Thursday, March 28, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Child Rapists Now Face Life in Prison

Posted: 28 Mar 2019 04:42 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW—The President of Myanmar on Tuesday signed into law an amendment to the Penal Code allowing courts to jail child rapists for life.

Upper House lawmaker U Aung Thein submitted the amendment proposal to Parliament late last year. The new provision was published in the March 26 issue of the state run newspaper Kyemon Daily.

"I submitted the proposal to impose sentences of 20 years' to life imprisonment for those who rape children under 12 years of age," U Aung Thein told The Irrawaddy.

The amendment also defines a life sentence as imprisonment "until death."

The amendment supplements Article 376 of the Penal Code, which imposes a minimum of 20 years and a maximum term of life for rapists.

U Aung Thein said he submitted the proposal because he felt the maximum sentence for child rapists of 20 years in prison prescribed in the original version of the law was not sufficient.

As lawmakers had differing views on his proposal, it was put to a vote in the Union Parliament. "It has finally come into effect some four months after I submitted the proposal," U Aung Thein said.

Most women's rights activists have welcomed the new provision. There were even demands for capital punishment to be imposed on rapists after an alarming increase in child rape cases in the former capital of Yangon and elsewhere in the country early last year.

"This amendment will be a deterrent. It will help protect women and girls," said Mai Thant Zin Oo, the founder and director of the Asho Women Organization.

Child rape cases accounted for 61 percent of all rape cases nationwide in 2016; 64 percent in 2017; and 68 percent through April 2018, Deputy Home Affairs Minister General Aung Thu told the Lower House of Parliament in June last year.

The child-rape victims in cases reported from January through April last year included children aged as young as 2 to 5. Girls aged 14-16 were the most vulnerable. Most of the perpetrators were aged between 19 and 50.

Along with stepfathers and other relatives, some rapes were even perpetrated by fathers. Most of the offenses were committed by strangers.

The Myanmar Police Force claimed to have brought 96.72 percent of the offenders in child-rape cases to trial in 2016; 97.99 percent in 2017; and 67.17 percent from January through April last year.

Twenty-year prison terms were handed to 18 perpetrators in 2016 and to 25 perpetrators in 2017. One was sentenced to death in 2018.

The post Child Rapists Now Face Life in Prison appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Harsh Public Criticism for Myanmar Academy Awards

Posted: 28 Mar 2019 04:41 AM PDT

YANGON—Myanmar's own Oscars, the Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards ceremony, was held on Saturday at The One Entertainment Park in Yangon, and proved one of the most controversial events in the local entertainment industry so far this year. Movie lovers have denounced the academy board's awarding decisions as unfair and biased.

But this is not the first time the Academy Awards have caused disagreement. Last year's event also stoked public argument when the awards for the Myanmar film industry, which is widely believed to be transforming and modernizing, failed to recognized the new style of creative movies made by emerging directors at the event.

In recent years, a small group of young local directors have begun a new creative wave of filmmaking in the stagnant Myanmar movie industry and their attempts have been highly praised by the public. Their movies are imaginative with strong storylines and this is in contrast to other local commercial movies which tend to be low-budget and lack imagination, using the same unrealistic dialogue repeatedly which are made by movie companies said to be more interested in making money than art.

Zenn Kyi and Christina Kyi attend the Academy Awards ceremony 2018. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Last year, it was highly anticipated that "Mudras Calling," a movie directed by Christina Kyi, which was screened at a number of international film festivals and won the Silver Palm Award at the Mexico Film Festival and a Platinum Award from The International Student, Newcomer, and Woman Movie Awards (ISENMA), would win at least one major award. However, Christina Kyi went home without a single award.

"We make the best decision and tried our best to be fair without personal feelings. Therefore, audiences should make a decision without personal feelings too," board member of the Myanmar Academy Awards U Kyi Soe Tun told The Irrawaddy.

"The directors, actors and actresses who didn't win the awards—it isn't because of they aren't good enough. The winners are a little bit smarter than them," he said.

This year, another movie by Christina Kyi, "Oo Pel Tan Myin," which smashed local box office records with eight straight weeks of screenings and which made its way as far a cinema screens in Singapore, did not win any Academy awards.

The film is a drama-thriller and used many new actors who underwent thorough training on acting and script reading before shooting. Movie goers were expecting the villain, supporting actor Aung Myint Myat, to win Best Supporting Actor but, again, he went home empty-handed.

People have strongly criticized the decision of the judging panel which is made up of members of the academy board and the Myanmar Motion Picture Organization, and critics are asking the question, Will the Myanmar film industry continue in the same old way?

"This year, the academy awarding ceremony was really shameful. Audiences are not stupid at all. Everyone knows who deserved to win the award," said former Academy Award-winning movie star U Lwin Moe.

Director Na Gyi (director of "Mi") and actress Paing Phyo Thu (leading actress) attending the 67th Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards ceremony on March 23, 2019. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

Another disappointment that fueled the audience's anger was that a popular film called "Mi" won no awards.

"Mi," the name of the main character, is a movie adaptation of a famous Myanmar novel by Kyi Aye and it was directed by Na Gyi. On its release, the film received glowing praise both from film critics and fellow artists for its directorial skill, the film's preparation, cinematography, costume design and location setting. Myanmar audiences particularly appreciated the efforts made in even the smallest details like the props and décor which accurately reflected Myanmar society in the 1940s which is when the story is set.

It's the first ever local movie which created an entire costume set and used a make-up style which was in fashion during that period, the 1940s. It impressed movie goers who were sure the movie would be awarded an Academy Award for best costume design at least.

Before the awarding ceremony started, speaking to a local TV channel which was live streaming the event, Christina Kyi said, "I came here to see whether the film industry will go [forward] with a new style or [choose to stick to] the same old methods. I don't expect to win an award myself but I'm excited for the actors from my films."

She added, "Now, filmmakers are separated into two groups and audiences are too. If the organization is going to give the awards to the same old acting, I will have to face more struggles in the future to work in this industry."

By the end of the event, it's likely Christina Kyi got a clear answer on the future of Myanmar's movie industry where it's likely there won't be recognition for even the most outstanding modern movies made in Myanmar. Despite this being a continuing struggle for her, her loyal audiences hope she can produce more outstanding movies in the future.

The post Harsh Public Criticism for Myanmar Academy Awards appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Military Reprimands  Rebel Group Over Drug Seizure, Detentions in Mon State

Posted: 28 Mar 2019 04:36 AM PDT

Mon State’s border affairs minister has rebuked the New Mon State Party (NMSP) for conducting anti-narcotics operations in areas under the government’s control in Mudon Township.

Col. Nay Htut Oo sent a letter to the NMSP’s liaison office in the state capital of Moulmein on Friday  accusing the group of violated the terms of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) it signed with the government.

On March 20, fighters for the group’s armed wing, the Mon National Liberation Army (NMLA), detained eight people and seized about 500 amphetamine tablets and about 6.5 kg of kraton, a leaf that some locals boil in water to produce an illicit narcotic.

In his letter, Col. Nay Htut Oo said the NCA stipulates that the NMLA could not interfere in government affairs in areas under government control. He asked the NMLA to release the eight detainees but the group refused, raising tensions in the area.

An NMSP source said one of the detainees was a son of a Myanmar army officer with Light Infantry Battalion 209, based in Mudon, and was carrying 90 amphetamine tablets when caught.

On March 21, the Myanmar army sent two truckloads of soldiers to the scene of the NMLA operation, a former base of the group’s, and occupied the site for two days, according to local rubber farmers.

The spokesman for the NMSP could not be reached for comment.

Drug use is widespread in Mon State, but the government and military have refused to let the NMSP combat the drug trade outside of its areas of control since it singed the NCA last year, leaving traffickers with less to worry about. Local police have made few arrests.

The Mon Young Monks Network (MYMN) said in a statement on Wednesday that it supported the NMSP’s anti-narcotics efforts as an effective way to combat the social ills of the state’s drug trade and suggested the government work with the group rather than against it.

"The government should find the best way to cooperate with the NMSP," it said.

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Naga Group Leaders Charged with Unlawful Association

Posted: 28 Mar 2019 03:20 AM PDT

Police in Khamti, Sagaing Region on Tuesday charged five leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang with violating Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Association Act. The five were detained by the Myanmar military earlier this month following a January raid on the group's headquarters in Taga.

NSCN-K Peace Committee leader U An Kam, spokesman U Kyaw Wan Sein, official U Saw Htein and officers Major-General Aung Mai and Lieutenant-Colonel Aung Sai were arrested during the March 9 raid on their liaison office in Khamti Township. They had come into town to attend a meeting with Naga civil society groups, according to sources close to the NSCN-K.

'They came to join the meeting organized by the Naga Cultural Central Committee on March 8, three weeks ago, to discuss peace in the Naga region, but were arrested the following day; it should not have happened that way," said a Naga civil society member who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The person told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the "NSCN-K leaders were transferred to police custody on March 26 and informed they were to be charged under the Unlawful Association Act."

The Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) seized the NSCN-K's headquarters in late January. Most of the armed group's troops withdrew from the base, but a few Naga leaders remained in the area to try and resolve the tensions.

At a press conference in Naypyitaw on Monday, Tatmadaw spokesman Major-General Soe Naing Oo said that since it occupied the headquarters, the military had arrested 36 people in NSCN-K areas and discovered one body. The Tatmadaw repeated its stance that it would not tolerate rebel groups staging hostile activities against Myanmar's neighbors, in this case India, from its territory.

The Tatmadaw accused the NSCN-K of helping Assam and Manipur (known locally as ethnic Kathae/Meiti) rebels in their fight against India by sheltering and allowing them to run military training schools. The Tatmadaw accused the NSCN-K of violating the bilateral ceasefire agreement it signed on April 9, 2012 with the Sagaing regional government.

Last month, U Kyaw Wan Sein, NSCN-K spokesman and Central Executive Member, told The Irrawaddy the group did not violate the bilateral ceasefire and urged the Tatmadaw to leave its area.

Naga civil society members, including elders and members of the Council of Naga Affairs, sent a letter to the National Reconciliation and Peace Center seeking its intervention.

U Zaw Htay, spokesman for the Myanmar President's Office and the Myanmar State Counselor's Office, which oversee peace negotiations, said on Thursday he could not comment on the charging of the NSCN-K leaders over the phone. He said the government's response would be announced at a press briefing expected on Friday at the Presidential Palace.

The post Naga Group Leaders Charged with Unlawful Association appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Yangon Timeout

Posted: 28 Mar 2019 03:17 AM PDT

'Enchantress' Art Exhibition by Zwe Mon

 At Gallery 65 this weekend, see the first solo exhibition of Zwe Mon which will feature more than 30 of her works of art. Zwe Mon studied at the State School of Fine Art and her paintings use bright colors and often depict typical everyday scenes, important persons as well as some historical events, such as the Saffron Revolution.

March 29 to 31 | Gallery 65 | No. 65, Yaw Min Gyi Road, Dagon Township

Reaching Across the Divide: A Fundraising Concert

This musical event hosted by education non-profit Thabyay Education Foundation is now in its fourth year. In conjunction with Global Voices, 20 young Myanmar people of diverse cultures and backgrounds get the opportunity to use music and song to express the issues in social justice here today. As well as some favorites, they will perform four new songs which have been collectively composed. US Ambassador to Myanmar Scott Merciel will make special remarks. Thabyay Education Foundation is a very worthy cause working to empower, enable and inspire Myanmar's future leaders.

March 30 | 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. | YWCA Hall | 119 Bogolayzay Street, Botahtaung Township

Pre-Water Festival Pool Party

The new Wyndham Grand Yangon Hotel, with fine views over Kandawgyi Lake and Karaweik Palace, is the place to be this weekend if you just can't wait for Thingyan to arrive. At this pool party there will be a live DJ and canapes will be served with a free flow of sparkling wine, beer, wine and soft drinks included in the ticket. Tickets $25 nett.

March 30 | 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Wyndham Grand Yangon Hotel | Corner of Kan Yeik Thar Road & U Aung Myat Road, Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township

'A Fan and a Bowl' Art Exhibition by Aung Kyaw Htet

This is the solo art show of reputed painter Aung Kyaw Htet. Aung Kyaw Htet is well known on the international artist circuit yet an art show in Myanmar is rare for him. His imaginative work most often depicts Buddhist symbols like statues, alms bowls and pagodas and he is perhaps most famous for his lively paintings of novice monks and nuns going about their daily rituals. Exhibition opening is on March 30 at 5:30 p.m.

March 30 to April 3 | River Gallery | No. 33/35, 37th& 38th Streets, Kyauktada Township

Duwun Food Carnival

Foodies should head to People's Park this weekend for the third annual Duwun Food Carnival. As well as a huge variety of food stalls, you can enjoy food talks, a DFC Run, games, live music performances and other entertainment. Famous singers to perform include Athen Cho Swe, Key Lashi, Kaung Kaung and Kay Kay Moe and groups to perform will include Project K, Team 143 and Definite.

March 30 to 31 | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. | Area 2 (Pyay Road Entrance) | People's Park, Dagon Township  

Earth Hour in Yangon

This is an international movement that has been happening worldwide since 2009. For one hour every year, the world's biggest landmarks – the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House and more recently Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda – switch off the lights and every individual and household is encouraged to join in this statement of commitment to preserving the Earth. In Yangon this year, a number of locations are joining in including Savoy Hotel and Catrium Hotel while Pullman Hotel will have an outdoor event with music, wine, opera signing and a fire show.  #Connect2Earth

March 30 | 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. | Worldwide

Makers Market

This is the fourth edition of the very popular afternoon/evening market event where you will find an exciting range of the finest locally made and handmade arts and crafts, clothing, food and food vendors and get the chance to meet the makers, designers and artists behind the products. Some interesting vendors include Moon Craft (bamboo goods), Mai Su (handwoven textiles) and Paloma Yaya (natural fabrics). For food and drinks you can head to The Satay Shack, Othentic, Shwe Sa Bwe, Union Bar & Grill popups. Note, this is a plastic-free event.

March 31 | 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. | Karaweik Gardens | Kandawgyi Nature Park, Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township

The Future of Myanmar Art Industry

Hosted by Asia Art Connect, this event will be a discussion in Burmese about the future of art in Myanmar. The talk will be moderated by artist Moe Kyaw Thant who will be joined by panelists curator and artist Aung Myat Htay and artist Khin Zaw Latt.

March 31 | 2 p.m. | Phandeeyar | 10th Floor, Royal Riverview Condo, 628/636 Merchant Road

Myanmar Color Festival

This is another colorful festival where attendees are given bags of colored powder to throw at their friends and others while they dance, party and play. The event aims to bring diverse members of the community together in a shared space for shared enjoyment. Regular tickets 8,000 kyats; special tickets 20,000 kyats.

March 31 | 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. | People's Park | Pyay Road, Dagon Township

Echelon Roadshow 2019

Join the best and brightest of Myanmar’s tech ecosystem at the Echelon Roadshow for an afternoon of sharing insights and making connections. The speaker, Matt De Luca, is the founder of JobNet.com and tell his own startup story and dispense advice and tips to help you out in your own entrepreneurial journey. Pre-registration recommended.

April 2 | 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. | Phandeeyar | 10th Floor, Royal Riverview Condo, 628/636 Merchant Road 

Book Launch: Annual Peace & Security Review 2018

The non-profit, non-governmental Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security will present a comprehensive overview of the conflict and peace process in Myanmar with data from its advanced monitoring system together with pointed insight and analysis. This event is the launch of their annual report.

April 2 | 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. | Melia Hotel | Kabar Aye Pagoda Road, Yankin Township

The post Yangon Timeout appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Military Claims of Arakan Rebels Disguising Selves as Civilians Met With Doubt

Posted: 28 Mar 2019 02:38 AM PDT

YANGON — Lawmakers and residents of northern Rakhine State expressed dismay at the military’s recent claim that fighters for the rebel Arakan Army (AA) were conducting operations out of uniform, calling it an excuse to target civilians.

"[AA troops] have started to wear black tracksuits,” Brig. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said at a press conference in Naypyitaw on Monday.

“All [AA fighters] that we see in the villages were dressed that way. [AA fighters] dressed that way shot [at soldiers]. [AA fighters] dressed that way planted mines. All those caught while planting mines on the road were dressed that way. And those caught near the villages were dressed in tracksuits," he added.

Of the 25 civilians from Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships The Irrawaddy interviewed about the claim by the military, or Tatmadaw, all rejected it.

"I watched the live broadcast of the Tatmadaw's press conference streamed by the news agencies. I was shocked to hear they said that those wearing tracksuits are with the AA. We feel like [the Tatmadaw] is targeting civilians," said U Khaing Kyaw Than, from Mrauk-U.

On the same day as the press conference, a boatman was shot dead near the village of Amyet Taung in Rathedaung. He was wearing a yellow tracksuit at the time.

U Maung Than Sein, a regional lawmaker representing Kyauktaw, said it was normal for rural residents in Rakhine who work on the water to wear tracksuits and that he too was shocked by the military’s claim.

"It is wrong to mix up civilians and the AA. And it is very clear that the boatman who was shot dead was an innocent civilian who made an honest living. So we feel sorry on behalf of the people," he said.

AA spokesman Khaing Thukha accused the military of making the claim to cover up its targeting of civilians.

"They are saying this in order to cover up their war crimes against civilians. We have never used civilians as shields. We love people more than the Bamar Army does and we don't do anything that harms the people," he said.

U Maung Than Sein said civilians were bearing the brunt of the fighting between the military and AA, which has displaced some 10,000 people in northern Rakhine and southern Chin State since late November.

When five civilians were found dead inside a rudimentary bomb shelter in Buthidaung’s Si Taung Village on March 21, the military said they died from artillery fire. But U Maung Than Sein did not believe it.

"It is impossible that all five people in the hole died [that way]. We are not children. It is easy to figure out who killed them,” he said. “There was no security in the past, there is no security at present, and it is actually worse."

At Monday’s press conference, Brig. Gen. Zaw Min Tun denied that the military targeted civilians in Si Taung and said there had been a fight with the AA near the village.

Lower House lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe, who visited Si Taung, said soldiers had not engaged the AA near the village and accused the military of shooting at civilians deliberately.

On the night of March 18 in Mrauk-U, seven civilians were injured by bullets and artillery and a residential home hit by a mortar shell caught fire and burned down. Shelling in recent days had also damaged some historic Buddhist temples in the area, once the capital of the Arakan Kingdom.

Residents of Mrauk-U said they saw soldiers shooting at houses while driving through town on trucks. Col. Win Zaw Oo, spokesman for the military’s Western Command, said the soldiers had been attacked by AA fighters and were returning fire. The AA denied the claim.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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The Day a Portuguese Mercenary and Plunderer Was Put to Death

Posted: 27 Mar 2019 10:30 PM PDT

Four hundred and six years ago today, one of the most notorious Portuguese ever to set foot in what is now Myanmar was executed.

Filipe de Brito e Nicote, better known as Nga Zinga, became infamous for stealing valuables from the shrines of Buddhist temples, as well as making cannons out of melted-down bronze Buddha images and bells pilfered from religious sites. He built forts on Kyaik Khak Pagoda and even snatched other men's wives.

He served as a mercenary under Min Razagyi, King of Arakan, and rose through the ranks to become governor of Thanlyin (Syriam) in 1599. He encouraged more Portuguese to settle in Syriam and later rose up against the Arakanese King.

In 1613, de Brito's Syriam was besieged by the Burmese forces of King Anaukpetlun. After a two-month-long battle, Syriam was defeated and Nga Zinga captured. He was executed on March 28, aged about 50. Hundreds of Portuguese prisoners of war were taken back to Ava.

The post The Day a Portuguese Mercenary and Plunderer Was Put to Death appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

U.S. Studying India Anti-Satellite Weapons Test, Warns of Space Debris

Posted: 27 Mar 2019 09:33 PM PDT

MIAMI — Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan warned any nations contemplating anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons tests like the one India carried out on Wednesday that they risk making a “mess” in space because of debris fields they can leave behind.

Speaking to reporters in Florida during a visit to the U.S. military’s Southern Command, Shanahan said the United States was still studying the outcome of a missile India said it launched at one of its own satellites.

“My message would be: We all live in space, let's not make it a mess. Space should be a place where we can conduct business. Space is a place where people should have the freedom to operate,” Shanahan said.

Experts say that anti-satellite weapons that shatter their targets pose a space hazard by creating a cloud of fragments that can collide with other objects, potentially setting off a chain reaction of projectiles through Earth orbit.

India’s Foreign Ministry played down any risk of debris from its missile test on Wednesday, saying the impact occurred in low-Earth orbit and that the remnants would “decay and fall back on to the Earth within weeks.”

The U.S. military’s Strategic Command was tracking more than 250 pieces of debris from India’s missile test and would issue “close-approach notifications as required until the debris enters the Earth’s atmosphere,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said.

The New Delhi government and Washington, which have generally close relations, have been in talks regarding the event, and India publicly issued an aircraft safety advisory before the launch, Eastburn added.

Lieutenant General David Thompson, vice commander of U.S. Air Force Space Command, added the International Space Station was not at risk at this point.

NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that the consequences of anti-satellite weapons tests could be long-lasting.

“If we wreck space, we’re not getting it back,” he said, without mentioning India by name.

India would be only the fourth country to have used such an anti-satellite weapon after the United States, Russia and China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

The United States ran the first anti-satellite test in 1959, when satellites themselves were rare and new.

Shanahan noted that given the increasing global reliance on space, it was important to create rules of the road for space.

“I think not having rules of engagement is worrisome. So, how people test and develop technologies is important,” he said, adding: “I would expect anyone who tests does not put at risk anyone else’s assets.”

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China Says Probing More People After Former Interpol Chief’s Fall

Posted: 27 Mar 2019 09:19 PM PDT

BEIJING—China’s Public Security Ministry said it would conduct further investigations into its own senior ranks late on Wednesday after a decision to prosecute former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei, and warned that disloyalty to the Communist Party would not be tolerated.

China had announced earlier on Wednesday that an investigation had found Meng spent “lavish” amounts of state funds, abused his power and refused to follow party decisions, and that he had been expelled from the party and sacked as deputy public security minister.

Last October, Interpol, the global police coordination agency based in France, said Meng had resigned as its president, days after his wife reported him missing after he travelled back to China.

In statement late on Wednesday following an internal meeting, the public security ministry said Meng was “totally to blame” for the decision to expel him from the party and sack him.

“When it comes to party loyalty and sincerity, it is absolutely not allowed to be duplicitous, to agree overtly but oppose in secret, or to be a two-face person, or lead a double life, or engage in political social climbing,” it said.

“It is absolutely not allowed to make decisions without authorization, to do or say as you wish.”

While the statement gave no details, the party’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign, championed by President Xi Jinping, has increasingly been focused on those it judges are disloyal to the party or question the decision of the top leadership.

China has persistently denied its war on graft is about political maneuvering or Xi taking down his enemies. Xi told an audience in Seattle in 2015 that the anti-graft fight was no “House of Cards”-style power play, in a reference to the Netflix U.S. political drama.

The ministry said there needed to be a “thorough rooting out of Meng Hongwei’s pernicious influence,” and that there would be further probes on others.

“For those in leadership positions in the Public Security Ministry connected with Meng Hongwei’s case, no matter how high or low, no matter who is involved, no matter their position, all must be seriously handled in accordance with the law and discipline.”

The government announced its plans to prosecute Meng after Xi returned from a state visit to France, where Emmanuel Macron raised the issue of human rights in China and certain specific cases, a French presidency official said.

It has not been possible to reach Meng for comment since he was detained, and unclear if he has been allowed a lawyer.

Meng’s wife, Grace Meng, told French television on Sunday that she had written to Macron ahead of Xi’s trip seeking his help protecting their “fundamental human rights”.

Meng is certain to be found guilty when his case eventually comes to trial as the courts are controlled by the party and will not challenge its accusations.

Meng became president of the global police cooperation agency in late 2016 as China widened its bid to secure leadership posts in international organizations.

His appointment prompted concern at the time from rights groups that Beijing might try to leverage his position to pursue dissidents abroad.

The post China Says Probing More People After Former Interpol Chief’s Fall appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand’s Opposition Parties Form Alliance, Demand Junta Step Aside

Posted: 27 Mar 2019 09:16 PM PDT

BANGKOK — Thailand’s opposition “democratic front” of seven parties on Wednesday said it had won a majority in the lower house of parliament after a messy election, and had the right to try to form a government after five years of military rule.

But the opposition alliance would still be unable to elect a prime minister, as parliamentary rules, written by the ruling military junta, require backing from a majority of upper and lower houses combined.

Parliament’s upper house, entirely appointed by the junta, is expected to endorse the pro-military party.

With unofficial results of Sunday’s vote still delayed, the ruling junta showed no sign giving up on its goal to keep former army chief and coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha as prime minister.

The post-election standoff could raise tensions just as the Southeast Asian country prepares for the elaborate coronation of its new king in May.

Sudarat Keyuraphan, the main prime ministerial candidate of the Pheu Thai party ousted by the 2014 army coup, said the seven parties in the opposition alliance would take at least 255 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.

“We declare that the democratic front which opposes military rule commands the majority in the House,” Sudarat told reporters.

The largest alliance in the lower house should be given the right to try to form a government, she added.

“Parties in the democratic front gained the most trust from the people,” Sudarat said, adding that the alliance would start courting more parties on Wednesday.

Pheu Thai’s secretary-general, Phumtham Wechayachai, told reporters the democratic front now included the Future Forward, Pheu Chart, Prachachart, Seri Ruam Thai, Thai People Power and New Economy parties.

Missing was the Bhumjaithai Party, another key vote getter that has not yet aligned with either side.

Responding to speculation that Pheu Thai would offer the top post to Bhumjaithai’s leader, Anutin Charnvirakul, to win him over, Phumtham said, “We haven’t made him that offer.”

He added, “Premiership is something we will discuss later… It’s not a pre-condition for us.”

A fuller picture of the lower house make-up could emerge on Friday, when the Election Commission releases vote tallies for each constituency, used to determine the allocation of the other 150 party seats under a complex formula.

After the news conference, the alliance’s party leaders petitioned the Election Commission to immediately release complete tallies, demanding transparency.

Ittiporn Boonprakong, the commission’s chairman, said the votes were all counted in the open and announced at polling stations the night of the election.

“Still time yet”

The pro-military Palang Pracharat party has also claimed the right to form the next government, based on its early lead in the popular vote, saying the count could still give it a majority.

Its leader, Uttama Savanayana said Palang Pracharat was taking its time as there are six weeks until official results are published on May 9.

“We’ve started talking to other parties, but there’s still time yet,” Uttama told reporters. “We’ll try to get as many seats as possible. We’re confident we can form a government.”

Party secretary-general Sontirat Sontijirawong dismissed the claim by the democratic front.

“Stop claiming to be on the side of democracy,” Sontirat said. “This election was democratic. Are the 7.9 million who voted for Palang Pracharat not democratic?”

The partial count suggests Palang Pracharat could win enough elected lower house seats, combined with votes from the junta-appointed Senate, for Prayuth to stay on as prime minister.

However, Prayuth could face parliamentary deadlock if the opposition controls the lower house, and would be vulnerable to a confidence vote.

The post Thailand’s Opposition Parties Form Alliance, Demand Junta Step Aside appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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Wednesday, March 27, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

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Military Warns Against ‘Illegal’ Charter Change Efforts

Posted: 26 Mar 2019 11:42 PM PDT

YANGON—Myanmar military deputy chief Vice Senior General Soe Win warned that ongoing attempts to reform the Constitution must be constitutional to avoid "unnecessary political hardship and its spillover effects" in a speech to mark the nation's 74th Armed Forces Day on Wednesday.

Commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was unable to deliver the speech this year due to a minor last-minute leg injury, according to the military (or Tatmadaw)'s information team. Armed Forces Day commemorations, including a major military parade, are held in Naypyitaw annually to mark the day the Burmese military began its fight against occupying Japanese forces in 1945.

"Democracy is a process bound by laws based on the people's aspirations. It must also respect the desires of minority groups," he said.

He warned that simply implementing the wishes of the majority, without considering whether it is correct or not, is illegal.

"This can not only create difficulties but also endanger the tranquility of those who want to practice democratic norms systemically, because it is an action that breaks rules and regulations," the vice senior general said.

The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), led by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is currently trying to make changes to the Constitution, which was drafted by the military and has been widely criticized as undemocratic.

The effort has met strong resistance from the military and its ally, the Union Solidarity and Development Party. They say the charter needs to be reformed but have complained that the approach taken by the NLD is unconstitutional.

In his speech, Vice Sen-Gen. Soe Win went on to condemn the Arakan Army's deadly attacks on police outposts in Rakhine State in January. He said such attacks by the AA "impair the administrative mechanism" and vowed that the military would vanquish them" as they pose a threat to national sovereignty.

Fighting between government troops and the autonomy-seeking ethnic Arakanese armed group has been intense in recent months, with nearly 100 clashes occurring since the AA's Jan. 4 attacks, according to the military.

"I would like to assert that the Tatmadaw will eliminate any armed insurgent group [in order to ensure] peace, tranquility and the rule of law in the Union," Vice Sen-Gen. Soe Win said.

Despite the ongoing fighting, the deputy military chief also repeatedly urged ethnic armed organizations to negotiate with the government's National Reconciliation and Peace Center and the Tatmadaw's negotiation team. He reiterated the military's promise to deliver peace by 2020.

The post Military Warns Against 'Illegal' Charter Change Efforts appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

When Myanmar Threw Off the Yoke of Japanese Empire

Posted: 26 Mar 2019 07:21 PM PDT

Seventy-four years ago today, people from all walks of life rose up against Japanese overlords who had failed to keep their promise to grant Myanmar full independence after three years of occupation.

Orchestrated by Gen. Aung San, the resistance movement was carried out in seven military divisions across Myanmar with the help of the Allied Forces of World War II.

Though they planned to launch the resistance on March 27, as Allied soldiers had already reached Upper Myanmar, Col. Ba Htoo had already started his own resistance campaign some three weeks prior, having declared war against Japanese forces on March 8.

More than 1,000 battles were fought in the following few months and at least 20,000 Japanese soldiers were killed.

March 27 marked the beginning of the final bout of fighting to end more than 100 years of colonial rule over Myanmar. Newspapers from England, France, the United States, India and China praised the resistance movement. World War II came to an end when Japan’s leaders signed an unconditional surrender on Sept. 2, 1945.

At first, March 27 was celebrated nationwide as Antifascist Resistance Day. But at the 10th anniversary, in 1955, Myanmar military chief Gen. Ne Win asked to organize an Armed Forces Day together with Antifascist Resistance Day.

Armed Forces Day gradually became the more prominent of the two. But the National League for Democracy party, led by Gen. Aung San’s daughter, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, still marks the occasion by its original name.

The post When Myanmar Threw Off the Yoke of Japanese Empire appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘We Hoped a Bilateral Ceasefire Could Be Implemented’

Posted: 26 Mar 2019 05:30 PM PDT

The government's National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) held talks with eight non-signatories of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in Naypyitaw on March 21.

The delegates of the Arakan Army (AA), which is currently clashing with the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, in northern Rakhine State, also attended the meeting.

Colonel Kyaw Han, a member on the AA's central committee who attended the meeting, spoke to The Irrawaddy about the results of the meeting and the prospects for peace.

How were the talks in Naypyitaw? Were they friendly?

It has been around six months since we last communicated. The NRPC invited us as a dialogue partner, and the Tatmadaw came and met us as a dialogue partner. It is better to have talks than none at all, so there is a little progress, we'd say.

Talks at the table were friendly, but we have different standpoints and so we were uneasy.

In previous examples, the government has had talks with other ethnic groups, yet clashes have continued to break out between them on the ground. How much can the latest meeting organized by the NRPC contribute to de-escalating conflicts in Rakhine State? Did you reach any agreement?

We didn't reach the stage of [making] an agreement. We discussed how we can move forward in the peace process. The Rakhine issue today appears to be an international problem and there is a need for negotiations between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army, and the Myanmar government, the Arakan Army and Arakanese political parties to be able to solve the problem ourselves.

We recognize the need to negotiate constructively to find the solution between ourselves, and to prevent it from becoming an internal issue. And we understand that the Myanmar government and Tatmadaw have the same view.

Do you think the latest meeting organized by the NRPC will change the situation on the ground?

We can't say there will be immediate changes, but I told the military delegates that we, the AA, have not fought in Mrauk-U. We can assure that. There was firing of artillery and small arms both from the ground and mountains in a place where we have not militarized. People suffered and ancient pagodas and stupas were damaged. We asked [the Tatmadaw delegates] to avoid doing such things in the future. We told them that though it is fair to fight fiercely in the battleground, frightening and injuring the people in no-clash areas should be avoided.

What did the AA discuss at the meeting in Naypyitaw?

We discussed the policy of the FPNCC (Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee), and the policy of the Northern Alliance. Perhaps on Jan. 1, we the Northern Alliance (the AA, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army) reached an agreement with [the Myanmar military] to sign a bilateral [ceasefire] agreement. We came to [the Naypyitaw meeting with the NRPC] in the hope that that agreement could be implemented at the meeting.

What did the AA learn about the standpoints of the Myanmar military at the meeting?

Rather than what was said by the Tatmadaw, we can conclude from the opening address by U Zaw Htay that they mean that our presence in Rakhine State can negatively impact the state which is graded as a white state (a term for a peaceful and stable area). [The military] is fighting with small arms on the ground, and artillery on mountains, and jet fighters in the air in northern Rakhine State's battlefields. If an area with dense gun smoke is labelled a white area, we wonder what color Naypyitaw and Yangon is.

Rakhine used to be a white area, but there are clashes there now. That reality needs to be seen. And there is a need to find out how to negotiate to make it white again. I can assure you that at least 90 percent of [Arakanese] people support the AA. It is not reasonable to say the white status has gone because of the AA which is supported by the people in Rakhine. I'd like to urge both the government and the military to find a solution for the sake of truth.

Did the AA discuss a bilateral ceasefire agreement or a deed of commitment (DoC)?

When we met in [China's] Kunming on Feb. 25, we said we could not accept a deed of commitment because we have made compromises regarding our standpoints and released statements about signing a bilateral agreement. We released those statements because the other side promised to sign bilateral agreements if we did so. Then they said that they would not keep that promise because we attacked four border police outposts on Jan. 4.

We have to find an answer because there is a conflict. If there is no conflict, we need neither a DoC nor the bilateral agreement. A conflict erupted, but there were promises made prior to that. There is a need to resolve conflict as it is, and keep the promise as it was made. Therefore, we—the four-member Northern Alliance—called for a bilateral agreement at the (Naypyitaw) meeting. We'd like to sign a bilateral agreement because we will be able to discuss and implement others only after ceasing fire.

It's been said that the government is concerned that after signing the bilateral ceasefire agreement, the Northern Alliance would stick to the FPNCC-proposed ceasefire agreement and not sign the NCA. Is this correct?

Armed conflict happens when political problems can't be solved politically. To hold political talks, the Tatmadaw has its NCA policy, and the Northern Alliance has the FPNCC policy. We need to hold talks on it. If the two sides are unwilling to talk about each other's policies, then we can get no answer. To find out an answer, we need to cease fire first.

The government, the military and the AA have started talks. Have you discussed the AA's presence in Rakhine State at these talks?

We haven't talked about that. For that to happen, first [both sides] need to push for the talks [to take place]. Then we can both share our views of [the AA's presence] at formal talks to find an answer.

Has the military accepted the presence of the AA in Rakhine and Chin states?

We haven't talked about it. Whether they accept it or not, they need to see the reality. If they don't correctly see the reality, then we won't be able to find an answer. There is a Kachin army in Kachin State and a Karen army in Karen State and we need to find out objectively why the Arakan Army is not allowed in Rakhine State. And speaking of public support for the AA, their support [is expected to reach] over 100 percent. If the current government and the current Tatmadaw say we can't stay there, aren't they saying and doing what people don't like? If they are the people's Tatmadaw and the people's government, they are obliged to fulfill the wishes of the people. I dare say at least 90 percent of the people in Rakhine State support the AA. I can assure you that we can gain more support than the NLD has.

How would the AA like to reach an agreement about its troop deployment in Rakhine State?

It is early to say. There will be give-and-take at the talks around the table. But what we want to say is we have given a lot and we can't compromise any further.

Constitutional amendments are underway at the Parliament. My understanding is that leaders of the Northern Alliance want to enjoy ethnic rights legally. Have the Northern Alliance leaders spoken with the government about amending certain provisions in the Constitution?

We heartily welcome that the government is taking the lead role to amend the Constitution. The NLD came to power with its campaign promises to change the Constitution. We don't complain that it has only recently directed its efforts toward it. We welcome that it has got the opportunity and it is taking steps now to amend the Constitution. We welcome that they are taking a lead role in amending the 2008 Constitution which doesn't meet either democratic or federal norms. It is a good step for the whole country.

Have Northern Alliance leaders tried to participate in amending the Constitution through the peace process?

It will be concerned with the NCA process. According to the NCA process, only when we sign it will we be allowed to participate in the Panglong [Peace] Conference and hold public consultations with local communities. So rather than talking about the changes that we'd like to see, we need to get into that process first. There are steps that we have yet to go through in order to officially attend Panglong before talking about the changes that we'd like to see. It is still early to talk about that.

So you mean the Northern Alliance still has some intentions of signing the NCA?

We didn't say that we don't accept the NCA. We said we want to add provisions to the NCA and that we will be allowed to withdraw from the NCA if and when the agreements in it are not implemented. The policy of the FPNCC is not much different from that of the NCA. We need to negotiate these two policies. If each side sticks to its policy, then we will get nowhere.

Have you negotiated with leaders of the NCA signatories?

As we follow the FPNCC, we haven't. But you can see that some ethnic signatories such as the RCSS (Restoration Council of Shan State) and the KNU (Karen National Union) have ceased [negotiations with the government] because agreements in the NCA are not implemented. Authorities should think about why even the NCA signatories can't move forward. Why has it stalled? They need to find out the answer. If they don't move the obstacle away, they can't move forward.

The United Wa State Army and Mongla's National Democratic Alliance Army which both support the FPNCC enjoy greater power and status though they are not officially legitimate. Do FPNCC leaders want to make compromises with the government to change the Constitution for equality and the sharing of power?

It is still early to say.

If the leaders of the FPNCC, including the AA, could negotiate a result over either a bilateral ceasefire agreement or a DoC, is it possible for them to be signed under the 2008 Constitution or will they have to wait for the amended constitution to be in place?

It is not that we are not interested in the 2008 Constitution. But before talking about constitutional amendment, we can't attend any conference or propose any change if we can't implement a ceasefire. We can't reach the second day without going through the first day. That's why we don't want to talk about the second day. However, we have already prepared for the second day.

Political analysts assess that the NCA is too rigid to be changed to achieve federalism. What is your assessment of it?

Yes, we have the same view. But [the government] promised throughout the meetings with the NCCT (National Ceasefire Coordination Team) that it can be changed outside the Parliament, and then the amendment will be sent to the Parliament to seek its approval. They asked us not to worry. If they honor their promise, we won't worry. But if they want to draw the wool over our eyes, we are worried.

To what extent can the Arakanese people expect that the conflict will be resolved?

Despite the serious clashes, they invited us to talks and we attended the talks so this is a step forward. How much further we will go or where we will stop will depend on the results of future dialogue.

Will the clashes de-escalate in Rakhine after you return there?

We have told military leaders [about how the fighting can be stopped]. It depends on how much they are willing to implement [our request], and we will reduce attacks depending on their extent of measures to avoid fighting. Only when there is a strong desire to stop the fighting, it will stop. There is a need to walk the walk.

Has the AA figured out the government's and the military's stance towards them from the meeting in Naypyitaw?

I'm afraid we can't tell the media this. At the moment, the government and the Tatmadaw stick to the NCA and we stick to the FPNCC. We need to find an answer between these two. While we need to assess the pros and cons of the NCA, the Tatmadaw and government should also see what they can accept in the FPNCC. Only then will we be able to negotiate on these two frameworks and move forward. I hope leaders of the two sides will do so.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Tuesday, March 26, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Ex-Gov’t Figures Back Together—and Back in Uniform—for a Day

Posted: 26 Mar 2019 07:38 AM PDT

YANGON—It has been nearly nine years since the last time former General Thein Sein was in military uniform. His presidency in 2011 saw him wearing civilian suits. Constitutionally, the same was true for his fellow generals and senior military officials who took Union ministerial posts in his administration until March 2016.

But they were their former military selves on Tuesday—for a while—donning military outfits to attend a ceremony.

A flock of former senior military officials mostly from the previous administration, including former general and ex-president U Thein Sein, gathered at a statue unveiling ceremony in Naypyitaw. The ceremony was held to honor the six holders of the prestigious military title "Aung San Thuriya" (all are deceased) and was joined by the current military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and other serving officials.

Among the attendees were former Union minister U Ohn Myint, a former lieutenant general who used to threaten people by saying, "I can go around and slap everyone's face… If anyone insults or opposes the government," when he was the head of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development in 2014. The others included ex-brigadier general and former immigration minister U Khin Yi, and U Tin Aye, a former Union Election Commission chairman and ex-lieutenant general.

On Tuesday, they were all in olive green uniforms. Back in military uniform, the "slapping minister" took pictures with his wife and posted them on Facebook with the caption, "I became a soldier again when I met my seniors, friends and juniors [at today's event]."

Their appearance in their old outfits seemed unusual because, apart from attending the annual military parade on Armed Forces Day every March 27, they rarely show up in their uniforms. It's also interesting to speculate on why nearly everyone in the previous government suddenly appeared en masse in their former uniforms at a statue unveiling ceremony.

The statue unveiling ceremony in progress / Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services

Yangon-based political analyst U Maung Maung Soe said it was not unusual for veterans to attend a military-related ceremony in full dress uniform.

"But it's strange when nearly everyone from the previous administration appears at once," he said.

He pointed out that their appearance coincides with a popular campaign across the country to amend the Constitution, initiated by the NLD. The military and the Union Solidarity and Development Party have complained that the NLD's approach is unconstitutional.

"Probably, they just wanted to make a show of force. Who knows?" he said.

Dr. Min Zaw Oo, a Myanmar affairs expert, said that it is not surprising that all the former generals have gathered in the capital for the Armed Forces Day ceremony to be held Wednesday, and that maybe they happened to come in to show solidarity. But he added that it “could be that [the reason] is to show that former and existing personnel want to demonstrate that they pay attention to their heroes, regardless of their ethnicities,” as four of the six service men with the Aung San Thuriya title were ethnic Karen, Chin and Gurkha.

But Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun, a military information officer, told The Irrawaddy that Tuesday's ceremony at the Mausoleum for the Fallen Heroes was to honor the six servicemen from 1948 to 1950s who have received the nation's highest military honor, which is awarded for gallantry in protecting the country's sovereignty. For veterans in uniform, he said, it's normal.

"As in other countries, they just want to show how seriously they take these heroes," he said.

The post Ex-Gov't Figures Back Together—and Back in Uniform—for a Day appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ferryman Reportedly Shot Dead by Soldiers in Northern Rakhine

Posted: 26 Mar 2019 07:02 AM PDT

YANGON — A ferryboat operator in northern Rakhine State's Rathedaung Township was shot dead Monday morning by soldiers stationed at a temporary military base in the area, according to a local resident.

U Maung Win, a resident of Ahmyet Taung Village, identified the man as U Maung Chay, 33, a casual laborer and father of two from the same village.

He said U Maung Chay had dropped off two passengers from Ye Soe Chaung Village on the banks of the river of the same name and was heading back to the opposite shore when some soldiers from the military tactical operations base in Ye Soe Chaung called after him to turn back. But he said U Maung Chay probably could not hear them over the noise of the boat’s motor and kept going, at which point about four of the soldiers opened fire.

U Maung Win said U Maung Chay was hit by two bullets, on in the back and one in the arm, and that his body was taken to Rathedaung General Hospital Tuesday morning.

He said there was no fighting in the area between the military and rebel Arakan Army (AA) and that the military, which controls the area, had not informed locals that any locations were off limits.

Residents of Min Byar Township’s Kalarma Tuang Village reported a similar incident on Monday as well.

Ko Khine Thura Hein said his brother, Maung Win Htay, was driving his boat across a local river with four passengers heading home to Kalarma Tuang Village from the neighboring town of Myebon when about 10 soldiers crossing a nearby bridge at the time opened fire on the boat. He said a bullet hit Maung Win Htay in the leg and that his brother then docked the boat near the bridge.

According to Ko Khine Thura Hein, the soldiers, from Light Infantry Battalion 380 based in Min Byar, said they had whistled at the boat to stop for inspection and then fired warning shots into the air, not at the boat.

Ko Khine Thura Hein said he was not aware of any official restrictions on movement in the area.

"They should not target innocent civilian like this," he said.

Brig. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the military, said he was not aware of any shooting in Min Byar on Monday.

He said soldiers from the tactical operations base in Ye Soe Chaung did exchange fire for a few minutes that day with AA fighters who ambushed them from a mangrove forest and that the boatman was likely caught in the crossfire.

Last week, soldiers shot dead five civilians in Buthidaung Township’s Say Taung Village and wounded eight others, driving the more than 2,000 residents from their homes for refuge in nearby urban areas. Locals said the shooting was unprovoked. The military said it was responding to AA attacks.

The post Ferryman Reportedly Shot Dead by Soldiers in Northern Rakhine appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Distinctive Ethnic Cultures and Misty Mountain Towns — Destination Guide to Western Myanmar

Posted: 26 Mar 2019 04:55 AM PDT

Ngapali

People walk along the shore at Ngapali Beach. / The Irrawaddy

Usually accessed by flight from Yangon and with many high-end hotels, Ngapali is known as a more upscale seaside getaway. Sunsets can be especially spectacular from this beach which has been dubbed one of Asia's best. Though you're likely to spend most of your time relaxing on the white-sand beaches or under the shade of coconut trees dining on fantastic seafood, visitors can also go snorkeling, diving or take a boat trip.

Sittwe

Strand Road in Sittwe is where locals go to exercise and relax in the early mornings and evenings. / Marie Starr

Usually only visited on the way to Mrauk-U, Sittwe is the capital of Rakhine State and the center of Arakanese culture. Arakanese food—all fresh green chilies and juicy seafood—is loved far beyond the state and is a must-try while you're in town. In the morning, check out the bustling central market and in the evening join locals walking along the beach at sunset.

Mrauk-U

Koe Thaung Pagoda in Mrauk U which is preparing for nomination for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. / Marie Starr

Mrauk-U is currently prone to outbreaks of conflict between Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army and visitors should not travel to the area until it is officially declared safe.

Arguably one of the most special places in Myanmar, Mrauk-U was once the capital of the Arakan Kingdom which was a regionally powerful realm between the 15th and 18th centuries which is when most of the temples were built. Though some shoddy conservation work has been carried out, inside the most famous Shitthaung Pagoda is a series of tunnels lined with thousands of colorful carvings of religious and historical Arakan figures. Unlike Bagan, life in the vicinity of the temples remains as it always has been with farmers grazing their herds and kids fishing in the streams right next to the ancient structures.

Mount Victoria and Mindat/Kanpetlet

Some ethnic Chin women with traditional facial tattoos still live in southern Chin State. / Marie Starr

In southern Chin State, Mount Victoria is rising in popularity as an easygoing trekking destination set in a beautiful national park with wild orchids, cherry blossoms and rhododendron trees. Travelers usually base themselves at Mindat or Kantpetlet and drive to the base from where the trek to the peak takes two to three hours. There are now plenty of accommodation options, especially at Kantpetlet. Southern Chin State is where traditional facial tattoos are still seen on older women today.

Hakha and Falam

Wooden houses built at the mountain's edge in the town of Falam in Chin State. / Marie Starr

Falam is a typical example of remotest ethnic Myanmar with an unstable electricity supply, minimal modern construction, basic infrastructure and strong cultural and religious values. And these are just some of the factors which make it such a special place to visit. The hilly streets and incredible mountain views in every direction are unforgettable. Hakha is the capital of Chin State located about four hours south of Falam. The cold, often foggy weather and conifer trees and cherry blossom in the winter make it feel like these towns are in a different country altogether.

Tedim and Rih Lake

Rih Lake is a famous heart-shaped lake close to the Indian border. / The Irrawaddy

Tedim in northern Chin State is a small Christian town set around a peak among the beautiful blue Chin mountains. There's not much to do in the town apart from admiring the view. Hiking to Kennedy Peak, Chin State's second highest mountain located 90 minutes from Tedim, is not too taxing and worth it for the views. Nearby, Siansawn is a unique village on a neighboring hillside where the people have created their own religious sect and marriages are arranged by the village leader. Rih Lake is a famous heart-shaped lake four hours' drive from Tedim and close to the Indian border.

The post Distinctive Ethnic Cultures and Misty Mountain Towns — Destination Guide to Western Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Tanintharyi Chief Minister Pledges to Tackle Power, Land Issues

Posted: 26 Mar 2019 02:30 AM PDT

YANGON—The new Tanintharyi Region chief minister has vowed to address power shortages and land disputes in the region.

As he took the oath of office as the region's new chief minister on Monday, U Myint Maung promised "to return to local farmers the farmland that private companies have left idle, for the development of the entire region."

On Friday, the Tanintharyi regional parliament approved U Myint Maung, who previously served as the minister of natural resources and environmental conservation, as the new chief minister, replacing Daw Lei Lei Maw, who was arrested on corruption charges earlier this month.

U Myint Maung also promised to ensure fair power rates in Tanintharyi, where electricity is mainly supplied by private suppliers, making it expensive.

The government's anti-graft body found that the Global Grand Services company, whose directors were arrested along with Daw Lei Lei Maw on corruption charges, broke a contract with the regional government and owes 8 billion kyats (US$5.2 million) to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy for natural gas it purchased to generate the power it supplied in Tanintharyi.

The new chief minister also talked about developing the region's tourism and fishery industries, promoting regional security and the rule of law, and ensuring responsible extraction of natural resources.

"I will build a clean, transparent, responsible and accountable government," he said.

U Myint Maung, who is also the National League for Democracy's secretary for Tanintharyi Region, had been serving as acting chief minister since Daw Lei Lei Maw was arrested on March 10.

He was elected to the regional parliament from Kawthoung Township in the 2015 general elections.

"His appointment is acceptable. We are taking a wait-and-see attitude. We dare not expect much from him," said Dawei resident Ko Wai Phyo.

The Tanintharyi Parliament on Tuesday also approved the three new regional ministers to fill vacant posts.

Daw Yi Yi Cho, regional lawmaker from Myeik Constituency 2 and U Aung Thura, regional lawmaker for Tanintharyi Constituency 1, were appointed as the regional ministers of planning and finance; and electricity and energy, respectively. Their predecessors resigned last week.

The former ministers, U Phyo Win Tun and U Kyi Hlaing, remain lawmakers for Myeik Constituency 1 and Pulaw Constituency 2.

U Hla Htwe, the regional lawmaker for Yebyu Constituency 1, was appointed minister of natural resources and environmental conservation to succeed U Myint Maung.

The Tanintharyi parliament has 21 elected lawmakers, all of whom are NLD members, and seven military appointees.

The post New Tanintharyi Chief Minister Pledges to Tackle Power, Land Issues appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

A Conversation With US Ambassador Scot Marciel 

Posted: 25 Mar 2019 10:30 PM PDT

On March 8, The Irrawaddy's editorial team invited US Ambassador Scot Marciel to our office in Yangon to participate in a conversation on a range of issues, particularly the many challenges Myanmar is facing. The ambassador offered his frank views in response to questions from senior editors. Here are excerpts from the interview:

The Irrawaddy: Welcome to The Irrawaddy office Mr. Ambassador. We appreciate your accepting our invitation to discuss issues relating to Myanmar and the region. We thought we'd ask you if you'd like to kick start the session?  

US Ambassador Scott Marciel: I was at Dagon University this morning to give a speech to the students on US policy toward Myanmar. I emphasized two points: One is [that] US policy toward Myanmar is in the context of US policy in the broader Indo-Pacific region.   This is a policy of engagement and support for ASEAN and democracy, peace and prosperity. We have been very consistent, going as far back as the 1988 uprising, to support people's efforts to build democracy, as well as peace and prosperity.

Two is that – and I think it will be surprising to some people— much of these discussions in Washington over the years have been as much from the heart as from the head. What I mean by that is that we recognize Myanmar is strategically important, but for the most part over the years, the tremendous interest and support for democracy in Myanmar has been out of our admiration and respect for the incredible sacrifices that so many people here have made in the struggle to bring about human rights and democracy and rule of law. That has been a really important factor, and remains a very important factor in our policy. Those are two of the points I made this morning, and I stressed that despite some challenges and disagreements, particularly over the last 18 months, the goal of our policy is still consistent:  to support efforts to build democracy and peace,  democratic federalism, and prosperity, as well as friendship between our two countries.

We are curious about your thoughts on constitutional amendment in Myanmar? 

Of course, we're following it with great interest. We have said many times that there are many elements in the current Constitution that are not really consistent with full democracy.

Obviously it is up to the people of Myanmar to decide what they want in terms of amendments. We don't want to get involved in the political debate over this. But we think efforts to try to bring about reforms, to develop and strengthen democracy, seem to be what the public wants. And that is the positive thing.

We don't know how it is going to play out, of course. But it is quite interesting to see.  And if it results in more dialogue, discussions, debates, and a stronger constitution, a stronger more democratic constitution, that's a good thing.

How would you characterize Myanmar-US relations under President Donald Trump's administration? 

Well, I think it remains very much about us doing everything we can to support the efforts of people here.  As I said, our policy has consistently been to build democracy, and build prosperity, support peace, and federalism. So we are doing all of those things just as we were in the previous administration. Obviously, we have had some challenges and some disagreements, particularly over things like Rakhine, in the last 18 months, but the underlying commitment to support the democratic transition and development of rule of law remains strong. We are still doing all of our programs to support this; [they] remain funded going ahead.

As you know, China is gaining increasing leverage in terms of the peace process, investment and its Belt and Road Initiative. What is your opinion on this? 

Well, this is really up to the government and people of Myanmar. China is very active here. It's promoting a lot of big projects. And the US Government is not here because of China, or against China. We are here to support Myanmar. For me, what's important is what the people of this country want.

When it comes to big economic projects – whether funded by China or by anybody else – what I hear from the people here and what I hear from the government is: "Is this in Myanmar's interest? Is it a good project? Is it going to the follow rules? Is it going to hire local people to do the work? Is it going to protect the environment? Is it going to lead to debt?"  Those are questions that I would think, and that I am pretty confident, that the government is asking, not only for Chinese-funded projects, but for any big projects.

We are here trying to do what we can to support the country and build our friendship. Myanmar has China as a neighbor. So it is normal and natural that the Government of Myanmar has spent a lot of time working on that relationship.

We have learned that China is not happy with your recent visit to the northern part of the country, especially to Kachin State.

I am the ambassador to the Union of Myanmar, and I am accredited to the entire country. My job is to represent the United States in your entire country, and that's what I've been doing, and what I will continue to do. I don't think any country wants a third country to tell it who can visit within its own borders.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was once a darling of the West, and the US was one of the strongest advocates of ending her house arrest under the previous Than Shwe regime. Are you surprised to see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's administration moving so much closer to China? Are you surprised by that?

I am not surprised that this government or any government would feel that it is in Myanmar's interest to make sure to have a good relationship with China. And I think that is normal and appropriate.

Obviously some things have happened—particularly the Rakhine crisis—that have created some challenges in the relationship between this government and the West. But again for us, what matters is what Myanmar country going to do, not is this country going to have a good relationship with China.

We are not in a contest here, or in the rest of the region.  There would never be a situation where we say: "Choose between us and China." There is no reason to choose between the two. Myanmar should have a good relationship with China. We hope Myanmar also has a good relationship with us and with other countries.

But what we want to focus on is what we can do to support Myanmar's democratic transition, and to support human rights. Sometimes this leads us to be fairly outspoken in our criticism, which can be popular at times and not so popular at other times. We think it is: a) true to our own values, and b) necessary for Myanmar to succeed as a democracy.  Just as we in the United States have to deal with some problems we had internally with our treatment of some of our people.

Nowadays the United Nations Human Rights Council and some Islamic organizations are pushing to have Myanmar brought before the International Criminal Court. In the coming years the international pressure will likely grow. You have already met with foreign officials here. What impression do you get from them? Do they think this effort is serious? 

I don't want to speak for other governments, but for us, we think that after the August 2017 ARSA [Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army] attacks—which of course we condemned as did most other governments—the military's response was disproportionate and resulted in widespread human rights violations. What we've been urging since then is access, and a full and credible independent investigation to get out all the facts of what happened. And then accountability to the extent that investigations show there were significant human rights violations.

This is normal, particularly for such a large-scale crisis that resulted in 700,000 people fleeing the country. Unfortunately, access was largely denied and there was no investigation. Many different bodies have tried to find out as much as they could – what the facts were, what the evidence was – but they have been handicapped by the lack of access inside the country. And so what we are still really hoping for is for the truth to come out about what happened.

We hope the people of this country, as well as the international community, could all generally agree on what the facts are. That is the goal. Once we have the facts, then for there to be accountability for those abuses that took place; there'd be some justice.

Ideally this would be led by a Myanmar domestic investigation, done in a way that is credible. Not only credible in the eyes of the international community, but also credible to the people in general. The hope all along is that the facts come out in a credible way, and that there be some justice based on those facts. That is what this is really all about.

The goal isn't to pressure Myanmar just to pressure Myanmar; it is to try to get the facts out. Unfortunately, as I said, access has not been allowed and there hasn't been a credible investigation. We hope that the independent commission's inquiry can produce these facts as much as possible. I think that will be good, not only for the international community, but for Myanmar.

With regard to your support for peace and democracy, you have been supporting civil society groups and ethnic groups. What is your assessment or impression of the current formal peace process? 

I would say a couple things. First, as you know, Myanmar has maybe the most complicated peace process, certainly the most complicated set of conflicts that I've seen. I always try to be careful because I understand that this is complex, and not easy to resolve. There are so many different actors involved, and that is really challenging.

We have supported the formal peace process from the beginning, including the NCA [Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement], and the idea for political dialogue which produce some commitments on federalism and democracy. Obviously it is really challenging and there are many difficulties to achieving progress. In some ways, this is to be expected. What's important is to keep the dialogue going as much as possible, and to minimize any conflicts that happen while the dialogue is ongoing.

My own view is that there is still a lot of work to do to really, fundamentally understand the thinking and the goals of the different groups. I think there's still a pretty wide gap between the different sides about what the fundamental issues are. That presents a huge challenge, and it is going to take more time and a lot more dialogue.

Despite these challenges, we hope that people will keep trying and bring more people into the discussions, not necessarily formally, but informally as well.

You mentioned the domestic actors. Turning to the international actors, you know that under former President U Thein Sein's government, we had different players in the peace process. Then-US Ambassador Derek Mitchell was there, the Chinese were there—sometimes in the back seat and sometimes in the front seat. We have seen other international players performing very important roles as messengers, including the UN special envoy, who was here engaging with stakeholders. They tried to contain the conflict. But now it seems this messaging is missing, and the key actors have disappeared. Now it is much more confusing and complex. China seems to be coming to the forefront, and in some ways to have hijacked the whole peace process. Would you agree?

I only want to speak for my government, though I think several other governments feel the same way. We want the peace process to succeed. We want to support it any way we can. It is a peace process led by the Myanmar government, and we respect that. We are constantly asking the government and others what we can do to help, and are willing to help in any way we can. We keep a regular dialogue with a lot of the actors in the peace process.

We don't ever tell the Myanmar Government what to do, or say "you should do this" or "you should do that." We simply encourage continued dialogue and as much restraint as possible. Meanwhile, we are doing a lot of work with ethnic political parties and sometimes particularly with the signatories [to the NCA], to provide training on federalism and build capacity for negotiations.

In addition to this, we remain ready and willing to help any way we can.

You went to Rakhine State recently and met with state lawmakers. What were their views on the fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA)?  

I don't want to speak on behalf of the [state] speaker. But what I would say is we met with a lot of people from the Rakhine community, including political figures, and the main message we got was that there seems to be quite a bit of support among the Rakhine community for the Arakan Army.

There was concern about what they allege were human rights violations [by] the Tatmadaw in the conflict with the AA. What we heard the same thing we had heard before the Arakan Army really increased its activity, which is complaints that the ANP [Arakan National Party] had won the election in 2015 but did not feel like they had sufficient voice in the government. I am not agreeing or disagreeing. I am just sharing that this is what we heard in general. A lot of frustration.

Did they tell you anything about their political stand? Whether they take the side of the AA or the government? 

Not specifically. The overall message we heard was quite a bit of unhappiness with Naypyitaw and with the Tatmadaw. Again, not surprising, and nothing you don't already know. But I don't want to suggest that this unhappiness means they refuse to be part of the country. It was disappointment and frustration, but nobody was saying, "We don't want to be part of this country."

You have used the term "dialogue" several times. In fact there has been no actual dialogue in our country over the past 30 years, though we have seen many meetings. I am talking more about the high-level meetings between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw). They have had more than a dozen meetings. But we cannot call this dialogue; maybe they met to create the impression of dialogue. It is a type of deception aimed at the world and the Myanmar people. We have not seen any concrete reason. What is the solution for our country?

That is a good question. It is obviously a big question. For 50 years, the people of this country did not really have the ability to talk about issues in any kind of open way. We all know that. So even though a lot of things have changed, and there is a lot more ability to talk these days than there was, change does not happen quickly. It does take a long time, and it takes time to develop a habit of dialogue that goes beyond just reading official points. I have been in a lot of negotiations, and you never resolve problems by reading your points.

You usually make progress over dinner, where you put away your formal notes and talking points, and begin to have conversations and build trust. It takes a certain amount of trust and some listening to really understand the other side's perspective, and once you have that trust, you can begin to make progress. As I said before publically, progress requires going into the conversation acknowledging that maybe your view isn't always 100 percent correct, acknowledging that maybe the other side has some valid points. If it's just a debate, you know it is not going to resolve too much. I don't want to sound arrogant here, because we don't always go into conversations with this mindset either. Going back to our civil rights movement, we didn't make much progress for a very long time. We made some progress, and then we realized we still have a long way to go.

Through informal dialogue we're giving people exposure to different communities, different ethnic groups, and hopefully building more understanding, so that over time we'll build trust and empathy that will help to achieve progress in the formal talks. Maybe you don't agree 100 percent with another position, but you will at least understand what their view is. It takes time, and it takes a lot of work to actively bring different people together, not just for formal talks, but for dinner and at other informal settings.

In that case, it would seem that political will is the key. 

Sure.

We have been talking about the formal peace process—the visible proceedings—and you have mentioned the need to bring in other stakeholders in more informal ways. Talking to people who are very close to the peace process, "informal" seems to mean different things to different people. The ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) have one definition, and the government side has another. They don't have a common understanding on that. When they say "informal meetings" there are always conflicts that don't get resolved. I know there are differences from one country's peace process to another, and definitions of "informal negotiations" vary, but what are the possible definitions? 

It is a really interesting question. Informal meetings should mean that ideally you [have] an informal setting. The idea is that you can talk a little bit more openly. You are not negotiating, so you can just exchange ideas and offer some ideas that you are not bound by later. You haven't committed to something; maybe you can try this.

To me it means people sitting around, ideally away from a formal negotiating table, and exchanging ideas and trying to build a little bit of trust. It has to mean people have to feel comfortable that whatever they say isn't going to be repeated by the spokesperson the next day to the other side. They feel confident sharing ideas or expressing their concerns; that to me is "informal meeting" and in any negotiating process, including peace process, you have to have a lot of those discussions.

You have regular contact with some of the ethnic groups. People always say they are working for their people's interest, when there is also another interest of their own. What should the armed groups—including both the Tatmadaw and the EAOs—what kind of comprise should they seek to overcome the current deadlock in the peace process and peace building?  

Well, it is a challenge, because of the history and the way things have developed. You have ethnic armed groups who are speaking on behalf of their whole ethnic group. And in an ideal world, you would have political parties doing that, but that is not the way your history has evolved. So it's best for them to be consulting extensively with their own communities.

In the previous election, we saw a lot of funding and support for independent media as they sought to raise critical issues. But over the last two years, we see that a lot of embassies here have curtailed that and are now shifting their resources more into the civil society arena. What is the strategy here? When your government, and others like yourself, look at the upcoming election, and two or three years ahead, do you see the media playing a crucial role?

Those are good questions. On the first, while I am not sure what other embassies are doing, we can continue to give strong support to independent media. It is absolutely critical. For us, it is not media vs. civil society. Both have a crucial role in any democracy, so we will continue to support both, as well as continuing to support the Union Election Commission, because they also have to do all the technical work — voter lists and everything else. We, along with other embassies, are already engaging directly with the Union Election Commission. I want to stress, our engagement is only on the technical support side, not getting involved in politics, per se.  Because I think the 2015 election generally was quite good — not perfect, but quite good. Our elections also aren't perfect. And we certainly want to do what we can to help on that front.

We believed that the Ministry of Information—particularly under this elected government—would be downgraded to an Information Department. But the opposite has happened. The ministry is still spending a lot of money on propaganda.

I've heard that same concern from plenty of people and I think this is a very legitimate issue for the public to debate, and going into the election, it's not for me as a foreign official to say there should be or should not be this ministry. I think it is part of the democratic debate; what do we mean by free media, independent media, what is the role of government? And it is not surprising in a new democracy to have a debate. I expect many people will talk about it in the lead-up to the elections.

What do you think about press freedom in our country? Is the current situation worse than under former President U Thein Sein's administration? 

I think about it a couple ways. I think it is dramatically better than it was from the first few times that I visited here in 2005, 2006, and 2007 of course. I try to remember that. I guess, we've expressed concerns about some restrictions on press freedom and the arrest of journalists for what in our view is doing their jobs as journalists. Whether it is 66(d) [of the 2013 Telecommunications Law] or other provisions of the laws, it's a concern. We have said consistently that an independent free media is essential to building democracy, so we are concerned about that for sure.

Last year The New York Times published a report on the military's shadowy Facebook campaign, run by an operation based outside of Naypyitaw. There is a cyber battalion stationed there. They use infotainment and entertainment websites to attract thousands of followers and can turn these into hate campaigns. According to the NYT, the Tatmadaw is behind it. Would you comment?

Yes, certainly. There are a couple of issues here. One is hate speech and disinformation through social media, which is present in Myanmar and other countries—including the United States—as one problem. The second is the extent to which officials, military or otherwise, you know, for officials to speak up publicly is part of their jobs. To the extent that the officials, including military personnel, are behind the scenes anonymously, sending out messages meant to divide or create political tension, that is deeply troubling and really should be of concern to everybody, I think. It is absolutely inconsistent with rule of law, democracy and the appropriate functions of any government.

Have you raised the issue with your counterparts or even with military officials? 

I don't think I've raised exactly that point, but I've certainly raised concerns about hate speech – and, again, we have it too in the United States — but hate speech by anybody is always troubling. But particularly if it turns out people in the government and military are behind it, that is even more troubling.

What percentage of US humanitarian support to the Indo-Pacific region goes to Myanmar?

We have a couple of different categories. Overall USAID assistance, which is broadly development assistance, is about US$120 million [183.7 billion kyats] a year in grants. That mostly goes to health, anti-malaria, anti-tuberculosis, maternal and child health, those sorts of issues. In the agriculture sector, a lot of it is working directly with farmers. And then a fair amount is what we call broadly "governance," which is support for independent media, civil society, some federalism workshops—those sorts of things, some capacity building for parliament, work with the attorney-general's office and supreme court; again it is capacity-building. $120 million generally is for development assistance.

We have a small amount of separate money from the State Department that goes to work with some of the police who are doing anti-narcotics, or anti-human trafficking, those sort of programs, and a separate budget, relatively small, for exchange programs and scholarships.

And then we have humanitarian assistance, and there is not a set number for that. It depends on the situation. So if any country has a natural disaster or something, there is a general pool of money that we can pull from to try to address that.

We put in a fair amount of money, tens of millions of dollars, this year for IDPs in Kachin, northern Shan, Rakhine and those still in the southeast as well. And then separately, literally hundreds of millions of dollars for people who fled this country as refugees, not only in Bangladesh, but still a lot of support for Karen, Shan, Kayah refugees in Thailand.

The idea of a narrative is a big problem in this country; we are missing a national narrative whenever we have a crisis. And surprisingly, particularly under this government, when you look at the Rakhine crisis, it seems there is a missing narrative.

I agree. As I said earlier, this crisis happened; without getting into all the details, there clearly was significant violence and a large number of people fled. And unfortunately a year-and-a-half later, we still have a Myanmar narrative of what happened and an international narrative of what happened, and they are very far apart. That makes it really hard to make progress.

My own view is, ARSA carried out the initial attacks. That's a fact. We've condemned it. It was a disaster both because they attacked police and because of what it led to. There was a disproportionate response. Of course any country has the right to respond to an attack like that; nobody would suggest that they should have done nothing. It was the way in which it was done – rather indiscriminately and quite brutal, and with subsequent denial – that was really, really troubling.

Myanmar's not the first country whose security forces have had human rights violations.  Ours have too. What we would have hoped to see is more recognition that some things went terribly wrong. This is separate from the question of "are these people citizens?" That is a separate, important, but separate issue. Regardless of citizenship, they are human beings, so the question is, to what extent did widespread abuses happen? I think we still have this huge gulf unfortunately between the views of the Myanmar people and the views of the international community. Somehow, we need to find a way, as I said earlier, to have at least general agreement on the facts of what happened.

As a former ambassador to Indonesia, you have a lot of knowledge of ASEAN. Much has been written on the decline of democracy in this region, the rise of authoritarian governments, as well as the rise of China. And President Trump came to this region twice, on the North Korean issue, to Singapore and Vietnam. What is the level of US engagement? Has there been a disruption in US engagement with the Indo-Pacific in general?

Well, this administration is continuously engaged in the region pretty intensively. And there are always going to be differences. As you said the president was just in Vietnam; Secretary of State [Mike Pompeo] went to Manila for extensive talks and there was a lot of discussion when Vice President [Mike Pence] was in Singapore late last year, including meeting with your State Counselor, which was very important. I think the engagement is still there and commitment to support democracy is still there.

There have been setbacks, sadly. But, that is a fact, and when those setbacks happen, we express our concerns but we also think, "OK, how do we try to help move things forward?" You obviously have upcoming elections in Thailand, you have upcoming elections at the end of this month in Indonesia, which has remained democratic. You have elections here of course, next year.

My experience goes back a long way. I started my career in the Philippines and my first year there, President Marcos fell to "people power". This is how old I am. So you know things change. For us, it's the commitment to try to support democracy, not only the election part of it, because that is important, but all the other things that are so important for a strong court system that people have faith in the justice system, effective police forces, you know, the role of civil society and the independent media. So we are continuing to support those. Some of the details change, but the overall approach remains very consistent.

The Yangon regional government is trying to build a "New City". Did any US companies approach the committee implementing the project about possible involvement? This is a huge and controversial project with significant Chinese involvement. 

I can't say for sure whether any US companies have approached that committee about it. It is possible they have. But I would say I am not aware of any company involved in a big way. As you said, the lead seems to be the China Communications and Construction Company.

I think the experiences around the world and in the region suggest that there are some elements of Belt Road Initiatives that seem to bring real benefits to the recipient country. And others seem to be quite problematic. I think that is just what we see.

It is really important to do due diligence and have maximum transparency. And then the people of Yangon, in this case, express their view—this is a good idea or not a good idea.  But I think transparency and [knowing] the details of these projects would be useful. I don't know if this is going to be a good project or not. I am not qualified to make that judgment. It obviously takes a lot of discussion and debate and I think that is healthy.

We would also like to ask your view on the Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zone project. It is a strategically important area and the Western Companies and a lot of people have expressed concerns about security and other issues. It is a huge project, some people even told me that the police there are Chinese-trained. Right next to a Navy base, a deep-sea port is going to be built. Myanmar people are very concerned about the Kyauk Phyu SEZ and the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding it, as well as the future of the project and Chinese involvement. What is the position of Western governments, including the US?

Well, we don't have a position on the Kyauk Phyu port. It is up to the Myanmar government and the Myanmar people to decide if something is in the interest of Myanmar. I can't answer that question.

I know there has been a lot of discussion about it. And I think that is good. And I guess the other point I will make is that around the world, in places like Djibouti and so on, we have seen what started out of commercial projects become a little bit more than that.

And again, it's not for the US to say this is what should happen, but my impression is the Myanmar government understands that and it is important that these deals be negotiated and—if there is a deal—that Myanmar decides this is in the interest of Myanmar, the interests of the people of Myanmar, and does not compromise sovereignty. That would seem to me [to be] fundamental. It is really up to the Myanmar government. We don't want to say, "Oh, because of Chinese involvement it's bad." No, that is really not how we look at it. It's [a question of]: what's the nature of the project?

For the sake of argument, let's say the Chinese were to build a military base near Kyauk Phyu. From a maritime security point of view, what would the US think?

We don't expect that to happen. I think the Myanmar government has made it very clear, publicly, many times that it is not looking for foreign—not just Chinese, but foreign—military bases, and I believe that is true.

Thank you Mr. Ambassador!

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The Original Panglong

Posted: 25 Mar 2019 10:07 PM PDT

Today marks the 73rd anniversary of a conference held in advance of the historic 1947 Panglong. The 1946 conference, which ran through March 28, also in Shan State’s Panglong Township, has been recognized as the first Panglong but is less known than the one that followed.

Though the conference was organized by the British with the intention of establishing a Shan State, U Nu, the vice-chairman of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League criticized the empire’s divide-and-rule policy. Shan, Kachin, Chin and Karenni chieftains signed an agreement at the historic Panglong Conference in on Feb. 12 the following year to collectively seek independence for the so-called frontier areas from Burma proper. The day is marked as Union Day on the Myanmar calendar.

In Myanmar politics, Panglong is synonymous with national unity. State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero Gen. Aung San, has co-opted the name for her government's peace talks with ethnic minorities, calls the 21st Century Panglong.

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India to Auction Fugitive Billionaire’s Art Collection

Posted: 25 Mar 2019 10:06 PM PDT

MUMBAI — Indian tax authorities are hoping for a windfall with the auction on Tuesday of rare oil paintings that were once part of fugitive billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi’s collection and have been seized by the government.

Auctioneers say the sale is the first of its kind in a country where tax authorities have usually auctioned property, gold and luxury items, but not art.

After a court order allowing the auction to take place, tax authorities, who are pursuing Modi over the country’s largest bank fraud, appointed professional auction house Saffronart.

The sale in Mumbai of some 68 works is expected to fetch anywhere between 300 million and 500 million rupees ($4.4 million-$7.3 million).

“Until a few years ago, the tax authorities really didn’t know the value of art,” said Farah Siddiqui, an art adviser who is advising clients eyeing Modi’s collection.

The 48-year-old Modi, whose diamonds have sparkled on Hollywood stars, is one of the prime accused in a $2 billion loan fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank. Modi denies the charges and believes they are politically motivated.

The auction comes just weeks before a national election and as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces pressure to bring back Nirav Modi (no relation), who fled the country last year and has been residing in the United Kingdom.

He was arrested last week by British authorities and remanded in custody after he appeared before a London court. India asked Britain last August to extradite Modi.

The auction includes works by Raja Ravi Varma, a 19th century painter considered among India’s finest, and V.S. Gaitonde, a modern artist known for his abstract and often monochromatic paintings.

“We believe that the collection’s intrinsic value will garner a positive response from collectors,” said Saffronart Chief Executive Dinesh Vazirani.

India Law Alliance, a law firm representing the company controlled by Modi that owns the artwork, said it was challenging the court order that allowed the auction. The case will be heard by the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, a lawyer at the firm told Reuters.

Vijay Aggarwal, a lawyer for Modi, declined to comment.

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EXPLAINER—Why Thailand’s Election Results are so Murky

Posted: 25 Mar 2019 09:58 PM PDT

BANGKOK—Two days after an election that was meant to restore democratic rule and stability, Thailand has plunged deeper into uncertainty thanks to a complex parliamentary system that critics say the military junta devised to trip up its rivals.

The Election Commission has been accused of incompetence and even complicity in cheating in Sunday’s poll, and it might take another six weeks to publish official results for the 500-seat lower house.

The commission on Monday announced the winners of 350 seats of the House of Representatives but the remainder will not be announced until May 9.

Until then, it will be unclear whether the next government will be formed by the party that wants junta leader and former military chief Prayuth Chan-ocha to stay on as prime minister or the “democratic front” led by the party ousted in a 2014 coup.

Why are the full results taking so long?

Partly because of complex election rules written by supporters of the junta three years ago, and partly because the Election Commission has yet to finalize a full count.

Most parties in fact estimate their rough share of the seats from partial results and both sides have begun negotiating to put together a coalition on that basis.

Prayuth’s party probably has enough votes to keep him on as prime minister, but it needs coalition partners in the House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, to form a stable government.

What will it take to win the election?

Officially, the magic number for choosing the next prime minister is 376 votes—a majority of a combined vote between the 500-seat House of Representatives and the 250-seat Senate.

But the challenge of getting to 376 votes is different for the two camps.

Because the Senate is appointed entirely by the junta, Prayuth’s party needs only about 126 House seats, either on its own or with coalition partners.

But the “democratic front” of parties led by loyalists of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra need to win 376 of the 500 House seats to choose the prime minister because it cannot count on many, or even any, Senate votes.

Constituency seats vs party seats

Only 350 seats in the House of Representatives are directly elected “constituency seats” where the candidate with the most votes wins the district in a first-past-the-post system.

The winners of those seats were announced on Monday.

The pro-Thaksin opposition Pheu Thai party won 137 House seats while the pro-junta Palang Pracharat party, which wants to keep Prayuth in power, won 97 seats.

The non-aligned Bhumjaithai party, which has officially aligned with neither camp, won 39 seats. The Democrat party, which said it won’t side with Pheu Thai, won 33 seats.

A new progressive party, Future Forward, won 30 seats. It would be part of an anti-junta democratic front.

Other parties won 14 seats.

Party seats

The remaining 150 “party seats” in the lower house are allocated under a complicated formula based on the total number of votes cast and each party’s share of the nationwide vote.

The formula divides the total number of votes cast nationwide by the 500 seats in the House of Representatives. So, if 40 million people were to vote, the “value” of one House seat would be 80,000 votes.

The formula effectively caps the number of seats any one party can gain. If a party has already reached or is close to its limit in constituency seats, it cannot get any more party seats.

The exact allocation of party seats won’t be known until the Election Commission releases unofficial results, which are expected on Friday. That will show total votes cast and the parties’ share of them.

However, the definitive numbers won’t be released until May 9, when the official results are published. That said, partial results up to 94 percent released on Sunday night offer clues.

Because Pheu Thai already has 137 constituency seats, it may well have exceeded its seats “cap” and therefore will be unlikely to get any party seats.

But Palang Pracharat has only 97 constituency seats, and since it was also leading the national popular vote, it is likely to gain 15-25 more party seats.

Adding the seats together would put Palang Pracharat very close to the 126 seats it needs to vote Prayuth in as prime minister, which is why many assume the junta leader will stay on.

So who gets to form a government?

Technically either side would need just more than 250 seats, or half of the 500-member lower house, to form the next government.

However, the “democratic front” would need 376 seats in the House to first get one of the prime ministerial candidates from its side approved, since it could not rely on members of the junta-appointed Senate to endorse its candidates.

Palang Pracharat, assuming all Senate members vote in line, will be close to the 126 seats needed to get Prayuth to stay on. However, it will need coalition partners able to rely on more than 250 seats in the House to form a stable coalition government

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Myanmar’s Top Court to Hear Reuters Reporters’ Appeal in Official Secrets Case

Posted: 25 Mar 2019 09:39 PM PDT

NAYPYITAW — Myanmar’s Supreme Court was scheduled on Tuesday to hear the appeal of two Reuters journalists imprisoned for breaking a colonial-era official secrets law, in a case that has raised questions about Myanmar’s progress towards democracy.

Reporters Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo have spent more than 15 months in detention since they were arrested in December 2017 while investigating a massacre of Rohingya Muslim civilians involving Myanmar soldiers.

A judge found the two guilty under the Official Secrets Act in September and sentenced them to seven years in prison.

Both remain separated from their young daughters. The wife of 32-year-old Ko Wa Lone gave birth to their first child last year while Ko Wa Lone was behind bars. Ko Kyaw Soe Oo celebrated his 29th birthday in Yangon’s Insein jail this month.

Their convictions were heavily criticized by press freedom advocates and Western diplomats, putting additional pressure on Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate who took power in 2016 amid a transition from military rule.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in September, the week after their conviction, that the reporters’ case had nothing to do with press freedom as the men had been jailed for handling official secrets, not because they were journalists.

At the Supreme Court in the capital Naypyitaw on Tuesday, a judge will hear arguments for and against their appeal, alongside 17 other cases, according to a listing published on the court’s website.

“Myanmar’s Supreme Court has the opportunity to correct the serious miscarriage of justice inflicted on Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo for the last 15 months,” Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement.

“They are honest, admirable journalists who did not break the law, and they should be freed as a matter of urgency.”

The appeal, submitted last month, cited lack of proof of a crime and evidence that the pair was set up by police.

During eight months of hearings, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo testified that two policemen they had not met before handed them papers rolled up in a newspaper during a meeting at a Yangon restaurant on Dec. 12. Almost immediately afterwards, they said, they were bundled into a car by plainclothes officers.

A police captain testified that, prior to the restaurant meeting, a senior officer had ordered subordinates to plant documents on Ko Wa Lone to “trap” the reporter.

The prosecution said the reporters were caught holding secret documents at a routine traffic stop.

The high court in Myanmar’s largest city Yangon rejected an earlier appeal in January.

Before their arrest, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State during an army crackdown that began in August 2017.

The operation sent more than 730,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh, according to United Nations estimates.

The post Myanmar’s Top Court to Hear Reuters Reporters’ Appeal in Official Secrets Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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