Monday, November 19, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Foreign Visitor Numbers Up Despite Dip in Western Tourists

Posted: 19 Nov 2018 04:18 AM PST

YANGON— The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism says Myanmar received more than 2.8 million foreign visitors this year through the end of October, a slight increase compared to the same period last year.

According to the ministry’s latest figures, 2,844,508 tourists arrived during the first 10 months of the year, up 1.2 percent from 2017. This year’s number included 1.1 million visitors with visas and 1.7 million without.

Visitors from Western countries have been falling. Those from Western and Eastern Europe dropped 26.2 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively. Those from North America fell 14.6 percent.

On the other hand, tourist arrivals from Asian countries have jumped, accounting for nearly 77 percent of arrivals with visas.

With some travel guides shunning Myanmar following the violence in northern Rakhine State, and many Western travellers cancelling their bookings, local tour operators had expected foreign arrivals from the West to slump.

U Thet Lwin Toe, chairman of the Union of Myanmar Travel Associations, said within a month of the easing of visa requirements for tourists from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau in October, visitor numbers from those destinations have soared.

But he urged the government to adopt policies that encourage those visitors to spend more of their money on local businesses.

In 2017, Myanmar received 3.44 million visitors. The Hotels and Tourism Ministry aims to hit 4 million visitors by the end of 2018.

The post Foreign Visitor Numbers Up Despite Dip in Western Tourists appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD Sues USDP’s By-Election Winner in Yangon over Bribery Claim

Posted: 19 Nov 2018 03:50 AM PST

YANGON—A former National League for Democracy (NLD) candidate is suing the opposition party candidate who beat him in the recent by-election in Yangon's Seikkan Township for breaching the electoral law.

In the Nov. 3 by-election, U Nay Myo Aung of the main opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) beat the NLD's U Than Htike Aung in Seikkan, a constituency the ruling party won in the 2015 general election.

On Saturday, U Than Htike Aung's campaign manager U Ye Min Hein filed a case against U Nay Myo Aung and other two USDP members under Article 58 (A) of the State and Regional Electoral Law at Seikkan Township Police Station. The plaintiff claims the USDP candidate mediated a micro-loan scheme between voters from his constituency and a finance company prior to the by-election.

Article 58 (A) of the law prohibits candidates from providing people with money, food, job opportunities or other favors in exchange for votes.

The defendants face one year in prison in found guilty. Additionally, the by-election result in the constituency would be canceled. U Nay Myo Aung's alleged accomplices are his campaign manager Daw Toe Toe Lwin and May Htut Microfinance Company director U Lin Aung, as well as the USDP's chairman in Yangon.

U Than Htike Aung told The Irrawaddy that the lawsuit was motivated not by his loss in the by-election but by his desire for a "free and fair election."

"We learned that such money-related irregularities were going on even before the by-election. We knew it was against the law. We are only able to file the case now because it took us time to gather evidence," he said.

Neither the USDP candidate nor the party's spokesperson, U Nandar Hla Myint, were available for comment on Monday afternoon.

According to the 2014 Census, Seikkan Township has a population of fewer than 3,000, mostly made up of police, dockers and their families. The valid voter list for the constituency for the by-election contained less than 1,500 names.

The USDP candidate won the Nov. 3 poll in the constituency with 515 votes to the NLD's 365.

The post NLD Sues USDP's By-Election Winner in Yangon over Bribery Claim appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Solving On-the-Ground Issues Necessary in Moving Closer to NCA: KNPP

Posted: 19 Nov 2018 02:22 AM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand—The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), a non-signatory of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), said solving problems on the ground would help to move forward the process of signing the NCA as well as political negotiations.

The KNPP and the government have had a state-level bilateral agreement since 2012, but negotiations on signing the NCA and the KNPP's political participation are ongoing.

Informal talks on signing the NCA were held between the KNPP and representatives of the government's Peace Commission on Sunday in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The KNPP and the Peace Commission last met formally in April in Loikaw, the capital of Kayah State, followed by two other informal talks this year.

There are concerns over the Tatmadaw's (Myanmar army's) misinterpretation of the bilateral agreement between the state government and the KNPP, according to Khu Oo Reh, the KNPP's vice chairman. Khu Oo Reh was referring to the recent clash between the KNPP and Tatmadaw troops in Hpa Saung Township, Kayah State.

The KNPP, the Karenni state government and state-level Tatmadaw commanders have been holding monthly talks in order to gain mutual understanding on their bilateral agreement and to ensure both sides follow it.

One of the rules stipulated in the bilateral agreement is that the KNPP and the Tatmadaw must use designated routes for the movement of their troops and that both sides must inform the other three days before passing near battalions of the other army in order to avoid unnecessary engagement.

"But the Tatmadaw does not follow these rules. We think it may be because of different understandings of the bilateral agreement," said Khu Oo Reh.

The group focused on these situations in their discussions with the Peace Commission on Sunday. Commission advisor U Hla Maung Shwe said Sunday's talk was helpful for sharing approaches to solving these situations on the ground.

Both sides said they would have further meetings but did not elaborate when.

Whether the political negotiations can move forward "totally depends on how quickly we can solve these problems on the ground," said Khu Oo Reh.

The government's negotiators, led by Peace Commission secretary and former lieutenant general U Khin Zaw Oo, were in Chiang Mai for a series of informal talks over the weekend. They separately met two key signatories of the NCA—the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS)—and two non-signatories, the KNPP and the Kachin Independent Army (KIA).

An informal meeting between the government and a KIA representative was also held on Sunday in Chiang Mai but media were not allowed to attend, instead being told it was held only to create an open channel between the negotiators.

The post Solving On-the-Ground Issues Necessary in Moving Closer to NCA: KNPP appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Home Ministry Vetting Ex-Generals’ Application to Form Party, Election Body Says

Posted: 19 Nov 2018 02:03 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — The Union Election Commission said the military-run Home Affairs Ministry was reviewing an application by a trio of ex-generals to form a political party.

U Soe Maung, U Lun Maung and U Kyaw Thu, all former generals and ministers, applied to form the National Political Party in August.

U Soe Maung retired as the Myanmar military’s advocate-general before serving as president's office minister under then-President U Thein Sein. He was also a member of the military commission that drafted the current Constitution, but lost his race in the 2015 general elections.

U Lun Maung served as auditor-general under U Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government until he asked to leave the post in 2012. He has since run a restaurant in Mon State's Bilin Township.

U Kyaw Thu was a brigadier general in the army and served as chairman of the Union Civil Service Board, a government agency responsible for recruiting civil servants.

"We have handed their proposal to the Home Affairs Ministry. This is a normal procedure for all [potential] parties, and we will proceed according to the procedures after the ministry submits its report," said election commission spokesman U Myint Naing.

Upon receiving a proposal to establish a political party, both the Home Affairs Ministry and the Labor Ministry’s Immigration and Population Department must determine whether the applicants have links to terrorist organizations or unlawful associations.

U Soe Maung declined to comment for this story. When news about his plans to form a party broke in August, he told media that he would not comment until the election commission made a final decision.

"Normally the review takes three months. In some cases it lasts up to six months, depending on the [background of the] applicants," said U Myint Naing.

On Nov. 9 the Myanmar Herald Journal reported that the ex-generals had already formed an association called "Ra Hta Pa La" — a Pali phrase that can be translated as "protection of the country" — to mobilize support for the formation of a party to be headed by them.

The report said the association met in Pegu Region’s Letpadan Township on Nov. 2, and that State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and former military junta leader U Than Shwe agreed to make the current military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the president of Myanmar after the 2020 general elections.

"Core party members [of the National Political Party] who held talks with retired Major General Soe Maung said they think Senior General Min Aung Hlaing will be retired and appointed president in 2020," U Than Myat Soe, former secretary of the Union Solidarity and Development Party's Letpadan chapter, was quoted as saying by the Myanmar Herald Journal.

U Zaw Myint Maung, vice-chairman of the ruling National League for Democracy, denied the report.

"It is not true that there is such an agreement. It was just intended to mislead the people," he told the media on Nov. 11.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Home Ministry Vetting Ex-Generals’ Application to Form Party, Election Body Says appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Kachin Woman, 60, Shot Dead as Rival EAOs Clash in Lashio Township

Posted: 19 Nov 2018 01:11 AM PST

An ethnic Kachin woman was killed on Nov. 17 when fighting erupted between rival ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) outside her village near Lashio Township in northern Shan State.

Mar Lut, 60, and other residents of Mann Bein village were moving harvested rice on a farm at about 4 p.m. when fighting broke out nearby between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and a joint Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)/Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) force. The clash prompted the group of villagers to attempt to return to their homes.

One of the villagers, Myint Than, said a group of soldiers from one of the EAOs sprayed bullets at them, killing Mar Lut.

"There were four men and six women in our group. We let the women walk in front as we were worried that the armed groups would suspect us [of being soldiers] if they saw men walking in front," Myint Than said.

"They shot us even though we shouted to them that we were local people returning from the rice farm," he said.

According to Myint Than, when the shooting started, Mar Lut ran into the bushes. Her friends thought she was taking cover and were unaware at first that she had been shot.

Mar Lut was shot in the stomach, and was already dead by the time the other villagers found her the next day.

"We could see [the soldiers] in the distance, but we couldn't tell which armed group they were from. We only saw that they wore camouflage," Myint Than said.

A funeral was due to be held for Mar Lut, a mother of four, on Monday, according to Mann Bein village head Tu Mai.

Mar Lut's family wanted to inform the Myanmar police about her death, but were worried that the armed men would return and make trouble for the family, Tu Mai said.

He said the villagers lived in fear of being targeted by armed groups again; another villager was murdered on October 26.

The family of the victim in that incident, San Mon, 32 (also known as Mar Kan), blame the RCSS for his death.

Mann Bein village is 12 miles from Lashio. Numerous times, residents have been forced to flee fighting between the RCSS and joint TNLA/SSPP forces.

According to the TNLA, two separate clashes erupted between the two sides in Mann Bein village on Nov. 17.

The post Kachin Woman, 60, Shot Dead as Rival EAOs Clash in Lashio Township appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

$31M in Jade and Gems Sold at Naypyitaw Emporium

Posted: 18 Nov 2018 11:54 PM PST

NAYPYITAW — A recent jade and gems emporium held for local merchants in Myanmar's administrative capital recorded a revenue of nearly 50 billion kyats ($31.44 million).

Ninety-six gems lots and 3,339 jade lots were on sale through competitive bidding at Mani Yadanar Jade Hall from Nov. 12-17. Fifty jade lots were sold for a total of nearly 800 million kyats and 3,185 jade lots for over 4.8 billion kyats, totaling over 49 billion kyats.

Over 50 percent of gems lots up for sale and over 90 percent of jade lots were sold during the expo.

"The sale figures both in terms of amount and value have declined compared to the previous emporium, but the amount that sold was higher than we had expected," said U Than Zaw Oo, a member of the emporium's organizing committee.

"Those gems and jade are inferior to those put on display at the previous emporium. But they sold because the market is short of raw materials. The market prices change every day," said U Maung Oo of KMO Gems Trading.

Local merchants have called for the emporium to be held twice a year as it would be beneficial for less financially-strong local merchants who find it difficult to compete with foreign merchants in emporiums where jade and gems are sold in euro.

"It is good to buy jade and gems from local sellers in kyat so that smaller merchants can polish them and sell them in Mandalay and at emporiums which use euros. If possible, we want emporiums using kyat to be held twice a year so that small merchants can survive," said U Maung Oo.

The jade and gems emporium for local merchants in March last year, where 130 of 195 jade lots displayed were sold along with 4,137 out of 4,454 jade lots, recorded a sale of around 6.2 billion kyats.

A 12.35-carat ruby set at a base price of 250 million kyats and a jade lot with a base price of over 100 million kyats were not sold at the most recent emporium.

The highest bid was for a peridot which sold for 142.7 million kyats and the winning bid for a jade lot, with a base price of 1 million kyats, was 320 million kyats.

"The base price is the seller's price, but as buyers were bidding the price went up to 320 million kyats. I heard that a merchant from Mandalay paid that price," said U Min Thu, a member of the central committee of the emporium's organization team.

According to the emporium organizing committee, 1,186 jade and gem merchants registered to attend the expo.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Prison Official Arrested With Meth Tablets in Irrawaddy Region

Posted: 18 Nov 2018 11:00 PM PST

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — Police in Irrawaddy Region on Friday arrested a prison official transporting methamphetamine tablets hidden inside small cartons of milk.

Acting on a tip, police stopped the motorbike of Myaungmya Prison Deputy Assistant Supervisor U Maung San as he was driving past the correction center and found more than 2,200 of the tablets packed in plastic bags hidden inside the cartons.

"We have opened a case against him. He said that he was only carrying a parcel sent by someone from Yangon to the prisoner. We are still investigating him," Captain Aung Min Zaw, commander of the Myaungmya Township police station, told The Irrawaddy.

He said the package was intended for delivery to a prison inmate named Ko Soe Naing.

This is the first time on record that narcotics have been seized from a prison official in Myaungmya.

U Thant Zaw Win, a lawmaker in the Irrawaddy Parliament representing Myaungmya, called on police and prison officials to stop drug trafficking in prisons.

"It is quite unacceptable. This case mars the image of not only the town but also the entire Corrections Department. Concerned agencies know much better than us how to stop drug smuggling into the prisons. Concerned staff and police officers know well the methods to stop this. It is important that concerned departments handle their staff urgently," he said.

Police have opened a case against both U Maung San and Ko Soe Naing under the Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substance Law.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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KNU and Govt Plan to Resume Formal Peace Talks

Posted: 18 Nov 2018 10:23 PM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Myanmar government peace negotiators and the Karen National Union (KNU) have vowed to resume formal peace talks as quickly as possible, after they were postponed late last month.

The KNU decided to pause formal peace talks in late October citing the need for further internal discussions in order to have meaningful participation in the peace process because of differences between their opinions and those of the government. The public and some stakeholders were worried that the halt in talks could trigger a restart of conflict in the region.

Some members of the KNU are concerned that the National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) has drifted from its original purpose, which includes ensuring equality, self-determination in building a democratic federal union and effectively implementing the issues agreed in the NCA text.

The formal peace talks stalled until the KNU—within its own organization—agreed to return to the formal mechanism, but they decided last week to keep an informal channel open for negotiations.

Government spokesman U Zaw Hay, who is also director general of the State Counselor's Office, said both sides would share the topics raised in their informal discussions with their superior leaders and that he hopes that formal peace talks can resume "in two or three months, or sooner than that."

"Although we have this temporary suspension, we will try to be back on track with the normal peace talk mechanism as soon as possible," he told reporters after talks with the KNU on Saturday afternoon.

The informal discussion with the KNU helped "reduce such concerns [of the public]," U Zaw Htay said, because both the negotiators of the government and the KNU share the same views on continuing to implement peace through the NCA.

The government's negotiators, led by Peace Commission secretary and former lieutenant general U Khin Zaw Oo, were in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a series of informal talks with two key signatories of the NCA and two non-signatories at the weekend.

Padoh Saw Tadoh Moo, general secretary of the KNU told reporters that the KNU stands firm in continuing negotiations through the NCA, but that its implementation "must be right and just."

Observers and the ethnic stakeholders had said that differing interpretations of the NCA by the government, the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) and the ethnic armed organizations have made it harder for the process to keep going.

"The process of finding solutions to political problems through political means needs to be right and just. In the meantime, [both the KNU and the government] have to have basic principles in order to have a common view on the substance [of the agreement]," the KNU leader added.

U Zaw Htay added, as both sides respect the NCA, and they do not want it to drift, they agreed to try to have thorough mutual understanding for a successful NCA process.

The post KNU and Govt Plan to Resume Formal Peace Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Parliament Approves Formation of New Investment Ministry

Posted: 18 Nov 2018 09:52 PM PST

YANGON — Myanmar's Union Parliament on Monday approved the formation of a new ministry to boost local and international investment and to make that investment socially and environmentally responsible.

President U Win Myint last week proposed the formation of a new Union-level Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations to Parliament for approval.

More than seven lawmakers discussed the request on Thursday, with the majority of lawmakers supporting the formation.

Myanmar Attorney General Tun Tun Oo told Parliament on Monday that the new ministry will be a merger between the Foreign Economic Relations Department and the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) – both of which are currently under the Ministry of Planning and Finance.

He assured that the formation of the new ministry would provide swifter investment-related information to local and international investors, real-time collaboration with relevant departments and dispute resolution among investors.

 "This will help increase the country's rank on the ease of doing business index," he said.

Currently, Myanmar is ranked 171 on the index, according to the World Bank.

The plan comes at a time when Myanmar's economy is slowing and many international investors are turning away because of the Rohingya crisis. Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since a military crackdown in northern Rakhine State late last year. The government, led by Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has come under heavy international criticism for remaining largely silent on the issue.

In a message read by the parliamentary speaker, U Win Myint said the government needed the new ministry "to make use of outside assistance from the United Nations and other international organizations in accordance with the country's policies and to effectively collaborate with the UN and others international organizations."

The message did not mention who would head the new ministry. But sources in Naypyitaw say U Thaung Tun, who chairs the government's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), which manages the registration of both local and foreign companies, is tipped for the post.

U Thaung Tun is the currently national security advisor and government office minister.

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Shots Fired by Police Injure Four at Sittwe Rohingya Camp

Posted: 18 Nov 2018 09:04 PM PST

YANGON — Myanmar police shot and injured four Rohingya Muslims on Sunday, after detaining two men accused of smuggling people out of a camp for displaced people in western Rakhine State.

Some police entered Ah Nauk Ye camp in Pauk Taw Township, about 15 km (9 miles) east of the state capital Sittwe on Sunday morning, apprehending the two men accused of owning a boat used in an attempt to smuggle 106 Rohingya out of the country on Friday.

Police Lieutenant U Than Htay of Pauk Taw Police Station told The Irrawaddy on Sunday that the Rohingya surrounded them with swords and threw stones at them when they attempted to detain the two men.

"Police fired some warning shots when they, with swords and sticks, attempted to grab the men. Rather than being dispersed, the crowd swelled. Some people were wounded as police fired some shots in self-defense," said U Than Htay.

The rickety vessel, which was carrying 25 children among its passengers, had been bound for Malaysia when authorities stopped it south of Yangon, detaining those on board. The incident, and similar recent boat departures, have raised fears of a fresh wave of dangerous voyages after a 2015 regional crackdown on people smugglers.

Maung Maung Aye, a 27-year-old Rohingya Muslim from the camp who witnessed the shooting, told Reuters four people were injured in the incident, with two of them in a serious condition.

"People from the camp went out to look and police shot at people,” he told Reuters by phone.

Many people in Myanmar call the Rohingya "Bengali," implying they are migrants from Bangladesh.

Maung Maung Aye disputed that version of events. He said the Rohingya did not attack the police or try to grab the arrested men. He said police fired at residents and not into the sky.

Myanmar government spokesman U Zaw Htay did not answer calls seeking comment.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have been confined to camps outside Sittwe since violence swept Rakhine in 2012. They are denied free movement, access to decent healthcare and education.

In August last year, Solidarites International, an international aid group, warned that the conditions at Ah Nauk Ye, home to more than 4,000 Rohingya, were severe.

It said the "natural environment" at the camp was "unsuitable to human settlement" and warned of water shortages, poor access to livelihood opportunities and communal violence.

For years, the Rohingya have boarded boats organized by smugglers in the dry months between November and March, when the sea is calm. The perilous journey to Thailand or Malaysia, often undertaken in overcrowded vessels, has cost many lives.

The 106 Rohingya detained off Yangon on Friday were put on a navy ship destined for the Rakhine camps on Sunday.

More than 700,000 Rohingya in northern Rakhine State fled to nearby Bangladesh in August 2017 following the security forces' clearance operations in the area after Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked police outposts there. Those who fled accused the security forces of rape, arbitrary killings and arson.

The Myanmar government has denounced ARSA as a terrorist group while UN investigators have accused the Myanmar army of "genocidal intent" and ethnic cleansing.

The post Shots Fired by Police Injure Four at Sittwe Rohingya Camp appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Hong Kong’s ‘Occupy’ Leaders Plead Not Guilty to Public Nuisance Charges

Posted: 18 Nov 2018 08:56 PM PST

HONG KONG — Three leaders of Hong Kong’s 2014 civil disobedience “Occupy” movement pleaded not guilty to public nuisance charges at a packed court in the Chinese-ruled city on Monday where more than 100 protesters rallied in support of the activists.

Law professor Benny Tai, 54, sociology professor Chan Kin-man, 59, and retired pastor Chu Yiu-ming, 74, face three charges of conspiracy to commit public nuisance, incitement to commit public nuisance, and incitement to incite public nuisance.

Each charge carries a maximum jail term of seven years. Six others are also charged in a case that comes as the financial hub’s civil liberties are coming under increasing strain.

Supporters cheered and clapped as the democracy activists entered the packed courtroom, with Tai, Chan and Chu all wearing black jackets.

Another defendant, Raphael Wong, said while pleading not guilty to one charge: “I want universal suffrage.”

The nine stood defiantly before the court as they decried what some called “political persecution” for what was conceived as a peaceful civil disobedience campaign.

Chan announced last week that he would take early retirement from the Chinese University of Hong Kong to avoid the risk of being fired should he be jailed. Tai told Reuters he hoped the trial would be an opportunity to “reboot the spirit of the people.”

“Power to the people”

The protesters waved yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the pro-democracy movement, and pumped their fists ahead of the hearing as they chanted: “I want universal suffrage.”

Another protester held an umbrella with the words: “Power to the People.”

In 2013, Tai, Chan and Chu began promulgating and planning a non-violent civil disobedience campaign to occupy streets in the city’s central business district should China not allow a truly democratic vote for its next leader.

The “Occupy” campaign germinated in September 2014 and became part of what grew into the biggest populist challenge to China’s Communist party leaders since the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in Beijing in 1989.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong in sustained and continuous occupations of major roads for close to three months.

The six other defendants include veteran Democratic Party member Lee Wing-tat, Democratic lawmaker Tanya Chan, lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun and student leaders Tommy Cheung and Eason Chung.

The trial is expected to last about 20 days.

The case could have repercussions for hundreds of other protesters who have not yet been charged.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula, with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy and freedoms denied citizens in mainland China, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.

However, critics that include foreign governments, business groups and activists say that the guarantee is ringing increasingly hollow.

The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned in a report to Congress last week that China had “ramped up its interference” towards Hong Kong and had “closed down the political space for prodemocracy activists to express discontent.”

Authorities have banned a political party advocating Hong Kong independence, barred democracy activists from contesting local elections and disqualified six opposition lawmakers from the legislature.

A senior Financial Times journalist, Victor Mallet, was barred from the city last week after he helped host an independence activist at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, in what critics said was an attack on freedom of speech.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has repeatedly stressed Hong Kong respects media and other freedoms but has so far refused to give an explanation for Mallet’s de facto expulsion.

The post Hong Kong’s ‘Occupy’ Leaders Plead Not Guilty to Public Nuisance Charges appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

US-China discord dominates APEC summit in Papua New Guinea

Posted: 18 Nov 2018 08:36 PM PST

PORT MORESBY — The United States and China swapped barbs over trade, investment and regional security at an Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit on Saturday, as growing fault lines among members suggested little prospect of consensus at the weekend meeting.

Speaking in the Papua New Guinean capital, US Vice President Mike Pence said there would be no end to American tariffs until China changed its ways, after its president, Xi Jinping, warned that the shadow of protectionism and unilateralism was hanging over global growth.

Illustrating the impasse between the world’s two largest economies, a diplomat involved in negotiating an APEC leaders’ declaration told Reuters trade was a sticking point, and the host nation was having trouble finding language acceptable to all.

Pence took direct aim at Xi’s flagship Belt and Road program, which China has been promoting to Pacific nations at APEC, saying countries should not accept debt that compromised their sovereignty.

“We do not offer constricting belt or a one-way road,” Pence told the APEC CEO summit, a precursor to the official leaders’ meeting, held on a cruise liner tethered in Port Moresby’s Fairfax Harbor.

China’s efforts to win friends in the resource-rich Pacific have been watched warily by the traditionally influential powers in the region — Australia and the United States.

US President Donald Trump is not attending the APEC meeting, nor is his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Xi, who is staying in Port Moresby, has been feted by Papua New Guinean officials and stoked Western concern on Friday when he held a meeting with Pacific island leaders, in which he pitched the Belt and Road initiative.

Speaking before Pence, Xi said there was no geopolitical agenda behind the project, which was unveiled in 2013 and aims to bolster a network of land and sea links with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

“It does not exclude anyone. It is not an exclusive club closed to non-members, nor is it a trap as some people have labeled it.”

There have been concerns that small countries that sign up for infrastructure projects will be left with debt burdens they cannot service, something Pence highlighted.

“Do not accept foreign debt that could compromise your sovereignty. Protect your interest. Preserve your independence. And just like America, always put your country first,” he said.

Sri Lanka formally handed over commercial activities in its main southern port of Hambantota to a Chinese company last December as part of a plan to convert $6 billion of loans that Sri Lanka owed China into equity.

Soon after Pence spoke, Australia said it was joining the United States and Japan in a partnership that would help countries in the region develop infrastructure priorities, a possible alternative to China’s Belt and Road.

Regional security

Pence also said the United States would join Australia to help Papua New Guinea build a navy base on its Manus Island, which was a US base in World War Two.

The plan comes after China emerged as a possible developer of the deep-water port, which analysts say could impact the West’s ability to navigate in the Pacific while offering China a site close to US bases in Guam.

“The United States of America will continue to uphold the freedom of the seas and the skies, which are so essential to our prosperity,” Pence said.

In a meeting that could irritate Beijing, Pence had talks with Taiwan’s envoy to APEC, Morris Chang.

Beijing considers Taiwan a wayward province of “one China,” ineligible for state-to-state relations, and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

Despite Taiwan’s lack of diplomatic recognition by the majority of countries, APEC allows it to participate as an economic, rather than political, entity.

Pence later told reporters travelling with him he would “carry back” a Taiwan proposal for a free trade agreement.

Double tariffs?

There were differences between other APEC members, with some calling for radical change to trade systems while others argued for a return to the status quo on globalization.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad warned globalization was leaving some people behind and fuelling inequality.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison mounted a defense of free trade, saying a billion people had been lifted out of extreme poverty since 1991 because of the jobs and cheaper goods that free trade brought.

Xi told delegates that the shadow of “protectionism and unilateralism” hung over global growth and erecting barriers and cutting ties was shortsighted and doomed to fail.

But Pence made it clear that the United States would not back down, saying it could more than double the $250 billion of Chinese goods subject to tariffs.

“The United States though will not change course until China changes its ways,” Pence said.

Trump and Xi are due to meet at a G20 meeting in Argentina late this month, raising some hope that trade tension could ease.

Trump is pressing China to reduce its huge bilateral trade surplus and make sweeping changes to its policies on trade, technology transfers and high-tech industrial subsidies.

China has denied that US companies are forced to transfer technology and sees US demands on rolling back its industrial policies as an attempt to contain China's economic rise.

Sebastián Piñera, the president of Chile, which will host next year’s APEC, called on the two powers to find a resolution.

“This is a very good opportunity to ask the US and China to find ways to end their tariff and trade war which benefits no one,” he told the forum.

“Both countries will have to change course.”

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Two Years After Philippines’ Pivot, Duterte Still Waiting on China Dividend

Posted: 18 Nov 2018 08:18 PM PST

MANILA — Two years after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced a divorce with old ally the United States in return for bumper business ties with China, he doesn’t have much to show for it.

Duterte left Beijing in 2016 with $24 billion of Chinese loans and investment pledges for his ambitious infrastructure overhaul, a few weeks after saying the Philippines was being treated like a dog by Washington and would be better off with China.

But only a fraction of China’s pledged support has materialized, exposing Duterte to criticisms he has been complicit in allowing China to pose threats to Philippines’ sovereignty, and been left high and dry by Beijing.

When Xi Jinping visits the Philippines this week, Duterte will need the Chinese president to put his money where his mouth is and help Duterte justify his geopolitical concessions to a historic rival, according to Richard Heydarian, a Manila-based defense and security analyst.

“Otherwise, we can definitely conclude that there’s really nothing much in the rhetoric and the Philippines has been taken for a ride,” Heydarian said.

“Duterte’s naivety with China has been a slam dunk strategic coup for China, no doubt about it.”

Philippine’s Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said it would be unreasonable to expect all the Chinese pledges to come through after only two years, but officials were hopeful intervention by Xi after his visit could help.

“We’re very optimistic this will, their head of state, will pressure their bureaucracy to speed up the process,” he said last week.

Duterte’s signature “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, the centerpiece of his economic strategy, involves 75 flagship projects of which about half are earmarked for Chinese loans, grants or investments.

But according to publicly available Philippine government documents reviewed by Reuters, only three of those – two bridges and an irrigation facility worth a combined $167 million – have so far broken ground.

The rest, including three rail projects, three highways and nine bridges, are at various levels of planning and budgeting, or are awaiting Chinese government approval for financing, or the nomination of Chinese contractors.

‘Positive Results'

China’s foreign ministry said major projects agreed by both sides “are proceeding smoothly and continue to achieve positive results." China wanted to boost trade and investment and “promote the early commencement of building of even more agreed upon projects,” the ministry said in a statement to Reuters.

Chinese committed investments in the Philippines in the first half of this year were just $33 million, about 40 percent of that of the United States and about a seventh of Japan’s, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, tracking a similar trend the previous year.

Trade between China and the Philippines has picked up significantly, but data suggests mostly in China’s favor.

Chinese exports to the Philippines grew 26 percent in the first nine months of 2017 from the same period a year earlier, outpacing its imports from Manila, which grew 9.8 percent.

Net foreign direct investment from China has, however, surged to $181 million for the first eight months of this year, from $28.8 million for all of 2017, according to the Philippine central bank.

Pressure Needed

Duterte has made a point of praising China effusively and confessing his “love” for Xi. He even jokingly offered his country to Beijing as “a province of China."

Many ordinary Filipinos as well as international lawyers and diplomats are incensed by Duterte’s refusal to even raise with China the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) 2016 award that ruled in the Philippines’ favor, and invalidated Beijing’s claim to most of the South China Sea.

Instead, Duterte is seeking an agreement with China to jointly explore offshore gas at the disputed Reed Bank in the resource-rich and strategic waterway. Some lawmakers fear that could be tantamount to recognizing Beijing’s claim to a site that the PCA ruling said China has no sovereign rights to under international law.

Duterte has also been against Southeast Asian countries taking a united stand against China militarization and at a regional summit last week, he warned against causing friction, because the South China Sea was “now in their (China’s) hands."

Heydarian said if Duterte was unable to show an economic dividend from his China gambit, it could weaken his hand ahead of 2019 mid-term elections that might determine the success or failure of his presidency.

To stand a chance of delivering on his policy agenda, Duterte needs his allies to command a majority in Congress and the Senate to ensure key legislation is passed to enable reforms aimed at generating revenue, attracting investment and creating higher-quality jobs.

“If after Xi Jinping’s visit, there’s still no big move by China to invest in the Philippines, if China’s militarization and reclamation will just continue unabated, you’re going to have a situation where Duterte will come under extreme pressure,” he said.

“The opposition is going to use that to pin down Duterte and his allies as Chinese lackeys.”

 

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Rohingya Repatriation, Relocation Plans Set to Be Pushed Back to 2019: Govt Official

Posted: 18 Nov 2018 07:55 PM PST

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s plans to tackle the Rohingya refugee crisis are set to be stalled until the new year with repatriation and relocation programs only likely be revisited after year-end general elections, a top Bangladeshi official said on Sunday.

Abul Kalam, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told Reuters “a new course of action” needed to be adopted on repatriation that took into account refugees’ key demands. He later clarified these were his own personal views and not those of the government.

More than 720,000 Rohingya fled a sweeping army crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017, according to UN agencies. The crackdown was launched in response to insurgent Rohingya attacks on security forces.

Rohingya refugees say soldiers and Buddhist civilians killed families, burned many villages and carried out gang rapes. UN-mandated investigators have accused Myanmar’s army of “genocidal intent” and ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has denied almost all the accusations, saying its forces engaged in a counter-insurgency operation against “terrorists."

In late October, Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to begin to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled, but the plan has been opposed by the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and the UN refugee agency and aid groups, who fear for the safety of Rohingya in Myanmar.

The repatriation of the first batch of 2,200 refugees was to begin officially on Nov. 15, but it stalled amid protests at the refugee camps. None of those on the list agreed to return if their demands for justice, citizenship and the ability to go back to their original villages and lands were not met.

“I don’t think anyone’s agreeing to go back without these,” said Kalam, who last week called on the international community to pressure Myanmar to accept certain “logical and acceptable” demands in order for any repatriation to take place.

Myanmar does not consider the Rohingya a native ethnic group and calls them “Bengalis," suggesting they belong in Bangladesh. It has agreed to take the Rohingya back and said they would need to accept the National Verification Card, which it says would allow Rohingya to apply for citizenship. The Rohingya reject the card, saying it brands them foreigners.

Kalam said he believed Myanmar needed to propose a “clearer path” to citizenship for the Rohingya if any returns were to take place, adding he would raise the matter at the next bilateral meeting on repatriation, likely to take place next month.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay was not reachable on Sunday for comment.

With Bangladesh now set to go to the polls on Dec. 30, any decision either to repatriate people, or relocate refugees from the crowded camps to Bangladesh’s Bhasan Char Island will not proceed until 2019, Kalam said, adding later a final decision had not been taken and it would be the government’s call.

“Elections are coming up now, so the government will only finalize a future course of action after the elections,” said Kalam.

Bangladesh has vowed not to force anyone to return and has asked the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure those short-listed to return really want to go back.

A UNHCR spokesman said it was not clear when repatriations could begin. “At this moment it’s unclear, perhaps we can get clarity in the next few days.”

Some Rohingya refugee leaders in Bangladesh said they were relieved Bangladesh had not forced refugees to return and called for the repatriation plan to be revised.

Kalam said construction work on alternative housing on Bhasan Char was “nearly complete.” He said he was hopeful some refugees would agree to move, given the island’s “livelihood opportunities” such as fishing and farming. Aid agencies express caution, as the island is prone to flooding.

“The possibility of refugees being relocated to the island until elections are over is slim,” Kalam later added.

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Friday, November 16, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

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RCSS and Gov’t Peace Negotiators Hold Informal Meetings in Chiang Mai

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 06:32 AM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand—Government peace negotiators and representatives of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) met informally in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand on Friday as part of a series of informal peace talks led by the government with four major ethnic armed organizations this weekend aimed at finding ways to move forward with the peace process.

The government negotiators will meet the Karen National Union (KNU) on Saturday. They will also separately meet the non-signatories Kachin Independent Army (KIA) and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) on Sunday.

The RCSS had stopped participating in meetings with the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC), an implementation body of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) this month, following the KNU's decision not to take part in the formal peace negotiations.

After Friday's talk, both sides (the RCSS and the government) told reporters that their discussions focused on seeking different approaches in order to be able to move forward the process within the NCA path.

U Zaw Htay, director general of the State Counselor's Office told reporters in Chiang Mai after the 80-minute meeting that their talk focused on finding the best possible approach to reducing conflict.

Both sides said they had thorough discussions on the aspects of the NCA that are not possible to implement.

U Zaw Htay said, "Our discussion focused on preventing conflict from being escalated and losing trust. We do not want any trouble on our NCA path."

Sai Ngern, secretary of the RCSS also said they had good results from these informal discussions.

He said they raised their concerns and desires based on their statement released on Nov. 12 and discussed how to overcome those obstacles as well as the single-army issue and non-secession.

The RCSS's statement on Monday said they are sticking to the NCA while being committed to non-secession. On the issues of a single army, the RCSS said they would find a way through the informal talks.

It demanded a meeting with Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) leaders in order to have a mutual understanding on the JMC and only after that they would decide whether they will continue participation in JMC meetings. It was discussed in Friday's talk, but Sai Ngern did not elaborate on the details of it, saying further informal meetings would be conducted.

The RCSS had also pushed for a change to the JMC structure, mechanisms and terms of references and for the consideration of a role for international experts in the JMC.

The government delegation is led by U Khin Zaw Oo, secretary of the Peace Commission, accompanied by commission members U Aung Soe, U Zaw Htay, U Kyaw Lin Oo, and advisor U Hla Maung Shwe.

RCSS chairman Gen. Yawd Serk led the talk, accompanied by the RCSS deputy commander-in-chief Brig-Gen Pao Khay, secretary Col. Sai Ngern and the spokesman Lt-Col Sai Meng.

U Zaw Htay told The Irrawaddy they would have open discussions with the three other groups over the weekend because "we accept there are problems which need to be solved."

He expects the informal talks this weekend will yield a solution which is acceptable by both sides.

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Lack of Constructive Ideas on Display at Pence, Suu Kyi Meeting

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 06:24 AM PST

Remarks about Rohingya refugees by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of this week's ASEAN summit in Singapore have caused a stir in Myanmar.

Delivering the Trump administration's most high-profile criticism to date of the persecution of Rohingya Muslims, Pence said at a press briefing attended by the two that state violence against the group was "without excuse".

"I'm anxious to hear about the progress that you're making, holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence that displaced so many hundreds of thousands and created such suffering, including the loss of life," he said.

Some in Myanmar bristled at the vice president's remarks, viewing them as patronizing, and took offense at the sight of a foreigner lecturing their leader about an issue their country is grappling with. On the other hand, at least one aspect of his comments was met with amusement here.

The "punch line" for many in Myanmar came when Pence expressed concern about freedom of the press in Myanmar, raising the issue of the arrest of two Reuters journalists last year.

"In America, we believe in our democratic institutions and ideals, including a free and independent press," Pence said.

Given the fondness of the current occupant of the White House for mocking and insulting journalists—not to mention his condemnation of those who would hold him accountable as "enemies of the people" and their reporting as "fake news"—Pence's comments are hard to swallow.

People took to Facebook and other social media to drop a line or two on what they thought of the vice president's comments. Some suggested that rather than Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, his preaching on "democratic institutions and ideals" would best be aimed at his own boss.

Unsurprisingly, they applauded Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for standing up to Pence: "In a way, we can say that we understand our country better than any other country does and I'm sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your country better than anybody else does," she said. "So, we are in a better position to explain to you what is happening and how we see things panning out."

However, she was not free from criticism herself. Some were astonished by the directness of her comments; others said she had been undiplomatic. Rather than adopting Pence's confrontational tone, they said, she should have explained that Myanmar is going through a difficult time, especially with regard to the Rohingya, and asked for greater collaboration from the U.S. to tackle the issue. By failing to do so, some said, she missed an opportunity.

The brief exchange between the leaders could have been very different if Pence had come up with a more positive approach, rather than informing the State Counselor that "I'm anxious to hear about the progress you are making—holding those accountable who are responsible for the violence.'

Instead of waiting to hear on the progress of efforts to facilitate the Rohingya's voluntary return, the U.S. should collaborate more not only with Myanmar but also with Bangladesh, the UNHCR and the UNDP to help speed the repatriation process, which is experiencing hiccups. Only this approach can make a positive difference.

As for Myanmar's leadership, caution is required with every step—especially at this time when the international community has very little sympathy for Naypyitaw over the Rohingya issue. As an example of this, one need only look at the last-minute warnings from the UN and rights groups regarding the repatriation process, which came despite the government's repeated announcements that it is ready to welcome those who return voluntarily.

At the same time, as "we understand our country better than any other country does," Myanmar should keep searching for ways to facilitate repatriation that are in line with the country's existing laws. The process must be implemented in tandem with Kofi Annan's Advisory Commission's other recommendations, which call for a roadmap for the development of the whole of Rakhine State. Successful implementation of those 88 recommendations would probably be the only way for Myanmar to earn international trust on the issue.

This would be more likely to happen if the majority of the international community showed understanding and took a helpful approach toward Myanmar, as some other countries have. For Myanmar itself, it would be wiser to seek more supporters, rather than risk further alienation by resorting to harsh words.

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Minister Claims Refugee Returnees Intimidated by ARSA

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 04:44 AM PST

YANGON—Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Win Myat Aye has claimed the Rohingya who want to return to Myanmar are being discouraged by threats from affiliates of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).

In an exclusive interview published in state-run newspapers on Friday, the minister, who is also chairman of the committee of acceptance and resettlement of returnees, said those who wish to come back from the refugee camps in Bangladesh directly contacted officials on the Myanmar side through Viber to say they have been prevented from doing so, and even prevented from filling out forms required for their repatriation.

"Among those in the camps over there who want to return, some were tortured and killed in some cases," the minister said, adding that the threats discouraged those who want to voluntarily return to Myanmar.

Last year, nearly 700,000 Rohingya fled to nearby Bangladesh after security forces' clearance operations in the area following ARSA attacks on police outposts there. The government denounced ARSA as a terrorist group, while the UN has called the Myanmar military's operations "ethnic cleansing."

In October, Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to start the repatriation process for the first group of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar this week. Myanmar has prepared to accept 150 people per day at the repatriation center in Maungdaw Township, northern Rakhine State, starting from Thursday, yet no refugees opted to come back.

Minister U Win Myat Aye, accompanied by his deputy U Soe Aung, Minister of Immigration and Population U Thein Swe, and Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, were waiting for refugees at the Taungpyo Letwei repatriation center.

At a press conference held late on Thursday in Naypyitaw regarding repatriation, the Myanmar government said the process has been opened and they will accept anyone who is ready to come back voluntarily.

Hundreds of Rohingya protested in the refugee camp of Unchiprang in Teknaf, in Bangladesh, from where the first batch of the Rohingya families were supposed to leave on Thursday. They demanded justice and a guarantee of security and citizenship.

Speaking on Thursday to reporters in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, U Win Myat Aye said the government understands the concerns of the refugees, adding that they can guarantee the safety of the returnees if they abide the country's existing laws.

U Win Myat Aye, who also chairs the government's Implementation Committee for Recommendations on Rakhine State, added that the government is working on a citizenship verification process as well as providing freedom of movement as their priorities.

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Three Bombs Found in Taunggyi amid Fire Balloon Festival

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 04:03 AM PST

MANDALAY—At least three bombs packed in attache cases were found Friday in Taunggyi, southern Shan State, where the annual fire balloon festival is currently being held.

A local politician told The Irrawaddy he saw bomb squad officers checking one case that was found in front of Taunggyi's Central Market.

"Police cleared the area and the bomb squad defused it. Later, they took away another two attache cases after defusing them," Ko Toe said.

Locals said they had heard reports that police had evacuated six other locations including Ocean shopping mall following bomb scares.

However, the duty officer at Taunggyi Police Station would only confirm the discovery of three bombs in front of the market. He said the other reports were just rumors and refused to provide further information.  

Taunggyi is currently hosting its annual Fire Balloon Festival, a unique event that draws thousands of visitors to the town. Locals and visitors expressed concern that the festival would be canceled due to the bomb scares.

The area surrounding Taunggyi includes some of the main operating areas of the Pa-O and Shan ethnic armed groups.

However, local residents were doubtful that the ethnic armed groups were responsible for placing the bombs, as most of the visitors to the festival are ethnic people living in the region.

"We don't believe the culprits are from the ethnic armed groups. [Whoever did it] may have been trying to affect the festival and the peace and stability of our town," said U Than Win, a town elder and festival committee member.

 

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Myanmar Shoppers Spend $90,000 in 1 Hour During Alibaba’s ‘11.11’ Online Sale

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 03:07 AM PST

YANGON—The local unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group sold over $90,000 worth of goods in the first hour of its first-ever online sale aimed at Myanmar shoppers on Sunday.

The local version of Alibaba's global "11.11" online sale was conducted by Myanmar's biggest online shopping platform, SHOP.com.mm. SHOP said in a statement that over 1,500 orders were placed in the first hour, most of them via mobile phones. The company offered discounts on 50,000 items, and over 150,000 users accessed its shopping app.

Major brands such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, Ponds, Vaseline, ERKE, Adidas, Nike, Maybelline were discounted by up to 90 percent. The company also offered additional discounts of up to 22 percent for holders of VISA, CB VISA and AGD VISA cards. The site also offered a 0-percent commission to sellers.

Alibaba group expects online shopping in Myanmar to grow rapidly, driven by accelerating expansion of Internet penetration and mobile use in the country.

SHOP.com is owned by Daraz Group, which was obtained by Alibaba in May. Daraz, a leading South Asian e-commerce company, also has operations in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

The SHOP.com website and its apps have been upgraded to include personalization features and data privacy protection. The 11.11 online sale was SHOP.com's first such project since its acquisition by Alibaba.

Alibaba has announced that it aims to become the most trusted online shopping platform for both buyers and sellers through the use of the latest world-class technologies. It said it would make an effort to raise awareness about e-commerce among Myanmar citizens.

According to Telenor's "Digital Myanmar 2018" report, the country has a mobile density (or penetration) rate of 105 per cent, while 80 percent of people access the Internet via smartphones. But the majority of the population is still not familiar with online shopping via card payment systems.

The widely used Myanmar Payment Union is not yet e-commerce enabled, but SHOP said it was looking for other payment options in Myanmar.

Regarding Sunday's sale, SHOP co-managing director Frans Maas said, "11.11 is yet another historic mark in the development of the e-commerce industry in Myanmar."

He added: "Never have so many people been buying and selling online in one day, and the response of both our sellers and customers has been very enthusiastic."

Designated by the company as the "World's Biggest Sale Day," 11.11 is Alibaba's major promotional activity. Last year the company posted sales of $25.4 billion on that day worldwide. The figure was up from $5.8 billion in 2013, $9.3 billion in 2014 and $14.3 billion in 2015.

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MMA Star Aung La N Sang to Help Fight Illegal Wildlife Trade

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 02:46 AM PST

YANGON—Aung La N Sang, the most celebrated cage fighter in Myanmar's history, has been appointed by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Myanmar as its ambassador for fighting wildlife crime.

"The fight to protect wildlife and stop wildlife crime in our country is a fight that is close to my heart," said the Kachin mixed martial arts fighter.

"Elephants, tigers, pangolins, bears, turtles and Burmese pythons…. they should be in the wild, in the forest, the mountain, the ocean, not in the market, said the One Championship middleweight and light-heavyweight world champion.

Aung La also welcomes the Yangon government's ban on wildlife sales in the commercial capital, calling it "great news for wildlife."

The 33-year-old fighter, known to his audience as "The Burmese Python," was honored with a Male Athlete of the Year award at the One Championship Global Martial Arts Awards held in Singapore earlier this month.

His fight with Japanese fighter Ken Hasegawa also won the Bout of the Year award.

"The Government alone or our organization alone is not capable of fighting wildlife crime. It is important that the public participates with awareness, so we need to seek the support of celebrities. We have ambassadors in other sectors, and now we are reinforced with Ko Aung La. He is interested in doing this and accepted willingly so we appointed him," said Ko Ye Min Thwin of WWF-Myanmar.

He said that huge challenges lie in fighting wildlife crimes as Myanmar neighbors China which is home to the world's biggest black market for wildlife trade.

The Myanmar authorities destroyed hundreds of seized elephant tusks, pangolin scales and other animal parts, worth a total of $1.3 million on the black market, in the capital city of Naypyitaw in the first week of October.

There are over 40 protected areas in Myanmar and 19 more have been earmarked for designation as protected areas. Those areas include natural parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserves.

From April 2016 through September this year, police handled 140 cases of wildlife smuggling and took action against 284 criminals.

Meanwhile, 108 elephants were poached from 2010 through September this year, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation.

"In 2017, an elephant was killed almost every week. The elephant population in Myanmar is now less than 2,000," said U Nyi Nyi Kyaw, director of the government's forestry department.

Besides poaching, there have been reports of smuggling entire elephants, he said. The forestry department, in cooperation with home affairs ministry, has increased patrols in Yangon, Bago and Irrawaddy regions where poaching rings are rampant.

The trading of wildlife has been criminalized in Myanmar since 1994 but there have been problems with law enforcement. In May this year, Myanmar's national legislature passed the Protection of Biodiversity and Conservation Areas Law.

The law carries a minimum of three to a maximum of ten year's imprisonment plus a fine for hunting and illegal trade of wildlife protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

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Lawmaker Urges Scrutiny of Railway Purchase from China

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 01:51 AM PST

NAYPYITAW—A lawmaker sounded a warning on Thursday about the government's plan to purchase railway carriages from China using loans from Beijing, saying steps must be taken to ensure that the price of the carriages is fair.

Lawmakers in the Lower House on Thursday discussed the Ministry of Transport and Communications' plan to accept a no-interest loan of 80 million yuan (about 18.5 billion kyats) from China in order to buy the carriages. Lawmaker Daw Cho Cho of Oktwin Township urged officials to scrutinize the cost carefully.

"Though the loan is interest-free, we are obliged to purchase the carriages from the lender, so it is important that the products are of good quality, reasonably priced, and will not cost us far more than similar products from other countries. Because we will have to repay the loan, with or without interest," Daw Cho Cho said.

The loan would be disbursed over five years. Myanmar would have to begin repayment five years after the last of the money is received. Repayment would be in installments of 10 percent, 8 million yuan, a year for the following 10 years. So the total repayment period would be 20 years.

Daw Cho Cho stressed that the carriages should be new, and not refurbished models. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, a total of 28 carriages—14 ordinary and 14 first class—will be purchased for use on the Yangon-Mandalay railroad.

More than 1,000 commuters use the route daily, with one carriage earning as much as 3 million kyats a day, Transport and Communications Minister U Thant Zin Maung told the Union Parliament on Monday.

"New carriages mean better safety and greater convenience for commuters. This will enhance the image of Myanma Railways [MR] while increasing revenue," he said.

U Mya Sein, a Lower House lawmaker for Dagon Seikkan Township, called for a tender process to be launched in line with normal procedures.

Other lawmakers stressed the need for MR to improve its services.

A former MR official told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity that such deals are a good way for Myanmar to import new transport technologies, as China is a world leader in railway systems.

The Myanmar Railways Strategy 2018 jointly drafted by the Asian Development Bank and the Myanmar government, calls for the purchase of 60 new locomotives, 500 new passenger carriages and 800 freight carriages by 2027.

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Stunning Landscapes from Across the Globe Now Exhibiting at The Secretariat

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 01:26 AM PST

YANGON—An exhibition of photographs of epic landscapes and breathtaking scenes of nature from across the globe by a local photographer is now on display at The Secretariat in downtown Yangon.

Our World Through My Lens is photographer U Ye Naing Wynn's first solo exhibition. He has captured some of the world's most beautiful natural landscapes during his travels to different continents across the globe. From dramatic mountain peaks in Argentina to colossal waterfalls and dancing northern lights in Iceland, the photographer appears to have used extreme patience and persistence in waiting for the prime moment to capture the perfect shot.

The photography exhibition is taking place at The Secretariat until Monday. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

"The primary aim of this exhibition is to bring awareness to the Myanmar people that the world has lots of beauty and diversity; it's not just a small bubble that we live in. We should look beyond our own horizons and embrace everything," said U Ye Naing Wynn.

A viewer takes in scenes from Iceland at ‘One World Through My Lens’ photography exhibition. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

The exhibition is a dramatic display of 30 colorful back-lit photographs lighting up the space in the southern wing of the historic Secretariat. All photographs are for sale and proceeds from the sales will go to two worthy causes: Wildlife Conservation Society Myanmar and an orphanage charity Yellow Generation Wave.

Photographer U Ye Naing Wynn meets people on the opening day of his exhibition ‘One World Through My Lens’ on Friday. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

As part of the exhibition organized in conjunction with Black Knight Media, there will be two days of workshops over Saturday and Sunday Nov. 17 and 18 which will be open to the public and feature some of the biggest names in Myanmar's photography and art scene including U Zaw Min Yu, U Aung Pyae Soe and U Pyay Way.

Landscapes from across the world are captured at the photography exhibition. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

The exhibition is open daily from 9am to 5pm until Monday Nov. 19. Workshop events take place between 2pm and 4pm on both days. Entrance to the exhibition is free of charge.

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Boat of Refugees Destined for Malaysia Brought Ashore Near Yangon

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 01:16 AM PST

YANGON— More than 100 Rohingya Muslims found aboard an overcrowded boat destined for Malaysia early on Friday morning are being held in a cyclone shelter in Thante village in Yangon's Kyauktan Township, according to a regional lawmaker.

Local authorities found a boat carrying 106 Rohingya—including 25 children, 50 men and 31 women—near Thante village, inland from the Gulf of Martaban, at around 4am, according to Daw Thet Thet Mu, Yangon regional lawmaker of Kyauktan.

The lawmaker said a few passengers on the boat who can speak Burmese explained they had fled from a refugee camp in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State in a bid to reach Malaysia.

The refugees were lured by a broker who said he could get them to Malaysia where they could make substantial earnings. Suffering from food shortages and financial hardships in their camp in Sittwe, they decided to take the opportunity and set out on the voyage as a group of 107.

When local authorities in Kyauktan found them, they had been on the boat for 20 days during which time one woman had died on the boat.

"They have no food. They carry nothing with them," said Daw Thet Thet Mu. The locals of Kyauktan cooked for the refugees and distributed food at the shelter this morning, she said.

Local police did not immediately respond to telephone calls from The Irrawaddy.

The lawmaker said Yangon Region's minister for security and border affairs was at the shelter and told her they will deal with the refugees in accordance with the law.

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New Zealand to Support Suu Kyi in Finding Resolutions to Rakhine Issues

Posted: 16 Nov 2018 12:11 AM PST

YANGON—New Zealand's prime minister offered to assist Myanmar's state counselor's efforts in finding resolutions to the Rohingya crisis during a bilateral meeting held during the ASEAN Summit in Singapore this week. The support came amid mounting international pressure—including the recent revoking of a human rights award from Amnesty International—on the Myanmar leader over her handling of the Rohingya issue. 

 At the ASEAN and East Asia Summit on Wednesday, the pair had a brief meeting just before the state counselor's met US Vice President Mike Pence who issued the United States' strongest rebuke against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi yet.

 New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern said her country shares the international community's concern on Rakhine State's security and development and the ongoing Rohingya repatriation process but also raised New Zealand's willingness to assist and to help find a resolution. 

 "We, of course, share the concern of the international community around what has happened in Rakhine State, and the ongoing displacement of the Rohingya," Ardern said.

 She said New Zealand would raise human rights concerns continually but is always willing to help Myanmar.

 More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh since last August, as a result of the Myanmar military's clearance operations which followed attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on military and security outposts in northern Rakhine State.

 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government has faced accusations of whitewashing war crimes committed by the military in Rakhine, Shan and Kachin states, according to the UN fact-finding report released in August this year. 

 The report said the state counselor 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 her responsibility to protect the civilian population.

 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also faced strong condemnation during the ASEAN Summit during which she met with a number of country leaders who brought up the military's persecution under the government she leads. Just one day into the summit, Amnesty International officially withdrew her Ambassador of Conscience award, the highest honor awarded by the rights group, for what their statement said is a shameful betrayal of the values she once stood for.

 Malaysia's prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was "trying to defend the indefensible," and that he was very disappointed by her failure to defend the Rohingya. In a meeting which followed that with New Zealand's prime minister, US vice president Mike Pence told Daw Aung Suu Kyi that the persecution by Myanmar's military was "without excuse." 

 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi responded, "We can say that we understand our country better than any other country does. And I'm sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your own country better than anybody else does."

On Thursday, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi held a meeting with China's premier Li Keqiang who said his country will continue to support the Myanmar government's efforts to protect domestic stability and their approach in resolving the Rohingya issue. 

 On the same day, Bangladesh and Myanmar were to start the repatriation process of the first batch of verified displaced persons. Instead, a group of Rohingya held a protest saying they would refuse to return to Myanmar without being granted official citizenship. The Myanmar government has said no refugees have returned yet but that the repatriation process is still open. 

 According to New Zealand media reports, Ardern said she did not face any defense from the state counselor during the meeting and that they shared concerns over the Rohingya crisis. 

"There's no doubt that the situation is complex, incredibly complex,” Ardern is quoted in a New Zealand media report. "But for international actors, it's all about making a position on those human rights issues heard and then seeing what we can do to facilitate support.” 

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People’s Party to Align with Ethnic Political Parties

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 11:30 PM PST

NAYPYITAW — U Ko Ko Gyi, one of the leaders of the newly established People's Party, said the party will align itself with ethnic political parties as its partnership policy.

The politician submitted a list of the party's central executive committee to the Union Election Commission in Naypyitaw on Thursday. According to him, the party has 23 members on its central executive committee and a strong membership of some 10,000.

"We will maintain friendly alliances with ethnic political parties that we established some 30 years ago. We are also ready to cooperate with other like-minded parties that share the same views with us on democracy and federalism," said U Ko Ko Gyi.

Dr. Aye Maung, an ethnic Arakanese leader, also said during his trial for high treason and other charges in Sittwe on Monday that he would like to establish alliances with other ethnic parties and Bamar parties like U Ko Ko Gyi's in order to form a coalition government in the 2020 general elections.

The idea of forming a coalition government has grown following the Nov. 3 by-election in which ethnic parties and the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won three seats each, although the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) secured seven.

"It is still just an idea. No discussions have been held yet. The fact that democratic groups might form an alliance should be welcomed. It will happen, I think. But the two major parties assume that they can cover the whole country, so they don't have clear policies regarding party alliances," said spokesperson U Sai Nyunt Lwin of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy.

Vice chairman of the Lisu National Development Party U La Mar Lay said the party does not want to establish alliances with political parties outside of ethnic regions. But the party is willing to cooperate with a government led by any party for regional and national development, he added.

"We believe that it is impossible to forge alliances because we are a small party. Some have urged us to partner with them, stating that they would give us rights. But it is impossible as the election draws near. Each party has their own greed and we have our own greed," he said.

The People's Party still has not considered which particular parties it will partner with but it has firmly decided to work together with like-minded parties, U Ko Ko Gyi told The Irrawaddy.

A third party alliance is likely to materialize but is unlikely to be viable, according to political observers.

"I don't think a third force alone can win the 2020 election. It will have to partner with either the NLD or USDP. Thinking about it the other way, if either of these two main parties partners with ethnic parties, they will be able to elect the president in the 2020 election," said former Hsipaw Township Lower House lawmaker and political analyst U Ye Htun.

"Currently, no other party besides the NLD and the USDP with its close ties to the military will be able to elect the president. The USDP will be able to elect the president if it wins 26 percent of the vote and the NLD will need to secure 51 percent of the vote to do so," he added, referring to the 25 percent of seats reserved for the military party in Parliament under the military-drafted Constitution.

Critics say public support for the NLD government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is declining, as the party failed to realize its campaign promises and bring about tangible changes more than two years into its administration.

"Ensuring equality for ethnic people and establishing a federal Union is the most fundamental part of nation-building. We have to try to walk the walk and not just talk the talk," said U Ko Ko Gyi.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Music for Activists: Photos of Dead, Missing Thais Inspire Album

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 08:36 PM PST

BANGKOK — Photographs of dead and missing Thai rights activists have spurred a Canadian composer to create a music album and invite string quartets around the world to perform to draw attention to the violence campaigners face.

More than 59 land and environmental activists have been killed or have disappeared in Thailand over the last 20 years, according to advocacy group Protection International.

British photographer Luke Duggleby visited their families to collect their portraits, then took pictures of those photographs in the place where the activists were last seen.

His photo exhibit of 37 activists has been shown across Europe and in Thailand over the last two years.

Frank Horvat, who read about the exhibit in 2016, said he was so moved, that in just a month he composed “The Thailand HRDs”, comprising a two-minute movement for each photograph, using musical pitches or letters from the name of each victim.

“This music is not intended to be purely melancholic but have a tinge of defiance so that these deaths do not mark an end, but a continuation of the fight for justice,” Horvat said.

New York City-based Mivos Quartet performed Horvat’s composition in August in Toronto and the album is due to be released on Friday.

It will “hopefully spur listeners to find their inner activist and fight for what they feel is important in this world,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

A global campaign entitled “Music for Human Rights Defenders” or #music4HRDs, invites string quartets to videotape themselves playing a movement from the album and posting it on social media.

The aim is to bring the classical music community together to support activists, and raise awareness of an issue that has received little attention in the West, said Horvat.

In Thailand, evictions of villagers and indigenous people from forests and farmland have risen to make way for mines, power plants and national parks.

Laws governing forest management and land acquisition do not offer adequate protection for the poor, leaving them vulnerable to violence while defending their homes and land, said Pranom Somwong at Protection International in Thailand.

Among those featured in the photographs is Charoen Wat-aksorn, who led a campaign against a coal-powered plant. He was shot dead in 2004 after testifying to a parliamentary committee.

“Very few perpetrators have been held accountable for these and other killings and disappearances,” Pranom told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“If we don’t hold them accountable, it will keep happening.”

The post Music for Activists: Photos of Dead, Missing Thais Inspire Album appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

ANALYSIS: Trump’s Summit No-show Draws Asian Nations Closer Together

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 08:30 PM PST

SINGAPORE — US President Donald Trump didn’t make it to this week’s summit of Asian nations in Singapore, but his influence was still keenly felt among the leaders who gathered in the city.

One prime minister warned that the trade war between Washington and Beijing could trigger a “domino effect” of protectionist steps by other countries. Another fretted that the international order could splinter into rival blocs.

“The most important and talked-about … leader, President Trump, is the only one that did not turn up,” said Malcolm Cook, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

And yet, in Trump’s absence, countries from South to East Asia pressed on with forging multilateral ties on trade and investment among themselves, including with China.

China’s representative at the meetings, Premier Li Keqiang, egged them on.

“Now the world is facing rising protectionism. It is all the more important for us to come together and respond to the complex world situation to uphold multilateralism and free trade,” Li said on Thursday.

The US president’s lack of engagement with Asian nations came just days after a trip to France for World War One commemorations at which he appeared isolated from NATO allies.

Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said Trump was inadvertently bringing Asian nations together.

“Not necessarily by design, but because he is not being a consistent and reassuring presence, and because his policies have tended to fracture the natural order that Asia is dependent upon,” he said. “Asians are trying to figure out what else they can do without relying on America too much.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Two Powers: Two Strategies

As well as the summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asian nations in Singapore, Trump will also skip the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Papua New Guinea at the end of the week.

At APEC on Friday, President Xi Jinping will showcase China’s Belt and Road initiative to Pacific leaders, several of whom are expected to sign up to the infrastructure investment drive.

Xi’s multi-billion-dollar plan, which aims to bolster a sprawling network of land and sea links with Asian neighbors and far beyond, is viewed with suspicion in Western capitals as an attempt to assert Chinese influence.

Trump attended both the ASEAN and APEC meetings in 2017, and his decision to stay away this year has raised questions about Washington’s commitment to a regional strategy to counter China.

Vice President Mike Pence, who represented Trump in Singapore, told the meeting that United States’ commitment to the Indo-Pacific is “steadfast and enduring.”

Asia presents the Trump administration with some of its most pressing foreign policy challenges, including its strategic rivalry with China and efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.

Washington has touted what it calls an “Indo-Pacific” strategy aimed at greater regional cooperation, notably with India, Australia and Japan, to counter China’s influence, including in the disputed South China Sea, where it conducts naval patrols to challenge what it sees as Beijing’s excessive territorial claims.

Pence said on Thursday – without naming China – that there was no place for “empire and aggression” in the Indo-Pacific.

His comments follow a major speech in October in which he flagged a tougher approach by Washington toward Beijing, accusing China of “malign” efforts to undermine Trump and reckless military actions in the South China Sea.

A US State Department spokesman said: “We welcome contributions by China to regional development, so long as it adheres to the highest standards the people of the region demand. We are concerned by China’s use of coercion, influence operations, and implied military threats to persuade other states to heed China’s strategic agenda.”

Shortly before Pence spoke in Singapore, the US Navy announced that two of its aircraft carriers with around 150 fighter jets were conducting warfare drills in the Philippine Sea, a show of force in waters south of China and within striking distance of North Korea.

Taking Sides

Pence told reporters in Singapore that he had been struck in conversations with world leaders by “the connection that President Trump has made” with them through his vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

However, analysts say that countries across Asia are waiting for the United States to put substance behind its Indo-Pacific rhetoric, and Trump’s absence from the summits only served to heighten concerns among Southeast Asian states that Washington no longer has their back.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday it was “very desirable” for ASEAN not to have to take sides with world powers, but there may come a time when it would “have to choose one or the other.”

Some Southeast Asian nations may be quietly impressed by the United States’ robust approach to Beijing on trade, intellectual property issues and the South China Sea, but others have made it clear they already see China’s rise as inevitable.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, asked on Thursday about the US Navy drills, noted that China already occupies contested South China Sea islands and added: “Why do you have to create frictions … that will prompt a response from China?”

But Cook said Southeast Asian states’ hedging and unwillingness to publicly criticize Chinese aggression have contributed to Washington’s posture shift in Asia.

“This change is certainly not all because of Trump,” he said. “The choices of Southeast Asian states in the end bear some responsibility.”

 

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China Offers Myanmar Support over Rohingya Issue after US Rebuke

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 08:26 PM PST

BEIJING — China supports the Myanmar government’s efforts to protect domestic stability and approach to resolving the Rohingya issue, Premier Li Keqiang told the country’s leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, after US Vice President Mike Pence offered a strong rebuke.

Pence on Wednesday voiced Washington’s strongest condemnation yet of Myanmar’s treatment of Rohingya Muslims, telling Daw Aung San Suu Kyi that “persecution” by her country’s army was “without excuse."

Meeting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Singapore, Li said China attaches great importance to its ties with Myanmar and would build on their tradition of friendship, China’s Foreign Ministry said late on Thursday.

“The Chinese side supports Myanmar’s efforts in maintaining its domestic stability, and supports Myanmar and Bangladesh appropriately resolving the Rakhine State issue via dialogue and consultation,” the ministry cited Li as saying.

China is “willing to provide the relevant parties with necessary support in this regard," he added, without elaborating.

More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees crossed into Bangladesh from western Myanmar’s Rakhine State, UN agencies say, after Rohingya insurgent attacks on Myanmar security forces in August 2017 triggered a sweeping military crackdown.

The two countries agreed on Oct. 30 to begin returning refugees to Myanmar in mid-November. The UN refugee agency has said conditions in Rakhine are “not yet conducive for returns."

China has close relations with Myanmar, and backs what Myanmar officials have called a legitimate counter-insurgency operation in Rakhine.

China’s statement cited Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as expressing thanks to China for the many times it has extended help to Myanmar, especially the constant understanding and support for the Myanmar peace process and the Rakhine issue.

A plan to begin repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar stalled on Thursday, amid protests by refugees at camps in Bangladesh and recriminations between the officials in both countries.

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Wreaths of Remembrance Laid at Yangon War Cemetery

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 08:24 PM PST

Wreaths of red poppies have been laid for November, the month of remembrance, at a little-known war memorial cemetery in Sanchaung, Yangon in commemoration of 1,381 soldiers who lost their lives here fighting for the Allies during the first and second world wars.

The cemetery, located down a small lane near the Hanthawaddy Roundabout on Pyay Road, commemorates the lives of soldiers from various countries who fought with the Allies, including a small number of Myanmar soldiers. Among them, 86 of those buried remain unidentified.

The Yangon War Cemetery is one of two memorial gardens in Myanmar that is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The other, Taukkyan War Cemetery, lies 25 kilometers north of Yangon and has 6,374 graves.

The post Wreaths of Remembrance Laid at Yangon War Cemetery appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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