Wednesday, April 10, 2019

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

AA Kills 20 Soldiers in N. Rakhine’s Ancient Capital Mrauk-U

Posted: 10 Apr 2019 06:05 AM PDT

YANGON—About 20 government soldiers were killed when the Arakan Army staged attacks on two Myanmar Army artillery bases on the outskirts of Mrauk-U in northern Rakhine State on Tuesday night, the armed ethnic group's deputy chief claimed.

Brigadier-General Nyo Tun Aung said the AA attacked the No. 31 Police Regiment because troops from Light Infantry Division (LID) No. 22 were firing 105-mm howitzer shells almost daily from the base and another Army base in Lay Hnyin Taung about 8 km from downtown Mrauk-U.

Additional Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw) troops were dispatched from other locations to reinforce the police regiment and Lay Hnyin Taung bases but were ambushed by AA rebels on the way. The AA deputy chief said the group burned seven Army speedboats in the Lay Hnyin Taung clash and confiscated about seven assault rifles and one MG-42 machine gun, according to an initial count.

"That police regiment is a major source of shelling [into the mountains] in Mrauk-U Township," Brig-Gen. Nyo Tun Aung said.

He said the Myanmar military used three fighter jets and two bombers as well as attack helicopters in the battle against the AA from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. AA spokesman U Khine Thukha told The Irrawaddy the AA captured some prisoners of war from two artillery units but declined to provide details.

Sources close to the AA told The Irrawaddy the AA seized all military materiel and forced the vast majority of LID No. 55 troops based at No. 31 Police Regiment to flee. At around dawn, however, all AA troops retreated from the police compound as they came under attack from Tatmadaw fighter jets firing rockets.

No. 31 Police Regiment, situated near Koe Thaung Pagoda in the ancient city of Mrauk-U / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

Some local residents also claimed that Army troops had been disguising themselves as police and firing artillery from the police regiment into the mountains since last month. When this Irrawaddy reporter visited Mrauk-U recently, dozens of troops from LID No. 55 were observed conducting regular patrols near Koe Thaung pagoda, a popular tourist site, and police and Army personnel were seen conducting joint patrols even in downtown Mrauk-U.

Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun confirmed to The Irrawaddy Burmese edition that the police regiment and temporary base were attacked by the AA and that some Tatmadaw troops had been killed, but he declined to reveal specific casualty figures.

Army Captain Htet Thura Soe of Defense Services Academy (DSA) intake 52 was among those killed in Tuesday's attack, according to Facebook posts by his wife and some military supporters. Some military officers from another unit praised Capt. Htet Thura Soe as a hero sacrificed in battle.

Last week, a military captain and his entire squadron were killed during a clash with AA rebels in a remote area of northern Rakhine's Buthidaung.

Mrauk-U residents began posting online updates about the clash starting at about 10 p.m. on Tuesday. They said that at about 5 a.m., Army fighter jets flew over the city and fired into the mountains to the east.

Myanmar Air Force JF-17 fighter jets / Myo Htwe / Facebook

A 1-year-old child and her mother from Chaung Thit village a few kilometers from Mrauk-U Police Regiment were transferred from Mrauk-U Hospital to Sittwe General Hospital after sustaining bullet wounds to the chest. Total civilian casualties in the latest clash remained unclear as of Wednesday evening.

Security in northern Rakhine was tightened on Tuesday after the AA's deputy chief promised Arakanese living outside the region a "surprise gift" to commemorate the AA's 1oth anniversary on Wednesday.

In a message posted to Facebook on Wednesday morning, AA deputy chief Brig-Gen. Nyo Tun Aung said the group had sabotaged at least three locations where Army artillery units are based in Mrauk-U. He wrote that fighting between the Army and the AA would continue throughout the Water Festival period, a long annual holiday for Buddhists in Myanmar celebrated by splashing water, spraying water on pavilions, visiting pagodas and paying respects to the elderly.

Amid the intensifying conflict in northern Rakhine, the AA did not publicly commemorate the 10th anniversary of its founding at its headquarters in Laiza, in the part of Kachin State controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

In his message, the AA deputy chief also said that the group would change its official name from Rakhine Tatmadaw to Rakhine Tataw in Burmese, but the name Arakan Army would continue to be used in English.

"Starting from today, there will be only simultaneous attacks in Rakhine. We will not recognize any special days when it comes to fighting," he wrote.

>>Video footage taken by Chit Tant and posted to Facebook shows a Myanmar Air Force fighter jet firing rockets at a suspected AA position in the mountains east of Mrauk-U in northern Rakhine State. / Chit Tant / Facebook

He urged Arakanese living around the world to find their own way to celebrate the 1oth Arakan Army Day and requested that Arakanese express their support on social media by writing the number 10 or wearing clothing bearing the number 10.

The months-long armed conflict in northern Rakhine has resulted in more than 26,000 internally displaced persons, most of them coming from five townships. The majority of IDPs are relying on donations from local relief groups and have been sheltering in neighboring villages and monasteries for months.

The post AA Kills 20 Soldiers in N. Rakhine's Ancient Capital Mrauk-U appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Cards are in the Wa Army’s Hands

Posted: 10 Apr 2019 05:33 AM PDT

If you were to ask what a fruitful ceasefire agreement in Myanmar could lead to, the government would point to the Wa Special Region 2, a part of northern Shan State which has seen rapid development under the control of the United Wa State Army (UWSA). But though the region's development may make the central government look good, the large arsenal of modern, sophisticated weaponry which the UWSA holds remains an ever-looming threat for Naypyitaw.

Next Wednesday, the UWSA will celebrate the success of a 30-year ceasefire at Panghsang, the capital of Wa Special Region, with an event which will be attended by key ethnic armed leaders from across the country and to which top representatives of the Myanmar government and military, or Tatmadaw, have been invited. It's likely the government and military representatives will be squirming in their seats during the UWSA's military parade which will make up an important feature at the event.

A pre-event promotional video shared by the UWSA on their official social media page on Saturday, shows a large army with plenty of heavy weaponry, including anti-aircraft weapons. Nyi Rang, the UWSA spokesperson based in Lashio in northern Shan State, told The Irrawaddy that all celebration attendees will be shown a display of the UWSA's different types of weapons during the military parade.

The UWSA signed a ceasefire with the central government in 1989 after splitting from the Burma Communist Party. The Wa region is a good example of an area which has developed more than other ethnic areas under ceasefire conditions. Throughout the 30-years of peace, no bouts of conflict have broken out there and this stands out from other areas ruled by ethnic armed groups where ceasefires have failed time and time again, marring development and bringing only poverty and grief to the locals.

The government's ceasefire with the powerful Kachin Independence Army (KIA) collapsed after 17 years, leading to fighting which forced 100,000 locals to flee their homes. Why, then, has the military resolutely held fire from the UWSA for 30 years?

The UWSA is the largest ethnic armed force in Myanmar, with an estimated headcount of more than 30,000 troops. The UWSA has enough manpower and weapons to shake peace right across northern Shan State if the Myanmar military ever decided to stoke tensions with them. The Myanmar army knows this. The first reason why government troops never attack the UWSA but rather treat them with so much respect is because of their strong army of troops and the large supply of sophisticated weapons at their fingertips.

The UWSA is the one of only two ethnic armed groups to produce arms and they sell them to other ethnic rebel groups which are in conflict with the Myanmar military. Importantly, the group has different types of anti-aircraft weapons, including the FN-6 shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missile launcher. Though they have never revealed where they buy the missiles, they likely buy them from China to defend their territory in the case of an attack by the military's air force. While attacks on rebel groups by Myanmar's air force were uncommon prior to the political reforms rolled out since 2010, their strategies have since changed. Ethnic rebels have never been afraid to confront the military's ground forces, but they have never had a means of defending themselves against attacks from the air.

The military usually launches attacks from the air when their ground troops have suffered high causalities. Last year, for example, the KIA lost 15 bases when the military launched a major offensive in their territory in Kachin State. Only after one month of fighting, when they brought in the air force, did it manage to take the key strategic hill post of Gideon.

The UWSA doesn't sell anti-aircraft weapons to other ethnic armed groups and this is another key reason why the military steers clear of them.

Several sources from different ethnic armed groups said that their rebel groups, including the KIA, have requested to buy anti-aircraft from the UWSA. Those leaders believe that the day they have their anti-aircraft weapons will be the day the Myanmar military loses their power.

In a photo posted on his Facebook page last year, Brig-Gen Nyo Tun Aung, who is the Arakan Army's (AA's) deputy chief-of-staff, was seen with an FN-6 shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missile launcher. Since the photo was posted, many are surprised that the AA hasn't used anti-aircraft weapons and probably doesn't own any either. The UWSA's spokesperson Nyi Rang said that it is his group's policy not to sell anti-aircraft weaponry to other ethnic armed groups, although it is not unusual for them to see the weapons.

The Wa capital, a model city

For almost one year, the UWSA has been carrying out preparations for the 30-year celebration and military parade, including the construction of a high-quality concrete road throughout the region to improve access for event attendees.

In 2015 I visited Panghsang near the China-Myanmar border where the UWSA have their headquarters, and saw the ongoing road construction project. The Wa leaders vowed to me that it would be finished in time for the celebration. Now, Panghsang resembles Chinese towns on the other side of the border.

So how can the UWSA's region manage to be more advanced in development without the help of the central government? The UWSA give security guarantees to Chinese companies wanting to invest there. And as a peaceful region, investors are more keen to set up their businesses in the area.

When fighting escalated in 2017 and 2018 in the KIA-controlled border towns of Laiza and Maijayang, for example, the many Chinese businesses operating there packed up and left.

Money and guns used as a buffer to war

UWSA leaders have expressed concern over the military attacks on other ethnic regions and rebel-controlled areas. They worry that the military will one day come for them, erasing decades of efforts in development. As much as the military knows a war with the UWSA would require major efforts to counteract their huge numbers and sophisticated weaponry, the rebel group too makes every effort to avoid outbreaks of conflict with government troops. These are major reasons for 30 years of peace found in the Wa region.

Though the UWSA has never publicly announced that they provide finance to other ethnic rebel armed groups, the Myanmar government has accused the UWSA of helping Kokang rebels attack Luakai in 2015. Many believe the UWSA also provides finance to the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the AA. When I spoke to TNLA chairperson Tar Aike Phone in 2014, he told me that his organization gets income from six organizations though he refused to reveal who they are.

The UWSA has very close relationships with the most recently formed armed groups, the TNLA, the AA, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) which is an alliance of armed groups. No one knows what was discussed when they held closed-door meetings with the three groups during a 2015 ethnic summit in Panghsang. Bao Youxiang, the UWSA chairperson has described the Myanmar military as a wild tiger which tries to kill others. He said his organization does not accept their actions and said they should end ongoing conflict with the other ethnic armed groups.

The UWSA leads the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), a seven-member alliance of ethnic armed groups which acts as a representative body for political negotiations with the central government. The UWSA must be upset by attacks on the AA which is a member of the FPNCC. Perhaps AA leaders, along with those from other rebel groups, are waiting for the day the UWSA decides to start selling modern anti-aircraft weapons to them with a view to taking down the mighty military.

The post The Cards are in the Wa Army's Hands appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Foreign Diplomats, U.N. Officials to Take in Traditional Thingyan in Mandalay

Posted: 10 Apr 2019 04:25 AM PDT

MANDALAY — U.N. officials and foreign diplomats posted in Myanmar are for the first time scheduled to enjoy this year's traditional water festival over four days in Mandalay, the cultural capital of the country.

"Their participation will be a first in the city’s history because the diplomats usually enjoy the festival in Yangon and in Naypyitaw as an official event," said U Kyaw San Myint, who sits on the festival committee of the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC).

Whether in Yangon on Naypyitaw, the diplomats would attend the official opening event where Myanmar’s top government officials cut a ribbon and splash each other with water.

"Since we are trying to revive the old Thingyan festival in Mandalay with walking paths and traditional ways of throwing water at each other, we heard that the diplomats wanted to experience it. So the government decided to invite them to Mandalay to participate in the official opening ceremony and stay in the city for the festival," U Kyaw San Myint said.

He said the diplomats and U.N. officials and their families can experience a traditional Thingyan festival near the old palace, where there will be a country-style Thingyan market offering traditional Burmese snacks and dances.

"We are very proud and happy that their visit will somehow promote our Mandalay Thingyan, which we want to be a landmark and a major tourist attraction," U Kyaw San Myint said.

In recent years, Thingyan in Mandalay has featured pavilions with water cannons and DJs. Though they drew many revelers from across the country, they have also been heavily criticized for breaking with tradition, all the more so for doing so in Myanmar’s cultural capital.

To revive the old ways, the MCDC, under the leadership of a new mayor, in 2017 began a traditional walkway along the southern palace wall. The following year the city added a night walk that also featured outdoor screenings of old films.

The post Foreign Diplomats, U.N. Officials to Take in Traditional Thingyan in Mandalay appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar Military Chief Thanks Beijing for Support on Rakhine Crisis

Posted: 10 Apr 2019 02:58 AM PDT

YANGON — Myanmar military chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing praised China as an “eternal friend” and thanked it for countering international pressure on Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis during a visit to Beijing.

During a meeting with members of China's Central Military Commission and Joint Staff Department chief Gen. Li Zuocheng on Tuesday, Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar regards China as "an eternal friend" and "a strategic partner country," according to a statement from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief.

"Myanmar is thankful of China as a good neighbor for its correct stance and standing against the international community over the Rakhine State issue," he said.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh since August 2017 to escape a military crackdown triggered by coordinated attacks on security posts in Rakhine by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. The United Nations called the military's actions a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

Last year, China voted against the U.N. Human Rights Council's move to establish a body to investigate possible genocide in Myanmar. Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi said the Rohingya issue should not be "complicated," "expanded" or "internationalized" because it was in essence an issue between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing is in Beijing at the invitation of Gen. Li Zuocheng for talks with leaders of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and to tour training schools, factories and other sites. The visit comes two weeks ahead of Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's trip to China to attend the second Belt and Road forum, which is scheduled to start on April 26.

According to the statement, Gen. Li Zuocheng discussed cooperation between the two countries’ armed forces and between their international liaison departments.

"There is a need to promote cooperation in five areas — medical cooperation, trade promotion with industries, and international cooperation," he said, also adding border security and peace and stability.

The general said any group that hurts bilateral relations would not be tolerated and stressed the need to share security information and strengthen cooperation between their armed forces.

Yangon-based political, ethnic affairs and China analyst U Maung Maung Soe said the Myanmar military chief's trip highlighted both his understanding that China has a key role to play in fostering peace in northern Myanmar and his appreciation for China’s power to veto any moves by the U.N. Security Council to hold Myanmar to account over the Rohingya crisis.

"Due to Western sanctions, the Myanmar army is unavoidably relying on the People’s Liberation Army to build a standard army and for weapons procurement," he said.

"We will see more collaborations between the two armed forces in the future," he added.

Traveling with Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing are Lt. Gen. Than Tun Oo, Lt. Gen. Soe Htut and senior military officials from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief. They first travelled to Kunming on Monday and had a meeting with Yunnan Province Communist Party Secretary Chen Hao. That afternoon in Beijing, they were greeted by officials from the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The Myanmar military chief also met Song Tao, head of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. According to the statement, they exchanged views on Myanmar's development, strengthening cooperation between the countries and their armed forces, the Myanmar military’s role in the country’s peace process and China’s development assistance to the country.

This is Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing's fifth visit to China since becoming commander-in-chief in 2011.

The post Myanmar Military Chief Thanks Beijing for Support on Rakhine Crisis appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

UWSA Expected to Show Off Enhanced Arsenal at 30th Anniversary Parade

Posted: 10 Apr 2019 02:52 AM PDT

YANGON—Members of Myanmar's largest ethnic armed group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), are busier than ever preparing celebrations for the group's 30th anniversary on April 17.

The four-day-long event starting April 14 is scheduled to be held in the Wa capital of Panghsang on the Chinese border in northern Shan State. Senior figures from many of Myanmar's other ethnic armed groups are expected to attend, along with China's Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Sun Guoxiang and officials from China's Yunnan province across the border. It is said that Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing have been invited, along with some retired Army chiefs. The media have been welcomed to witness a large-scale military parade to be presided over by Wa supremo Chairman Bao Youxiang.

Founded on April 17, 1989, the UWSA signed a ceasefire with the Myanmar military in May of the same year after splitting from the Communist Party of Burma (CPB). Since then it has quietly grown into the largest, best-equipped ethnic armed group in Myanmar with an estimated 30,000 troops and 10,000 auxiliary members, according to Myanmar Peace Monitor.

The UWSA is expected to flex its military muscles during the parade on April 17 by showing off its arsenal.

According to Asia Times, the UWSA's arsenal includes new batches of basic infantry systems fielded in the CPB era: light and heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, and recoilless rifles.

But there are other entirely new systems, author Anthony Davis noted. These include more modern Chinese infantry weapons such as the QBZ-95 assault rifle only adopted in bulk by the People's Liberation Army in the early 2000s. The new QBZ-95 has been acquired to supplement locally produced Wa copies of the Chinese T-81 assault rifle. Modern Chinese CS/LS06 9mm sub-machine guns and M-99 12.7mm anti-materiel rifles also mark new additions to the Wa arsenal.

"At the same time, heavier and more sophisticated Chinese systems also provided a qualitative boost to UWSA capabilities. The FN-6 man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) went to upgrade first-generation Chinese missiles already in the UWSA inventory. The HJ-8 Red Arrow wire-guided anti-tank missiles also constituted a marked improvement on a Wa anti-armor capability that had earlier relied on rocket-propelled grenades and recoilless rifles," the author writes.

On artillery capability, the article says, there are larger jeep-mounted 105mm recoilless guns and additional NORINCO 122mm howitzers and quantities of 107mm surface-to-surface free-flight missiles. The acquisition of new tactical trucks and, more strikingly, China's Xinxing (New Star) wheeled armored personnel carriers (APC) have given a new boost to infantry mobility.

The UWSA held a large celebration for its 20th anniversary in 2009. For this year's celebration, the Wa Army began preparations last year. At its schools and military bases, it has trained local youth to march with various types of weapons including rifles and artillery pieces, according to Nyi Rang, a UWSA spokesperson. He told The Irrawaddy last year that the armed group would use about 500 youths for the military parade and for traditional cultural music and dance performances at the event.

The UWSA has not yet signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). It serves as the chair of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC) alliance, some of whose members are still fighting the Myanmar Army.

The Myanmar government has pressured the UWSA to sign the NCA, but it and other members of the FPNCC want the government to amend some parts of the agreement first.

The post UWSA Expected to Show Off Enhanced Arsenal at 30th Anniversary Parade appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Party Demands KIA Release 3 Lisu Men Held for a Month

Posted: 10 Apr 2019 02:33 AM PDT

YANGON—The Lisu National Development Party (LNDP) has demanded the release of three Lisu villagers from Kachin State's Hpakant Township allegedly arrested by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) a month ago.

The three are residents of Bangkok village in the township's Wara Zut village tract.

Seven KIA soldiers arrested four Lisu men — Phaw Li Hsa, 45; Gwar Tee, 55; Phaw Yaw Si, 22; and Moli Dwet, 17 — on March 11 while the men were gathering herbs, tubers and bulbs in the jungle. They were taken to the KIA's Maji Bum camp, but one of them managed to escape and returned to his home on March 30, according to the LNDP.

The Lisu are a sub-tribe of the Kachin.

The LNDP issued a statement on April 8 demanding the KIA and its political wing the Kachin Independence Organization immediately release the three remaining villagers. The party also requested help from the government, the military and relevant organizations to help secure their release.

U Shwe Min, the chairman of the LNDP, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, "The KIA soldiers on the ground do whatever they want to. If they want they can kill anyone. We are concerned about the rise of inter-ethnic conflicts. Therefore, we demand the release of the three."

The escapee said the four men had been threatened, beaten and tortured for 10 days. They were struck with hard bamboo canes and rifle butts, and had bamboo sticks rolled over their shins, guns fired close to their ears and gun barrels placed in their mouths.

Phaw Li Hsa, who managed to escape the rebel camp, survived for eight days in the jungle but arrived home with serious wounds. He is now receiving treatment at the military hospital in Myitkyian, the LNDP said.

The Irrawaddy tried to contact KIA spokesman Colonel Naw Bu for comment but was unable to reach him. However, he told Radio Free Asia's Burmese service on April 4 that the KIA did not arrest the Lisu villagers.

But U Shwe Min insisted that, "It is certain that the KIA arrested them. We have one person who escaped from their custody; we also have photo evidence and were able to confirm that it was at their camp in Maji Bum where these people were detained. But as [the three other men] have not been released, we are worried they may have been killed."

The party said all four men are civilians.

The party sent letters asking for help from the President; State Counselor; Army chief; minister of home affairs; minister of defense; minister of security and border affairs; the Parliament speakers; the military's No. 1 Bureau of Special Operations' Lieutenant-General Tun Tun Naung; Northern Command chief Major General Tayza Kyaw; the Kachin State chief minister and the Kachin state minister of security and border affairs.

U Phaw Li Hsa receives medical treatment after escaping detention by the KIA. / LNDP / Facebook

Moreover, the party sent letters to the KIO chairman and the KIA commander-in-chief, the Kachin Peacetalk Creation Group (PCG), Myanmar National Human Rights Commission and international embassies seeking help with the men's release.

Lamai Gum Ja, the PCG spokesman, told The Irrawaddy that, "We have raised the issue with the KIO central [committee] and they are investigating what happened at the ground level, but we don't know the details yet."

In a statement, the LNDP condemned the KIA/KIO for its actions, which it said included torture, forced recruitment, extorting money, collecting money by threatening, showing hatred toward the Lisu ethnic minority and planting landmines.

"The amount of money extorted is a lot. They arrest people and release those who can pay. If not, these people are forced to receive training to become soldiers. Ethnic Lisu are always suppressed. This act is surely an attack against us. We want the KIO [senior] leaders to monitor the actions of its people on the ground," it said.

In May 2017, more than 2,000 Lisu staged a protest in Myitkyina accusing the KIA of committing human rights violations against them including arrest, killing, extortion and rape.

The post Party Demands KIA Release 3 Lisu Men Held for a Month appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

When Myanmar Said No to Diarchy, Yes to Home Rule

Posted: 10 Apr 2019 12:14 AM PDT

Ninety-seven years ago today, a committee led by the president of the Central Legislative Assembly of British India, Sir Alexander Frederick Whyte, released a report in favor of exercising diarchy in Myanmar, despite the fact that as many as 90 percent of citizens opposed the system of dual governments.

Though elected lawmakers in Myanmar would share partial administrative power with the colonial government under the system, most in Myanmar wanted home rule and separation from India.

In 1921 the committee visited several of Myanmar’s major cities including Yangon, Mandalay, Mawlamyine and Pathein to survey the public on its opinions about diarchy. But many refused to even speak to the surveyors and showed their opposition by banging on metal buckets with sticks. Politicians and newspapers also urged the people not to speak to the surveyors.

The post When Myanmar Said No to Diarchy, Yes to Home Rule appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

India’s Modi Rides Nationalist Fervor to Keep Edge in Election that Begins Thursday

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 09:36 PM PDT

NEW DELHI—Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rallying his nationalist base ahead of the world’s biggest election, which starts on Thursday, but has become tighter than anticipated just months ago, because of falling incomes for farmers and a lack of jobs.

Polls predict Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance will just about squeeze out the parliamentary majority needed to rule, a sharp drop from his commanding mandate five years ago, when he vowed to turn India into an economic and military power.

But his government’s inability to create a million jobs every month for new entrants to the workforce, and ease farmers’ distress over low product prices, has taken the shine off what is still the world’s fastest growing major economy.

From sugar farmers in northern Uttar Pradesh going unpaid for their produce to small businesses in the south shuttered because a new, unifying national tax is too challenging to comply with, discontent has brewed for months, pollsters say.

In December, alarm bells clanged within Modi’s Hindu nationalist fold after he lost three big battleground states in a final test of popularity to the main opposition Congress and its allies, led by Rahul Gandhi.

But a surge in tension with traditional foe Pakistan in February has pushed Modi ahead, as he plays up his image as a defender of national security and paints his rivals as weak-kneed, even questioning their patriotism at times.

“People were very unhappy, angry that Modi makes tall promises and doesn’t deliver,” said Shiv Chandra Rai, an Uber driver in the commercial capital of Mumbai, who said his unemployed brothers faced difficulties making ends meet in their home village in Uttar Pradesh.

“Everyone said there are no jobs, everywhere farmers are struggling. But on this issue of Pakistan we are confused now. Some people feel we have to vote for Modi on this issue, it is a national problem.”

Modi ordered air strikes on a suspected camp of militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad in Pakistan after it claimed responsibility for a deadly car bombing in Indian Kashmir, in the first such raid since the neighbors' last war in 1971.

Pakistan sent warplanes into India the next day and the two engaged in a dogfight. Later, both nuclear-armed foes threatened each other with missile strikes, before Western powers, led by the United States, pulled them back.

But Modi claimed victory, vowing more similar action if militant attacks continue in Kashmir. He attacked critics for questioning the efficacy of the strikes and the risks of raising tension with Pakistan.

“Why do these people get so disturbed when India acts strongly against the forces of terror?” he asked at a rally this week in western India, referring to opposition leaders.

“Is their hatred for Modi so great they can’t even unite when it comes to national security?” he said to tens of thousands of cheering supporters wearing saffron headbands.

The Congress, led by Gandhi, and his charismatic sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who took up a party post in January, is trying to steer the campaign back to Modi’s broken promises on the economy.

Gandhi has pledged a monthly payment of 6,000 rupees (US$87) to India’s poorest families, benefiting 250 million of a population of 1.3 billion, in what he called a final assault on poverty.

“The BJP's campaign is largely around nationalism, national security and this is echoed in their manifesto,” said Sanjay Kumar, director of think tank the Center for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi.

“Congress is trying to pitch in the election with regard to farm distress, rural crisis, unemployment.”

Nearly 900 million people are eligible to vote in an election spread over seven phases into next month to allow security forces and officials to ensure a free and fair ballot.

Voters will travel by buses, trains, boats to about a million polling stations. Votes will be counted on May 23 and results are expected the same day.

Gandhi, as Congress leader, had attempted to forge a grand alliance with a clutch of powerful regional parties fighting the elections, so as to avoid the splintering of votes.

But the unwillingness of other Congress officials to give in to the demands of the smaller parties and the vaulting ambition of key regional figures frustrated his efforts.

Still the Congress said Modi represented a threat to every opposition group by pursuing its vision of a Hindu-first India, stoking fear among its Muslim minority. The BJP denies such bias.

Modi’s tactics were borrowed from the playbook of U.S. President Donald Trump, said Sam Pitroda, an adviser to Gandhi.

“The strategy was, there is [an] enemy at the border, in that case it was Mexican, and enemy, also, as people in the country, immigrants. Very similar, Modi says there is an enemy at the border…Anything you say, immediately everyone attacks you.”

The post India’s Modi Rides Nationalist Fervor to Keep Edge in Election that Begins Thursday appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Wreckage Confirmed to be From Crashed Japanese F-35 Fighter

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 09:19 PM PDT

TOKYO — Search and rescue teams found wreckage belonging to a Japanese Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter that disappeared on Tuesday over the Pacific Ocean close to northern Japan, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

“We recovered the wreckage and determined it was from the F-35,” a spokesman for the Air Self Defense Force (ASDF) said, adding that the pilot of the aircraft was still missing.

The advanced, single-seat jet was flying about 135 km (84 miles) east of the Misawa air base in Aomori Prefecture at about 7:27 p.m. on Tuesday, when it disappeared from radar, the ASDF said.

The aircraft was less than a year old and was delivered to the ASDF in May last year, the spokesman said. Japan’s first squadron of F-35s has just become operational at Misawa and the government plans to buy 87 of the stealth fighters to modernize its air defenses as China’s military power grows.

The crash marks only the second time an F-35 has gone down since the plane began flying almost two decades ago. It was also the first crash of an A version of the fifth-generation fighter, which is designed to penetrate enemy defenses by evading radar detection.

Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the aircraft, said it was standing by to support the ASDF as needed. The Pentagon said it was monitoring the situation.

A U.S. military short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B crashed near the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina in September, prompting a temporary grounding of the aircraft. Lockheed Martin also makes a C version of the fighter designed to operate off carriers.

Japan’s new F-35s will include 18 STOVL B variants that planners want to deploy on its islands along the edge of the East China Sea.

The F-35s are shipped to Japan by Lockheed Martin and assembled by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd at a plant near Nagoya in central Japan. Each costs around $100 million, slightly more than the cost of buying a fully assembled plane.

A representative for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said the company had no immediate comment.

The post Wreckage Confirmed to be From Crashed Japanese F-35 Fighter appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dalai Lama, 83, Hospitalized with Chest Infection

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 09:10 PM PDT

MUMBAI—Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was admitted to a New Delhi hospital on Tuesday with chest infection, an aide said, adding that the 83-year-old Buddhist monk was stable.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in early 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, lives in exile in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala.

“Today morning his holiness felt some discomfort and he was flown to Delhi for check-up,” Tenzin Taklha, his personal secretary, told Reuters.

“Doctors have diagnosed him with chest infection and he is being treated for that. His condition is stable now. He will be treated for two [or] three days here.”

Many of the up to 100,000 Tibetans living in India are worried that their fight for a genuinely autonomous homeland would end with the Dalai Lama.

He told Reuters last month that it was possible that once he dies his incarnation could be found in India, and warned that any other successor named by China would not be respected.

China, which took control of Tibet in 1950, brands the Nobel peace laureate a dangerous separatist and has said its leaders have the right to approve the Dalai Lama’s successor, as a legacy inherited from China’s emperors.

But many Tibetans — whose tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death — suspect any Chinese role as a ploy to exert influence on the community.

The post Dalai Lama, 83, Hospitalized with Chest Infection appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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Tuesday, April 9, 2019

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Meth Use Rising in Myanmar, Thailand, Southern China: Report

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 07:21 AM PDT

YANGON — The use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) is on the rise across Myanmar, Thailand and southern China, according to a new report by the Netherlands-based Transnational Institute (TNI).

“Methamphetamine use in Myanmar, Thailand and southern China: Assessing Practices, Reducing Harm,” launched Monday in Yangon, says ATS use has been on the up across the region for the past decade.

That’s despite what the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime recently said was a drop in the area under poppy cultivation in Myanmar from 41,000 hectares in 2017 to 37,300 hectares last year, continuing a downward trend since 2014 in the world’s second largest opium producer.

TNI says more than a year of research went into its report, including visits to Yangon, Kachin State and Tanintharyi Region.

"Trends are quite similar in the areas where we had conducted the research,” TNI Myanmar Program researcher Renaud Cachia told The Irrawaddy at the launch.

“Methamphetamine is popular and many people use and the availability has become more easier. The prices have either decreased or some places increased…. But where they increased, they are small increases and they are quite available,” he said.

Depending on the area, the prices of a tablet — also known as WY, yaba or yama — varies from 1,000 kyats to 3,500 kyats, according to TNI.

U Ye Thiha, a member of a drug users network in Shan State’s Lashio Township, said meth prices in the area have remained stable since 2000.

"One WY tablet costs about 500 kyats, but sometimes you can get it at the original price of 300, 400 kyats," he said.

U Ye Thiha said the tablets remain abundant despite the rising number of drug busts.

He said he took meth for several years before joining the network in 2007 to promote harm reduction practices among fellow users.

Nang Hom, who works with the Pa-O Youth Organization in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, said meth pills in her area go or as little as 200 kyats.

With easy access to the little pink tablets, she said, even boys as young as 12 and girls in university are trying them.

In March, police seized 10 million meth pills in Rakhine State and Magwe Region worth more than 7 billion kyats ($4.6 million). Last year, an operation led by the President's Office netted 211.1 billion kyats ($132 million) worth of meth tablets and crystal meth between June and October.

"While methamphetamine tablets are mostly smoked, crystal methamphetamine has a greater potential to be injected and is also a more potent substance. It therefore carries specific health risks that need to be addressed through the lens of public health rather than criminal justice," TNI said in its report.

Researchers and drug policy experts urged the governments to consider creating robust public health approaches to reduce the use of ATS rather than rely on repressive laws.

Cachia said a better understanding of meth use was needed to develop effective interventions that can help reduce the negative consequences of drug uses, help people protect their health and create safer communities.

"All of these countries have tried to respond to increasing drug use with ever-more punitive measures, more arrests, more seizures everywhere and very significant increases in the number of arrests and in the number of seizures in Myanmar, but also in Thailand, also in China, in Vietnam — all across the region," he said. "The results everywhere were similar, where they have not been successful in curbing the use. So … they should review the strategy."

But in Myanmar, Cachia said, the government’s line was about as sophisticated as “drugs are bad.”

"Often we found out that people who use methamphetamine in Myanmar did not have anywhere they could get the information on the products, so they have to learn by experiences,” he said. “So they started using and then they came to understand what are the benefits, what are the negative consequences, and they became somehow experts with a lot of knowledge. But they have to learn by experience.”

There are also social and legal barriers to raising awareness about drug and harm reduction practices, said U Lin Aung Thu, program coordinator for the Asia Harm Reduction Network. The non-government group has been working in Kachin and Shan states and in Sagaing Region on harm reductions awareness, treatment and prevention for more than 15 years.

"It is best that people don't use it," U Lin Aung Thu said.

But if they do, he added, and if they are aware of the possible health consequences, they can help protect themselves from infections from HIV and other diseases.

The post Meth Use Rising in Myanmar, Thailand, Southern China: Report appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

New Weekend Market to Open in Yangon Next Month

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 06:14 AM PDT

A new weekend market will be launched in Pansodan in Yangon's downtown area with the aim of developing a new tourist attraction for the city and supporting Myanmar's tourism marketing.

Yangon Weekend Market-Pansodan is being organized by the Golden Market Myanmar Company. Speaking at a press conference, company's director Ma May Myat Aung said, "When the Yangon Regional Government called a tender for this new weekend market project, we applied. Now we have this chance to host the new Yangon Weekend Market."

The Yangon Weekend Market is scheduled to open next month. It will be open at two different times; a morning market and a night market. Over 80 stalls will be included and the weekend market's stalls will be on Pansodan and Bank roads.

"Some shops will be selling all day but some don't want to open in the morning. That's why we divided it into two times," Ma May Myat Aung said.

Yangon Weekend Market-Pansodan will offer various foods, clothes and souvenirs but will focus on promoting local products, she said.

"So, the weekend market is not only for food stalls; there will be other exciting activities and entertainments programs will be included too. We want to create another attraction for both locals and foreigners," Ma May Myat Aung said.

The market will also have an SME shop section whose aim is to create job opportunities for people who want to create a new start-up business, including full-time and part-time vendors.

She added that, "We will focus on food hygiene. And yes, of course, we have a team to clean the roads after hours."

The rental price for a stall is 25,000 kyats for a whole day.

"For business owners who are taking only evening or morning stalls, we have other prices. We will monitor them to ensure they sell products at reasonable prices as well," Ma May Myat Aung said.

Golden Market Myanmar contracted with Yangon Region Government to host the weekend market for one year.

"The government just gave the company permission to do this project. So, we don't need to use any public funds for this project," said Daw Naw Pan Thinzar Myo, the Yangon regional minister of Kayin ethnic affairs, at the press conference.

She added that, "This weekend market will be different from the old night market on Strand Road. The purpose is different and the stalls will be different too."

The weekend market will also feature cocktail stalls, because the purpose is to create a tourist attraction.

"Only 10 percent of the stalls will be cocktail shops. So, it's not too much," said Ma May Myat Aung.

Yangon Weekend Market-Pansodan will be open on Saturdays and Sundays starting on May 4. The company is preparing a parking lot for visitors and tour buses.

The post New Weekend Market to Open in Yangon Next Month appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Kachin Locals in the Dark Over China-Backed Industrial Zone Plan

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 05:52 AM PDT

YANGON—Since January, residents of Namjim Village northwest of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina have witnessed a number of Chinese workers bustling around the area.

Around 10 kilometers from the village, just across the Namkoi River, Chinese workers have been conducting a ground survey for a project site.

The road connecting Namjim Village to the project site is very rocky and at some points extremely narrow. The location of this project is not near the China-Myanmar border where Chinese investors usually prefer to carry out their investment projects.

Now, however, a Chinese company has announced grand plans to build the massive Myitkyina Economic Development Zone (MEDZ) on approximately 4,700 acres of land along the historic Ledo Road. The Ledo Road was built during World War II to enable the Western allies to deliver supplies to China and thus aid the war effort against Japanese forces. It was an overland connection between Ledo in India's Assam and Kunming in China's Yunnan Province. Experts say China has chosen the area strategically, with an ultimate aim to link it with India as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

The Yunnan Tengchong Heng Yong Investment Company (YTHIC) and the Myitkyina Economic Development Zone Committee (MEDZC), formed by Kachin State government, are expected to invest a combined total of more than US$400 million in the MEDZ which is to include nearly 500 factories and 5,000 buildings at the project site located 25 kilometers from Myitkyina.

Strategic importance

Currently, Kachin State is home to a number of China-backed investments ranging from hydropower to mining to agriculture. But the MEDZ was one of the lesser-known China-backed projects to be planned for the state—that was until Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang's visit to the site area in late December 2018. The Chinese ambassador said the economic zone will be a crucial part of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which is being implemented under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor agreement. The initiative is President Xi's grand vision to create a network of trade routes from China to Europe passing through Central Asia, the Middle East and Russia. Unveiled in 2013, the BRI aims to ultimately encompass nearly 70 countries and two-thirds of the world's population.

As well as the MEDZ, both Myanmar and China have planned to construct another $5-million "economic cooperation zone" as part of the BRI plan in Kanpiketi, a town in Kachin State's Special Region 1, which is under the control of a militia group called the New Democratic Army-Kachin.

The MEDZ investors signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in May 2018. The Chinese company, YTHYIC, is owned by the Yunnan Baoshan Hengyi Group and Tengchong Border Economic Cooperation Zone, a company based in Baoshan, Yunnan. The former's company chairperson met several ministers in Naypyitaw last year to discuss the construction of the economic development zone in detail.

According to the MoU viewed by the Irrawaddy, both sides will collaborate to draw up a master plan, to calculate the estimate cost, rules and regulations, the share ratio and other framework details based on the project investment procedures. Moreover, YTHIC and the state government have agreed to establish a joint venture company to implement the zone —a collaboration between YTHIC and the government-affiliated company. Both sides also agreed that YTHIC would cover expenses such as feasibility studies and the environmental impact assessment (EIA). Later, the joint venture company must pay back all expenses to the YTHIC.

According to the agreement, the joint venture company will obtain a 50-year lease for the land and the government must transfer the land rights within 90 days of the company's formation.

The MoU outlines the responsibilities of the Kachin government, such as the forming of one-stop service facility and related investment organizations for the MEDZ. It is also tasked with getting project permissions from various government departments, following tax procedures and applying for relevant tax exemptions as outlined in the local investment law. Both sides agreed not to disclose information concerning the project to third parties.

The MoU says the Chinese company has full authority to invite third-party investors and that the Kachin State government will not allow any other similar project near Myitkyina during the project's 15-year implementation period.

Kachin Minister U Khet Aung told The Irrawaddy that both sides are currently drawing up the framework agreement for the formation of the joint venture company.

"The framework agreement is vital for forming a joint venture company. Both sides are also working on the master plan and feasibility study," he said.

U Khet Aung declined to comment on whether the government has chosen a government-affiliated company to form the company in conjunction with the Chinese company. He also didn't reveal when it will be announced officially.

The Kachin government has proposed for the 15-year implementation period to be reduced to 10 years, while the Chinese company has called for an 80 percent share of the ownership with the Kachin government joint venture company taking the remaining 20 percent. However, according to Kachin State's chief minister, as discussions on forming a joint venture company are still ongoing, specific details on the project cannot be revealed yet.

U Khet Aung revealed his willingness to get the project off the ground: "I am pushing the related minister to speed up the process, especially the forming of a joint venture company and agreement."

According to the minister, they will apply for permission from the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) after the master plan is approved by the joint venture company.

Transparency over land-grab issues

When The Irrawaddy visited the project area in the first week of April and spoke to locals, they said they don't know specific information about the project or who the land owners in the project area are.

U Zaw Lwin, a Namjim Village ward administrator, told The Irrawaddy that he also has no information about the project. Yet, he was ordered to deploy police for the security of the Chinese land surveyors' security.

"The order came from above," he said, referring to the state government.

As more and more Chinese staff are coming into the project area which is being marked out by the surveyors, concerns are rising among locals—especially the owners of land which lies within the project area.

The Irrawaddy learnt that though no one lives in the project area, it has long been planted with crops, rubber trees and other medicinal plants. While a handful of people do have official documents to prove their rights to the land, a majority do not have ownership certificates for land they have been cultivating for generations.

"Chinese company workers have been clearing out some areas of the site without [consulting] the owners. They entered our land to measure it without asking us," U Khun Myat Min Aung, told The Irrawaddy. He is the owner of six acres of land in the project area.

Land-grabbing is one the major issues in Kachin State, especially in Waimaw Township across the river from Myitkyina where there is a proliferation of Chinese-operated banana plantations. According to the Kachin State parliament speaker, the parliament's complaints committee received 345 complaints from locals since the NLD took office in the state and 179 of the complaints were over land-grabbing.

Recently, a group of landowners formed a committee in order to negotiate with officials over a particular 650 acres of land in the project area which was originally given by the government to practitioners of traditional medicine for growing medicinal plants. Last year, the state government agreed to give the official rights to farm the land to the famers in those areas. However, though officers have carried out land surveys, the famers haven't been given the official documents.

"After the project MoU was signed, the local administration department said they would no longer give us the farmland tenure," said U Khun Myat Min Aung.

"The local officer said we are just trespassers. The project will be implemented in that area, so we have to leave the land," he said.

A local lawyer, U Gannes Basnez who works with local residents on land issues said, "The people's main concern is that they will lose their land without knowing anything about it."

Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang visits the Economic Development Zone project area 10 km from Namjim Village northwest of Myitkyina, Kachin State on December 29, 2018. / Chinese Embassy Yangon / Facebook

Despite landowners sending several letters to officials and expressing their concerns, they have not received any replies of information on how the government will handle the compensation process and local resentment towards the project.

U Khun Myat Min Aung has personally sent five request letters to the chief minister and related government departments. His request is for his land not to be included in the project area or for him to be adequately compensated.

"They haven't replied to my request at all," he said.

Last month, President U Win Myint warned the state government to have transparency and accountability on the projects across Kachin State, saying, "It is important to negotiate with the people. People need to know about it [the projects]."

Despite the president's warning, local residents said the government is still silent about further decisions on the project.

"We officially sent three letters to the chief minister, but we didn't receive any reply from him," said U Gannes Basnez.

A local resident named Lu Ra said, "I didn't know what to do after I heard about the project."

Lu Ra's late sister and brother-in-law owned about 8 acres of land in the project areas.

"Both died two years ago leaving two children," she said. "We can't ask them to stop the project, but the children deserve to get compensation," she added.

Questions prompted

Kachin State Lawmaker U Khin Maung Myint said even local lawmakers have little knowledge about the project.

"The agreement was made among a handful of people. It's no wonder that the agreement doesn't represent all local people," said U Khin Maung Myint.

Chief Minister U Khet Aung told The Irrawaddy of his hopes for over 5,000 jobs to be created for locals through the project. However, he refused to comment about the land rights issues, saying that they will be handled by the related departments of the state government.

U Khin Maung Myint said, "When it comes to talking about job opportunities, I don't believe locals will get good job opportunities. Chinese companies always employ their own laborers."

Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang visits the Economic Development Zone project area 10 km from Namjim Village northwest of Myitkyina, Kachin State on December 29, 2018. / Chinese Embassy Yangon / Facebook

He pointed out that Chinese companies operating the controversial banana plantations in Kachin State tend to only employ Chinese workers in supervisor positions and even as truck drivers.

Across Kachin State, negative sentiment has been mounting over Chinese projects following Beijing's recent efforts to revive the controversial Myitsone hydropower dam project. In response to a statement released by the Chinese embassy in Yangon on Jan. 13 claiming that Kachin people are not opposed the dam project, three prominent Kachin parties issued a statement the following day, officially calling for the dam project to be cancelled permanently. The statement also said that all industrial projects in the state should not be implemented until peace prevails there.

Gumgrawng Awng Hkam, president of the Kachin Democratic Party, said that an alliance of Kachin parties will oppose the MEDZ if there is no transparency and if it is not supported by the local residents.

Recently, the landowner's committee met with the alliance of parties to request Kachin politicians to mediate during the negotiation process with government officials. Moreover, the committee also met with a lawyers' association based in Myitkyina for their assistance in legal issues. U Khun Myat Min Aung said the committee plans to send an official request letter for a meeting with the Kachin chief minister at the end of April.

"We already tried many times through official channels. If it doesn't work [this time], we have to go out into the street," he said.

The post Kachin Locals in the Dark Over China-Backed Industrial Zone Plan appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

U Shwe Mann Says He Doesn’t Visit U Than Shwe Anymore

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 05:41 AM PDT

NAYPYITAW—Former Lower House Speaker U Shwe Mann said he no longer calls on military strongman U Than Shwe, the leader of the military regime that ruled the country from 1998 to 2010.

Speaking to the media at his residence on Monday, the retired general and the third-most-powerful man in the former military regime said in response to The Irrawaddy's questions that he is no longer visiting U Than Shwe because it only sets off wild speculation.

"At present, we just mind our own business and the relationship is normal. Because of the wild speculation about our social relationship, I don't visit him," he said.

In response to rumors spreading on social media that U Than Shwe had died, he said, "As far as I know, he is in good health."

On April 4, the Speaker Journal reported that Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in February accompanied U Than Shwe to visit the jetty and airport in Coco Islands in Yangon Region.

The Irrawaddy could not independently confirm the report.

While he was serving as Lower House Speaker, U Shwe Mann told reporters in 2013 that U Than Shwe still took an interest in Myanmar's political process, though he was no longer directly involved in it.

When the military transferred power to a quasi-civilian government after the 2010 election, U Than Shwe hand-picked ex-general U Thein Sein as the president, U Shwe Mann as the Lower House speaker and Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing as his military successor.

Ex-generals who served in the top positions of the military government, the State Peace and Development Council, live in six mansions numbered from A 1 to A 6 in Naypyitaw. Retired Vice Senior General Maung Aye lives between U Than Shwe and U Shwe Mann, and the three others are owned by retired General U Tin Aung Myint Oo, former president U Thein Sein and former Union Election Commission chairman U Tin Aye.

U Shwe Mann said he still has personal ties with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi despite the abolition of the Parliament’s Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission led by him.

He moved to ally himself with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, ahead of the 2015 general election, and though he lost his race to an NLD candidate that year, he was appointed by her to head the commission.

When asked by The Irrawaddy if his Union Betterment Party would forge an alliance with the NLD, he said he is willing to cooperate with any party that respects democracy and human rights. His party will be headquartered at his residence, he said.

Having served in the military for 45 years, he is deeply attached to the Tatmadaw, U Shwe Mann said.

"There is a need to distinguish between Tatmadaw, the organization and its individual members. Otherwise, national reconciliation can't be achieved," he said.

He also presented the reporters with two books on the role his commission played in the democratization process of Myanmar, and the commission's works over its three years of existence.

The post U Shwe Mann Says He Doesn't Visit U Than Shwe Anymore appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

A Week in Korea: Barefoot Hiking, a Brush with History and the DMZ Close Up

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 05:32 AM PDT

Climbing mountains is an age-old pastime, but Mt. Gyejok Red Clay Road in Daejeon City, in the central region of South Korea, famously puts a twist on the activity with its barefoot hiking.

The attraction was created by Cho Wung Rae, president of the Mackiss Company, a regional distiller of soju traditional Korean liquor. The idea behind it is indeed simple. Cho got the idea after his first experience of barefoot walking in 2006 while on a normal hike with friends. A woman in his group was tottering on high heels, so he gave her his shoes and walked barefoot on the gravel path. That night, he realized the positive effects of barefoot walking: sound sleep and stress release. He wanted to share his discovery with as many people as possible.

So he began spreading red clay, which is pleasing to the touch and warms the body, over a 14.5-km gravel path.

Participants who went on a barefoot walk on Mt. Gyejok Red Clay Road pose for a photo. / Journalists Association of Korea

The trail was one of the site visits during the recent World Journalist Conference, which I attended. The Journalists Association of Korea invited more than 70 journalists from 50 countries to attend the annual international conference in the last week of March.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the red clay road, we received a clean towel to wipe away the sweat and also to clean our feet after walking. Mr. Cho was waiting for us there to join the walk.

If you don't want to walk barefoot on the red clay road, you can walk on the normal road. As walking on the clay road is believed to have health benefits such as preventing and healing diseases and stress relief, I chose to take off my tight shoes and do the barefoot hike.

To keep the red clay in optimum condition and offer visitors maximum healing, tons of red clay are spread on the trail and watered every day. Cho said the cost is covered by his soju company's profits.

A Barefoot Festival is held every May, and the Mackiss Opera holds a "Fun Fun Classic Concert" every Saturday and Sunday at Mt. Gyejok.

Participants walk barefoot on Mt. Gyejok Red Clay Road / San Yamin Aung / The Irrawaddy

This simple but innovative idea made me think it would be great if the leading business groups in our country offered such contributions to the community. That's not to say there are no businesspeople in Myanmar giving back to society. But mostly it is in the form of customary donations and other charitable activities. Innovative ideas like the Mt. Gyejok Red Clay Road create enjoyment for the community while boosting their health and connectedness, and increasing their incomes.

At Mt. Gyejok Red Clay Road, what began as a simple idea to share one man's joy with more people has became a famous landmark and "eco-healing" spot in South Korea, attracting more than 1 million people yearly. It has been selected as one of the Korea Tourism Organization's must-visit tourist spots in from 2015 to 2020.

A group of young people visit the National Cemetery and Memorial Hall in Gwangju City to pay their respects to fallen heroes. / San Yamin Aung / The Irrawaddy

While visiting heritage and cultural sites and different cities in South Korea during the week, the government's investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) was visible. In Daejeon, we toured the government-funded Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.

Daejeon's vice mayor for political affairs Park Young Soon said the central government allocated annual budgets for the research institutes, though he declined to provide precise figures.

The democracy-activist-turned-vice mayor told me he is a friend of Min Ko Naing, a well-respected democracy activist and former political prisoner in Myanmar. The vice mayor was also once imprisoned for his political activism.

The modern histories of Korea and Myanmar include similar popular struggles for democracy against dictatorships.

The 'Daedong World' monument represents the time in May 1980 when the citizens of Gwangju overcame sorrow, sang songs of victory and struggled to maintain social order. / San Yamin Aung / The Irrawaddy

One striking difference, however, is that Korea now has a national cemetery and memorial hall to honor the fallen heroes and those who didn't hesitate to sacrifice during its May 18 democratization movement in 1980, centered in Gwangju City. Those responsible for the massacre also stood trial murder and insurrection.

In Myanmar, despite the push by the 88 generation student leaders who took part in the country's popular 8888 Uprising in 1988, which ended in a bloody military coup, to establish a history museum, none has been established to date. The current Yangon regional government has agreed to do so and held meetings with the organizing committee for the 8888 museum since 2017. However, they have been unable to reach an agreement regarding land acquisition for the museum.

Our group also got to visit the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan—a Korean history museum focusing on the oppression of Japanese colonial rule and Korea's independence movement. Out of seven indoor exhibition halls there, I got a chance to explore two.

A museum exhibit displays scenes showing how Korean freedom fighters were oppressed and tortured under Japanese rule. The exhibit features sensor-triggered figures and canned screams of pain. / San Yamin Aung / The Irrawaddy

Unlike museums in Myanmar, the exhibition tour is exciting, as it displays not only a collection of historical materials but also interactive displays depicting scenes of how Korean freedom activists were oppressed and tortured featuring sensor-triggered figures, and canned screams of pain, bringing Korean history alive.

The exhibition tells "how a human can be cruel and how a human can be strong," a guide from the museum told us.

Being both educational and entertaining, the museums in Korea seem popular among both foreigners and locals. It was crowded even on the Friday when we visited. The old and the young as well as military personnel were seen visiting the museum.

A big screen shows depictions of the Korean people's struggle for independence under Japanese colonial rule. / San Yamin Aung / The Irrawaddy

It also served visitors well with a large space, rest areas, food stalls and parking facilities. Visitors can also participate in an audio tour while listening to a detailed audio guide available in English, Chinese and Japanese.

After the conference, I got a chance to join the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) tour at the invitation of the Korea Tourism Organization. The DMZ was established in 1953 when the armistice deal was signed between the two Koreas to serve as a buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea.

The stops on the tour included the Imjingak tourist site, which exhibits various artifacts and monuments related to the Korean War, the 3rd Tunnel, one of four tunnels built by North Korea into the South that have been discovered; the Dora Observatory, the closest area to the North, where people can see North Korea by telescope; and the youth hostel at Camp Greaves, where one can spend the night.

The Bridge of Freedom (left) stands next to an old bridge destroyed during the Korean War.

Camp Greaves is a former U.S. Army base located within a restricted area renovated into a DMZ experience site with lodging facilities.

We weren't allowed to enter the Joint Security Area (JSA) where North and South Korean forces stand face-to-face because of security reasons. One person in our group speculated that top-level inter-Korean talks for the unification of the two countries were being held. But we did get a chance to explore the Civilian Control Line (CCL), an area normally restricted to civilians.

Without permission to enter you would immediately be shot, our guide warned us. No photos are allowed and 360-degree CCTV cameras placed along the line checked each of us out.

Tourists visit Imjingak near the Demilitarized Zone. / San Yamin Aung / The Irrawaddy

Carrying on with the group, I walked along the line and talked to a solider accompanying us who looked around 20 years old. He was deployed there for two years with another 500 or so soldiers to safeguard the zone from any intruders.

It was an exciting trip not only for foreign tourists like us, but also for the locals who joined the tour. A young Korean lady said it was her first visit to the area. Her favorite spot was the Dora Observatory, where she glimpsed the other half of a divided nation about which she had long been curious to know more.

Having been a restricted area for decades, the very well-preserved natural ecosystem has become a major eco-tourism destination.

The area is also a popular destination among locals, as many areas are open to the general public, while some areas remain restricted. Many families, groups of friends and students visit the sites. With hope, their message of peace and unification will spread across the DMZ.

The post A Week in Korea: Barefoot Hiking, a Brush with History and the DMZ Close Up appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar’s Military Chief in Beijing on Goodwill Visit

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 02:55 AM PDT

YANGON—Myanmar military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing is currently in Beijing on a goodwill visit at the invitation of China's Central Military Commission and Chief of Joint Staff Gen. Li Zuocheng to hold talks with leaders of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and tour training schools, factories and other significant places.

The tour came two weeks ahead of Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to the country's northern neighbor to attend the second Belt and Road forum, which is scheduled to start on April 26. During the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the State Counselor will likely discuss controversial Chinese projects in Myanmar, including the Myitsone dam and a suspended hydropower project in Kachin State.

During a meeting with religious leaders in Kachin State in February, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said a final decision on the Myitsone dam would depend on the public's wishes and on Parliament.

This is Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing's fifth visit to China since becoming the commander-in-chief of Myanmar's military in 2011.

The military delegation, including Lt-Gen Than Tun Oo, Lt-Gen Soe Htut and senior military officers from the army's Office of the Commander-in-Chief, first left for Kunming on Monday, and has already had a meeting with Yunnan Province Communist Party Secretary Mr. Chen Hao. In the afternoon, the delegation was welcomed to Beijing by officials from the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The post Myanmar's Military Chief in Beijing on Goodwill Visit appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Natl Human Rights Commission to Probe Irrawaddy Man’s Death in Custody

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 02:11 AM PDT

YANGON — The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) says it will investigate the death of an Irrawaddy Region man while in police custody last month.

The body of U Kyaw Aye, 50, a resident of Su Twin Myit Kalay Village in Irrawaddy Region's Wakema Township, was returned to his family six days after he was arrested by three officers from a local police station. The man’s sister-in-law, Daw Than Than Moe, filed a complaint with the MNHRC last week.

MNHRC Secretary U Phone Kywe told The Irrawaddy what the commission would begin an investigation on Thursday.

According to Daw Than Than Moe, police arrested U Kyaw Aye on March 21, a day after a village administrator got into a brawl with him and his wife when he intervened in a quarrel the couple was having.

Daw Than Than Moe said he was arrested on a complaint from the administrator by two corporals and a constable from the Nga Pyaw Chaung police station and transferred to the Wakema central police station, where the township court denied him bail.

"I was there at the Wakema Township court that day. His face was covered in black and purple bruises so that I could hardly recognize him," Daw Than Than Moe told The Irrawaddy.

She said the family heard nothing from him after that and was informed of his death on the morning of March 27. The family was asked to retrieve his body from the Wakema People's Hospital and to open the body bag only at home.

"When we opened it, the intestines were outside of the body, his eyes were badly bruised, and his head was also shaved," Daw Than Than Moe said.

"We saw the injuries on his legs apparently caused by contact with something hot. His penis was cut off, and his ribs were apparently kicked with boots. He died from brutal torture," she said.

U Kyaw Aye is survived by his paralyzed wife and 8-year-old daughter.

"I want effective actions to be taken against the perpetrators including the villager administrator," said Daw Than Than Moe.

U Zaw Yan, a member of a local community-based human rights group helping the family, said his group has filed complaints with the authorities including the office of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

"I am really worried that police have entrenched attitudes that they can crack cases only by beating suspects," he said.

The Wakema central police station could not be reached for comment.

In June, also in Irrawaddy Region, a suspected thief died while in police custody at the Dedaye Township police station. In May, police at the Labutta Township police station in Irrawaddy were demoted after they tortured two suspected burglars.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Quenching Myanmar’s Thirst for Craft Beer

Posted: 08 Apr 2019 11:01 PM PDT

YANGON—On a hot summer morning at a riverside plot in Yangon's North Dagon, a small team of brewers carry sacks of grain imported from Germany on their shoulders to a small mill. There's a brewer using a wooden paddle to stir the grain in the mashing tank. It's steamy and smelly and there are pressure and temperature gauges everywhere. The hot, gloopy mixture will go through sparging, boiling and fermentation, and malt, yeast and hops will be added in the perfect ratios to create the most deliciously smooth and refreshing craft beer in Myanmar.

This is Burbrit Craft Brewery, which was set up by a small group of enthusiasts in 2016, making history in Myanmar and delighting craft beer-lovers around Yangon. Initially, it took time to convince the local drinking community to pay up to five times more for a fresh, premium beer and outlets in the city and beyond were challenged by the necessity to keep it chilled at all times. But the brewery has defied the odds and gone from strength to strength, opening a flagship taproom close to downtown Yangon in 2017 and producing canned beer to supply 45 outlets right across the country this year.

Last week, The Irrawaddy interviewed three key team members behind Burbrit craft beer — general manager and co-founder Maung Zaw, factory manager Aung Kyaw Myo and marketing manager Zaw Min Aung — to find out what it takes to be successful in a nascent drinks industry and the exciting plans to produce a new line of beers.

Burbrit now offers four kinds of beer in cans. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

Who started Burbrit and why?

Maung Zaw: We have four founders—Htin Lin, myself, Guy Heathers and Win Kyaw—and the story started like this: Htin and Guy were working for the same company in Singapore and every Friday, Saturday they went to a brewpub named Brewerkz on the riverside drinking craft beer. They frequented the brewpub so much they would joke with each other about one day opening their own microbrewery. At that time, it was just a joke—not very serious. In 2013, myself and Htin came back to Myanmar and we got very serious about setting up a microbrewery and the others started pushing for us to buy a brewing license.

In 2014 we applied for the brewing license but it was very difficult because at the time it was government policy not to issue any more brewing licenses. We submitted the application without much expectation. In 2015, they replied that our application was rejected. But we didn't want to give up so easily. We changed the application to include that this brewing business would create a lot of jobs and would attract more tourists and we applied again. In 2016 we got the license.

Grain is milled at the Burbrit microbrewery. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

How has the company developed since then?

MZ: Actually, when we started our brewery, our brewing capacity was only 3,000 liters per month. We started with only three flavors. Three or four months later we added three more beer flavors. Now, we are brewing 10 regular beers and two or three seasonal beer flavors. The point is our product line is getting bigger and bigger. That was the first major change.

After that we managed to open the flagship taproom [Burbrit Taproom], because at the time a lot of people complained that North Dagon is very far and it's not convenient to come here and have a drink, so we opened the taproom in downtown to make it more accessible for people to come and drink craft beer. Another reason for opening the Taproom is branding, for marketing purposes actually. We wanted to have more visibility.

Recently we started to produce cans, which is very exciting. We expect to shift our cans to many different parts of Myanmar.

Yes, producing Burbrit craft beer in cans has become a game-changer for the customers. How does it change things for the company?

MZ: We are now distributing [canned craft beer] to supermarkets like City Mart, Capital and Orange. And regarding the price, while a bottle of [our] beer was sold for around 6,000 kyats (US$4) in the past, beer drinkers can now buy a can [of it] for 2,500 kyats. Now we can also distribute to places further away. Through there was demand for our beer in Mandalay and Naypyitaw before now, we could not distribute it there. But with the production of beer cans, we can now supply it to many towns including Myeik, Nyaungshwe, Inle and up to Loikaw in Kayah State as well as Mandalay and Naypyitaw.

Brewers at the mashing tank in Burbrit microbrewery. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

How does Burbrit defend itself against the dominant beer brands already in the industry?

MZ: Myanmar Beer, Tuborg, Carlsberg and Heineken are targeted at those who want to drink a lot at a cheap price. Our craft beer is an upmarket one. We can't compete with them because the product is of a different nature. We don't have intentions to mass-produce. We don't have a strategy to defend [against their competition]. We will proceed according to our marketing strategy and business plan. We don't intend to compete with them.

 What are your ambitions in terms of the international market?

MZ: At this moment, our main focus is in Yangon, so we are doing a lot of marketing so people know our product and start noticing our beers, but we are also trying to find ways to export our beer to neighboring countries. Htin, my business partner, is working on it and we plan to ship our beer cans to Singapore and Thailand. That's what we are focusing on. We plan to export our beer to India, China and Japan as well. I think it will happen very soon. So yeah, we are trying to get our cans exported to the international market.

Burbrit's general manager Maung Zaw at the microbrewery. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

What's the fastest-selling Burbrit beer and why do you think it's so popular?

 MZ: German Weissen was our fastest-selling beer for the last two years. We introduced Nevada Pale Ale about four months ago and amazingly it has already overtaken all other beer flavors. There is for a few reasons—compared to other beer flavors, the American hops that we use make a hoppy flavor shine through. It is a very outstanding beer. Another reason is the maltiness. Myanmar people are rice-eating people and they like a malty kind of beer flavor. That hoppiness and maltiness, the balance makes it different to the other beers.

 What is the Burma Brewers Club?

Zaw Min Aung: The purpose of establishing the Burma Brewers Club is to give the knowledge of brewing in Myanmar, to develop brewing in Myanmar. We are the first to have a craft brewery in Myanmar so we need to educate people because otherwise they won't know what craft beer is or what it tastes like. That's why we have the Burma Brewers Club. We do demonstrations and give them samples of the special brews, the ones we are not currently selling, other kinds of beer flavors. The idea is that we want to introduce them to many kinds of [beer] flavors and to develop home brewing in Myanmar. Another thing is that we want to give them the message that beer-making is not so difficult.

Beer kegs and a wall decoration are seen at Burbrit microbrewery. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

How does Burbrit craft beer compare to other beers?

Aung Kyaw Myo: Normally, most of the industrial beer brands in the market are different from our product in terms of color and taste. Most of the industrial beers are clear [in color], and have a lot of CO2. Their strength is that they have a long shelf life. We don't put much CO2 in our craft beer. We don't filter them, so our beer is heavier than industrial beer and has a full flavor.

What can craft beer-lovers expect from Burbrit in the future?

MZ: We have plans to produce beer under a different brand name. We are experimenting with beer that can [stay fresh] in air-con temperatures. Our research and development team is working on that at the moment. So hopefully, in four or five months, we will have two beers that will be stable under air-con temperatures. When this new beer is out, hopefully we'll be able to distribute it to convenience stores in Yangon and further places like Myitkyina, Mandalay, wherever—you name it. At this moment we are selling fresh beer, which must be chilled all the time. The new beer will be more convenient for wholesalers, supermarkets, convenience stores. That's our next major project we're working on.

The post Quenching Myanmar's Thirst for Craft Beer appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China’s Regions Seek Support as Environmental Compliance Costs Hit

Posted: 08 Apr 2019 11:00 PM PDT

SHANGHAI—China’s cash-strapped regions are lobbying Beijing to loosen its purse strings to help fight pollution, saying they don’t have the funds to meet state policies aimed at fixing the damage done by decades of unrestricted development.

The cost of environmental compliance was a major theme at this month’s annual session of the National People’s Congress, where thousands of non-binding recommendations submitted by delegates give an insight into the major preoccupations of legislators.

Beijing has been at pains to stress it will not ease up in the “war on pollution” launched five years ago by Premier Li Keqiang, even though the economy grew at its slowest rate since 1990 last year.

But with resources tight and controlling debt a priority, many parliamentary delegates called for more spending support from Beijing and a more “coordinated” approach to keeping pollution in check and the economy on track.

“We cannot stop or hinder economic development in order to pursue environmental protection,” said delegate Pei Chunliang from central China’s Henan Province, which has struggled to find new sources of growth.

“In some regions the rules of economic development have not been respected,” Pei warned in a proposal calling for more support for environmentally friendly firms.

For regions under pressure to meet smog targets or resolve long-standing environmental problems while trying to meet growth targets, immediate relief is seen as essential.

“There is a big gap between fiscal revenues and expenditure,” said Zhang Leiming, mayor of the city of Pingdingshan in Henan, blaming the economic slowdown and the city’s dependence on coal.

Zhang said his city had spent hundreds of billions of yuan to tackle problems like land subsidence, but it was “far from enough”, and the state needed to establish a giant fund to help resource-dependent cities meet their goals.

Many regions called for state aid to rectify such longstanding pollution problems, with delegates from coal-producing regions like Shanxi lobbying for tax and debt relief.

Other regions are also struggling to implement new directives to prevent agricultural pollution and clean up rivers.

“Due to insufficient local financial resources and historical debts, it is difficult to meet the funding requirements,” said delegate Yu Huiwen, head of the environment bureau in Sichuan province, which is responsible for protecting the upstream area of the Yangtze.

The finance ministry said in its report to parliament this month that it will allocate 25 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) to a smog prevention fund this year, a 25 percent increase on 2018, and 30 billion yuan to treat water pollution, up 45 percent.

Environment Minister Li Ganjie, who acknowledged earlier this year that some regions were struggling with the “historical burdens” of polluting industries, also told a briefing during the parliamentary session that China would provide more support for local governments.

The government was “currently studying and preparing to adopt new measures,” he said, but added it wasn’t just about money, but also policies and technical guidance.

“Whatever the difficulties, we will help them find a reasonable solution,” he said.

The post China’s Regions Seek Support as Environmental Compliance Costs Hit appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thailand Ramps Up Fight Against Forced Labor With Stricter Law

Posted: 08 Apr 2019 10:07 PM PDT

BANGKOK — Thailand will use a newly amended law to crack down on forced labor with hefty fines and prison time, a move analysts said could help curb exploitative practices against migrant workers.

The Southeast Asian nation, which has come under scrutiny for slavery and trafficking in its seafood industry, has added “forced labor or service” as an offence in its anti-human trafficking law, according to a notification on Sunday.

Anyone found guilty can be jailed for four years and fined 400,000 Thai baht ($12,516), with more severe penalties if a victim is harmed.

“It shows the serious intent of the Thai government in tackling forced labor and improving the image of the country,” said Puttanee Kangkun, a human rights specialist with advocacy group Fortify Rights in Bangkok.

“It spells out the conditions, and the penalties are quite strict. But we have to see how effective the implementation is,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Monday.

There are about 4.9 million migrants in Thailand, making up more than 10 percent of the country’s workforce, according to the United Nations. Most are from poorer neighboring countries including Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Migrant workers get few protections such as a minimum wage and overtime pay, and contend with unsafe working and living conditions, the U.N. said in a report earlier this year.

Besides the seafood industry, exploitative practices have been recorded in domestic work, construction, agriculture, livestock, hospitality, garment manufacturing and other sectors in the country, it said.

The amendment widens the definition of forced labor and includes anyone engaged in the purchase, sale, confinement or exploitation of a person.

It can be enforced immediately, whereas a new law could have taken years to draft and enact, said Ruttiya Bhula-Or, an assistant professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.

“But its inclusion as part of the anti-human trafficking act can also make it less potent, and the definition of forced labor remains unclear,” she said.

Thailand has taken some steps to tackle abuse by eliminating recruitment fees paid by workers, and banning the practice of withholding identification documents.

Last June, it became the first country in Asia to ratify the forced labor protocol of the International Labor Organization (ILO) for combating all forms of forced labor, including trafficking, and ensuring access to remedies and compensation.

The post Thailand Ramps Up Fight Against Forced Labor With Stricter Law appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Second Group of Rohingya Muslims Found on Malaysian Beach — Police

Posted: 08 Apr 2019 09:46 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR—Thirty-seven people believed to be Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar were found on a beach in northern Malaysia on Monday, police said, the latest arrivals in what authorities fear could be a new wave of people smuggling by sea.

Dozens of Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh have boarded boats in recent months to try to reach Malaysia, which had seen a decline in arrivals after a 2015 crackdown on trafficking.

Last month, 35 migrants were found on Sungai Belati beach in the northern state of Perlis.

On Monday, 37 men were detained around the town of Simpang Empat after landing at the same beach in the early morning, state police chief Noor Mushar Mohamad told Reuters.

“We believe they were travelling on a much larger boat, before being transferred into smaller boats at sea and taken to different places,” he said, adding the men were in good health and have been handed over to immigration officials.

More than 700,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh in 2017 fleeing an army crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, according to U.N. agencies.

Myanmar regards Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps in Rakhine since violence swept the area in 2012.

Officials believe the migrants found on Monday are from Myanmar or Bangladesh.

“We are still investigating where the boats are coming from, but we suspect human trafficking syndicates are involved,” Noor Mushar said.

An outbreak of sectarian violence in Rakhine in 2012 prompted tens of thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar by sea. The exodus peaked in 2015, when an estimated 25,000 people fled across the Andaman Sea for Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, many drowning in unsafe and overloaded boats.

The post Second Group of Rohingya Muslims Found on Malaysian Beach — Police appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Constitutional Assembly Elected 72 Years Ago

Posted: 08 Apr 2019 06:59 PM PDT

The election for Myanmar's constitutional assembly was held on this day 72 years ago. The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL), led by General Aung San, won a landslide victory with 95.3 percent of the vote in a poll held under the Aung San-Atlee Agreement.

The AFPFL submitted a draft constitution to the assembly in June 1947. Gen. Aung San and his colleagues were assassinated on July 19 as they were reviewing the draft.

Two months after Gen. Aung San's death, the assembly passed Myanmar's first Constitution, known as the 1947 Constitution. It took effect on Jan. 4, 1948, the day Myanmar regained independence. The first government of Myanmar was sworn in at the assembly the same day.

The 1947 Constitution came to an end in 1962 when the military staged a coup that toppled the AFPFL government.

The post Constitutional Assembly Elected 72 Years Ago appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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