In a surprise move on Friday, the Myanmar military declared a unilateral four-month ceasefire, its first ever. This after it failed to heed an order from then-President Thein Sein to stop its offensive against the Kachin Independence Army in December 2011.
Materializing as it has in the midst of a stalemate in the peace process, the ceasefire has come about for a number of reasons.
First, the military, or Tatmadaw, wants to rebuild the diminishing trust of the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), in particular those that have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), namely the Kayin National Union (KNU) and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS). The KNU decided to temporarily withdraw from the peace process in October. The following month, the RCSS said recent high-level meetings with the government and military had failed to achieve a breakthrough on key obstacles to a peace process.
The Karenni National Progressive Party, meanwhile, is in a “sit and wait” posture on the NCA, which it has not signed, while the Tatmadaw has shown a willingness to negotiate with it.
So the Tatmadaw wants to rebuild trust with NCA signatories and non-signatories alike in hopes of reviving the peace process.
Second, the Tatmadaw wants to forge good relations with the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), which comprises the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Shan State Army (SSA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Arakan Army (AA).
The AA, MNDAA and TNLA recently expressed interest in joining the peace process. The Tatmadaw wants to grab the opportunity to build a rapport with the FPNCC — non of whom have signed the NCA — via these three groups. The two largest and strongest FPNCC members, the UWSA and KIO, issued statements welcoming the Tatmadaw's announcement.
Third, the unilateral ceasefire may be a tactic of the Tatmadaw to convince EAOs outside of the NCA to sign on. Non-signatories regularly clash with the Tatmadaw, and those in Shan State urged the Tatmadaw to declare a unilateral ceasefire after the armed groups met in early December.
The Tatmadaw wants non-signatories to sign the NCA by the end of April. The tactic is similar to the government’s handling of the Land Law enacted on Sept. 11. The law requires everyone occupying land classified as vacant, fallow or virgin to apply for a land-use permit within six months of its enactment and reiterates the penalties for trespassing.
Similarly, the Tatmadaw is pushing non-signatories to join the NCA within four months. After that, the Tatmadaw can criticize any group that hasn’t.
Last but not least, the Tatmadaw wants to repair its damaged image both at home and abroad.
At home, the Tatmadaw's image appears to have been eroded by its land confiscations, lawsuits and arrests of political activists and other human rights abuses. Abroad, it faces pressure over its treatment of the country’s Rohingya minority. Achieving peace is the only way for the Tatmadaw to end the pressure and restore its image.
Coincidentally, the Tatmadaw will soon transfer the military-controlled General Administration Department to the Ministry of the Office of the Union Government, which is under the control of the civilian government, though the minister is a retired colonel.
It is also worth keeping in mind that the new ceasefire explicitly excludes Rakhine State, where the Tatmadaw and AA have been fighting since October, though the Tatmadaw claims it is because of an ongoing threat in the area from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army.
In a nutshell, the Tatmadaw's ceasefire was welcomed by EAOs and is a positive step toward stability. In the best-case scenario, 2019 will be a year of peace, something not seen in the past two years despite promises from the government that a year of peace was coming in 2017. In the worst-case scenario, those living in areas not under government control can celebrate Christmas Day without the sound of bullets and bombs.
Joe Kumbun is the pseudonym of an analyst based in Kachin State.
Many singers will perform at this concert, held in memory of late vocalist Khine Htoo.
Dec. 29, 7 p.m. National Theater, Myoma Kyaung Street. Tickets 10,000 kyats to 40,000 kyats at Mann Thiri Recording.
Myanmar Countdown
A New Year’s Eve party with celebrated singers, games and street food.
Dec. 31, 4 p.m. Minder Grounds. Free admission.
Yangon New Year’s Countdown
Enjoy celebrity appearances, an ethnic food buffet, music, traditional ethnic dances, hot air balloons and a night market.
Dec. 31, 6 p.m. Thuwunna Stadium 1. Tickets 20,000 kyats to 50,000 kyats at 09-43020145.
Myanmar Premium Countdown
Celebrate New Year’s Eve with DJs, fun activities and a fireworks show.
Dec. 31, 4 p.m. Thuwunnabhumi Event Park. Tickets 35,000 kyats to 80,000 kyats at H-Life Ticket Counter, Myanmar Plaza.
Chatrium New Year's Eve Party
This party features the Mamma Mia story.
Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. Chatrium Hotel. Tickets start at $150 at 01-544500.
Waterboom New Year’s Celebration
Dance with DJs to welcome the New Year.
Dec. 31, 6 p.m. Waterboom, Shu Khin Thar. Tickets 15,000 kyats to 35,000 kyats at 09-445151010.
New Year's Eve Rock Event
Dress like a rock star and win a prize. There will be live music, a beer competition and more.
Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. Hard Rock Café, 4th Floor, Myanmar Plaza. Tickets start at 10,000 kyats at 09-458261390.
Book Sale
Seikku Cho Cho Publishing House will offer 20 percent discounts on all books.
Dec. 29 to Jan. 6. Seikku Cho Cho book shops.
Pure Gold Upcycling and Design Exhibition
This exhibition showcases rubbish transformed into useful, sometimes even beautiful, objects. Visitors can try their own hand at transforming waste "into gold" at several do-it-yourself counters.
Through Jan. 6. Secretariat Building. Free admission
December 58
Min Wae Aung's watercolor exhibition depicts rural scenes in December.
Dec. 28 to Jan. 5. New Treasure Gallery, No. 84 (A), Thanlwin Street, Golden Valley, Bahan Township.
NAYPYITAW — A senior public health officer who was placed under investigation by a team of top officials for criticizing a civil servant training event on social media will not be punished, Myanmar's health minister said.
Dr. Soe Thuya Zaw, head of dental health at the Mogok Township Public Health Department in Mandalay Region, was placed under investigation last week after criticizing the rules and regulations that trainees need to follow, pointing out the faults of lecturers and claiming the training was a waste of government money.
The dentist attended a compulsory training session for mid-level civil servants at the northern branch of the Central Institute of the Civil Service in Zee Pin Gyi, a town near Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay, from October to early December. He shared a series of posts on his Facebook page about his experiences at the event. He said one lecturer had accused the government of lacking enthusiasm for the national peace process and that another discouraged them from marrying or buying things from non-Buddhists, Muslims especially, because they posed a threat to monogamous Buddhists.
His posts went viral and attracted much discussions online about the trainings being conducted by the Central Institute of the Civil Service, which was once widely regarded as a system for teaching government employees military doctrine and giving them military training. Those who commented on Dr. Soe Thuya Zaw’s investigation mostly condemned it and stood by the doctor.
On Monday, Health Minister Myint Htwe told The Irrawaddy that the ministry would not take any action against the dentist.
"He is a disciplined civil servant. We won't take action against those who give their service to the people," he said.
The minister added that the investigation was authorized by a deputy director general and directors without a prior, mandatory review of the allegations, and that the ministry would take “proper measures” against them without elaborating.
Founded in 1965 under the military regime of Ne Win, the Central People's Service Training School in Phaunggyi, on the outskirts of Yangon, was intended to train civil servants in socialist ideology. Basic military training was also included for a time so that they could be called on in case of war with Myanmar’s power neighbors, namely India and China.
The school was transformed into an institute in 1977 and later renamed the Central Institute of the Civil Service. A second branch was established in Zee Pin Gyi to serve the north of the country.
Positive news came at the end of the year with the military's announcement of a temporary ceasefire effective in conflict areas in the north and northeast of Myanmar which prompted notes of welcome from some ethnic leaders and observers. The unprecedented move has been hailed as a constructive gesture but is also met with cautious optimism prompting further questions among ethnic groups. Kachin, Karen and Karenni groups have welcomed the news but have collectively called for a nationwide ceasefire.
The ceasefire order covers the Northern Command in Kachin State, the Northeastern, Eastern and Central Eastern commands and the Triangle Command in Shan State. Despite recent outbreaks of fighting between the Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army (AA) in northern Rakhine State, the ceasefire order does not cover Rakhine State, home of the Rohingya crisis and where the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) are said to operate. This decision upsets the AA leaders. However, the military leaders' strategic thinking is to deter ARSA and threat of migration along the border with Bangladesh.
Over the past few months, the government and military held a number of informal talks with three armed groups in Kunming, China including the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army. These three are part of a four-member military coalition, the Northern Alliance. The talks have had their ups and downs, but in recent months some progress has been made.
It was reported that at a Dec. 12 meeting held in China with members of the government's Peace Commission, three groups—the MNDAA, the TNLA and the AA—pledged to lay down their arms and seek political resolutions to conflicts.
Following this gesture, the military-backed down on its six-point policy, saying that all ethnic armed organizations need only to comply with four of them: "to respect the agreements, not to exploit the peace agreements, not to burden local residents and to abide by the existing laws."
The two policy points omitted are "to have a keen desire to reach eternal peace" and "to march towards a democratic country in accord with the 2008 Constitution."
This change of stance will no doubt allow for more open and constructive dialogue at the discussion table—but not at the frontline.
The Arakan Army remains to be the concern. The AA was established in northern Myanmar but has now moved to northern Rakhine territory and is actively recruiting more soldiers on the ground there. AA members are estimated to be around 5,000 in number and the group claims to receive overseas funding from the diaspora, tax and black market trade. In fact, powerful Wa leaders are behind the AA and China has a certain influence over both the Wa and AA.
The United League for Arakan is the political wing of the AA and aims to implement "Rakhita," meaning to build an independent Rakhine State and achieve self-determination.
There have been clashes between the Myanmar Army and the AA in recent weeks in northern Rakhine State. The military is accused of employing helicopter gunships and fighting is likely to intensify in the area in spite of the ceasefire in the north.
The real concern is that some top army generals suspect the AA is in contact with ARSA and it is believed that both are involved in the lucrative drug trafficking trade.
During talks between the government and the AA, questions on the latter's stance on ARSA has been raised. The generals in Naypyitaw want to see the AA taking a tough stance against ARSA and helping to deter their threat. "If the AA genuinely wanted to protect its Rakhine kingdom," as a senior officer put it, "they must not communicate with ARSA."
Political observers familiar with the situation on the ground said the leaders of the AA will not take any soft stance on ARSA and they will not tolerate their existence.
ARSA is regarded as a terrorist armed group in Myanmar and the army is determined to continue to hunt down ARSA members in northern Rakhine State.
In July and August 2017, ARSA insurgents killed several dozen civilians and village headmen in northern Rakhine State and on August 25, they launched attacks on police and security outposts.
The army sent out about 2,000 reinforcement troops and launched a clearance operation across the northern part of the state, driving hundreds of thousands of Rohingya living in that area to the Bangladesh border.
In August this year, a damning UN report accused the military of genocide against the Rohingya and accusing the army of war crimes and crimes against humanity and against minorities across the country.
It called for Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for the crackdown that drove over 800,000 Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh and for the alleged crimes committed by security forces in other ethnic areas.
In an effort to reduce mounting international pressure, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing called the temporary ceasefire in the north, earning himself some praise.
But he probably doesn't lose sleep over it. At his recent meeting with members of the Myanmar Press Council, the commander-in-chief showed who is the real boss: he is media savvy and up to date with current affairs—he impressed the press corps and treated them with respect. The irony remains, however, that in the recent past the army was behind the detention and charging of several reporters and journalists.
Suspicion lingers over his motives, however. Some ethnic leaders believe the army is buying time to recharge itself before it strikes again after the ceasefire period is over. And it will. Often when the monsoon season rains ease off, the military launches offensives in ethnic regions, but this time they called a truce. Top ranking generals said that ethnic leaders would appreciate this gesture, but many ethnic leaders remain wary and some are hoping to reopen peace talks.
Leaders of ethnic armed groups also have a continued frustration with government heads, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the peace commission team. They complain that the government doesn't understand the grievances of the ethnic struggle and accuse them of not being proactive and of condescension. They found the previous government led by former president U Thein Sein and the previous peace team more receptive.
It is likely that after the four-month ceasefire, the military will take a tougher stance towards the remaining armed groups who refuse to enter ceasefire talks and have shown no real interest in reaching a ceasefire before 2020.
China has also been a key player in recent ceasefire talks with several meetings held in Kunming, Yunnan Province which borders Myanmar's Kachin and Shan states.
In November, Song Tao, minister of the international department of the Communist Party of China had a meeting with Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw and the meeting produced some positive outcomes according to inside sources: a top-ranking general remarked "relations are much better."
Indeed, China holds a key to Myanmar's peace process. In recent meetings, China pushed the members of the Northern Alliance to be more pragmatic with the Myanmar government and military.
Chinese special envoy to Myanmar Sun Guoxiang also reportedly warned Arakan Army leaders not to have any links with ARSA. China suspected that ARSA members reached out to Uighurs, a Muslim minority mostly based in Xinjiang, northwest China. Some radical Uighurs have carried out terrorist attacks in recent years and in 2009, ethnic riots resulted in hundreds of deaths in the region. China is greatly concerned by the threat of Uighur separatism and extremism and has long feared that Uighurs will attempt to establish their own national homeland in Xinjiang.
With growing challenges and impending international intervention in northern Rakhine, it is no surprise that China and Myanmar leaders are seeing eye to eye in order to maintain some stability in the state.
Whatever the case, in the next four months, if talks are going to be successful, bilateral ceasefires with some ethnic groups in the north are necessary. The ongoing talks with Wa leaders have been seen to produce some good outcomes so far.
But there has been uncertainty with leaders of Kachin ethnic armed groups. Top Myanmar military leaders claim to have solid proof that there are foreign elements playing a role behind the scenes to disrupt the peace process but they haven't named any names. They also suspect that the same group recently approached Karen and Shan insurgents in the south to stir up more tension and misunderstanding between them. However, both the military and government leaders are hoping that Kachin leaders will be pragmatic as they signed a ceasefire in 1994 under the previous military government. The Kachin were one of the earliest ethnic armed groups to sign a ceasefire agreement and participated in the national convention at which military representative's army and ethnic groups drafted the 2008 Constitution.
Peace won't be easy to achieve in Myanmar and the military's latest gesture shouldn't be taken lightly.
YANGON — A member of the Arakan National Party (ANP) was arrested in Yangon on Dec. 15 in connection with the murder of a military intelligence officer and is in poor health after four days of interrogation by the Military Security Affairs Unit, according to a friend and a relative.
Ko Ni Aung Zaw, also known as Ko Ye Zaw, was arrested while attending an event with friends at the National Races Village in Thaketa Township and transferred to Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, on Dec. 19, according to a friend who declined to be named for fear of reprisal from security forces.
The friend said he visited Ko Ye Zaw at the Sittwe Hospital, where he was receiving medical treatment and was shackled by the hands and feet. He said his friend was arrested as a suspect in the fatal shooting of Corporal Win Htike in Sittwe on Sept. 25.
Video footage shared with The Irrawaddy shows him being escorted to the hospital on Monday.
Ko Ye Zaw’s brother, Ko Aye Tun Oo, said Sittwe police are suing his sibling under Article 302 of the Penal Code for murder. He claimed that his brother was beaten with sticks while in custody, forced to stand for hours on end while being interrogated, and made to confess to shooting Cpl. Win Htike.
“Because of the pain and harsh interrogation both day and night, he is now seriously ill and receiving medical treatment at Sittwe Hospital,” said Ko Aye Tun Oo.
The Arakan Youth Conference (AYC) released a statement on the condition of Ko Ye Zaw, one of its members, on its Facebook page on Monday. It said Ko Ye Zaw had hypertension, jaundice and a backache. It said he received an x-ray exam at about 3 p.m. and that three police officers were stationed at the hospital to watch him.
The AYC sad Ko Ye Zaw was innocent of the crime and that he was traveling from Sittwe to Yangon when the shooting occurred.
Police in Sittwe arrested two AYC members and an ANP member in October in connection with the intelligence officer’s murder, but they were later released on bail by a court.
The ANP said it was trying to arrange a defense lawyer for Ko Ye Zaw.
SITTWE, Rakhine State — More than 1,500 people across three townships in northern Rakhine State have been displaced by fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) since clashed broke out in October, according to local civil society groups.
The fighting in Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun and Buthidaung townships has intensified since late November.
Kyauktaw, where more than 1,000 people have fled their homes, has been hit hardest.
On Friday, more than 400 ethnic Khami in Kyauktaw fled Pinnyawa Village to the villages of Thalu Chaung, Taung Min Kalar, Kan Sauk and Nga Sarine Kine after artillery shells landed near their homes.
"Two artillery shells fell just about 20 yards from the village. So villagers did not dare to stay,” said U Wai Kyaw Sein, the administrator of Pinnyawa.
Locals reported hearing artillery fire through Saturday near the village. The AA blamed the shelling on the military, which it said had also attacked by air earlier.
On Tuesday, the entire population of Pyinnagyi fled the village following clashes near the border of Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun townships.
Most of the women and children in the area have fled their villages. Many of the men have stayed behind to mind their farms and cattle.
The military is inspecting all boats travelling between Pinnyawa and Thalu Chaung villages, including those transporting displaced families and relief supplies.
Civil society groups said boats ferrying relief supplies need permission from the state government or the township General Administration Department.
The Irrawaddy could not reach state security officials or Border Affairs Minister Colonel Phone Tint for comment on the reported boat inspections.
On Friday the military declared a unilateral four-month ceasefire, except in Rakhine State. Many have welcomed to move as a chance to make progress on the peace process.
In a joint statement on Dec. 12, the AA, Ta'ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army offered to suspend armed hostilities with the military for a chance to join the process. The government's Peace Commission welcomed the statement and said it would negotiate with all three armed groups in hopes of reaching bilateral ceasefire agreements with each.
SINGAPORE—From its towering “supertree” vertical gardens to a Formula 1 night race, Singapore is known for many attractions; underground space is not one of them.
But that may soon change, as the city-state prepares to unveil an Underground Master Plan in 2019.
With some 5.6 million people in an area three-fifths the size of New York City—and with the population estimated to grow to 6.9 million by 2030—the island nation is fast running out of space.
Singapore has been reclaiming land for decades, but that is increasingly unsustainable due to rising sea levels and other impacts of climate change. So the city is going underground.
Singapore has already moved some infrastructure and utilities below ground, including train lines, retail, pedestrian walkways, a five-lane highway and air-conditioning cooling pipes. It also stores fuel and ammunition underground.
Now, the city wants to go further.
“Given Singapore’s limited land, we need to make better use of our surface land and systematically consider how to tap our underground space for future needs,” said Ler Seng Ann, a group director at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
“Currently, our focus is on using underground space for utility, transport, storage and industrial facilities to free up surface land for housing, offices, community uses and greenery, to enhance livability,” he said.
The Underground Master Plan will feature pilot areas, with ideas including data centers, utility plants, bus depots, a deep-tunnel sewerage system, warehousing and water reservoirs.
There are no plans to move homes or offices below ground.
Singapore joins only a handful of cities that are mapping their subterranean space, said Peter Stones, a senior engineer with the consultancy Arup, which did a study for URA comparing its use of underground space to other cities.
“Globally, underground spaces are still back of mind; it’s a Wild West of development, with a first-come, first-served system,” he said.
“Singapore wants to look at it holistically and have a master plan so it can plan and manage the use of its underground space, and avoid potential conflicts,” he said.
Heat, humidity
From the catacombs of ancient Rome to step wells in medieval India and World War Two bunkers, underground spaces have been used for a variety of reasons.
Helsinki and Montreal are considered leaders in underground urbanism, a movement focused on innovative ways to use underground spaces.
Arup’s study found Singapore’s underground rail density is slightly behind Tokyo’s, and that it has the lowest density for underground pedestrian links.
The study also found Singapore trailed Hong Kong and Tokyo in underground road density as of 2014.
Of 180 kilometers of urban rail, nearly half are located below ground, as is about 10 percent of Singapore’s expressway network.
Besides the space crunch, the other driver for tapping underground space in Singapore is the weather, said Stones.
“You have rising heat and humidity, and increasingly heavy rainfall. People want to avoid that,” he said.
“Plus, utility networks are subject to more wear and tear in these conditions, so placing them underground is a viable option,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Advanced technologies and careful design also mean planners are able to alleviate the monotony and claustrophobia of underground spaces, he said.
But since building underground is generally more expensive and complex than on the surface, Singapore will only do so “where it is meaningful and practical,” URA’s Ler said.
“In many cases, it does make sense to build underground, considering benefits such as land saving, improving the quality of the environment and better connectivity,” he said.
“Our underground MRT (mass rapid transit) network and expressways in the city area are some examples where the benefits of going underground outweigh the higher construction cost and technical challenges.”
Storing fuel in rock caverns freed up more than 60 hectares, or 84 football fields, of space. The city’s reservoirs occupy about 5 percent of Singapore’s land, so moving them underground could create more space.
Full potential
By 2050, more than 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities, according to United Nations estimates.
In developing countries, where most of this growth will take place, it will strain infrastructure and resources, and stoke conflict over scarce land, analysts say.
Meanwhile, ageing populations in wealthier nations will make other demands of city planning and infrastructure.
“With rising urban populations and demands for a better quality of life, there is a need to integrate the underground cityscape to keep our cities livable,” said Wout Broere, an assistant professor at Holland’s Delft University of Technology.
But moving infrastructure and other facilities underground is often considered as a last resort only when surface space is exhausted and no other options exist, said Broere, a specialist in underground space technology.
This makes it more expensive than it would be if the space above and below ground are developed simultaneously, he said.
“So making an underground master plan and assigning zones for different functions will help integrate the underground early on, and ultimately help to realize the full potential of a compact and livable city,” he said.
Singapore has among the highest percentages of public green spaces in the world. Under its Land Use Plan 2030, one-third of surface land is allocated for industrial, transport infrastructure and utilities.
The government in 2015 made legislative changes that enable it to buy land beneath private blocks, and limit private owners to 30 meters of space below their properties.
That will help avoid potential conflicts, and make it easier to move some “nuisance neighbors” underground, Stones said.
The Underground Master Plan uses 3D technology, allowing the visualization of space that otherwise cannot be seen.
It is part of the “Virtual Singapore” plan, a 3D model that will be fed by big data, and could assist in everything from urban planning to disaster mitigation.
It is not just Singapore that is interested in its underground space.
Last week, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk unveiled a 1.83-kilometer tunnel segment as a breakthrough in low-cost, fast-digging technology, and a first step in developing a high-speed subterranean network in Los Angeles.
The launch of Singapore’s Underground Master Plan next year may be less glamorous, but no less significant.
“The space is there, it’s an asset, and we should use it. Having a detailed and rigorous plan is crucial,” said Stones.
YANGON — The body of a missing Myanmar policeman was found on the country’s troubled border with Bangladesh, state media and officials said on Sunday after a clash with unknown gunmen last week.
Private Aung Kyaw Thet had been missing since his patrol was fired on from the Bangladesh side of the border on Dec. 17, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar.
His body was found on Friday with “gunshot wounds in his face, arm and leg,” the newspaper said, adding that another policeman was wounded in the incident.
The newspaper said the clash occurred in a rugged section of the border in Maungdaw Township, the epicenter of violence in August 2017 that drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims out of Myanmar and into Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s military had responded to attacks by a Rohingya insurgent group with a campaign that U.N.-mandated investigators said involved killings, rape and arson carried out with “genocidal intent” against the wider Rohingya population.
Major Mohammad Iqbal of the Bangladesh border guards said his men were not involved in the Dec. 17 incident, but they had heard the exchange of gunfire on the border.
Bangladeshi guards joined a patrol with their Myanmar counterparts to investigate, he said, adding that Aung Kyaw Thet’s body was found on Friday.
Lt. Colonel Tin Han Linn, of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police in Maungdaw, said they knew the location of the body several days before it was recovered on Friday, but had to arrange a joint Myanmar-Bangladesh team to retrieve the corpse.
The identity of the attackers was unknown and police are still investigating, he told Reuters.
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group claiming to represent the Rohingya, launched the August 2017 attacks on more than two dozen security posts, killing 13 members of Myanmar’s security forces.
ARSA “continues to have a prominent presence” in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh and could launch cross-border raids on Myanmar forces, the International Crisis Group said in a November report on the proposed repatriation of Rohingya refugees.
Fighting between the Myanmar army and the Arakan Army — a group that says it fights for the Rakhine Buddhist ethnic group — has flared this month in areas of northern Rakhine state further from the Bangladesh border, displacing more than 700 people.
TOKYO — More than 82,000 well-wishers paid their respects to Emperor Akihito, who turned 85 on Sunday, his last birthday celebration at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace before stepping down next year.
The birthday of the emperor, whose position is ceremonial with no political power, is traditionally marked by a national holiday and an address at the palace, which opens to the public on the day.
The crowd of 82,850, according to the Imperial Household Agency, was the largest birthday attendance during Akihito’s three-decade reign, known as the “Heisei” era, which means “achieving peace” in Japanese.
Flanked by his wife, eldest son Naruhito and other members of the imperial family on a balcony, Akihito addressed well-wishers waving small Japanese flags and holding up smartphones.
“My thoughts go out to those who have lost family members or those close to them, or have suffered damage and whose lives are currently impaired,” he said, referring to the natural disasters that hit Japan in the past year.
Earthquakes, severe storms and heatwaves killed hundreds of people, destroyed homes and disrupted supply chains, clouding the outlook for Japan’s export-reliant economy.
Along with Empress Michiko, Akihito has spent much of his reign addressing the legacy of World War Two, which was fought in the name of his father, Hirohito, and consoling victims of natural disasters.
“I would like to thank him for standing by us, the Japanese people, and would like him to rest and enjoy his time from now on,” said 46-year-old Kazuyo Toyama from Nagoya.
Akihito, who has had heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, is scheduled to step down on April 30, passing the Chrysanthemum Throne to 58-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito.
The last time a Japanese emperor abdicated was in 1817.
Although he cannot directly influence government policy, Akihito has created a broader consciousness of Japan’s wartime past throughout his symbolic reign, experts said.
In comments made to the media ahead of his birthday, Akihito said “it is important not to forget that countless lives were lost in World War Two…and to pass on this history accurately to those born after the war.”
His conciliatory stance contrasts with gestures made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has adopted a less apologetic tone over Japan’s past military aggression.
Akihito also referred to foreign workers, saying he hoped that “the Japanese people will be able to warmly welcome as members of our society those who come to Japan to work.”
Japan enacted a law this month to let in more foreign, blue-collar workers to ease a labor shortage, despite criticism it was too hastily crafted and risked exposing the workers to exploitation.
LABUAN, Indonesia—The death toll from a tsunami that hit the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra after the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted rose to at least 280 on Monday, officials said, as rescuers using heavy machinery and their bare hands searched for more victims.
Hundreds more were injured when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday. More than 3,000 coastal residents were forced to evacuate to higher ground, with a high-tide warning in place until Tuesday.
The vast archipelago, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” has suffered its worst annual death toll from disasters in more than a decade. Earthquakes flattened parts of the tourist island of Lombok in July and August, and a double quake-and-tsunami killed more than 2,000 people on Sulawesi island in September.
Search and rescue officials used their bare hands and some heavy machinery to clear the remains of buildings on Monday. Government and non-government aid trickled in to Pandeglang, the worst-affected area on Java’s west coast.
Indonesia’s disaster agency had put the death toll at 222 on Sunday, with about 850 injured and 28 people missing, but raised it to 280 early on Monday. A disaster mitigation agency official in Banten Province named Jhony told reporters most victims were Indonesian holidaymakers.
Dudi Dwiriadi, a district military commander, said personnel and volunteers had been briefed to sweep at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) of coastline in search of victims.
The timing of the tsunami over the Christmas holiday season evoked memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake on Dec. 26, 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 14 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
Roads blocked
Some roads remained blocked by debris and traffic, with families streaming out of the area for fear of further tsunamis.
President Joko Widodo, who is running for re-election in April, was scheduled to visit the area on Monday.
Television images showed when the tsunami hit the beach and residential areas in Pandeglang, dragging with it victims, debris, and large chunks of wood and metal.
Many coastal residents reported not seeing or feeling any warning signs, such as an earthquake, on Saturday night before waves of 2-3 metres (6-10 feet) washed ashore.
Yuni, a resident of Lampung in Sumatra, was watching television at home when she heard the water coming.
“I heard a rumbling sound and I thought it was the wind. After I opened the door, water came in quickly and dragged me out. When I saw outside, the sea was receding. I decided to run and go as the water came again for the second time,” she said.
Roman, a resident of the area who operates tours to Anak Krakatau, said by text message the weather had been fine when the waves struck, although residents had become wary of the rumbling volcano.
He said many others had taken refuge in his elevated village of Tahura Carita, which is about 100 meters from the sea. Evacuees were relying on instant noodles, he said.
Heavy equipment was being moved in to help with rescue efforts, as well as water and sanitation equipment. The military said it was deploying troops to distribute aid and blankets, as well as sending in medics.
The western coast of Banten province in Java, Indonesia’s most populated island, was also badly hit, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency.
At least 48 people were reported dead in Lampung in southern Sumatra, he said.
With the exact cause of the disaster still unknown, authorities were wary of the risk of a recurrence. Public works minister Basuki Hadimuljono said emergency operations would be carried out continuously but “would stop at the first sign of possible high tides”.
"Washed away"
Television footage showed how the tsunami washed away an outdoor stage where Indonesian rock band Seventeen was performing for hundreds of guests at an end-of-year party for state utility company PLN.
At least four band members and support crew were killed, lead singer Riefian “Ifan” Fajarsyah told followers in a tearful Instagram account. The band’s drummer was among the missing.
Another 29 PLN employees and relatives were also killed.
Anak Krakatau, roughly halfway between Java and Sumatra, has been spewing ash and lava for months. It erupted again just after 9 p.m. on Saturday and the tsunami struck about 30 minutes later, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
The tsunami was caused by an undersea landslide resulting from volcanic activity on Anak Krakatau and was exacerbated by abnormally high tides because of the full moon, Nugroho said.
Ben van der Pluijm, an earthquake geologist and professor at the University of Michigan, said the tsunami may have been caused by a partial collapse of Anak Krakatau.
“Instability of the slope of an active volcano can create a rock slide that moves a large volume of water, creating local tsunami waves that can be very powerful. This is like suddenly dropping a bag of sand in a tub filled with water,” he said.
The eruption of Krakatau, previously known as Krakatoa, in 1883 killed more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunamis.
Anak Krakatau, which means child of Krakatau, is the island that emerged from the area once occupied by Krakatau, which was destroyed in 1883. It first appeared in 1927 and has been growing ever since.
YANGON— The Arakan Army (AA) sent warning letters, each accompanied by a bullet round and the official AA stamp, warning the recipients against disturbing those who are "implementing the way of Rakhita," a phrase which was coined by the political wing of the AA, the United League for Arakan.
One letter was sent each to the head of a local police station in Buthidaung Township, the Nwar Yon Taung village administrator and a well-connected timber businessman on Friday. The letters said that if someone disrupts their movement, the AA will decisively take action against them.
The Irrawaddy phoned one of the letter recipients on Saturday but the mobile phone was switched off.
The warnings come just days after reports from locals that a Myanmar Army (Tatmadaw) helicopter launched hellfire missiles and machine gun attacks above a village towards the densely forested mountain range where Arakan Army (AA) fighters are currently based in northern Rakhine State’s Kyauktaw Township, causing the the entire village of Chin Ma Won Zaung to flee to neighboring Thalu Chaung Village on Wednesday.
U Kyaw San Tin, a local from Thalu Chaung Village, said that a group of 84 people from Chin Ma Won Zaung Village are currently sheltering at Thalu Chaung Monastery. He said that as a helicopter opened fire into the forest, a number of empty rounds poured down onto the village and some displaced villagers found a bullet belt which had fallen from the helicopter.
A relief worker holds the bullet belt that fell from a Tatmadaw helicopter over Thalu Chaung Village in Northern Rakhine State on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. / Zaw Win / Facebook
Despite Myanmar President Office’s spokesman U Zaw Htay stating on Friday at the weekly press briefing that the army did not use helicopter attacks in fighting with the AA in northern Rakhine, locals who escaped the conflict zone were able to show photo evidence of the bullet belt which fell from the helicopter.
A local social worker, Ko Zaw Win from Kyauktaw Township, who recently went to the conflict area to carry out relief efforts said that despite the Tatmadaw’s Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing's announcement that they will halt all military operations in five military commands for four months, fighting continued to take place in northern Rakhine as of Saturday. On Saturday morning, the army’s artillery unit fired serial artillery shells, some of which are said to have landed on Panyar Wa Village.
Ko Zaw Win said, “Villagers from Pa Nyar Wa also fled to other locations. Most of them are daily laborers and rely on farming. As the fighting is fierce there, they cannot tend their cattle.”
According to him, about 180 displaced people sought shelter in Thalu Chaung Village yesterday. U Kyaw San Tin also said that a Tatmadaw artillery unit based one mile away from his village fired heavy artillery into the forest constantly on Saturday. Some women and children, feeling threatened by the loud explosions, had already left the village for safer places while men remain in the village in order to maintain their properties.
The AA announced this morning via their official Facebook page that the Tatmadaw launched artillery fire near Pa Nyar Wa and Maung Hnama villages today and fighting has intensified since Dec. 18. The military did not release any update about the skirmishes in northern Rakhine State.
With armed conflicts flaring up in Buthidaung, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun and Kyauktaw townships, the number of displaced persons has climbed drastically. U Khine Kaung San, founder of Wunlark Foundation, estimates around 800 displaced villagers are sheltering in neighboring villages in different townships and local relief groups are overseeing humanitarian assistance for the internally displaced persons.
In Rathedaung Township, villagers have been ordered by local authorities to display their family registration documents on the front of their houses in preparation for surprise headcounts. Some local observers are speculating that with the Tatmadaw's Western Commend on high alert, fighting could further intensify between the AA and government troops on the ground.
2018 saw Myanmar feature prominently in global headlines, as the international standing of its two most powerful figures, de facto national leader State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, plummeted in the aftermath of late 2017's Rohingya exodus to Bangladesh. Progress on the transition to democracy remained painfully slow, with the Army chief reiterating the military's claim to a political role and some observers believing that the peace process in particular has stalled, despite the holding of a third session of the 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference in July and agreements being reached with some armed groups late in the year. Fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups—and between some ethnic groups—remained heavy in the north and west, particularly in Rakhine and Shan states.
This was not the only arena in which the government's performance left key groups of society disappointed in 2018; media and freedom of expression advocates openly wondered if the previous military-led administration was more open to a free press, after a court jailed two local Reuters reporters on charges—widely perceived as trumped up—of violating national security. In the clearest evidence that the public's patience with the ruling party is wearing thin, the National League for Democracy suffered a surprise setback in November's by-election, which saw ethnic parties make gains, posing a strategic challenge to the NLD as it gears up for the 2020 general election.
More positively, a new president confounded expectations, shedding his predecessor's ceremonial approach to tackle corruption, drugs and official mismanagement with an apparent sincerity that has put him at odds with several chief ministers around the country. And the government has moved quickly—too quickly for some—to court Asian investment, particularly from China, as the West withdraws in reaction to the Rakhine crisis, with limited economic reforms being introduced and entrepreneurship beginning to pick up.
Importantly, a handful of Myanmar's many tireless human rights defenders, particularly those working on behalf of women and girls, received international recognition throughout the year, though the jailing of activists in Kachin for staging peaceful anti-war protests in April demonstrated that the environment for activists remains a treacherous one.
State Counselor and Military Chief — at Odds with Global Opinion, and Each Other
(Photo: Myanamr Army Commander-in-Chief’s Office)
Myanmar's two most powerful personalities have at least one thing in common: They will look back on 2018 as a year when they were under siege.
During this difficult year, the State Counselor, once globally hailed as a "beacon of democracy", saw her international popularity evaporate as the world condemned her for not speaking out against the military on the Rohingya issue. Some organizations in the West tried to shame her by stripping her of the awards they once showered on her, and universities took down her portraits from their halls. On the home front, the changes she promised have yet to have any impact on people's day-to-day lives. Striking a peace deal with major ethnic armed groups continues to prove elusive. International investment has dwindled and the economy is in bad shape. Nonetheless, the majority of Myanmar's people still have faith in her, as they know no one else could manage the challenging situation she finds herself in any better. She insists her government's priorities are shaped not by election cycles, but by what will benefit future generations. To prove that, the National League for Democracy-led government launched the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan this year.
For Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, 2018 will be similarly remembered as a year of shame and broken dreams. International sanctions over his troops' human rights abuses against the Rohingya shattered his aspirations of creating a standardized, modern army. International rights groups embarrassed the senior general by calling for him to be referred, along with his subordinates, to the International Criminal Court to hold them accountable for the treatment of the Rohingya. Facebook banned him as a measure to prevent the spread of hate speech and misinformation. On the political front, the Army chief recently said the military would retain its role because rule of law and stability have yet to be fully established. But he declared an unprecedented unilateral four-month ceasefire effective in active conflict areas in north and northeast Myanmar to allow negotiations with each ethnic armed group in the region. The move has been hailed as a constructive gesture.
As the most powerful figures in the country, like two sides of the same coin, their collaboration is essential if Myanmar is to move forward. That's what Myanmar's people have been longing for. Sadly, it remains a distant hope.
Myanmar's President — a Tough Taskmaster
(Photo: Myanmar President Office)
When he took the oath as Myanmar's head of state in March, President U Win Myint, one of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's right-hand men, received a mixed welcome. Some predicted the former House Speaker would play the same merely ceremonial role as his predecessor, for it is widely understood that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the de facto chief decision-maker. But U Win Myint has confounded those expectations. Soon after taking office, he launched campaigns against two chronic problems that have plagued Myanmar: corruption and illegal drugs. He gave the country's Anti-Corruption Commission a clear mandate not to be intimidated by intervention from powerful figures. While it has achieved some tangible results, the commission still has much to do. And with many drug lords still at large, it will be some time before he can claim success in the anti-narcotics campaign.
For regional government members, the lawyer-turned-president has proven to be a tough boss. He tours the country holding meetings with them and carefully scrutinizing their reports, issuing stern warnings over poor performances and taking steps to establish a more impartial judicial system for the sake of the country's democratic transition—or, as he puts it, "the survival of the young democracy sapling, which was obtained at a high cost". He transferred the military-controlled General Administration Department (GAD) to the Ministry of the Office of the Union Government, promising that the government's future reforms would begin at the ground level, closest to the people. The GAD has long been central to the functioning of the administrative mechanism across the country, as its officials oversee local governance in both rural and urban areas and come into contact with ordinary citizens' day-to-day needs, from registering births and deaths to resolving disputes.
But the clock is counting down to the general election in 2020. Given the mounting problems the country is facing, it will be interesting to see how successful the president turns out to be in nurturing the "sapling" into a fully grown tree, for the good of the country.
U Aung Kyi — the Graft-Buster
(Photo: The Irrawaddy)
In Myanmar, for more than five decades under the previous regimes, corruption has been rampant, mainly because those regimes barely attempted to fight the problem. With the public facing corruption in their daily lives in every sector of the government, the state's anti-corruption efforts failed to win people's trust.
But 2018 marked a turning point for anti-corruption after President U Win Myint appointed U Aung Kyi, a retired major general and former minister of information in the U Thein Sein government, as chair of a new anti-graft body in November 2017. With the stepped-up efforts in fighting corruption this year, a majority of people have begun to feel that the battle against bribery has actually begun.
Soon after his appointment, U Aung Kyi said his team would catch the "big fish" to stem the tide of corruption. There was little hope that the situation would improve, however, as taking action against corrupt powerful and influential officials is virtually unheard of.
Since then, the commission has investigated and filed bribery charges against the director-general of the Food and Drug Administration, 12 officers — including three directors — of the Customs Department, and a deputy director and clerk of the Rural Road Development Department.
In its most high-profile case, the commission filed charges against the now-dismissed attorney general of Yangon Region and five other officials for taking bribes in exchange for withdrawing a murder case.
The commission's move has received strong public approval. Much to the people's elation, the graft body has been able to catch some "big fish" this time, ensnaring such high-ranking officials as an attorney general, a deputy district judge and a Yangon regional law officer.
While U Aung Kyi has been praised for his commitment to curbing corruption, President U Win Myint has also been applauded for his choice of commission chair.
But the commission must keep doing its job, as corruption is still rampant and there are many, many more big fish out there. It's a big task, indeed.
'Rogue' Chief Ministers Embarrass the Union Government
While some Union ministers like Dr. Myint Htwe at the Health Ministry, and Dr. Win Myat Aye at the Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Ministry, deserve praise for extending the outreach of their ministerial services to a majority of the population, some regional and state chief ministers like U Phyo Min Thein of Yangon Region and L Phaung Sho of Karenni State angered voters with their mismanagement, overreactions to media criticism—and even by threatening military action against the public.
(Photo: The Irrawaddy)
Initially popular, U Phyo Min Thein has seen his support fizzle out this year due to his short-sighted approach and poor management of projects to reform public transport and the school bus system. His government drew the ire of lawmakers by using portions of the budgets for those projects without the Parliament's knowledge. Rather than explaining to Parliament how the funds were used, the chief minister—much to the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government's embarrassment—filed a lawsuit against local media and arrested a number of journalists for publishing details of lawmakers' discussions on the issue in the legislature. This drastic action even prompted the Union president to intervene by directing U Phyo Min Thein to adhere to the country's Media Law in resolving the dispute. At the same time, a defamation lawsuit between Tanintharyi Region Chief Minister Daw Lei Lei Maw and a local journal over a satirical piece about the chief minister has been dragging on for a year.
Karenni State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho upset many people in July when his security forces heavy-handedly shut down a protest by Karenni youth who opposed the state government's plan to put up a statue of independence hero General Aung San in the state capital, Loikaw. Rather than seeking a peaceful resolution—and much to the NLD government's dismay—the chief minister threatened demonstrators, warning them that he would personally deploy Army troops to curb the violence, adding that, "It's my duty." To his shame, the military later issued a statement saying that under the country's Constitution, chief ministers of states and regions have no authority to order military intervention in cases of emergency.
So far, these chief ministers' controversial actions have not drawn any serious repercussions from the NLD leadership.
U Thaung Tun — the Investment Tsar
With the economic slowdown aggravated by the stalled peace process, the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government sought a hero in 2018 to reverse the country's economic fortunes. U Thaung Tun stepped in to play the role of "big gun" for the foreign investment sector. In November, the government created the new Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations for him, with an agenda to promote local and international investment.
Back in early 2006, while serving as Myanmar's ambassador to the Philippines, he criticized State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for her boycott of the military junta's controversial constitutional convention. Despite this, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi handpicked U Thaung Tun for the cabinet, where he has played several roles since January 2017, being appointed as a national security adviser at first and later becoming a government office minister. His appointment as chair of the Myanmar Investment Commission in June put him in the driving seat by making him a decision-maker in the process of selecting investors for projects across the country. U Thaung Tun was the one who revealed Myanmar's intentions to prioritize economic cooperation with China, particularly through the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor Agreement.
Under his supervision, the 20-year Myanmar Investment Promotion Plan was launched with ambitions of attracting more than $200 billion through responsible and quality investments.
Following the government's decision to adopt a Look East policy in mid-2018, U Thaung Tun toured Asia, beating the drum for his country's economy. Despite his best efforts in gunning for foreign investment, a recent European survey said 81 percent of firms had lost confidence in doing business here, blaming the NLD's poor economic management. With the country's international image in ruins and investors running scared over the Rakhine crisis, he faces no small task.
U Set Aung — 'Mr. SEZ'
(Photo: The Irrawaddy)
U Set Aung is known as "Mr. SEZ" for his masterful management of Myanmar's first special economic zone, the Thilawa SEZ, which has gained the trust of investors from many countries. State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi applauded the Thilawa SEZ as his crowning success.
Under his supervision, the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP) was drawn up with an ambition of aligning the country's numerous policies and institutions in order to achieve genuine, inclusive and transformational economic growth. The MSDP also plays a major role in decision-making as mega investment projects across the country are required to align with its national priorities. As an incumbent deputy minister in the Ministry of Planning and Finance, his main responsibility is overseeing the planning departments of the country.
U Set Aung was a deputy governor of the Myanmar Central Bank until July 2017 and served as deputy minister of national planning and economic development and as economic adviser to former president U Thein Sein.
Amid the government's ongoing efforts to renegotiate Myanmar's stake in the Kyaukphyu SEZ, he has been appointed chairperson of the project's management committee. This latest appointment makes him the main man in the country's two largest special economic zones.
After several rounds of discussions with China, U Set Aung successfully renegotiated the Kyaukphyu deal, easing worries that it would become a debt trap for Myanmar. The first phase of the port project, which was to run up a bill of US$7.5 billion, was subsequently revised to cost $1.3 billion. The new deal, which he signed in November, also sees Myanmar holding a larger stake in the project of 30 percent, up from 15 percent, with China holding the remainder.
U Aung Naing Oo — the Reformer
(Photo: The Irrawaddy)
Widely recognized as a reformer, U Aung Naing Oo, director general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) this year pushed major economic reforms, making investment procedures easier and removing outdated rules and regulations. He played a major role in replacing the 104-year-old Companies Act with the modern Myanmar Companies Law, bringing with it hopes of boosted foreign investment, greater transparency and improved regulations.
Investors praised his team's efficiency and effectiveness in dealing with investment procedures. Corporate data which was kept hidden in the past can now be found on DICA's website, offering more transparency among the business community. A former military officer posted in ethnic areas, he has been serving at DICA since U Thein Sein's government.
Perhaps the biggest move initiated by his department was the formation of an online platform for company registration reducing paper work, cutting out unnecessary procedures and making it the most efficient way to register a company. The department has been publicizing investment data monthly and annual Cost of Doing Business in Myanmar reports which provide investors with readymade data and cost calculations.
With Western foreign investment down, U Aung Naing Oo firmly believes in strengthening ties with East Asian countries and some progress has been made in investment relations. This year, he travelled to Hong Kong, China and Singapore to promote Myanmar's investment potential to eastern investors.
His department continues to push for foreign investment by hosting forums across the country and in January, DICA, along with other business organizations, will host the Myanmar Investment Summit in another push to provide international and local investors with an opportunity to discover the potential for business in Myanmar.
New Business Ideas — Entrepreneurs Shake Things up
2018 was a positive year for new and young businesses in Myanmar with a healthy flow of innovative ideas from enterprising and creative minds.
U Ngwe Tun, the mind behind Genius Shan Coffee, this year got socially responsible Myanmar coffee onto shelves in 12 different countries around the globe. His company also won the prestigious Sustainable Social Enterprise award at the ASEAN Business Awards 2018.
Virya Couture founder Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw continued in her tireless drive to create ethical and beautiful clothing while giving opportunities to underprivileged women. This year she gave one of the most riveting speeches at TEDx Yangon 2018.
Htet Mtet Oo and Isabella Sway-Tin, the couple behind Rangoon Tea House and several other RTH Group dining businesses, this year opened no less than four new outlets in Yangon, including the innovative Pinlon Hawker Center. With talk of a second Rangoon Tea House in 2019, they are the ones to watch in the dining scene.
Shwe Taung Nyo Gyi's organic chicken and natural eggs began flying off shelves and out of market stalls in 2018. The two young fathers behind the business, Zaw Ye Naung and Marn Thu Shein, have one of a few farms in Myanmar to be certified by the Myanmar Organic Agriculture Group. Their young business is a symbol of the growing demand for chemical-free food among increasingly health-conscious eaters in Myanmar.
Shwe Thiri Khit, the female entrepreneur and artist behind clothing brand Amara Khit, went from strength to strength in 2018 combining modern flare and edgy style with hand-woven local fabrics, paving the way for others in the fashion industry with home-grown cotton pride.
Other entrepreneurs deserving a special mention for their fresh ideas and efforts in 2018 to move Myanmar into the modern era include Sandra Min and Nyantha Maw Lin of Khaya Tea, May Thin Kyu of Kreate Food and Connor Smith and So Phay Oo of the tech start-up New Day.
Myanmar's Very Own 'New Wave' — Young Film Directors Shine
(Photo: The Irrawaddy)
In the most promising development in Myanmar's film industry in decades, a group of young local film directors this year shook up a stagnant scene with a mini-new wave of highly creative—and highly praised—releases.
Taken together, these films represented a drastic departure from the lack of imagination, lackluster storytelling, unrealistic dialogue and strictly commercial ambitions that typify local commercial film fare.
It all started with "Nya" (Night) by director Htoo Paing Zaw Oo, which proved to be a hit not only among local audiences, but even as far away as Singapore.
Another new kid on the block was director Christina Kyi, who thrilled Myanmar moviegoers with her debut "Oo Pel Tan Myin" (Deception) in January. This thriller's cast featured many new faces. Unusually, the cast rehearsed the script together before shooting. Their efforts earned rave reviews and ecstatic praise such as "The best Burmese movie so far". It smashed local box office records with an eight-week-long screening run. It was also shown in Singapore.
Adding to Christina Kyi's strong year, her docudrama "Mudras Calling" was screened at 10 international film festivals before finding success in Myanmar.
Additionally, the action drama "Myat Hnar Pyin Myar" (Dimensions) directed by Nyan Htin, and "The Mystery of Myanmar: Beyond the Dote-Hta-Waddy" by director Ar Kar also contributed to an innovative year for the local industry.
And director Na Gyi's adaptation of a famous Myanmar novel by Kyi Aye received a warm welcome, both from film critics and fellow artists, for its directorial skill, careful preparation, cinematography, costume design, location sets, and meticulous attention to detail, right down to the smallest detail like newspapers and wall décor, which accurately recreated Myanmar society of the 1940s.
Local moviegoers are hoping more young talented directors will emerge in the coming year to continue this creative new trend in film.
Checks and Balances — Lawmakers Keeping Government Honest
(Photo: Reuters)
While many lawmakers have failed to impress their constituents by just sitting in Parliament without working hard, neglecting to represent their concerns or communicate with them despite being elected to do so, some lawmakers have kept Parliament lively.
These lawmakers have boldly criticized the government's spending, mismanagement, and loss of public funds, and questioned the transparency of state projects. These active lawmakers have also worked hard to fulfill the needs of their constituents, listening to residents' voices on the ground.
In the Yangon Region Parliament, lawmakers' heated debates on the regional government's 2018-19 budget proposals in June and the auditor general's September report on the government's budget for fiscal 2016-17 were widely welcomed as a sign that the checks-and-balances mechanism between Parliament and the government was working.
Moves in the Union Parliament that won public support this year included lawmakers' investigation of an expenses claim for polishing the parliamentary buildings' teak doors; a debate over state enterprises' maintenance of "other accounts"; cuts to expenses and foreign loans; and the protection of public spaces and reinstatement of public land.
Outspoken lawmakers in both the regional and Union parliaments gave chief ministers as well as Union and regional ministers a hard time with questions aimed at improving the lives of their constituents. The Irrawaddy would like to take this opportunity to single out a few of the lawmakers in parliaments across the country who deserve praise for their services to the people.
In the Lower House: Ma Zin Mar Aung from Yangon's Yankin Township; Ma Phyu Phyu Thin from Yangon's Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township; Daw Khin San Hlaing from Sagaing's Pale Township; U Lwin Ko Latt from Yangon's Thanlyin Township; Daw Pyone Kaythi Naing from Shan State's Kalaw Township; Daw Thet Thet Khine from Yangon's Dagon Township, Daw Yin Min Hlaing from Magwe Region's Gangaw Township; Daw Khin Saw Wai from Rakhine's Rathedaung Township; and Daw Wint Wah Tun from Kayah's Shardaw Township.
In the Upper House: Dr. Khun Win Thaung from Kachin State, Naw Susana Hla Hla Soe from Yangon Region, U Aung Kyi Nyunt from Magwe Region and Daw Shwe Shwe Sein Latt from Bago Region.
In the Yangon Region Parliament: Daw Kyi Pyar from Kyauktada Township, U Kyaw Zay Ya from Dagon Township and Daw Sandar Min from Seikgyi Khanaungto Township.
Unfortunately, the number of hardworking lawmakers remains considerably smaller than the number of those who don't work hard. We need more representatives who are willing to work hard to the best of their capacity and stand by the people.
Women's Rights Defenders — Giving a Voice to the Voiceless
In Myanmar, civil society groups play a key role in the development of social services and promoting the rule of law. Among them, women make an especially important contribution by empowering others, helping vulnerable people including refugees, and defending human rights.
Prominent physician Dr. Cynthia Maung continues to be recognized as a humanitarian leader; this year she received the UNDP's N-Peace award for her work. Her Mae Tao clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand, across the border from Karen State, provides healthcare services to some 100,000 people annually along the border. Young people around her see her as someone who "uses her power to empower others", tirelessly working to boost community awareness of the importance of access to health care, child protection and the education of migrant children.
In Kachin in December, Nang Pu, the director of the Htoi Gender and Development Foundation, was sentenced to six months in Myitkyina Prison together with two other activists for leading a protest in April calling on authorities to help villagers trapped in Tanai by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army. The fighting, in an area known for its amber mines, lasted for many months.
Despite widespread demonstrations during the year—in Yangon and elsewhere—calling for an end to the fighting in the north of the country, many internally displaced persons (IDPs) remain unable to return to their homes. Determined to end the Kachin refugees' suffering as well as the widespread discrimination against her ethnic group, Nang Pu has dedicated herself to helping them in whatever way she can, and to promoting justice. She has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about rights and gender equality among IDPs, and spoken out on the need for security for women in refugee and IDP camps. She has also brought attention to the fact that women in conflict zones are known to be particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and human trafficking, while the perpetrators in these areas mostly enjoy impunity.
In May, gender-equality champions Cheery Zahau, a Chin human-rights advocate and the founder of the Women's League of Chinland, and Daw Khin Than Htwe, who chairs the Mon State Women and Children Upgrade Conduct Team, were honored with the EU's Schuman Award, along with prominent journalist Ko Swe Win. They continue to maintain their commitment to promoting women's roles and assisting victims of rape, including children.
#My_Story_Matters — Myanmar Joins Global Women's Rights Push
Global movements highlighting sexual misconduct against women, such as the #MeToo campaign, took root in Myanmar in 2018. In an effort to end the culture of silence, in July this year a number of women took to social media to speak out about harassment they faced while working for a local human rights and women's empowerment organization.
On July 12, a woman started sharing accounts of sexual assault that she and her female colleagues had been subjected to at their former office on her Facebook account using the hashtag #My_Story_Matters.
She said they were sexually harassed by the chief executive officer of the organization they worked for. After the first woman shared her story, a second posted about the harassment that she had faced. She later posted about another female employee who had experienced attempted rape.
The movement prompted an investigation of the accused person and put a spotlight on the sexual harassment that women have long faced in the workplace. Later, the abuser was blacklisted by the international donor community.
In the past, it was unimaginable to speak out or hear about a woman's experience of sexual harassment in public, despite the fact that many girls and women face physical and verbal sexual assaults on buses, at work and in many other public places every day.
One of the women told The Irrawaddy that she shared her story on Facebook in order to encourage other victims to speak out.
"If we keep silent, other women might face the same fate that we faced, and no action would be taken against the perpetrator, leaving him to do the same thing to other women and girls," she said.
A lack of clear policies banning sexual harassment at organizations and the absence of a clear complaint procedure continue to discourage survivors from filing complaints, she said, adding that aid services and legal support must be made accessible to all survivors of violence.
Police Captain Moe Yan Naing — the Whistleblower
(Photo: Reuters)
He may be a black sheep to the Myanmar Police Force, but in the eyes of the Myanmar public, Police Captain Moe Yan Naing is a hero and a rare breed for shining the light of truth on the arrests of two local Reuters journalists. He told the court that a senior officer had ordered police to "trap" one of the two reporters arrested in December by meeting with the journalist and giving him "secret documents." The police captain said he chose to tell the truth because policemen had their dignity, whatever their rank. However, his bold attempt to reveal police irregularities did little to advance the cause of justice; he was denounced as a "hostile witness" because "he spoke based on his own feelings", as a police spokesperson put it. The two journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison for violating the Official State Secrets Act. The whistleblower was himself arrested and has been incarcerated for a year for violating Myanmar's Police Disciplinary Act. To add insult to injury, his family was evicted from police housing. Moe Yan Naing said his main fear was not jail, but that his punishment would deter other whistleblowers.
Ethnic Parties Make Gains
(Photo: Reuters)
November's by-election was a major blow for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which racked up little more than half of the seats up for grabs, exposing a serious loss in confidence in it despite having swept 85 percent of seats in the 2015 general election. It relinquished four out of five seats in the ethnic areas of Kachin, Shan, Chin and Rakhine states.
Ethnic minorities haven't been shy in showing their dissatisfaction with the party once seen as champions of democracy. With little progress to show on the peace process or forming a federal system over its two-and-a-half-year term, homegrown political parties now feel the need to combine forces. Political parties representing five of Myanmar's eight major ethnic groups—the Karen, Kachin, Kayah, Mon and Chin—have officially announced their solidarity for the 2020 elections in a bid to triumph over the NLD, which they believe has failed to live up to expectations, especially in developing their respective ethnic regions.
Meanwhile, Chin, Kachin and other ambitious ethnic parties are toying with the idea of forming a coalition government with the NLD or another ethnic party that promises the formation of a federal state and a lasting peace.
Despite the USDP having won a constituency in Kachin State, the by-election results also exposed the fact that a Kachin party received thousands more votes than the competing NLD candidate. In Chin State, a local party beat the NLD in Matupi—once a victory ground for the NLD—while the most popular Shan party, the Shan National League for Democracy (SLND) were victorious in Shan State.
Though the by-election results didn't change the country's administration, they were an alarm bell for the NLD government, which should question how much support it will be able to garner from the ethnic nationalities in 2020.
The Peace Process — Seemingly, Still 'Mission Impossible'
Although peace negotiations continued through 2018, there was frequent fighting in the country’s north and west. Toward the end of the year, intense fighting broke out in the northern reaches of Shan and Rakhine states, adding to the many thousands of families displaced by the civil war.
This year also saw frequent fighting among ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) in northern Shan, where the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), Shan State Progressive Party and Pa-O Nationalities Liberation Organization are competing for territory.
Conceding to the Myanmar military's conditions, however, three of the armed groups comprising the Northern Alliance did offer to suspend armed resistance in December for a chance to join the formal peace negotiations. The TNLA, Arakan Army (AA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) had been denied a seat at the talks for the past three years.
The New Mon State Party and the Lahu Democratic Party also signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in February, bringing the total number of EAO signatories since 2015 to 10.
But the peace talks also suffered some setbacks in late 2018.
In November, the Karen National Union (KNU), an NCA signatory, decided to suspend participation in the formal talks and the RCSS said it was reevaluating its participation in the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee. The decisions by these two armed groups—among Myanmar’s strongest—to pull back from formal talks and meetings threaten to derail the entire peace process.
The military’s commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, did little to win them or other EAOs over by repeatedly insisting that they all foreswear any thoughts of secession if they hoped to secure a peace deal.
At the same time, the military continued to reach out to EAOs outside of the NCA for informal talks on joining through ex-generals on the government’s Peace Commission, including Secretary U Khin Zaw Oo.
"We don't want anyone to die, neither Tatmadaw [military] soldiers nor rebel soldiers, because we are all citizens of this country. In addition, among the soldiers on the front lines are my sons," U Khin Zaw Oo told reporters in November. He said those around the negotiating table should feel compelled to end the fighting for the sake of their own children and the rest of their generation.
A Fractious Relationship — Government-Media Ties Deteriorate
(Photo: Reuters)
The relationship between the media and the democratically elected government deteriorated dramatically this year. A seven-year prison sentence for two local Reuters reporters and an ongoing legal dispute between Eleven Media and the Yangon government are standout examples of the souring affair. Of the 44 journalists currently facing prosecution here, many of their charges are being pressed by the government and military.
While just 11 cases were filed under the notorious defamation articles 66 (D) and 505 (B) under the previous administration, the number jumped to 150 under the NLD's tenure. Press freedom in Myanmar dropped six places on Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index from 131st to 137th.
The Yangon chief minister's lawsuit against three Eleven journalists over their story on the debate over the city government's budget in Parliament raised further concerns. The chief minister accused them of incitement under Article 505 (b) of the Penal Code for allegedly publishing false information. Upon his word, they were arrested instantly without a complaint having been filed to the Myanmar Press Council, as is required under the country's Media Law.
A conversation between newly elected Press Council members and the country's de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi grew acrimonious as she questioned the impartiality of media coverage on the Rakhine crisis during an official dinner in late November. The following week, Information Minister Pe Myint reiterated her views at a media forum in Naypyidaw, reaffirming that the purpose of state media is only to inform the people of what the government is doing.
To restore this ailing relationship and earn a higher place on the press freedom index, the NLD government needs to regain the trust of the media. For the foreseeable future however, it looks like tensions between the NLD government and the media will continue into 2019.
