dr. Win Maw Tun said there is no official policy of punishing civil servants by transferring them to ethnic regions. Official punishments range from verbal and written warnings, to suspension, demotion and dismissal, he said.

"In the Khaung Lam Pu case, I only intended to improve their performance. No law prescribes the punishment of transferring someone to remote areas," the deputy education minister told The Irrawaddy.

In fact, the unofficial practice of transferring civil servants to remote areas as a punishment has been around since the monarchical period.

"I found that some civil servants in Buthidaung were taking bribes. They had in fact been transferred from non-ethnic areas as a punishment for corruption," said Lower House lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe of Rakhine State's Buthidaung Township.

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U.K. Says Myanmar May Need to Be Referred to ICC over Rohingya

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 07:00 AM PDT

LONDON—British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday that the international community should consider referring the treatment of Rohingya in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) unless those responsible are tried and held accountable in the country.

"If there is not going to be accountability and justice in Burma, then the international community needs to look at all options including ICC referral," Hunt said on Twitter, posting during his visit to Myanmar.

"The latter would need the support of the Security Council, which it may not get, so we need to look at other options too."

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UWSA Cracks Down on Church Construction, Recruitment by ‘Extremist’ Christians

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 06:56 AM PDT

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) is cracking down on the unauthorized construction of Christian churches in Pangsang, the capital of Wa Region, according to local sources.

Several video clips posted on Facebook and other social media platforms show members of the UWSA using tools to tear down an unauthorized church. Christian religious leaders have also been detained by authorities, according to reports on social media.

Nyi Rang, a UWSA spokesperson based in Lashio, told The Irrawaddy that the action was intended to prevent extremist religious leaders from destabilizing the region.  A UWSA Central Committee meeting held early this month decided not to allow the teaching of religion in schools, to limit the number of churches in the region and to demolish churches built after 1992 that had not received approval from officials.

He said his organization's police had detained several people for questioning on suspicion of engaging in illegal construction.

"The laws in our region do not allow people to build churches without permission," Nyi Rang said.

He described those who had been detained as religious extremists who acted unlawfully.

According to a Burmese-language translation of a UWSA statement issued in the Wa language on Sept. 13, all churches built after 1992 would be destroyed as they had been built illegally. Only churches built between 1989 and 1992 were legal, it said.

Authorities would also check on the number of Christian schoolteachers and students in the region, according to the statement.

"We will not allow the building of new churches here anymore. Nor will we allow [Christian] organizations to accept new members," said the statement.

The authority will also monitor the activities of organizations that support churches in the region. Evangelical Christians will not be allowed to proselytize at schools, the statement added.

Only ethnic Wa would be allowed to train as religious leaders, and they would be under the authority of the UWSA central government, according to the statement.

Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) chairman Rev. Samson, whose church has been conducting baptisms in Wa Region for more than 30 years, said the ban was prompted by the activities of extremist missionaries.

"You can't call them typical Christians. They are just people who want to attack established churches. They are against what we Christians believe," he told The Irrawaddy.

Some Christian groups had been confining new converts to churches and not allowing them to go home, he said. Additionally, UWSA leaders were angered when Christian groups posted a video on social media that condemned the local practice among ethnic Wa of worshipping "nats"(spirits), Rev. Samson said. Nats are spirits worshipped by local people in conjunction with Buddhism.

The UWSA has temporarily shut down all churches, but will allow some to reopen after it completes its investigation of Christian leaders, he said.

The UWSA has full authority in the Wa Region, where the Myanmar government has no presence.

The region is home to various ethnic groups including Wa, Kachin, Ta'ang, Lahu, Lisu, Kokang, Shan, Chinese, Burmese and Muslim groups. They observe various religious beliefs including Christianity, Buddhism, animism, nat worship, and Islam. The largest religious group is Christian.

Based in northern Shan State, the UWSA is the largest ethnic armed force in Myanmar, with an estimated 40,000 personnel. Most leaders of the group have communist views, a reflection of their long proximity to the Chinese border. The UWSA split from the Burmese Communist Party in 1989 and later entered a ceasefire agreement with the military government that ruled Myanmar at the time. The UWSA has not yet signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, but is party to the ongoing bilateral peace deal with the Myanmar government.

The Irrawaddy reporter Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint contributed to this story.

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Analysis: Why the Rohingya Teaching Assistants Project is Facing Opposition

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 06:33 AM PDT

YANGON—In order to alleviate language barriers in schools in Rohingya-dominant northern Rakhine State’s Maungdaw District, the National League for Democracy (NLD) government began recruiting Rohingya teachers last week and the district education department has already received more than 1,000 applicants as of Wednesday.

Government schoolteachers across Myanmar use Burmese language and materials in their classrooms but this proves tough for Rohingya children who most commonly speak a Chittagonian dialect. Sometimes they cannot interact with teachers even in simple conversations. In the Maungdaw area, there are a very limited number of Rohingya with civil servant jobs and this rare offer from the Ministry of Education has drawn the attention of the Rohingya community.

The head of Maugdaw District's education department, U Khin Aung told The Irrawaddy that they have already received more than 1,000 applications from Rohingya as of Wednesday— within one week of the call for applications.  He said 400 applications from Maungdaw and 600 from Buthidaung townships respectively were submitted. The education official used the term “teaching assistant” rather than “schoolteacher.”

68% of Rohingya students now in Bangladeshi camps

It’s unclear as of yet how much funding the Ministry of Education will allocate to this pilot project and whether the government has plans to hire more applicants in the future or not, as final decision is in the hands of the higher authorities. U Khin Aung said that the ministry will pay the teaching assistants salaries of 50,000 to 150,000 kyats in cash per month.

According to him, more than 130 Muslims are currently serving in the education department of Maungdaw District and a small number of them retired last year.  It’s unclear whether the qualified candidates will have opportunities in the future to be promoted to schoolteacher positions when they have sufficient experience for the position.

Approximately 500 government schools—including primary, middle and high schools—were serving more than 140,000 Muslim students and some non-Muslim students before the violence broke out in August 2017 and ultimately resulted in 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh.

Most of the schools are now empty as ninety percent of the Rohingya population were ejected by the violence and more than 200 Rohingya villages were reduced to ashes. The Bangladesh and Myanmar governments have been working out a repatriation process since this early year but not a single refugee has returned through official channels as of today.

U Khin Aung acknowledged that more than 80,000 students in Maungdaw and more than 60,000 students in Buthidaung Township were studying at government schools in early 2017.  Today, the size of the population of Muslim students in the entire Maungdaw District has declined to 60,000—approximately 20,000 in Maungdaw Township and 40,000 in Buthidaung Township.

Rohingya children tending cattle in northern Maungdaw’s Maung Hnama Village in 2016. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

These numbers indicate that at least 68 percent of the Muslim students of Maungdaw District—a number of about 80,000—have been sheltering in neighboring Bangladesh in muddy refugee camps without any access to education. The figure for displaced students does not include deaths and the missing.

A rare career for Rohingya    

Some of the Rohingya who did not join the exodus, like Abdul Wahid from Rathedaung Township who is currently sheltering with his relatives in Buthidaung Township, told The Irrawaddy that job opportunities are an incentive for the displaced people as they have been in financial hardship for months.

He said that five people from his village applied for the positions via the Nyaung Chaung village superintendent.

“They are happy with the [call for] recruitments as it can become a professional career for them. At the same time, it can [provide for] their daily life,” said Abdul Wahid.

However, the fate of their applications are uncertain as local authorities have announced that Rohingya applicants from Buthidaung and Maungdaw are preferable for the posts.

“The applicants were unhappy when they heard about the government’s preferences but they are still hopeful”, said Abdul Wahid.

Objections from nationalists

Although the education department says this is just the initial stage of a pilot project, more challenges are imminent as serious objections have already been voiced to the government from Myanmar's nationalists.

Nearly 200 representatives from Buddhist religious orders, Rakhine political parties and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) as well as civil society groups held an urgent meeting in Rakhine’s capital of Sittwe this week which focused on objecting offering the positions to Muslims from Maugdaw District who are high school graduates. Anti-Muslim activists have said they will send a letter of objection to the president's office.

Arakanese nationalist U Than Tun, who joined the meeting told The Irrawaddy that the previous government under U Thein Sein had made the same offer to Muslims in 2013 but the positions was clearly labelled “volunteer teacher” positions at the time. The current NLD-led government officially stated “teacher assistant” and “educational staff” in its recruitment letter. He argued that current Myanmar laws only grant civil servant positions to citizens, not non-citizens.

As for the nationalists drumming-up objections, U Khin Aung said “There is no discriminative policy in the government education system. We civil servants are implementing what the ministry instructed on the ground.”

Yangon-based organization Gender Equality's founder U Aung Myo Min, remarked that education is essential for every single child. Making this change to the school teaching system could significantly improve the students' learning potential. Educational opportunities should be offered to kids regardless of racial or religious backgrounds, he said.

“People should simply acknowledge that a kid is a kid,” he said.

U Aung Myo Min recommended that educators who know about sensitive and regional situations would be appropriate teaching assistants or teachers and they should educate students on sensitive issues through the school curriculum.  He emphasized that promoting education in strife-torn regions is a necessity, especially; children should be taught proper education at school.

"Conflicts happen more easily in regions with lower education levels,” said U Aung Myo Min.

U Khaing Kaung San, founder of Sittwe-based Wunlurk Development Foundation, recalled that since armed conflicts erupted in Maugdaw last year, schoolteachers from other areas who had been working in Maungdaw, returned to their hometowns and have yet to go back to Maungdaw as they feel it is still unsafe there. Local authorities quickly filled the gap with temporary schoolteachers. Thus, he agreed that this government approach is realistic and reasonable.

A burnt-out market in a Rohingya village of Myo Thu Gyi in August 2017 which was later reconstructed as a border police regiment. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

Why do Arakanese disrespect other groups’ rights?

Some Arakanese civil society groups have claimed that the majority of Arakanese are not familiar with the concept of basic human rights and sometimes have no idea even about their own basic rights. They do not know the necessity of respecting other groups’ basic rights, and so block or demand a revoke of rights for other groups. Similarly, narrow-minded reactions will only result in negative impressions of Rakhine being relayed to the international community.

U Khaing Kaung San criticized the response saying it indicates how the community is not well informed about basic human rights. He said that people should not connect job opportunities and citizenship matters citing the example of neighboring Thailand allowing job opportunities for Myanmar immigrants though they are obviously not Thai citizens.

Despite some members of the Arakanese community being troubled with longstanding human rights abuses, the number of institutionalized human rights watchdogs or organization focusing on Arakanese are extremely limited. The Irrawaddy asked several social activists from Rakhine State, including members of Kyaukphyu Rural Development Assocaition (KRDA) and Wunlark Development Foundation, whether any human rights institution or watchdogs are monitoring rights abuses among the Arakanese and all of them answered that they have no knowledge of such activities.

The Arakan Human Rights and Development Organisation (AHRDO), established by exiled Rakhine citizens in 2011, was made up mostly of members of the All Arakan Students and Youths Congress (AASYC). The group’s mission was to promote human rights and improve economic and social conditions as well as sustainable development in the state. They jointly conducted some training sessions with USAID in Sittwe in 2013.  Since then it has been no longer active.

KRDA’s coordinator U Tun Kyi said that the Arakanese have lack of knowledge of basic human rights concepts and very a few people are familiar with human rights articles like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He agreed that Arakanese society needs rights-watch organizations.

When it comes to human rights, the Arakanese community often accuse organizations of helping only the Rohingya community, of receiving funding from the international community and of working for foreign governments. Sometimes rights activists are closely watched by the government and for these reasons, even motivated, flexible Arakanese activists are hesitant to establish human rights institutions.

“We refrain from putting our professional work status on our Facebook profile,” said U Khaing Kaung San.

Mindset change necessary for peace

U Tun Kyi claimed there is always criticism no matter what an organization professionally works on.  For the community's mindset to change, CSOs and rights advocates should regularly hold rights awareness campaigns and knowledge-sharing activities across the state.

Arkanese activists have suggested that rights lobbyists should convince prominent Arakanese politicians, activists, well-respected community leaders and religious leaders to install a new ideology. They suggested for politicians not to further politicize the wounds of the Muslim and Rakhine community.

To improve trust-building between two communities, relevant organization should organize cultural exchange programs by inviting Rakhine and Muslims to come together for community-level dialogue events. In addition, international relief organizations should carry out not only food distribution campaigns for the Rohingya but also encourage a change of mindset towards the displaced Rohingya who have been living in camps for years.

A border police guard near the fence where thousands of displaced Rohingya have lived in encampments since 2017. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

Gender Equality’s U Aung Myo Min agreed that mindset change is crucial for social cohesion and a harmonious society and added that a society should be broad and made up of diverse communities which can offer different perspectives in finding solutions. He said if a community refuses to accept diversity, it could lead to self-isolation and a disconnect from the outside world.

“A child is like a blank white page. As they are observing and learning from their environment, they should be properly educated with truthfulness and guidance. Once children are misguided by their community, it can become an infectious disease or cancer,” he said.

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NLD Urges China to Respect Local Laws, Concerns on Beijing Trip

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 06:00 AM PDT

YANGON — China must respect local concerns when implementing projects in Myanmar, the vice chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) told his hosts during a recent goodwill visit to Beijing, according to a press release from the party.

The release, issued today, said U Zaw Myint Maung also urged Beijing to respect Myanmar’s laws, create local jobs and to focus on peace when planning and carrying out projects in the country in a meeting on Monday with Song Tao, chief international liaison officer for the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The CPC invited U Zaw Myint Maung and other top NLD officials to Beijing for the nine-day visit starting Sept. 11 to strengthen relations between the two ruling parties.

The delegation included 18 NLD central committee members, including two chief ministers — from Mandalay and Magway regions — six central executive committee members, four auxiliary central executive committee members, two central economic committee members and one central information committee member. Five of the delegates have no additional senior party roles.

China is Myanmar’s largest investor, though many of its investments are controversial, perhaps none more so than the Myitsone hydropower dam in Kachin State, which was suspended in 2011 in the face of widespread public concern about the project’s potential social and environmental impacts.

The delegation also met with Huang Kunming, head of the CPC’s Propaganda Department and a member of the party’s politburo.

"Each side shared the party's constitution and discipline," NLD spokesman U Myo Nyunt, who joined the trip, told The Irrawaddy.

The CPC arranged for the delegates to visit the Three Gorges hydroelectric dam, the world's largest power station with an installed capacity of 22,500 MW, which spans the Yangtze River.

Although the dam displaced 1.3 million people and caused significant ecological change including an increased risk of landslides, and remains controversial both at home and abroad, China considers it a social and economic success.

"Chinese official explained their challenges while they were constructing the dam, how they addressed the local objections," U Myo Nyunt said.

Beijing and Naypyitaw recently signed a memorandum of understanding on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to build a network of roads, rail lines and shipping lanes linking China and Europe via at least 70 countries in Asia and the Middle East to foster trade and investment.

China and Myanmar also recently renegotiated the terms for the Kyaukphyu deep-water port in Rakhine State, which gives China access to the Indian Ocean and allows its oil imports to bypass the Strait of Malacca.

Meanwhile, the Chinese company behind the Myitsone dam has resumed lobbying residents and authorities in Kachin to support its plans to restart the project. Some locals and environmentalists are worried that the company may succeed in striking a new deal with Myanmar by year’s end.

CPC officials briefed the NLD delegation on China’s major investment projects and plans for Myanmar but did not mention the Myitsone dam.

"We didn't comment on their ongoing projects or on the Myitsone dam. Our visit was to represent the party, not the government." U Myo Nyunt said.

He added that the delegates were also briefed on China’s tax system and international relations and on its policies on rural development, agriculture and the environment.

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President Tells State, Regional Officials to Wrap Up Land-Grab Probes

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 04:53 AM PDT

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — President U Win Myint has instructed state and regional chief ministers to complete their investigations into land confiscation cases by the end of the year.

"The president has ordered that all land-grab investigations be completed by Dec. 31. He issued the instruction to the whole country, not only to the Irrawaddy regional government," Irrawaddy Region Chief Minister U Hla Moe Aung said at a press conference in Pathein on Tuesday.

The regional Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands is working to comply with the president's order, said U Hla Moe Aung, who is also the chairman of the committee.

"I've instructed the chairpersons and secretaries of land committees at the township and district levels to get the job done by Dec. 31," he said.

The Central Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands, chaired by Vice President U Henry Van Thio, is tasked with investigating land-grab cases and has counterparts at all administrative levels.

Earlier this month the central committee issued a 52-point set of guidelines to be followed in investigating land-grab cases.

The Irrawaddy regional committee was assigned to investigate 600 cases. So far, it has investigated 102 cases. Investigations are ongoing in 256 cases and the rest have yet to be investigated, said U Tin Win, director of the Department of Agriculture Land Management and Statistics.

The committee only investigates cases that arose after 1988, said U Tin Win, who is also the secretary of the regional committee. Nor does it handle cases already under investigation by farmland management committees, or disputes over land seized from farmers by lenders for failure to repay debts, he added.

The Irrawaddy Region Farmers Union has complained that the investigation will not be fair because many of the chairpersons and secretaries of the village- and ward-level committees, respectively, are administrators from the Land Records Department, whose officials have been involved in land-grab cases in the past.

"Most of the past land-grab cases involved chairmen and secretaries of the ward- and village-level committees. Though lawmakers are involved in the committees, they don't have much authority," the chairman of the regional farmers union, U Myo Chit, told The Irrawaddy.

"Regardless of the instructions from lawmakers, they [the chairpersons and secretaries of the committees] may write the reports as they like and present them to the higher authorities," he added.

"Unless and until civil society organizations representing farmers are included in the land rescrutinizing committees, it will be impossible to learn the truth, and farmers will continue to suffer."

According to statistics from the Central Committee for Rescrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands, over 200,000 acres of farmland and vacant, fallow land have been seized in Irrawaddy Region for industrial and hotel zone projects, railroad projects, mineral extraction, departmental offices and expansion of cantonments by cronies of officials, companies, government departments and the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw).

Of the total land seized in Irrawaddy Region, which has six districts, over 170,000 acres were seized in Maubin District alone, according to the committee.

Since 2016, the National League for Democracy-led government has identified 63,417 acres of confiscated farmland to be returned. Farmers have received 13,091 acres; the remaining 50,326 acres have yet to be handed back to the original owners by the responsible departments and regional governments in line with the proper procedures, according to a report on the overall situation in the country regarding land grabs.

State Counselor's Office Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe submitted the report to the Union Parliament on Thursday.

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Artist Turns Medium Into Message to Challenge Stigma of Women’s Sarongs

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 03:34 AM PDT

YANGON — During his time in jail from 1998 and 2004, prominent artist Htein Lin used white prison uniforms as a canvas and turned soap and cigarette lighters into other works of art. He has made plaster molds of the arms of former political prisoners like himself to tell their stories.

Now, for his latest project, the artist is taking on the controversial subject of “htamein,” or women’s sarongs.

In Myanmar, there is a longstanding superstition that the clothes covering a woman’s lower half are “unclean” and cannot mix with men’s garments. The belief holds that women’s clothes, htamein in particular, should never be washed with the clothes of men or be hung in front of the house or higher than men’s garments. Men should never pass under a laundry line of women’s clothes.

Should any of these things come to pass, the thinking goes, the men will lose their "hpone," their spiritual power or strength. A wife is considered a bad spouse if she washes her clothes together with her husband’s.

Since last month, Htein Lin has been inviting women to take part in his new project by asking them to donate their old sarongs, on which he paints their portraits and the women write down their thoughts on the superstitions surrounding women’s clothes.

A painting by Htein Lin. The quote from the woman in the painting says: “I wash my husband’s clothes together with mine when he is away.” / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Htein Lin said he wanted to find out how prevalent these superstitions still were and whether they were more common among men or women after seeing some of his friends land in trouble with their in-laws and one even be divorced by her husband for breaking the taboos.

The superstitions surrounds htamein are believed to stem from ancient legends in which the male heroes are assassinated after losing their powers because they unwittingly passed under a woman’s sarong.

The country’s most powerful institution appears to be under their spell even today. Htein Lin said the military still takes htamein seriously. He cited the 2015 case of a young woman who was convicted of criminal defamation and sentenced to six months in jail for sharing a Facebook post comparing the color of new military uniforms to the htamein of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

"If it were compared with a shawl or some cloth, it wouldn’t have been a problem for them," the artist said.

Htein Lin looks at one of his paintings in his Yangon studio. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Htein Lin doesn't believe in the superstitions himself. He does not wash his clothes separately from his wife’s or use a different laundry basket.

He cited the comments on the subject of prominent monk Ashin Nandamalabhivamsa, who said that a man who walks under a laundry line of women’s clothes will lose his strength not because the sarongs wield genuine power but because of his obsession with the fear that they do.

He claimed that the aim of his project, titled “Skirting the Issue,” was not to end the taboo but to stimulate discussion about it.

"It is not a revolutionary idea. It is not a feminist movement. It's just an art movement. I just want people, through this project, to reconsider" he said.

Since he started work, men and women alike have shared their thoughts on the project on the artist’s Facebook. Some of the women said they don’t believe in the superstitions; others said they do and fear a misstep could put their husband and sons in danger.

A painting by Htein Lin. The quote from the woman in the painting says: “All of us from our village wash htamein at a separate spot in the village.” / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

A woman from Tanintharyi Region who took part in the project wrote on her sarong that all the women in her village still wash their htamein in a separate, designated spot.

Yangon-based filmmaker Shin Daewe, who also took part, said the project was a chance for her to speak out against the superstitions, something she found hard to do day to day in the face of so much persistent belief. She said her husband shared her thoughts on the issue.

"Htamein is just some cloth to me,” she wrote on her sarong. “It's ok to wash it together with my husband's clothes.”

But Shin Daewe said she has received little support from friends and that the project has also made her realize just how prevalent the superstitions remain.

"I hope this project will get people to start rethinking their beliefs,” she said.

As part of the project, Htein Lin also plans to construct a tunnel-like sculpture made from women’s old sarongs, to exhibit along with the paintings. It will be up to the audience — the men especially — whether to pass through.

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Activist Receives 15-Day Sentence for Peace Protest

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 03:19 AM PDT

MANDALAY — The Kyauktada Township Court in Yangon convicted three peace protesters under the Peaceful Assembly Law on Wednesday, giving them a choice of paying a fine of 20,000 kyats each or a sentence of 15 days' imprisonment.

Peace activist Ko Zeyar Lwin and poets Ko Khant Min Htet and Ko Ye Wint Aung participated in a protest at Mahabandoola Park on May 14, calling for an end to the wars in Kachin State, at which they gave speeches and recited poems.

The two poets agreed to pay the 20,000 kyats fine, however Ko Zeyar Lwin choose imprisonment.

"Suing and sentencing us under the Peaceful Assembly Law for participating in a movement for the peace of the country is limiting our freedom of expression and insulting peace," said Ko Zeyar Lwin.

"Our trial shows the devastation of the judicial system of the country and that is why I decided to take 15 days' imprisonment," he added.

Ko Zeyar Lwin is also facing trial under the Peaceful Assembly Law in Bahan Township where the peace rally passed through on the way to the larger gathering in Mahabandoola Park on the same day.

Protests urging government authorities to rescue locals trapped in the war-torn region of Kachin State and calling for a stop to the conflict, took place in Yangon and Mandalay in May, followed by the opening of a protest camp in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.

Thousands of locals remain displaced by outbreaks of fighting between the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) and Kachin ethnic armed groups, which took place in Kachin State in April and May.

Four protesters from Mandalay and 17 protesters from Yangon have been sued under Article 19 of Peaceful Assembly Law over the protests in May.

The Mandalay protesters have already served prison sentences of two months behind bars.

The post Activist Receives 15-Day Sentence for Peace Protest appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ethnic Armed Groups Discuss Peace Process Participation

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 02:08 AM PDT

Ethnic armed groups held a two-day meeting in Laiza, Kachin State, at the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to discuss how they could cooperate for participation in the country's peace process, according to a KIA spokesperson.

At least 12 ethnic armed groups participated including 10 signatories to the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) and other non-signatories including the KIA and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).

Two main topics were discussed at the meeting, according to Col Naw Bu, a spokesperson from the KIA/KIO (Kachin Independence Organization).

First, NCA signatories explained the latest peace negotiations with the government. Then, the discussion moved to how all ethnic armed groups could participate in the peace deal, he said.

"It was just a preliminary meeting. No agreements were made. We just discussed how we could all participate," Col Naw Bu added.

Previously, NCA signatories released a statement that said they would try to bring non-signatories into the peace deal. The meeting in Laiza is one of the first steps in trying to achieve that aim.

Ethnic armed organizations recently asked Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to hold a meeting with the government, army and parliament soon, in order to discuss two issues that have created a deadlock in negotiations.

The first issue is that the Myanmar Army has asked ethnic leaders to promise that their groups would not secede from the Union. The second issue is the idea that Myanmar should have only one army, placing ethnic armed groups under the command of the Myanmar Army.

Nai Hong Sar, vice chairman of the New Mon State Party, said that ethnic armed leaders will not make these concessions to the army at this point, as the country does not have a real democracy and ethnic people still lack rights. Ethnic leaders will accept one national army when Myanmar has a true democracy and ethnic people are granted self-determination, he added.

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At Least 21 Dead, Dozens Ill in Malaysia from Bootleg Liquor

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 09:50 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR — Police in Malaysia are investigating a case of alcohol poisoning that killed at least 21 people, with dozens more hospitalized, most of them citizens of Asian nations, officials said on Wednesday.

Cheap, homemade liquor is popular among poor, migrant workers in Muslim-majority Malaysia, which has high taxes on alcohol.

A total of 57 cases of methanol poisoning had been reported in Kuala Lumpur, the capital, and its surrounding state of Selangor, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said.

“The number of cases is expected to increase as more patients come in for treatment,” he told a news conference in the administrative capital of Putrajaya.

Methanol, an alcohol compound used in making spurious liquor, is harmless in tiny amounts but lethal in larger concentrations.

Five Malaysians were among those affected, while the rest were foreigners from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal, Dzulkefly added.

Authorities had tested several types of alcoholic drinks to find some samples contained methanol in higher proportions than authorized, he said.

“We are very concerned because it comes in batches… people are resorting to cheap, compounded hard liquor,” Dzulkefly said.

Police arrested seven people in raids on 12 sites where they seized nearly 3,000 bottles and cans of whisky and beer, in a bid to identify the contaminated drinks and curb the outbreak, Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor said in a statement.

Police are investigating the deaths as culpable homicide, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine, or both.

In neighboring Indonesia, also a Muslim-majority country, more than 50 people died in April after consuming homemade alcohol tainted with ingredients such as mosquito repellent.

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Malaysian Police Say Former PM Najib to Face 21 More Money Laundering Charges

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 09:43 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR — A total of 21 money laundering charges will be laid against former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over a $681 million dollar transfer into his bank account, police said on Thursday, money that allegedly came from scandal-linked state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The money laundering charges include nine counts of receiving illegal proceeds, five counts of using illegal proceeds and seven counts of transferring the proceeds to other entities, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim said in a statement.

Najib, who denies any wrongdoing, was expected to be charged in court later on Thursday over the transfer of funds into his personal bank account. The case is linked to the disappearance of billions of dollars from the heavily indebted 1MDB.

Najib, who founded 1MDB in 2009, has faced intense scrutiny since unexpectedly losing a general election in May to Mahathir Mohamad, who reopened investigations into allegations that billions of dollars were stolen from the fund.

Noor did not say whether the 21 money laundering charges related to 1MDB, but lawsuits filed by the United States Department of Justice allege that $681 million made its way into Najib’s account from the fund.

Najib will face additional charges for offenses involving the use of one’s office or position for gratification, officials said earlier.

Thursday’s charges will be the second batch leveled against the former premier for alleged crimes linked to 1MDB.

Najib was charged with money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power in July and August relating to funds of about 42 million ringgit ($10.14 million) that allegedly flowed from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit, into his personal bank account.

Najib has pleaded not guilty to all charges so far and has consistently denied wrongdoing. The SRC trial will begin in February.

1MDB is being investigated by at least six countries, including Singapore, Switzerland and the United States, over alleged money laundering and graft.

SRC had been the initial focus of Malaysian investigators because all the suspicious transactions involving it went through Malaysian entities.

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China’s Xi Says Places ‘High Premium’ on Pakistan Ties, as Army Chief Visits

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 09:37 PM PDT

BEIJING — China places a “high premium” on its relations with Pakistan and believes a key economic project will be successful, President Xi Jinping told Pakistan’s army chief, days after a Pakistani minister stirred unease about Chinese Silk Road schemes.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa is the most senior Pakistani figure to visit ally China since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan took office in August, and his trip comes a week or so after a senior Chinese diplomat visited Islamabad.

Pakistan has deepened ties with China in recent years as relations with the United States have frayed.

Bajwa may be hoping to smooth out any Chinese alarm at comments last week by Pakistan’s commerce minister, Abdul Razak Dawood, who suggested suspending for a year projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Pakistan leg of China’s Belt and Road Initiative that includes recreating the old Silk Road trading route.

Meeting Bajwa on Wednesday, Xi said the two countries were “iron friends," China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

“China always places a high premium on China-Pakistan relations,” the report cited Xi as saying.

Xi expressed his appreciation for the support and security safeguards provided by Pakistan for the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor construction, Xinhua added.

“As long as high-degree mutual trust and concrete measures are in place, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor construction will succeed and deliver benefits to people of the two countries,” Xi said.

Beijing has pledged to invest about $60 billion in Pakistan for infrastructure for the Belt and Road project.

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Dream Comes True for S. Korea’s Moon: Trekking Mt. Paektu with Kim Jong Un

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 09:27 PM PDT

SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-in will clear a top item off his bucket list on Thursday: Climbing Mount Paektu in North Korea with its leader Kim Jong Un.

After the two leaders pledged new steps aimed at salvaging nuclear talks, South Korea made a surprise announcement that Moon and Kim will use the final day of their three-day summit to go up the symbolic mountain together.

Moon is known for his love of mountain climbing and has trekked in the Himalayas at least twice. The president has long stated that he would love to one day visit Mount Paektu, which is also sometimes spelled Baekdu.

As the highest mountain on the Korean peninsula at about 2,750 meters (9,000 ft) above sea level, Mount Paektu is the mythical origin of the Korean people, featuring in South Korea’s national anthem and various North Korean propaganda.

Although Mount Paektu straddles the North Korea-China border and can be reached from China, where it is known as Changbai Mountain, Moon has never visited.

That is because when he goes up Mount Paektu, he wants to go “stepping on our soil,” Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for the presidential Blue House, told reporters on Wednesday.

An active volcano, Mount Paektu is dotted with secret camps and historical sites from Korea’s guerrilla war against the occupying Japanese in the 1940s. A funicular railway takes tourists up the mountain, which also holds a huge crater lake.

“I have a dream that I have not been able to fulfill for a long time, which is trekking Mount Paektu and the Kaema Plateau (in North Korea),” Moon said during a banquet after his first summit with Kim in April, which took place at the demilitarized zone separating the two neighbors.

“I believe Chairman Kim will make that dream come true for sure.”

North Korea says Kim’s grandfather and father were born at Mount Paektu, a centerpiece of the North’s idolization and propaganda campaign to highlight the ruling family’s sacred bloodline.

Kim has previously visited the mountain around major developments in North Korea, such as visiting in late 2013 before he executed top officials including his uncle Jang Song-thaek, and after North Korea’s fifth nuclear test in 2016, North Korea watchers say.

Moon was born in South Korea in 1953 during the Korean War. His parents had fled from the North during the war, sailing for three days on the deck of a US ship packed with refugees.

A former human rights lawyer, he said in a 2017 book published months before his election as president that he wanted to “finish his life” in his mother’s North Korean hometown doing pro-bono service.

“When peaceful reunification comes, the first thing I want to do is to take my 90-year-old mother and go to her hometown,” Moon wrote in the book.

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Wednesday, September 19, 2018

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Military’s Broadcast of Graphic Film Depicting 1988 ‘Anarchy’ Draws Fire

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 07:31 AM PDT

YANGON—The Myanmar military's broadcast of a gruesome film depicting scenes of graphic violence that occurred during the nationwide pro-democracy movement in 1988 has been criticized as an attempt to legitimize the coup it staged three decades ago—and even as a threat of another takeover.

Military-owned TV channel Myawaddy repeatedly aired the 41-minute video on Tuesday, which marked the 30th anniversary of the military takeover. The coup would be followed in the decades to come by indiscriminate bloody crackdowns by the military on pro-democracy activists.

The film focuses on incidents of violence, chaos and mass looting that occurred in August and September 1988. During this period leading up to the coup, the government was unable to effectively maintain law and order in the wake of nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations, known as the '88 Uprising, which brought the country to a standstill.

The video's most graphic sequence shows the public killings of several people accused of being government spies or counterrevolutionaries. According to a document that has gone viral online, then Military Intelligence chief Colonel Khin Nyunt ordered all spy units and informers to take any steps necessary at the time to sow confusion among the public in order to carry out acts of counter-violence. The order warns officials to take great care to keep the mission secret while carrying it out. (In his biography published 27 years after the coup, the ex-spy chief made no mention of the order.)

In one scene, a man is stabbed to death and beheaded. The perpetrator holds the victim's head aloft for enraged onlookers to see.

A narrator explains that the film is a compilation of clips taken from footage aired on international media at the time. It was first aired by the state-owned Burma Broadcasting Service (now MRTV) soon after the coup.

Referring to the military takeover, a narrator says toward the end of the film, "The military, which always takes seriously the safety and interests of the state and the people, intervened because the rule of law and governing mechanism of the country were in total ruins, while the country's independence and sovereignty were under threat."

In what was possibly intended as a justification for re-broadcasting the film 30 years later, the narrator at one point urged the people of Myanmar to adopt a national outlook so as "not to repeat the kind of terrible and bitter experience that happened 30 years ago". In the introduction to the film, the narrator describes the '88 Uprising as "the [nation's] worst and most brutal mass disturbance".

Observers at home and abroad uniformly agree that the uprising toppled the regime of dictator Ne Win and paved the way for the political reform that Myanmar is experiencing today.

Regarding the graphic content, another narrator warns that "the faint-hearted and children are advised not to keep watching when the warning of graphic images appears."

On Facebook, Myanmar netizens questioned the military's motive for re-airing the film in 2018, 30 years after the coup, and with the country now governed by a democratically elected civilian government.

Many pointed out that the military has a long history of claiming it had no choice but to seize power in 1988 as the situation had gotten out of control. They said the military had compiled the worst examples of violence to create the film in order to legitimize its takeover.

Some interpreted the broadcast as a threat from the military, which is now facing international pressure over its actions against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, while its relationship with the National League for Democracy-led government in areas like constitutional amendment and the peace process are reportedly poor. Amid other problems like rising nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment, and skyrocketing commodity prices, some fear the military is poised to make a return if there are any signs of social or political unrest.

Documentary filmmaker Shin Daewe said to The Irrawaddy, "I just see it as a threat, playing on people's concerns while trying to persuade others that the military can do good things for the country when the government fails."

To promote better civilian-military relations, Yangon-based political commentator Yan Myo Thein told The Irrawaddy, the military leaders should view the '88 Uprising as a turning point in Myanmar's modern history, rather than portraying it as a descent into anarchy in order to legitimize its coup.

He pointed out that for the sake of national reconciliation Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had remained silent on the 2003 attack—allegedly sponsored by the then military government—by armed thugs on a convoy she was traveling in.

"But the military aired the film [on the anniversary of the coup]. It does more harm than good for the democratic transition," Yan Myo Thein said.

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Government’s Report to Parliament Lacked Substance, Lawmakers Say

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 07:17 AM PDT

CHIANG MAI, Thailand—The government failed to show how it plans to solve the country's current political and economic problems during its presentation to the Union Parliament on Wednesday, observers and lawmakers said.

U Kyaw Tint Swe, the minister for the State Counselor's Office, on Wednesday read a written report on the government's efforts to the Union Parliament. The report described its steps to tackle a range of issues including the peace process, building a democratic federal state, rule of law and development.

The government's report prioritized the peace process, national reconciliation, Rakhine state affairs and charter amendment, but was short on detail. It also emphasized its efforts and achievements in the fields of social development, social welfare, access to electricity and road infrastructure, urban planning, job creation, improving the environment for foreign investment, fighting corruption, tackling drug-related issues and solving traffic problems in the Yangon commercial region.

In the two-and-a-half years since the National League for Democracy-led government took office, party leader and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has come in for criticism at home and abroad. Rising commodity prices, a rapid weakening of the kyat, problems ensuring rule of law and stability, and a lack of progress in the peace process with the armed ethnic minorities are among its top challenges. Internationally, the government faces harsh criticism from Western countries for its failure to condemn numerous alleged human rights violations against Rohingya Muslims by the Tatmadaw.

"We had expected the government would lay out its plans for solving the current economic challenges—high prices and unstable market conditions—and the political situation, including the peace process and the international pressure over Rakhine State. However, they merely mentioned these issues," said U Pe Than, a Lower House lawmaker from Myebon constituency in Rakhine State.

He added that U Kyaw Tint Swe dwelt on the perceived progress made by the Education, Health, Construction and Transport, Electricity, Energy and other ministries.

"Therefore, many of us lawmakers believe the NLD government's presentation deviated from its announcement that it would share [details of how it is] addressing the current situation," U Pe Than said.

The minister said that when the 2008 Constitution "is negotiated and amended step by step as the government expects, it will guarantee the country's transition to democracy." But he did not offer any details on the government's negotiations to amend the charter. The government reiterated "the key role of the Tatmadaw—Myanmar's military—in the current peace process," which is one of the government's priorities. U Kyaw Tint Swe said there were still many challenges to overcome to achieve a strong and harmonious peace process.

"The government should have said how it is negotiating charter amendment and how it plans to improve civilian-military relations, and whether it holds regular negotiations or not," said Dr. Yan Myo Thein, a Yangon-based political analyst.

He said the government's report to the public via the Parliament was "very vague". He said he was expecting to hear how the government "tackled and how they would respond strategically to the current crisis, economically and politically, as well as to the international pressure over Rakhine State affairs."

Regarding the Rakhine State conflict, U Kyaw Tint Swe said it is one of the challenges the government had to solve while it focuses on creating stability, peace and a democratic federal union.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya from northern Rakhine State fled to neighboring Bangladesh following a military crackdown in the wake of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)'s attacks on government security forces in August 2017. It was the second series of coordinated attacks by ARSA following an earlier wave in October 2016.

U Kyaw Tint Swe admitted that the government faced heavy criticism from the international community as a consequence of the mass exodus of people fleeing into Bangladesh. He also discussed the government's efforts to repatriate those displaced and its preparations to rehabilitate them as agreed under a bilateral agreement signed between Myanmar and Bangladesh on Nov. 23, 2017.

The government also cited the Independent Commission of Enquiry, formed by the government but led by two foreigners, to investigate the alleged human rights violations following the violent attacks and the military's counter-insurgency operations.

"We, our country, have sovereignty and we can solve our own domestic problems, and we are willing and able to do so," said U Kyaw Tint Swe. However, he added that the country would abide by international laws and agreements to preserve good international relations.

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Fact-Finding Mission Report Calls for Removal of Military from Gov’t

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 05:46 AM PDT

MANDALAY—The UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Myanmar released a report on Wednesday suggesting that the government of Myanmar pursue the removal of the military from the country's political life, and to restructure the military without delay.

After performing a detailed case study of Myanmar, especially on the conflicts in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states, the FFM report states that the Tatmadaw, the Burmese military, should come under full elected civilian control and be removed from the country's political and economic life.

"Peace will not be achieved while the Tatmadaw remains above the law," Marzuki Darusman, chair of the FFM, was quoted in the OHCHR press release.

"The Tatmadaw is the greatest impediment to Myanmar's development as a modern democratic nation. The commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw, Min Aung Hlaing, and all the current leadership must be replaced, and a complete restructuring must be undertaken to place the Tatmadaw under full civilian control. Myanmar's democratic transition depends on it," he added.

The 440-page report by the FFM, which was submitted at the 39th Human Rights Council, features a wide range of evidence and details of human rights violations committed mainly by the military against the ethnic minorities, especially in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states.

The full report by the FFM follows a preliminary report which was submitted in August calling for the investigation and prosecution of top military leaders for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In their report, the mission urged the government to revise the 2008 Constitution and said that the country should implement security reform by placing the security sector, including the military, under full civilian control which would require the parliament's approval in the appointing of a commander-in-chief and the use of funding for the military, and to abolish the military's quota in the parliament.

"The government of Myanmar, including the civilian authorities and the Tatmadaw as relevant, should abolish the quota for military seats in the legislature, the authority of the Tatmadaw to appoint vice-presidents and ministers and the military's control over certain ministries," said the report.

While urging the government, civilian authorities and the military to cease all unlawful security operations, gender-based violence and harassment and prosecution of human rights activists, lawyers, journalists and peace activists, the mission also urged for the release of the Reuter reporters, Ko Kyaw Soe Oo and Ko Wa Lone.

On the other hand, the report also urged the government to repeal or amend laws such as Peaceful Assembly Act, Burmese penal code 505(b), the Official Secret Acts, section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Act, and section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, which are threatening freedom of expression, opinion and association in Myanmar.

Although the mission is urging the government and the military to make the reforms without delay for the sake of the country's democracy, human rights activists are doubtful that the institutions would do so.

"The suggestions of the Fact-Finding Mission are of international standard and there is no other country in the world which puts the military first. However, we doubt the military will make the reform because there have never been signs of the military following suggestions from the UN or many other international bodies, in the past," said Lawyer U Thein Than Oo, the well-known human rights lawyer.

The lawyer said that the government is in a difficult situation in which the constitution blocks them from having full power of governance over the country and that the people are waiting to see how the government will react to the full report of the FFM.

"The suggestions of the mission are things which our country should comply with, although there are many incomplete facts in the report. However, whether it is complied with or not completely depends on the government and the military," he added.

"On the other hand, our country's governance system is very complicated and can be reformed only if [the government and military] are willing to do so. On the international stage, our country's image already has an ugly face and we hope it won't get worse."

The report also repeats calls for the United Nations Security Council to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as well as an arms embargo and sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes against to the most relevant people including Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and five other senior commanders.

The report also urges ethnic armed groups and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) to comply with international humanitarian laws, to protect civilians, to respect human rights and to participate and negotiate with the government to end the conflicts.

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Myanmar Caught in Her Own Trap

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 05:18 AM PDT

The UN’s Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Myanmar recently called the country’s military, or Tatmadaw, "the main perpetrator of serious human rights violations and crimes under international law in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states."

The FFM designed its Infographic with the image of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as one of the six top Tatmadaw commanders responsible for the crimes. "Naming the highest levels of command, the Mission seeks to underscore their responsibility for crimes committed," the mission said in its report.

The infographic calls the Tatmadaw’s alleged rights violations war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as head of government, and the civilian authorities are also condemned in the report for denying the Tatmadaw's “wrongdoing."

The report highlights the specific articles of the Constitution and other domestic laws that "enshrine impunity for human rights violations" committed by the perpetrators and former military regime. The FFM covers gross human rights violations and serious breaches of international humanitarian law committed in Myanmar since 2011 and urges the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.

Shwe Mann, a former general and speaker of Parliament, has previously confessed that the 2008 Constitution was drafted to protect military leaders who ruled the country under dictatorship.

"Because they believed that it was an essential tool to securely hand over power in the transitional period," Shwe Mann said in a televised talk with the Democratic Voice of Burma.

Going through articles in the Constitution that favor the military, the FFM report says "impunity is deeply entrenched in Myanmar's political and legal system, effectively placing the Tatmadaw above the law. The Constitution and other laws provide for immunities and place the Tatmadaw beyond civilian oversight."

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been campaigning to amend the Constitution since 2014, often urging the military to consider whether it is fair that it should have such privileges. "If the Tatmadaw obtains special authority because of its armed force, how could that be dignified? Think about it," she has said.

The state counselor has been trying to convince the military to back the amendments — which can only happen with its consent — without success to date. She again highlighted the importance of amending the Constitution to Myanmar’s democratic transition during a recent lecture in Singapore.

Though the odds remain against her, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, drawing on her personal connection to the military as an institution (her father, General Aung San, is the country’s preeminent independence hero), has always tried to reconcile with the Tatmadaw peacefully. "I do feel a kinship to the soldiers because my father is a founding father of the Tatmadaw. Not only because of my personal connection, I would like the Tatmadaw to get along with people for the sake of the nation," she said while campaigning in 2014.

"The Tatmadaw and people must trust each other, respect each other and love each other in order for the nation to be peaceful and secure. Without that relationship, the country will never be stable and secure," she said.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is fully aware that the mentality of the Tatmadaw is completely different from what it was in her father’s day. She has often criticized the military, comparing it with its former self. "The Tatmadaw was founded to serve people, but it becomes opposite nowadays,” she has said.

In the 1950s, “war fighters became state builders,” observed Cornell University scholar Mary Callahan. In her 2003 book “Making Enemies,” she wrote that "the military solution to internal crises crowded out other potential state reformers, turning officers into state builders and military-as-institution into military-as-state itself."

Changing the mentality of the Tatmadaw, which has taken root over more than half a century, is not an overnight job. Sending the military back to the barracks is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s greatest challenge, as the Constitution gives the defense services “the right to independently administer and adjudicate all affairs of the armed forces."

The FFM recommends immediate action for "significant security sector reform" and draws attention to constitutional reform as well, including abolishing the military’s 25-percent quota of parliamentary seats and its control of key ministries and placing the sector under full civilian control.

And while fully aware that the Tatmadaw is not under civilian control, the FFM blames Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for remaining silent on the plight of the Rohingya and the military’s alleged abuses.

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has said that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should have resigned as Myanmar’s de facto leader over the military’s alleged mass killing of Rohingya Muslims or risked a return to house arrest rather than being a "spokesperson of the Burmese military." But he should know that the country took 30 years to reach the so-called-democratic transition it is now embarked on. His remark about the state counselor, who abandoned her family for Myanmar and spent 15 years under house arrest, is ruthless and shows no respect for Myanmar’s voters.

Remaining silent on the plight of the Rohingya has been regarded as an act of political suicide by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi among those who envisioned her as a democracy and human rights icon. She has chosen to commit political suicide as an icon to the outside world perhaps because she believes that remaining silent is crucial to seeing through her strategy of reconciliation with the military.

The FFM calls it an “omission.”

"The state counselor, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has not used her de facto position as head of government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events, or seek alternative avenues to meet the government's responsibility to protect the civilian population or even to reveal and condemn what was happening," its report says.

The UN mission also accuses Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the civilian administration of spreading false and hateful narratives, denying the Tatmadaw's wrongdoing, blocking independent investigations — including the FFM’s — and overseeing the bulldozing of burned Rohingya villages and the destruction of crime sites and evidence.

"As such, through their acts and omissions, the civilian authorities have tacitly accepted and approved the Tatmadaw's brutal, criminal and grossly disproportionate actions," it says.

The latest international tensions bring to mind the time when the West strongly condemned the Tatmadaw for brutally killing hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters in 1988. The difference now is that Myanmar is not under military rule, but under the dual leadership of the elected National League for Democracy and the military. International recommendations to take action against the military might create a nightmare for the former military generals, including former Senior General Than Shwe.

"Unless the Myanmar military and other security forces are held accountable for past, current and future crimes, violence and associated atrocity crimes will happen again," the FFM says.

The FFM has given a full list of recommendations to both the civilian government and the military. The burning question is how much space they have to maneuver, and how open the Tatmadaw is to security sector and constitutional reform. The Tatmadaw is now caught in its own constitutional trap.

Returning to the Dark Age is not always the answer. The Washington Post's slogan says "democracy dies in darkness." Authoritarianism in Myanmar may be dying, but its undemocratic Constitution lives on.

Mon Mon Myat is a freelance journalist and a graduate student in the PhD program in peace building at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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Parliament Approves $300M ADB Loan to Upgrade Power Grid

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 05:10 AM PDT

YANGON — Parliament today approved a nearly $300 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to upgrade the national power grid in seven states and regions.

Of the 505 lawmakers in attendance, 501 voted in favor, two voted against and two abstained.

Minister of Electricity and Energy U Tun Naing told lawmakers that the loan would be used to improve the national grid in Yangon, Irrawaddy, Bago and Tanintharyi regions and in Mon, Karen and Rakhine states. Work is scheduled to begin in 2019 and finish in 2025.

The project is expected to increase electricity distribution to 84,850 households in Irrawaddy Region, 151,667 households in Bago Region, 42,747 households in Mon State, 27,820 households in Karen State and 27,820 households in Rakhine State.

President U Win Myint asked Parliament to approve the loan last week.

Of the project’s total $308.9 million cost, the ADB loan will cover $298.9 million and the government will make up the rest.

The ADB component will be divided into $143.1 million for transmission, $98.9 million for distribution, $10.5 million for consultants, $38.6 million for contingencies and $7.8 million for interest payments.

While debating the proposal in Parliament, some lawmakers raised alarm over the size of the consultant fees, which amount to 3.5 percent of the loan.

U Tun Naing told lawmakers that the fees were estimated to cover the full six years of the project, as required by the ADB.

The $10 million to be covered by the government will pay for project management and compensation for expropriated land and lost crops.

U Tun Naing said the ministry and ADB held three consultations in areas to be affected by the project and that local authorities, environmentalists and other experts were invited. He said a joint team had also conducted environmental and social impact assessments.

Some lawmakers were concerned about the debt burden, but Deputy Minister for Planning and Finance U Maung Maung Win said Myanmar's foreign debt was about $10.2 billion and that the addition of the ADB loan was bearable.

The 32-year term of the loan includes a 24-year repayment period and an eight-year grace period. It will have a 1.5 percent interest rate during repayment and 1 percent during grace.

A recent survey found that Myanmar’s population has the least access to electricity in Southeast Asia.

According to the Electricity and Energy Ministry, only 41 percent of the country's population was connected to the national grid in 2017. The government aims to have 55 percent of the population connected by 2021.

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Rights Group Blasts Police Inaction over Rape of 14-Year-Old IDP

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 05:02 AM PDT

A rights group has reported that the police in Nam Hpat Kar, a town in Kutkai Township near the Chinese border, have still not taken action against two men one month after they were accused of raping a 14-year-old student.

The Ta'ang Women's Organization (TWO) released a statement on Tuesday describing the incident which occurred when two girls, aged 13 and 14 years old, went to bathe at a stream outside their village. When they were on their way home, two men attempted to kidnap them. The 13-year-old girl was able to escape, but the men captured and raped the older girl.

Both girls are of Ta'ang ethnicity and are living at an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Mai Yu Lay, a village near Nam Hpat Kar. The rapists are both from the village.

"The girl could not walk for two days after she was raped as she had pain," said Lway Che Sa Nga, a research assistant for the TWO.

Sai Lan Sai, 19, and his friend, whose name remains unknown but is said to be aged 21, have been accused of the rape.

Four women's organizations and community leaders from the village reported the case at the police station in Nam Hpat Kar on August 16, asking the police to take action against the men.

The organizations, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Network, TWO, the Kachin Women's Organization, and the Shan Women's Organization, have gotten involved in seeking justice for the victim and her family. The rights groups have said that one month later, police still have not taken action against the men.

"We have waited for a long time to see how the police would take action against [the accused] but we haven't seen anything yet," said Lway Che Sa Nga.

This has lead, she said, the organization to release the statement.

The victim's family took the girl for a medical check in a Kutkai hospital, but the hospital authorities refused her, saying they couldn't perform the check in their hospital. When the family traveled to a hospital in Lashio, the medical examination found evidence that the girl had been raped, according to Lway Che Sa Nga.

U Zaw Than, a police offer in Nam Hpat Kar, Kutkai Township said that his officers went to the homes of the accused men several times but that they were not at home and so have not been arrested.

"Whenever we went to check at their houses, their parents just told us that they were not at home. We even asked for their photos, but their parents did not give them to us," said U Zaw Than.

He said that as the parents only spoke the Shan language, they did not understand what they said. The police report that they don't know where the men are hiding.

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Police Recapture 3 Escapees from Bogale

Posted: 19 Sep 2018 03:34 AM PDT

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — Police have recaptured all three detainees within 24 hours after they escaped from Myoma Police Station in Irrawaddy Region's Bogale Township early Tuesday.

The three men escaped at about 3:30 a.m. after using hacksaws to cut through the bars of their cell. After breaking out of the police station, the trio stole a motorbike from a driver and headed in the direction of Mawlamyinegyun Township.

Two of the detainees were recaptured near Ye Lel village in Maubin Township at around 7:40 a.m. Tuesday during a joint search operation conducted by police from Pyapon District, Bogale Township and Maubin.

The third escapee, Hla Naing Oo, was recaptured around 5 p.m. the same day in Yangon's Hlaingtharyar Township, a police officer of Bogale Township police station told The Irrawaddy.

One of the three escapees, former policeman Akar Jue, 23, was originally detained for theft. The other, Poe Phyu, 19, was originally detained on a charge of assault to commit theft. Hla Naing Oo, 33, was detained on a rape charge, police said.

Eight policemen of Bogale Township police station on duty during the prison break are being detained at the police station and will be disciplined according to police disciplinary rules.

In August last year, 10 detainees escaped from a cell at the Myoma Police Station in Irrawaddy Region's Mawlamyinegyun Township, though all were later recaptured.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Police Recapture 3 Escapees from Bogale appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Democratic Transition in Myanmar ‘at Standstill’: UN Rights Panel

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 10:11 PM PDT

GENEVA — Myanmar’s democratic transition has ground to a standstill as authorities seek to silence critics while allowing hate speech, particularly against Muslim Rohingya, the head of the UN human rights mission said on Tuesday.

Marzuki Darusman, chair of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, denounced what he called “the extreme brutality of the military” known as the Tatmadaw as he presented a report that Myanmar’s envoy dismissed as one-sided.

The panel was presenting its full 440-page report to the UN Human Rights Council after a summary issued on Aug. 27. That said Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya with “genocidal intent” and called for commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and five generals to be prosecuted for the gravest crimes under international law.

Myanmar’s government dismissed that summary at the time and said the international community was making “false allegations." The military did not comment and Reuters was unable to contact the generals named in the report.

Myanmar’s ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, rejected the panel’s findings as “one-sided” and said his government did not recognize its mandate.

“Not only is this report detrimental to social cohesion in Rakhine State, it also undermines the government’s efforts to bring peace, national reconciliation and development to the entire nation,” he told the forum.

Darusman said on Tuesday that there was “no law and no institution in Myanmar that is above the Tatmadaw” and called for an end to what he called its “complete impunity."

Democracy depended on authorities that accepted scrutiny and fought against hate speech and misinformation, he said.

“In this regard, the democratic transition in Myanmar has barely begun and now it is has come to a standstill,” he added.

Darusman said that the military crackdown in Rakhine in August 2017 – following insurgent attacks – had led to a mass exodus of nearly 750,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, the deaths of at least 10,000 people, and the destruction of more than 37,000 Rohingya homes and structures.

Restrictions curtailing the Rohingyas’ ability to work and access health care and education in Rakhine have intensified since last year. “The same system of persecution would await any Rohingya who return," he said.

The post Democratic Transition in Myanmar ‘at Standstill’: UN Rights Panel appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China Will Use Trade War with US to Replace Imports: State Media

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 09:22 PM PDT

SHANGHAI — China is not afraid of “extreme measures” the United States is taking in their trade war and will use it as an opportunity to replace imports, promote localization and accelerate the development of high-tech products, state media said.

The People’s Daily newspaper, which is published by the ruling Communist Party, made the comments in a front-page article in its overseas edition on Wednesday.

The world’s two largest economies dove deeper into a trade war on Tuesday after Beijing added $60 billion of US products to its import tariff list in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s planned levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

“To deal with the trade war, what China really should do is to focus on doing its own thing well,” the People’s Daily said.

“(China) is not worried that the US trade counter measures will raise domestic commodity prices by too much but will instead use it as an opportunity to replace imports, promote localization or develop export-oriented advanced manufacturing,” it said.

The Global Times tabloid, which is affiliated to the People’s Daily, said the trade war was a chance to pursue greater global recognition of its financial markets and that it could open its A-share market more to listings by Western firms.

The United States has so far imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products to pressure China to make sweeping changes to its trade, technology transfer and high-tech industrial subsidy policies.

The new tariffs will begin on Sept. 24 and will increase to 25 percent by the end of 2018.

Beijing has retaliated in kind but some analysts and American businesses are concerned it could resort to other measures, such as pressuring US companies operating in China.

Another Chinese state-owned newspaper, the China Daily, also said in an editorial on Wednesday the US tactics would prove to be ineffective.

“China has always managed to find the proper solutions to put its economy back on track,” the China Daily said.

“The trade conflict will not force China to succumb to US pressure. Instead, given its economic resilience, it will squarely face those challenges, find the right solutions, and emerge stronger,” it said.

The post China Will Use Trade War with US to Replace Imports: State Media appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Leaders of Two Koreas Begin One-on-One Summit to Unlock Nuclear Talks

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 09:11 PM PDT

SEOUL — Leaders of South and North Korea held one-on-one talks on the second day of their summit on Wednesday, aiming to announce steps to rekindle stalled negotiations on the North’s nuclear program and deepen bilateral ties.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in kicked off their third meeting of the year on Tuesday in Pyongyang, where cheering crowds greeted the leaders as they travelled through the capital.

Afterwards, Kim said his “historic” summit with US President Donald Trump in June had improved regional stability and raised hopes for further progress.

Moon and Kim resumed their talks on Wednesday at around 10 a.m. (0100 GMT), this time without any other attendees. The talks are expected to be followed by a joint statement and a news conference, Moon’s office said.

“It’s difficult to say an agreement has been reached, and we are expecting further dialogue,” Moon’s press secretary Yoon Young-chan told a news briefing on Wednesday.

The joint statement will provide clues to whether negotiations between North Korea and the United States over dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear programs could regain momentum, after Kim asked Trump for a second meeting.

Kim pledged to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” during his first encounter with Moon in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas in April, and at his summit with Trump in June.

But discussions over how to implement the vague commitments have since faltered, with Washington demanding concrete action towards denuclearization by North Korea before agreeing to a key goal of Pyongyang – declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea has given no indication it is willing to give up its nuclear arsenal unilaterally and is seeking relief from crippling international sanctions.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a news briefing on Tuesday that Washington hoped the latest inter-Korean summit would bring about “meaningful, verifiable steps towards the denuclearization of North Korea” and called it a “historic opportunity” for Kim to follow through on commitments he made with Trump.

Art Tour

Later on Wednesday, Moon’s delegation will tour the Mansudae Art Studio, the North’s largest producer of art where state artists build statues and produce propaganda at a sprawling complex in Pyongyang.

The institution was sanctioned by the UN Security Council last year as part of global efforts to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs by drying up its revenue sources.

Moon is also scheduled to watch the North’s signature “Brilliant Fatherland” Mass Game which was reintroduced this year following a five-year hiatus, with a formation of glowing drones, lasers and stadium-sized gymnastics shows designed to glorify the country.

The United States is pressing countries to strictly observe international sanctions, which will likely be a key theme when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hosts a Security Council meeting on North Korea on Sept. 27 on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly.

“New Era"

This week’s summit is intended to craft concrete steps to implement the Panmunjom Declaration, named after the border village where they first met, Seoul officials said.

The two Koreas are also working to adopt a separate military accord aimed at preventing armed clashes between the old foes, which are technically still at war because the Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

The neighbors have already agreed to withdraw some guard posts and equipment, in a bid to transform the world’s most heavily fortified border into a no-weapons area.

Pyongyang says it has destroyed its main nuclear and missile engine test site, and has halted atomic and ballistic missile tests, but US officials and analysts believe it is continuing to work on its weapons plans clandestinely.

South Korea is pinning high hopes on Kim’s remarks to Moon’s special envoys earlier this month that he wanted to achieve denuclearization within Trump’s first term in office ending in early 2021. Kim at the same time also stressed Washington must reciprocate his initial “goodwill” gestures.

“While Moon has expressed his desire to agree on a concrete plan on denuclearization, we believe that the two nations still differ on this concept,” said Anwita Basu, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

In previous, failed talks, North Korea has said it could consider giving up its nuclear program if the United States provided security guarantees by removing troops from South Korea and withdrawing its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from the South and Japan.

US officials involved in the latest negotiations have said North Korea has refused to even start discussions about defining denuclearization.

The post Leaders of Two Koreas Begin One-on-One Summit to Unlock Nuclear Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UK Foreign Secretary Hunt to Meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi During Myanmar Visit

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 09:04 PM PDT

LONDON — British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will arrive in Myanmar on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will have talks with the country’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Foreign Office said.

Ahead of the trip, Hunt said Britain would increase its support to gather evidence for Rohingya victims who have suffered sexual violence at the hands of the military in Rakhine State.

UN investigators said last month that Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya with “genocidal intent” and that the commander-in-chief and five generals should be prosecuted under international law.

“The United Nations fact-finding mission exposed terrible suffering in Burma, and in the face of such serious allegations, no country that considers itself humane can stand back and do nothing. We are determined to do all we can to provide security, dignity and justice to the victims,” Hunt said in a statement, using an alternative name for Myanmar.

“Together with our international partners, we will increase our support for those who have been victim of these heinous acts.”

The support will include additional deployment of experts in preventing sexual violence by the end of the year and development of a code of conduct for gathering evidence, he said.

Hunt will visit the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners to talk to human rights defenders, and will also go to northern Rakhine, the Foreign Office said. He will hold talks with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday.

Western criticism has mounted of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s failure to speak out against military treatment of the Rohingya. She has said that in hindsight, her government could have handled the Rakhine State situation better.

Hunt said this month he would also use the visit to raise the case of two Reuters journalists jailed for their reporting of the Rohingya crisis.

The post UK Foreign Secretary Hunt to Meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi During Myanmar Visit appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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