PHUKET: Police arrested two Myanmar nationals in possession of more than 250 grams of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice) on Friday.
Thiha Soe, 32, and his wife, referred to by police only as Moe, were apprehended after officers received a tip-off from Rassada Subdistrict Chief (Kamnan) Chanchai Tantawacheerapan.
“Mr Chanchai contacted officials after hearing complaints about two plant workers selling drugs at the entrance to the Chai Taweekit fish processing plant,” said Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada at a press conference on Saturday.
Police then waited for the pair at their rental room, about 200 meters from the plant.
Once the couple arrived, officers performed a search yielding 252.12 grams of ya ice, with an estimated value of about 886,000 baht. (Courtesy of Phuket Gazette)
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November 30, 2015
Myanmar's president and military chief to meet election victor Suu Kyi this week
The most powerful figures in Myanmar's transition following its historic elections are to meet this week in separate talks that could set the course for the incoming government dominated by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
In a post on the presidential office Facebook page, Myanmar president Thein Sein confirmed he had extended an invitation to meet Ms Suu Kyi on Wednesday morning at the president's house in Naypyidaw.
The chief of Myanmar's defence forces, Min Aung Hliang, has also confirmed he has agreed to meet the head of the victorious National League for Democracy (NLD) later that day, according to ABC Radio Australia's Burmese service.
Ms Suu Kyi has sought to take a conciliatory approach following the elections, dampening victory celebrations and requesting talks with the president and the army chief in the weeks following the NLD's overwhelming win in the November 8 poll. (Courtesy of ABC news)
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In a post on the presidential office Facebook page, Myanmar president Thein Sein confirmed he had extended an invitation to meet Ms Suu Kyi on Wednesday morning at the president's house in Naypyidaw.
The chief of Myanmar's defence forces, Min Aung Hliang, has also confirmed he has agreed to meet the head of the victorious National League for Democracy (NLD) later that day, according to ABC Radio Australia's Burmese service.
Ms Suu Kyi has sought to take a conciliatory approach following the elections, dampening victory celebrations and requesting talks with the president and the army chief in the weeks following the NLD's overwhelming win in the November 8 poll. (Courtesy of ABC news)
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Attack breaks post-martial law calm in Kokang region capital
The military newspaper Myawady reported that “rebels” of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) had opened fire on military columns in Laukkai on November 27. It gave no word on casualties and said the “rebels” retreated to the north-east, toward the border with China, when the army returned fire.
The military was combing the area for their hideouts but none of the rebels involved had been identified, the newspaper said.
A police major told The Myanmar Times that no one was killed in the November 27 attack.
President U Thein Sein ended nine months of emergency rule in the Kokang Self-administered Zone on November 17. “The situation has since returned to normal and the rule of law has been restored in the zone,” his decree said.
Residents contacted by The Myanmar Times yesterday confirmed they had heard gunfire in or near the town on November 27. They said this was not the first such incident, raising fears that the MNDAA still had the resources to harass the Tatmadaw after months of fighting resulted in the ethnic Chinese insurgents being pushed back to remote border areas. “We usually don’t go outside at night. The situation is not so different from under military administration. Sometimes we hear shooting from remote areas,” said one local. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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The military was combing the area for their hideouts but none of the rebels involved had been identified, the newspaper said.
A police major told The Myanmar Times that no one was killed in the November 27 attack.
President U Thein Sein ended nine months of emergency rule in the Kokang Self-administered Zone on November 17. “The situation has since returned to normal and the rule of law has been restored in the zone,” his decree said.
Residents contacted by The Myanmar Times yesterday confirmed they had heard gunfire in or near the town on November 27. They said this was not the first such incident, raising fears that the MNDAA still had the resources to harass the Tatmadaw after months of fighting resulted in the ethnic Chinese insurgents being pushed back to remote border areas. “We usually don’t go outside at night. The situation is not so different from under military administration. Sometimes we hear shooting from remote areas,” said one local. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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CB Bank chair to open industrial zone
Chair of Co-operative Bank U Khin Maung Aye also chairs the Kaung Myanmar Aung (KMA) Group of Companies which has interests from hotels and real estate to mining, forestry, agriculture and automobiles.
Another of his businesses, Kaytumadi Development Company (Public), recently bought over 1000 acres of land in Bago Region where it plans to open an industrial zone this December or in early 2016, he told The Myanmar Times. The land is near to the 150 mile point along the highway from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw, in Taungoo, he said.
“We have permission to build an industrial zone, and now need to present our plans to the Myanmar Investment Commission and other government departments.”
He has already invited investors from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan to consider opening businesses in the new zone, he said.
The project will cost between K20 billion and K50 billion to build, he said, and the company plans to issue shares to the public worth K10,000 each, to raise the necessary funds. A number of investors from Taungoo will also put up capital. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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Another of his businesses, Kaytumadi Development Company (Public), recently bought over 1000 acres of land in Bago Region where it plans to open an industrial zone this December or in early 2016, he told The Myanmar Times. The land is near to the 150 mile point along the highway from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw, in Taungoo, he said.
“We have permission to build an industrial zone, and now need to present our plans to the Myanmar Investment Commission and other government departments.”
He has already invited investors from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan to consider opening businesses in the new zone, he said.
The project will cost between K20 billion and K50 billion to build, he said, and the company plans to issue shares to the public worth K10,000 each, to raise the necessary funds. A number of investors from Taungoo will also put up capital. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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DICA issues revised list of ‘out of touch’ companies
The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration has published a revised list of companies to be struck off its register, after receiving a number of complaints from businesses named on the list that are still operational.
In August, the regulator issued a request for confirmation from all companies still in business, as it seeks to clean up its database by removing out-of-date company names.
However, the list of 20,165 local and 2015 international “out of touch companies” published earlier this month contained a number of errors.
Some companies such as Myanmar Red Dot Network and Capital Diamond Star Group confirmed that their companies are currently active in Myanmar and that they have submitted documentation notifying DICA.
Others said that former incarnations of their business were named on the list, leading to confusion among clients. These included international companies such as Singapore-based Surbana International Consultants, who have since confirmed their operating subsidiary status in Myanmar with DICA. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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In August, the regulator issued a request for confirmation from all companies still in business, as it seeks to clean up its database by removing out-of-date company names.
However, the list of 20,165 local and 2015 international “out of touch companies” published earlier this month contained a number of errors.
Some companies such as Myanmar Red Dot Network and Capital Diamond Star Group confirmed that their companies are currently active in Myanmar and that they have submitted documentation notifying DICA.
Others said that former incarnations of their business were named on the list, leading to confusion among clients. These included international companies such as Singapore-based Surbana International Consultants, who have since confirmed their operating subsidiary status in Myanmar with DICA. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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Catch Glimpses of Life in Lithuania and Myanmar
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seven films from Lithuania and Myanmar will be showcased in the ‘Country Focus’ section of 20th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) that will commence on December 4. The Lithuanian films will portray the Baltic nation’s troubled history as a satellite state in the USSR and its present reality. Two Cold War era movies, the 1966-made Jausmai (Feelings) and Grazuole (The Beauty) made in 1969, are listed as sourced from ‘Soviet Union-Lithuania’.
The other films are Kolekcioniere (The Collectress, 2008), Ekskursante (The Excursionist, 2013) and Losejas (The Gambler, 2015). Films from Myanmar, which also has a history of authoritarian rule, typically steer clear of political commentary with light-veined family entertainers. The two movies Red Cotton Silk Flower (2012) and Successor of Merits (2015) represent film industry in the present Myanmar. Feelings, a collaborative effort by directors Alimantas Grikiavicius and Algirdas Dausa, at its core is a family drama set against the bleak backdrop of World War II. The Beauty is the story of a sensitive yet impish child who is elected beauty queen by her playmates, and becomes convinced of her good looks. (Courtesy of The New Indian Express)
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The other films are Kolekcioniere (The Collectress, 2008), Ekskursante (The Excursionist, 2013) and Losejas (The Gambler, 2015). Films from Myanmar, which also has a history of authoritarian rule, typically steer clear of political commentary with light-veined family entertainers. The two movies Red Cotton Silk Flower (2012) and Successor of Merits (2015) represent film industry in the present Myanmar. Feelings, a collaborative effort by directors Alimantas Grikiavicius and Algirdas Dausa, at its core is a family drama set against the bleak backdrop of World War II. The Beauty is the story of a sensitive yet impish child who is elected beauty queen by her playmates, and becomes convinced of her good looks. (Courtesy of The New Indian Express)
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UN warns of need to boost immunisation
The United Nations has called for an expansion of immunisation to combat the threat of polio and other preventable diseases, after two cases of a vaccine-derived form of the virus were detected in northern Rakhine State.
The World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund said the cases were the result of poor immunisation coverage, and showed that the government and parliament needed to prioritise immunisation in the national budget.
“One immediate step to help reaching this goal is to prioritise vaccines and cold chain in the government’s health budget,” they said in a joint statement.
Routine immunisation coverage has been particularly low in Rakhine State, dipping below 80 percent in recent years. In some townships only 27pc of children received the three recommended doses of oral polio vaccine in 2014, WHO and UNICEF said.
Rakhine State has been wracked by communal conflict since 2012, and government health services in Muslim communities are often non-existent. Lack of trust in government health staff is also a major barrier.
U Thaung Hlaing, health director in Rakhine State, said vaccine-derived polio virus was detected in two children from Maungdaw township, one in May and one in November.
“One child had never been exposed to vaccine, but the other had taken vaccine just once,” he said. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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The World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund said the cases were the result of poor immunisation coverage, and showed that the government and parliament needed to prioritise immunisation in the national budget.
“One immediate step to help reaching this goal is to prioritise vaccines and cold chain in the government’s health budget,” they said in a joint statement.
Routine immunisation coverage has been particularly low in Rakhine State, dipping below 80 percent in recent years. In some townships only 27pc of children received the three recommended doses of oral polio vaccine in 2014, WHO and UNICEF said.
Rakhine State has been wracked by communal conflict since 2012, and government health services in Muslim communities are often non-existent. Lack of trust in government health staff is also a major barrier.
U Thaung Hlaing, health director in Rakhine State, said vaccine-derived polio virus was detected in two children from Maungdaw township, one in May and one in November.
“One child had never been exposed to vaccine, but the other had taken vaccine just once,” he said. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
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Mandalay Assamese ladies feted in city
GUWAHATI, Nov 28 - Two Myanmar-based Assamese women, whose ancestors were taken by the Burmese (Myanmarese) army as a ‘gift’ from the Ahom kings about 200 years back, were accorded felicitation at the Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir here today. The event was organised by city-based surgeon Dr Satyakam Phukan, teacher of North Guwahati College Dr Tapan Sarma and city-based businessman Binoy Sarma, who visited Myanmar between January and February 2013 in search of the people of Assam origin.
The ancestors of the two women, who were felicitated today, had to leave their motherland after the repeated Burmese invasions of Assam between 1817 and 1826, along with the Burmese armymen. Though these people have lost their language and culture, they still maintain that they are Assamese people. Initially, there were around 5,000 such people living in Myanmar. But today, a majority of them have assimilated into the Myanmarese society and those who are still maintaining their Assamese identity, are mostly settled in Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar and Bhamo, another city of the neighbouring country.
The two women – Ratnamoyee and Rajani Devi – who came to the city, accompanying two groups of Manipuri and Bengali people of Mandalay, however, had to speak in Burmese during their felicitation. They said that they have a very weak economy. They have lost their language and culture. But they take great pride in identifying themselves as Assamese, they said. (Courtesy of TheAssamTribuneOnline)
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The ancestors of the two women, who were felicitated today, had to leave their motherland after the repeated Burmese invasions of Assam between 1817 and 1826, along with the Burmese armymen. Though these people have lost their language and culture, they still maintain that they are Assamese people. Initially, there were around 5,000 such people living in Myanmar. But today, a majority of them have assimilated into the Myanmarese society and those who are still maintaining their Assamese identity, are mostly settled in Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar and Bhamo, another city of the neighbouring country.
The two women – Ratnamoyee and Rajani Devi – who came to the city, accompanying two groups of Manipuri and Bengali people of Mandalay, however, had to speak in Burmese during their felicitation. They said that they have a very weak economy. They have lost their language and culture. But they take great pride in identifying themselves as Assamese, they said. (Courtesy of TheAssamTribuneOnline)
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Japan eager to cozy up to Myanmar’s incoming NLD government
The government is stepping up efforts to develop a relationship with Myanmar’s top opposition force, the National League for Democracy, after its landslide victory in the general election earlier this month.
Also, Japanese businesses have a high interest in Myanmar’s abundant and cheap labor.
With China also beginning to build ties with the incoming Myanmar government, Japan plans to mobilize public-private efforts to provide assistance to Myanmar, which China invested in heavily while it was under military rule, officials said.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida held talks with Nyan Win, visiting spokesman for the NLD and member of the party’s central executive committee. At the meeting, Kishida called for pro-democracy icon and NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi to make a visit to Japan soon.
Nyan Win is the NLD’s de facto No. 2 executive and Suu Kyi’s closest aide. (Courtesy of JapanTimes)
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Also, Japanese businesses have a high interest in Myanmar’s abundant and cheap labor.
With China also beginning to build ties with the incoming Myanmar government, Japan plans to mobilize public-private efforts to provide assistance to Myanmar, which China invested in heavily while it was under military rule, officials said.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida held talks with Nyan Win, visiting spokesman for the NLD and member of the party’s central executive committee. At the meeting, Kishida called for pro-democracy icon and NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi to make a visit to Japan soon.
Nyan Win is the NLD’s de facto No. 2 executive and Suu Kyi’s closest aide. (Courtesy of JapanTimes)
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Right groups say Myanmar offensive has displaced 10,000 people
BANGKOK – A Myanmar military offensive against ethnic rebels in the east of the country has uprooted more than 10,000 people, rights groups said, accusing the army of bombing schools and Buddhist temples, firing on civilians and raping women.
Since Oct. 6, the army has shelled six villages, shot and injured three people, and fired on 17 villagers who are now missing, according to activists in Shan state.
The Shan Human Rights Foundation has documented eight cases of sexual violence since April, including a 32-year-old woman gang-raped by 10 soldiers on Nov. 5 while her husband was tied up under their farm hut in Ke See township.
“We are very concerned that there has been no public condemnation by the international community about these war crimes and these attacks on civilians,” rights activist Charm Tong said. (Courtesy of JapanTimes)
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Since Oct. 6, the army has shelled six villages, shot and injured three people, and fired on 17 villagers who are now missing, according to activists in Shan state.
The Shan Human Rights Foundation has documented eight cases of sexual violence since April, including a 32-year-old woman gang-raped by 10 soldiers on Nov. 5 while her husband was tied up under their farm hut in Ke See township.
“We are very concerned that there has been no public condemnation by the international community about these war crimes and these attacks on civilians,” rights activist Charm Tong said. (Courtesy of JapanTimes)
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Aust business nous could boost Myanmar
MACQUARIE University academic Sean Turnell, an informal advisor to the NLD leadership, says agricultural reform will be a key priority once the government takes power early next year.
"Australia has a real lot to contribute now. In a sense Australia's greatest expertise is agriculture (and) agriculture is likely to be a real priority," Turnell told AAP.
"One could imagine Australian advice on that front could become quite significant," he said.
Some 70 per cent of Myanmar's 54 million population still make a living from the rural sector.
Many face high levels of debt. But as part of reforms Myanmar's agriculture bank will be able to provide more credit in the rural sector.
Australia has assisted Myanmar in the drafting of a new mining law, but the legislation has remained bogged down in the parliament.
Turnell expects the legislation to pass once the new government is in place. (Courtesy of TheAustralian)
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"Australia has a real lot to contribute now. In a sense Australia's greatest expertise is agriculture (and) agriculture is likely to be a real priority," Turnell told AAP.
"One could imagine Australian advice on that front could become quite significant," he said.
Some 70 per cent of Myanmar's 54 million population still make a living from the rural sector.
Many face high levels of debt. But as part of reforms Myanmar's agriculture bank will be able to provide more credit in the rural sector.
Australia has assisted Myanmar in the drafting of a new mining law, but the legislation has remained bogged down in the parliament.
Turnell expects the legislation to pass once the new government is in place. (Courtesy of TheAustralian)
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No evidence over Kachin teacher murders
No evidence has been found about the criminals who raped and killed two Kachin volunteer teachers on January 19 this year in northern Shan State.
The police and an investigation commission formed by the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) failed to find any evidence about the murderers, after questioning several Kaunghka villagers, where the murders occurred, said Reverend Zau Ra of Muse Township KBC.
“The case is still under investigation. We plan a press briefing and a prayer service on the first anniversary of the murders,” he added.
Another KBC member said the army had failed to reply to a request for a meeting. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
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The police and an investigation commission formed by the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) failed to find any evidence about the murderers, after questioning several Kaunghka villagers, where the murders occurred, said Reverend Zau Ra of Muse Township KBC.
“The case is still under investigation. We plan a press briefing and a prayer service on the first anniversary of the murders,” he added.
Another KBC member said the army had failed to reply to a request for a meeting. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
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November 29, 2015
NIA will spend Rs 65 lakh for information on 24 terrorists
The National Investigating Agency (NIA) has prepared a list of 24 terrorists from the North Eastern states. The agency will spend a sum of Rs 65 lakh in a bid to get information on these terrorists who belong to National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO).
These groups were involved in the ambush on Army personnel in Chandel district of Manipur, on June 4, 2015 in which 18 army personnel were killed. (Courtesy of OneIndia)
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These groups were involved in the ambush on Army personnel in Chandel district of Manipur, on June 4, 2015 in which 18 army personnel were killed. (Courtesy of OneIndia)
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Myanmar opposition says to form body to inspect its parliament representatives
YANGON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) will set up a body to regularly inspect its elected parliament representatives.
U Tin Oo, chairman of the Central Committee for Winning the General Election and patron of the NLD, said at a meeting here Saturday that NLD will tighten its discipline ahead of leading the next term of the parliament.
He urged the representatives to work for change in accordance with what the party campaigned in the election.
NLD Chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi summoned the meeting attended by the party's elected parliament representatives in Yangon.
The NLD won an absolute majority in the election, strong enough to form a new government independently under the constitution.
According to Suu Kyi, the party's elected parliament representatives' private assets will also be regularly inspected during the five-year term of parliamentary office.
She urged the representatives to work hard for the people and cut their high salaries to show sympathy on the poor who voted them in the election. (Courtesy of GlobalPost)
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U Tin Oo, chairman of the Central Committee for Winning the General Election and patron of the NLD, said at a meeting here Saturday that NLD will tighten its discipline ahead of leading the next term of the parliament.
He urged the representatives to work for change in accordance with what the party campaigned in the election.
NLD Chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi summoned the meeting attended by the party's elected parliament representatives in Yangon.
The NLD won an absolute majority in the election, strong enough to form a new government independently under the constitution.
According to Suu Kyi, the party's elected parliament representatives' private assets will also be regularly inspected during the five-year term of parliamentary office.
She urged the representatives to work hard for the people and cut their high salaries to show sympathy on the poor who voted them in the election. (Courtesy of GlobalPost)
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How Canada is supporting Myanmar as it transitions from dictatorship to democracy
YANGON, Myanmar — For decades, Canada had no diplomatic ties with the brutal military dictatorship in Myanmar.
In fact, Canada had some of the toughest sanctions against the country.
But in 2010 the dictatorship slowly began to loosen its iron grip on the country and, when it became clear that Myanmar was moving towards a new era of openness, Canada began to consider ties.
The Canadian government opened an embassy a little more than a year ago.
“We were a little bit late here,” says Canadian Ambassador Mark McDowell. “Our licence plate is number 43 which indicates we are the 43rd embassy to set up shop here.
“We are relatively small, but now we’ve grown to 10 staff and we are able to deal with a lot of different types of issues now.”
The issues he’s referring to really run the gamut and ranges from consular services to provide assistance to the growing number of Canadian tourists heading to the country, to the many Canadians already based in the country working for NGO’s and jumping into the new economic opportunities in the country. (Courtesy of Global News)
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In fact, Canada had some of the toughest sanctions against the country.
But in 2010 the dictatorship slowly began to loosen its iron grip on the country and, when it became clear that Myanmar was moving towards a new era of openness, Canada began to consider ties.
The Canadian government opened an embassy a little more than a year ago.
“We were a little bit late here,” says Canadian Ambassador Mark McDowell. “Our licence plate is number 43 which indicates we are the 43rd embassy to set up shop here.
“We are relatively small, but now we’ve grown to 10 staff and we are able to deal with a lot of different types of issues now.”
The issues he’s referring to really run the gamut and ranges from consular services to provide assistance to the growing number of Canadian tourists heading to the country, to the many Canadians already based in the country working for NGO’s and jumping into the new economic opportunities in the country. (Courtesy of Global News)
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Reflections on the exuberance and hope of the Myanmar election
South-East Asia correspondent Liam Cochrane reflects on being in Myanmar for the historic moment Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party trounced the country's military-backed ruling party in landmark elections.
The final results were announced this week in Myanmar's historic national election, but the winner has been clear for some time.
The crowd was heaving — an exuberant sea of opposition supporters in red shirts and bandanas, dancing and singing in front of party headquarters in Yangon.
But we had a problem. We had lost our ladder. Somehow in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, cameraman David and I had become separated from our local fixer, Shein.
He was carrying the aluminium step-ladder that we needed to get just slightly above the crowd to do a piece to camera for TV.
After several phone calls that mostly involved Shein and I shouting "what?" and "can you hear me?" down the line to each other, we gave up, and David and I managed to get into the tray of a small truck parked amid the crowd. (Courtesy of ABC News)
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The final results were announced this week in Myanmar's historic national election, but the winner has been clear for some time.
The crowd was heaving — an exuberant sea of opposition supporters in red shirts and bandanas, dancing and singing in front of party headquarters in Yangon.
But we had a problem. We had lost our ladder. Somehow in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, cameraman David and I had become separated from our local fixer, Shein.
He was carrying the aluminium step-ladder that we needed to get just slightly above the crowd to do a piece to camera for TV.
After several phone calls that mostly involved Shein and I shouting "what?" and "can you hear me?" down the line to each other, we gave up, and David and I managed to get into the tray of a small truck parked amid the crowd. (Courtesy of ABC News)
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Democracy in Myanmar
With all of its drawbacks, democracy is still the final resolution in a state. Asian democracy is colourful. Asia is a home of largest democracy with the oldest democracy working in Japan. The world’s largest Indian secular democracy has fast becoming a religious dictatorship under Shiv Sena.
There are many countries in Asia which have not been democratised. Somewhere there is a political dictatorship with one party rule. Somewhere there are monarchs ruling. Somewhere there is a semi-military and civilian participation. Somewhere democracy faces instability and thrown out many times but also comes back as last resort. Somewhere not democracy but military dictatorship emerges as symbol of national integration.
Myanmar is now on the road to democracy. The South East Asian country, just neighbouring South Asia, was ruled so long by military junta. General elections were not held in the last 25 years. The military junta was accused by human rights organizations for human rights violations. Aung Sun Suu Kyi, human rights activist and pro-democracy leader, was long detained.
Historic general elections were held on 8 November and 33 million of voters cast their votes. Previous elections were held in 1990, showing similar results. The main context was with the ruling military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National League for Democracy (NLD. The extremist Buddhist group, known as “Ma Ba Tha,” campaigned for the USDP Voters overwhelmingly voted for the NLD.
Polling was relatively fair and free if not absolutely. Had there been total transparency, the USDP would have wiped out. The USDP field many civilian officials and military officers. At least 170 of them contested the polls. The constitution retains quarter of seats for the military. This was perhaps the first time in democratic history that a large number of military officers stood as political candidates in elections. The minority Rohingya Muslim community was not allowed to field candidates. (Courtesy of The Nation)
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There are many countries in Asia which have not been democratised. Somewhere there is a political dictatorship with one party rule. Somewhere there are monarchs ruling. Somewhere there is a semi-military and civilian participation. Somewhere democracy faces instability and thrown out many times but also comes back as last resort. Somewhere not democracy but military dictatorship emerges as symbol of national integration.
Myanmar is now on the road to democracy. The South East Asian country, just neighbouring South Asia, was ruled so long by military junta. General elections were not held in the last 25 years. The military junta was accused by human rights organizations for human rights violations. Aung Sun Suu Kyi, human rights activist and pro-democracy leader, was long detained.
Historic general elections were held on 8 November and 33 million of voters cast their votes. Previous elections were held in 1990, showing similar results. The main context was with the ruling military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National League for Democracy (NLD. The extremist Buddhist group, known as “Ma Ba Tha,” campaigned for the USDP Voters overwhelmingly voted for the NLD.
Polling was relatively fair and free if not absolutely. Had there been total transparency, the USDP would have wiped out. The USDP field many civilian officials and military officers. At least 170 of them contested the polls. The constitution retains quarter of seats for the military. This was perhaps the first time in democratic history that a large number of military officers stood as political candidates in elections. The minority Rohingya Muslim community was not allowed to field candidates. (Courtesy of The Nation)
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November 28, 2015
Man injured by BGP assault in Santouli
A man was brutally assaulted up by BGP near Santouli in Akyab by BGP personal.
Last Friday, Md Sadek was on the road when BGP intercepted him and started beating him up, leaving him with multiple injuries all over the body. The victim is currently in a critical condition.
Sources say a day earlier, a raid by BGP forces in Santouli was protested by locals as the security forces rounded up innocent men on alleged terror charges. The assault on Sadek is a revenge by the BGP for protesting the raid.
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Last Friday, Md Sadek was on the road when BGP intercepted him and started beating him up, leaving him with multiple injuries all over the body. The victim is currently in a critical condition.
Sources say a day earlier, a raid by BGP forces in Santouli was protested by locals as the security forces rounded up innocent men on alleged terror charges. The assault on Sadek is a revenge by the BGP for protesting the raid.
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Treating More HIV Patients in More Places: Myanmar’s Next Challenge
Between 2011 and 2014, Myanmar more than doubled the number of people living with HIV who are on long-term antiretroviral-therapy (ART), the gold standard for HIV treatment. This is fantastic news. Furthermore, while Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continues to be one of the biggest providers of HIV care in Myanmar, currently treating 35,000 patients across the country, by the end of 2014, almost half of all ART drugs in Myanmar were being provided in the public sector.
But despite these achievements, the harsh reality remains that today only half the estimated 210,000 people living with HIV in Myanmar receive ART. So as we mark Word AIDS day this year, and acknowledge the huge progress that has been made in Myanmar, we need to ask ourselves: why is this? And, even more importantly, what needs to happen next?
We have entered a new phase in the HIV epidemic in Myanmar. Success in starting more people on proper treatment has also brought a new challenge: how do we maintain the long term support of those already on treatment, while simultaneously ensuring that the remaining people living with HIV know their status and have access to services? Part of the answer lies in simplifying the way we support those already on lifelong treatment.
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But despite these achievements, the harsh reality remains that today only half the estimated 210,000 people living with HIV in Myanmar receive ART. So as we mark Word AIDS day this year, and acknowledge the huge progress that has been made in Myanmar, we need to ask ourselves: why is this? And, even more importantly, what needs to happen next?
We have entered a new phase in the HIV epidemic in Myanmar. Success in starting more people on proper treatment has also brought a new challenge: how do we maintain the long term support of those already on treatment, while simultaneously ensuring that the remaining people living with HIV know their status and have access to services? Part of the answer lies in simplifying the way we support those already on lifelong treatment.
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Tokyo seeks closer ties with victorious NLD, offers expertise
TOKYO -- The Japanese government has taken a step toward cementing ties with the National League for Democracy, following the party's landslide victory in Myanmar's Nov. 8 election.
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met here Friday with Nyan Win, the NLD's No. 2 official and a close aide to party leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Kishida promised to support the launch next spring of a new government, which is to be led by the NLD, and invited Suu Kyi to visit Japan at an early date.
Nyan Win told Kishida that Myanmar needs Japanese investment and technology. Nyan Win is scheduled to stay here through Thursday, conferring with government and business leaders. He is rumored as a possible presidential candidate as Myanmar's constitution blocks Suu Kyi -- with sons who are U.K. citizens -- from becoming president.
"The NLD has almost no knowledge of government, and we are in a position to introduce Japanese-style administration methods," a Japanese government official said.
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Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met here Friday with Nyan Win, the NLD's No. 2 official and a close aide to party leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Kishida promised to support the launch next spring of a new government, which is to be led by the NLD, and invited Suu Kyi to visit Japan at an early date.
Nyan Win told Kishida that Myanmar needs Japanese investment and technology. Nyan Win is scheduled to stay here through Thursday, conferring with government and business leaders. He is rumored as a possible presidential candidate as Myanmar's constitution blocks Suu Kyi -- with sons who are U.K. citizens -- from becoming president.
"The NLD has almost no knowledge of government, and we are in a position to introduce Japanese-style administration methods," a Japanese government official said.
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The Road to The Future
The Aung San Suu Kyi-led NLD party’s decisive victory in the recent Myanmar elections holds the promise of far-reaching changes in India’s important, if relatively neglected, eastern neighbour. It also has the potential of opening up a new and positive chapter in India-Myanmar relations. Rajiv Bhatia’s book, India-Myanmar Relations: Changing Contours is timely; it offers significant insights into the transformative processes underway in Myanmar and the direction in which India-Myanmar ties may evolve. On the former, he correctly notes, “The change arose from within, from the political elite’s careful assessment that the SPDC approach had run the ship of the economy aground…” (pg 39) and consequently, the military realised that a compromise with Suu Kyi was required. On her part, Suu Kyi too retreated from an insistence on adhering to full democratic functioning.
Bhatia has excellent credentials to survey India’s long and historic relations with Myanmar. A professional diplomat with a scholarly bent of mind, he served as India’s ambassador to the country and also spent many years in dealing with Myanmar in the ministry of external affairs. More importantly, Bhatia developed an enduring interest in the country and its people. He brings all the experience he gained over his over two decade-long association with the country and its people to his writing.
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Bhatia has excellent credentials to survey India’s long and historic relations with Myanmar. A professional diplomat with a scholarly bent of mind, he served as India’s ambassador to the country and also spent many years in dealing with Myanmar in the ministry of external affairs. More importantly, Bhatia developed an enduring interest in the country and its people. He brings all the experience he gained over his over two decade-long association with the country and its people to his writing.
For more information - Visit here.
Suu Kyi to take fresh look at peace deal
Aung San Suu Kyi, chair of the National League for Democracy (NLD), said she would restart the peace process in an effort to persuade other groups to sign the ceasefire.
Speaking on the Radio Free Asia programme, ‘Rough Journey to Democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi’, she said: “We will have to negotiate from the beginning in order to lay down the political framework for the nationwide ceasefire. We will continue carrying out the tasks of the Myanmar Peace Centre, but some will have to be changed. We would like to tackle the peace process as early as possible. We want to move quickly towards ensuring a smooth transfer of power so that we will be poised to tackle all the issues when we are in government,” Suu Kyi said.
She added that the NLD would have to work hard for the ethnic minorities and peace must be given priority in addition to regional development in matters like education, health and social welfare.
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Speaking on the Radio Free Asia programme, ‘Rough Journey to Democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi’, she said: “We will have to negotiate from the beginning in order to lay down the political framework for the nationwide ceasefire. We will continue carrying out the tasks of the Myanmar Peace Centre, but some will have to be changed. We would like to tackle the peace process as early as possible. We want to move quickly towards ensuring a smooth transfer of power so that we will be poised to tackle all the issues when we are in government,” Suu Kyi said.
She added that the NLD would have to work hard for the ethnic minorities and peace must be given priority in addition to regional development in matters like education, health and social welfare.
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Hunger strikers sue for prison beating
Two students have sued Myingyan prison commander for beatings they received while on hunger strike in the jail.
Sithu Myat, a second-year maths student, and Soe Hlaing from Monywa Technology University were arrested in March. They went on hunger strike along with another student, Nyan Myint Than, on November 5.
Soe Hlaing said: “On November 6, Sithu Myat and I were wrapped in blankets and taken from our cells. Our legs were beaten with sticks or bricks. They sent us back to our cells in great pain. We aren’t criminals. We are students demanding educational reform. We weren’t sentenced. They breached our human rights. That’s why we are trying to sue the prison commander. We also sent a letter to the Myanmar Human Rights Commission.”
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Sithu Myat, a second-year maths student, and Soe Hlaing from Monywa Technology University were arrested in March. They went on hunger strike along with another student, Nyan Myint Than, on November 5.
Soe Hlaing said: “On November 6, Sithu Myat and I were wrapped in blankets and taken from our cells. Our legs were beaten with sticks or bricks. They sent us back to our cells in great pain. We aren’t criminals. We are students demanding educational reform. We weren’t sentenced. They breached our human rights. That’s why we are trying to sue the prison commander. We also sent a letter to the Myanmar Human Rights Commission.”
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Pestilent mines plague Myanmar’s people
Myanmar’s war zones, even in areas where a ceasefire is in place, continue to experience the terrors of conflict as landmines riddle jungles and village tracks. The biggest problem about this, no one knows how many or where they are.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines released their 17th report on Myanmar on 25 November. It once again highlights the lack of trust between groups in solving an issue that harms civilians mostly after the conflict is over.
The most disturbing factor that the report highlights is that no one fully knows the number of causalities or how many people the destructive weapon maims.
“The Tatmadaw or ethnic armed groups do not record the number of civilians who have been injured or killed by anti-personnel mines that they have laid. The ministry of health is unable to count the number of people who are landmine victims in Myanmar,” said Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, Research Coordinator & Editor of the Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor.
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The International Campaign to Ban Landmines released their 17th report on Myanmar on 25 November. It once again highlights the lack of trust between groups in solving an issue that harms civilians mostly after the conflict is over.
The most disturbing factor that the report highlights is that no one fully knows the number of causalities or how many people the destructive weapon maims.
“The Tatmadaw or ethnic armed groups do not record the number of civilians who have been injured or killed by anti-personnel mines that they have laid. The ministry of health is unable to count the number of people who are landmine victims in Myanmar,” said Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, Research Coordinator & Editor of the Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor.
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Advancement or Regression? The 2015 Elections in Myanmar
In 1990, the nation now known as Myanmar (renamed from Burma in 1989) held its first election since the 1962 coup that brought a repressive military junta to power. The elections were swept by the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi. But the power transition from military to civilian rule never came and by the end of 1990 many of the major figures in the NLD, including Suu Kyi, were arrested.
In 2008, a new constitution was drafted and a transition plan established in an attempt to convert Myanmar from military rule to democracy. The country held its first elections under the new constitution in 2010, which brought Thein Sein to the seat of the presidency. On November 8, 2015, general elections were once again held and the NLD and Suu Kyi were once again in the national spotlight. But will anything actually change? Read on to learn about the elections and the current situation in Myanmar.
MILITARY RULE
Following its independence from the British Empire, Myanmar attempted to cultivate a bicameral, multiparty democracy. During this time, the Union of Burma was led by U Thant who served as Prime Minister, and later as the country’s permanent United Nations representative and eventually the Secretary General of the U.N. However the democratic process in his own nation was far from clean. Elections were characterized by infighting among the political parties and general instability. In 1958, Army Chief of Staff Ne Win was tasked with establishing a caretaker government to restore order.
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In 2008, a new constitution was drafted and a transition plan established in an attempt to convert Myanmar from military rule to democracy. The country held its first elections under the new constitution in 2010, which brought Thein Sein to the seat of the presidency. On November 8, 2015, general elections were once again held and the NLD and Suu Kyi were once again in the national spotlight. But will anything actually change? Read on to learn about the elections and the current situation in Myanmar.
MILITARY RULE
Following its independence from the British Empire, Myanmar attempted to cultivate a bicameral, multiparty democracy. During this time, the Union of Burma was led by U Thant who served as Prime Minister, and later as the country’s permanent United Nations representative and eventually the Secretary General of the U.N. However the democratic process in his own nation was far from clean. Elections were characterized by infighting among the political parties and general instability. In 1958, Army Chief of Staff Ne Win was tasked with establishing a caretaker government to restore order.
For more information - Visit here.
Iraq: 'Doctors with Guns' from Myanmar help Kurds fight Isis
A team of Free Burma Rangers (FBR), also dubbed "doctors with guns", is in the war-torn region of Iraq to lend a helping hand to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces to fight the Islamic State (Isis).
According to a Rudaw report, the FBR have been providing much needed critical care to the Peshmerga soldiers wounded in the frontline areas while fighting the Isis.
Since March, the Free Burma Rangers - which is a Christian humanitarian group that works primarily in heavily forested border regions of Myanmar - have been delivering emergency medical assistance to the sick and the internally displaced. The doctors have visited Iraq thrice this year on their mission.
While their help has been welcomed by the Kurdish soldiers on the frontline, the Burmese group has courted controversy for siding with the Kurds, the report noted.
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According to a Rudaw report, the FBR have been providing much needed critical care to the Peshmerga soldiers wounded in the frontline areas while fighting the Isis.
Since March, the Free Burma Rangers - which is a Christian humanitarian group that works primarily in heavily forested border regions of Myanmar - have been delivering emergency medical assistance to the sick and the internally displaced. The doctors have visited Iraq thrice this year on their mission.
While their help has been welcomed by the Kurdish soldiers on the frontline, the Burmese group has courted controversy for siding with the Kurds, the report noted.
For more information - Visit here.
Can Myanmar leave censorship behind as it enters a new era?
Following the landslide election result for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) earlier this month, Myanmar appears to be transforming from one of the world’s most repressive regimes to a relatively free country.
But signs of regression towards old habits by the military over the past year, and their continued presence and power of veto in parliament even after the election result, the future for democratic freedoms – including freedom of expression – is far from guaranteed.
During the censorship years, journalists, writers, artists and activists in Myanmar risked being blacklisted and tortured for speaking freely. Some even spent decades in solitary confinement. References to political figures were off limits, as were views that contradicted the government line on any issue. The same applied to subjects or images that breached conservative cultural norms. At some points in the not-too-distant past, no woman could be depicted on screen exposing her leg above the calf.
For more information - Visit here.
But signs of regression towards old habits by the military over the past year, and their continued presence and power of veto in parliament even after the election result, the future for democratic freedoms – including freedom of expression – is far from guaranteed.
During the censorship years, journalists, writers, artists and activists in Myanmar risked being blacklisted and tortured for speaking freely. Some even spent decades in solitary confinement. References to political figures were off limits, as were views that contradicted the government line on any issue. The same applied to subjects or images that breached conservative cultural norms. At some points in the not-too-distant past, no woman could be depicted on screen exposing her leg above the calf.
For more information - Visit here.
Rohingya refugees left stranded in Nepal
Just outside the office of the United Nations Refugee Agency in Kathmandu, people from conflict-torn countries in Asia and Africa have been staging sit-in protests.
But with a surge in refugees around the world, there may be few answers to their problems, leaving many stranded in a country that calls them illegal migrants.
The front gate of the U.N. agency’s building has been a protest site for refugees and asylum seekers since Oct. 27. These include people from some of the world’s most persecuted communities: Rohingya from Myanmar, Ahmadis from Pakistan, Hazaras from Afghanistan. The protesters — roughly 50 have turned up each day — have fled their homes in eight countries in Asia, Africa and South America.
The gates of the U.N. Refugee Agency were the only option left for these so-called "urban refugees," since the government of Nepal refuses to issue refugee status to asylum seekers from places other than Tibet and Bhutan.
Now, these urban refugees are facing further hardship, after the U.N. Refugee Agency slashed its subsistence allowances by 25 percent, to the equivalent of about US$55 a month. And by January 2016, the allowances will stop altogether.
"Our life was not easy before in Nepal … now, life has become unbearable," said one of the protesters, Yasin Hamdani, 30, a member of the persecuted Rohingya community who fled Myanmar in 2012.
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But with a surge in refugees around the world, there may be few answers to their problems, leaving many stranded in a country that calls them illegal migrants.
The front gate of the U.N. agency’s building has been a protest site for refugees and asylum seekers since Oct. 27. These include people from some of the world’s most persecuted communities: Rohingya from Myanmar, Ahmadis from Pakistan, Hazaras from Afghanistan. The protesters — roughly 50 have turned up each day — have fled their homes in eight countries in Asia, Africa and South America.
The gates of the U.N. Refugee Agency were the only option left for these so-called "urban refugees," since the government of Nepal refuses to issue refugee status to asylum seekers from places other than Tibet and Bhutan.
Now, these urban refugees are facing further hardship, after the U.N. Refugee Agency slashed its subsistence allowances by 25 percent, to the equivalent of about US$55 a month. And by January 2016, the allowances will stop altogether.
"Our life was not easy before in Nepal … now, life has become unbearable," said one of the protesters, Yasin Hamdani, 30, a member of the persecuted Rohingya community who fled Myanmar in 2012.
For more information - Visit here.
Thousands displaced, women raped in military offensive in Myanmar: Rights groups
BANGKOK - A Myanmar military offensive against ethnic rebels in the country's east has uprooted more than 10,000 people, rights groups said, accusing the army of bombing schools and Buddhist temples, firing on civilians and raping women.
Since Oct. 6, the army has shelled six villages, shot and injured three people, and fired on 17 villagers who are now missing, according to activists in Shan state.
The Shan Human Rights Foundation has documented eight cases of sexual violence since April 2015, including a 32-year-old woman gang-raped by 10 soldiers on Nov. 5 while her husband was tied up under their farm hut in Ke See township.
"We are very concerned that there has been no public condemnation by the international community about these war crimes and these attacks on civilians," rights activist Charm Tong told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has fought ethnic groups in its borderlands off and on for decades, causing massive displacement within the country and forcing hundreds of thousands to seek refuge across the border in Thailand.
In 2010, the country's ruling military junta was replaced by a military-backed civilian government, and the country embarked on reforms towards elections earlier this month, which saw opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy win in a landslide.
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Since Oct. 6, the army has shelled six villages, shot and injured three people, and fired on 17 villagers who are now missing, according to activists in Shan state.
The Shan Human Rights Foundation has documented eight cases of sexual violence since April 2015, including a 32-year-old woman gang-raped by 10 soldiers on Nov. 5 while her husband was tied up under their farm hut in Ke See township.
"We are very concerned that there has been no public condemnation by the international community about these war crimes and these attacks on civilians," rights activist Charm Tong told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has fought ethnic groups in its borderlands off and on for decades, causing massive displacement within the country and forcing hundreds of thousands to seek refuge across the border in Thailand.
In 2010, the country's ruling military junta was replaced by a military-backed civilian government, and the country embarked on reforms towards elections earlier this month, which saw opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy win in a landslide.
For more information - Visit here.
Dealing with the Rohingya problem
In Sudan, Syria and Sri Lanka today, millions of innocent people continue to suffer from cruelty and brutality that they had no part in provoking.
Closer to home, the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar has now spilled over to neighbouring countries as refugees continue to flee from state-sponsored persecution. Various reports have quoted United Nations sources as saying that the Rohingya are one of, if not the “world’s most persecuted minority.”
Said to constitute seven per cent of the total Myanmar population, their exact numbers are unknown because the majority-Buddhist Myanmar government intentionally excludes the Rohingya, a Muslim minority, from the national census.
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Closer to home, the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar has now spilled over to neighbouring countries as refugees continue to flee from state-sponsored persecution. Various reports have quoted United Nations sources as saying that the Rohingya are one of, if not the “world’s most persecuted minority.”
Said to constitute seven per cent of the total Myanmar population, their exact numbers are unknown because the majority-Buddhist Myanmar government intentionally excludes the Rohingya, a Muslim minority, from the national census.
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November 27, 2015
Police Extort Money from Rohingya for Keeping Suu Kyi’s Photo in Phone
Buthidaung, Arakan State (Rohingya Vision) – The Myanmar Police threatened a Rohingya and extorted money from him in Buthidaung Township last Friday for keeping the picture of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in his phone, according to reliable sources.
Around 2:30PM on November 20, a team of five police officers from ‘Regional Security Department’ from the Police Station stopped the Rohingya passers-by and checked out their hand-phone sets. Upon searching their phones, the police found the picture of Daw Aung San Suu Kyin saved in the photo of a person named U Aziz Nazir Hussein.
The police said “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is not a leader of the nation but a puppet of the Western Nations. Why do you keep her photos in your phone?
Doing so is an insult to the President of the nation.”
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Myanmar Woman Held with Heroin in Mizoram
A 43-year-old Myanmarese woman was arrested with 109 grams of heroin worth around Rs 3.5 lakh in the local market, Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department said on Thursday.
The contraband was seized from one Sangneihi hailing from Khawpuar village in Myanmar onb Wednesday night. She had come to Melbuk in Champhai district in Mizoram, spokesman of the department Peter Zohmingthanga said.
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The contraband was seized from one Sangneihi hailing from Khawpuar village in Myanmar onb Wednesday night. She had come to Melbuk in Champhai district in Mizoram, spokesman of the department Peter Zohmingthanga said.
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Microsoft seals Myanmar deal
IT giant Microsoft has signed an agreement of cooperation with Myanmar’s notorious Shwe Taung Group.
In September, Microsoft also went into a partnership with the Kanbawza Group which has businesses ranging from precious minerals to banking.
Greeting the news of the second-largest venture signed by Microsoft in Myanmar, the Financial Times carried the headline: “Microsoft enters minefield of Myanmar business with IT deal.”
Both Shwe Taung and Kanbawza have long been under fire domestically and internationally for cronyism with Shwe Taung’s controlling shareholder Aik Htun suspected by the US Treasury of narcotics connections.
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In September, Microsoft also went into a partnership with the Kanbawza Group which has businesses ranging from precious minerals to banking.
Greeting the news of the second-largest venture signed by Microsoft in Myanmar, the Financial Times carried the headline: “Microsoft enters minefield of Myanmar business with IT deal.”
Both Shwe Taung and Kanbawza have long been under fire domestically and internationally for cronyism with Shwe Taung’s controlling shareholder Aik Htun suspected by the US Treasury of narcotics connections.
For more information - Visit here.
Suu Kyi says Myanmar cabinet to include ethnic groups, other parties
Myanmar's new cabinet will include members of other political parties and representatives of ethnic minorities, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday, stressing the need for national reconciliation.
The NLD won a majority in both houses of Myanmar's parliament and also faired better than expected against ethnic political parties in regional legislatures.
But Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has emphasised that the first democratically elected government in more than 50 years will seek to reconcile the country's many disparate political groups.
"Our party has won an overwhelming majority of the seats but we won't take them all," Suu Kyi said, referring to cabinet seats in an interview with Radio Free Asia's Myanmar language service broadcast on Thursday.
"As I said earlier, we will cooperate with others with the spirit of sharing our success with them based on building national reconciliation. Of course the NLD will lead. It is the mandate the people have given to us at our request.
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The NLD won a majority in both houses of Myanmar's parliament and also faired better than expected against ethnic political parties in regional legislatures.
But Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has emphasised that the first democratically elected government in more than 50 years will seek to reconcile the country's many disparate political groups.
"Our party has won an overwhelming majority of the seats but we won't take them all," Suu Kyi said, referring to cabinet seats in an interview with Radio Free Asia's Myanmar language service broadcast on Thursday.
"As I said earlier, we will cooperate with others with the spirit of sharing our success with them based on building national reconciliation. Of course the NLD will lead. It is the mandate the people have given to us at our request.
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Myanmar's Suu Kyi blames lack of safety regulations for deadly landslide
Nov 26 A disregard for the rule of law in the jade mining industry in Myanmar had made accidents such as the landslide that killed more than 100 people at the weekend a common occurrence, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday.
Authorities called off search efforts late on Wednesday in Hpakant, with as many as 100 people estimated still missing after a huge slag heap of mining debris gave way on Saturday and buried a makeshift settlement of migrant workers as they slept.
"As far as we understand, it was the fifth similar incident this year," Suu Kyi told Radio Free Asia's Myanmar language service during an interview broadcast on Thursday.
"This sort of accident is common just because there is no rule of law. It also reflects lack of due consideration for the safety of people's life and property."
They were Suu Kyi's first comments on the disaster in Hpakant, where rescue workers recovered 114 bodies before giving up the search.
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Authorities called off search efforts late on Wednesday in Hpakant, with as many as 100 people estimated still missing after a huge slag heap of mining debris gave way on Saturday and buried a makeshift settlement of migrant workers as they slept.
"As far as we understand, it was the fifth similar incident this year," Suu Kyi told Radio Free Asia's Myanmar language service during an interview broadcast on Thursday.
"This sort of accident is common just because there is no rule of law. It also reflects lack of due consideration for the safety of people's life and property."
They were Suu Kyi's first comments on the disaster in Hpakant, where rescue workers recovered 114 bodies before giving up the search.
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Unearthing buried stories
Photography exhibition UNEARTH, on display at Myanmar Deitta until December 19, showcases the work of six photographers, local and international, who spent two months documenting Myanmar’s diverse and highly lucrative extractive industries sector, from mining to pipelining.
“We followed stories throughout the country, including the illicit jade trade in northern Myanmar’s Kachin State, the aftermath of government crackdowns on protests against the controversial Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Region and the tapping of onshore oil reserves along the banks of the Irrawaddy River,” said director of Myanmar Deitta Matt Grace, whose work features in the exhibition.
The six stories featured in the exhibition, which comprises 30 photographs from across the country, were commissioned and supported by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) with the aim of informing officials, industry professionals and the wider public about some of the issues faced in the extractive industries sector and the communities affected.
For more information - Visit here.
“We followed stories throughout the country, including the illicit jade trade in northern Myanmar’s Kachin State, the aftermath of government crackdowns on protests against the controversial Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Region and the tapping of onshore oil reserves along the banks of the Irrawaddy River,” said director of Myanmar Deitta Matt Grace, whose work features in the exhibition.
The six stories featured in the exhibition, which comprises 30 photographs from across the country, were commissioned and supported by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) with the aim of informing officials, industry professionals and the wider public about some of the issues faced in the extractive industries sector and the communities affected.
For more information - Visit here.
Rohingya Refugee and Migrant Women Shadowed by Sexual and Gender-based Violence
Refugee and migrant women are known to be at heightened risk of being subjected to sexual and gender-based violence. Their vulnerability as women is compounded by the violence they risk suffering both while traveling insecure routes when leaving their homeland or when staying in places that lack basic security, such as overcrowded camps without adequate lighting or separated spaces for women.
Rohingya refugee and migrant women are no exception. Indeed, given their status as women, stateless and part of an ethno-religious minority, Rohingya women (and girls) are particularly vulnerable to a wide range of sexual and gender-based violence that can affect not only their physical and psychological development but may also restrict the socio-economic opportunities available to them both within Myanmar and their new country of residence.
The Rohingya are an ethnic Muslim minority in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. The country’s military-drafted 1982 Citizenship Act excluded them from Myanmar’s 135 recognized ethnic groups, effectively making them stateless. Then, after decades of discrimination and disenfranchisement, roughly 140,000 Rohingya fled their homes in northwestern Rakhine state in 2012 when sectarian violence reached deadly heights. The majority ended up in government-designated camps for internally displaced persons near the state capital, Sittwe (where many still live in fragile structures today). Fresh rounds of violence have flared since, seeing thousands of Rohingya departing by sea, aiming to reach Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia, and contributing to the tragic “boat people” humanitarian crisis that made headlines around the world earlier this year.
For more information - Visit here.
Rohingya refugee and migrant women are no exception. Indeed, given their status as women, stateless and part of an ethno-religious minority, Rohingya women (and girls) are particularly vulnerable to a wide range of sexual and gender-based violence that can affect not only their physical and psychological development but may also restrict the socio-economic opportunities available to them both within Myanmar and their new country of residence.
The Rohingya are an ethnic Muslim minority in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. The country’s military-drafted 1982 Citizenship Act excluded them from Myanmar’s 135 recognized ethnic groups, effectively making them stateless. Then, after decades of discrimination and disenfranchisement, roughly 140,000 Rohingya fled their homes in northwestern Rakhine state in 2012 when sectarian violence reached deadly heights. The majority ended up in government-designated camps for internally displaced persons near the state capital, Sittwe (where many still live in fragile structures today). Fresh rounds of violence have flared since, seeing thousands of Rohingya departing by sea, aiming to reach Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia, and contributing to the tragic “boat people” humanitarian crisis that made headlines around the world earlier this year.
For more information - Visit here.
Japan pledges $10.6 bln for climate policies in developing nations
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday pledged to give $10.6 bln more to developing nations in 2020 to help them implement policies against global warming, ahead of the U.N. climate talks in Paris next week.
The decision to offer 1.3-trillion yen ($10.6 billion) came after Japan gave a roughly combined 2.0 trillion yen for the same purpose in 2013 and 2014.
Japanese officials said the money will go toward a 2009 pledge among developed countries to commit $100 billion by 2020 to address the needs of developing nations - agreed at the COP15 climate meeting in Copenhagen.
“We attach great importance to the notion that all nations will participate in agreeing to a new international framework,” Abe said in a meeting on global warming with members of his cabinet.
For more information - Visit here.
The decision to offer 1.3-trillion yen ($10.6 billion) came after Japan gave a roughly combined 2.0 trillion yen for the same purpose in 2013 and 2014.
Japanese officials said the money will go toward a 2009 pledge among developed countries to commit $100 billion by 2020 to address the needs of developing nations - agreed at the COP15 climate meeting in Copenhagen.
“We attach great importance to the notion that all nations will participate in agreeing to a new international framework,” Abe said in a meeting on global warming with members of his cabinet.
For more information - Visit here.
Rohingya Re-arrested in Myanmar over Facebook Calendar
YANGON (AFP) – Five Myanmar men fined for publishing a calendar that described the country’s persecuted Muslim Rohingya as a recognized ethnic minority have been rearrested and jailed on fresh charges, police said Wednesday.
The men were initially taken into custody over the weekend in Yangon and fined $800 each on Monday after pleading guilty to a publishing law offence. But they have now been rearrested and jailed on separate charges of inciting alarm or panic, a charge that carries up to two years jail.
“We arrested five persons yesterday under the warrant by the court. They were sent to Insein prison,” said Khin Maung Latt, police chief of Pazundaung township.
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The men were initially taken into custody over the weekend in Yangon and fined $800 each on Monday after pleading guilty to a publishing law offence. But they have now been rearrested and jailed on separate charges of inciting alarm or panic, a charge that carries up to two years jail.
“We arrested five persons yesterday under the warrant by the court. They were sent to Insein prison,” said Khin Maung Latt, police chief of Pazundaung township.
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Ethnic minorities in Myanmar denied vote as Aung San Suu Kyi claims power
Shwe Maung is one of just three Rohingya Muslim parliamentarians in the Buddhist-majority country. But in August, as the western media celebrated Myanmar’s transition to democracy, Shwe Maung - a serving member of the government since 2010 - was told that, because his parents weren’t citizens at the time of his birth, he would not be given a vote in the election.
In a country where the Rohingya, an ethnic minority community in western Myanmar, have faced abuses for decades and are denied equal access to citizenship, Shwe Maung’s story is not unique.
Myanmar’s Union Election commission (UEC), led by former army general Tin Aye and supported by the United States and European Union, was tasked with ensuring the elections were free and fair.
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In a country where the Rohingya, an ethnic minority community in western Myanmar, have faced abuses for decades and are denied equal access to citizenship, Shwe Maung’s story is not unique.
Myanmar’s Union Election commission (UEC), led by former army general Tin Aye and supported by the United States and European Union, was tasked with ensuring the elections were free and fair.
For more information - Visit here.
Thai summit to spotlight Myanmar, Bangladesh over migrant crisis
BANGKOK: Myanmar and Bangladesh face renewed pressure to tackle “the root causes” of an annual migration crisis after Thailand on Thursday announced a regional summit ahead of the new sailing season.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled western Myanmar in recent years, joined increasingly by Bangladeshis escaping poverty, on dangerous and often fatal sea journeys through the Bay of Bengal towards Malaysia.
Boats crammed with migrants traditionally depart following the end of the monsoon season expected in November.
Tainting image: Bangladesh PM calls migrants ‘mentally sick’
It is not clear whether migrants will take to the seas in the same numbers this year after Thailand launched a crackdown on major human trafficking rings in May.
For more information - Visit here.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled western Myanmar in recent years, joined increasingly by Bangladeshis escaping poverty, on dangerous and often fatal sea journeys through the Bay of Bengal towards Malaysia.
Boats crammed with migrants traditionally depart following the end of the monsoon season expected in November.
Tainting image: Bangladesh PM calls migrants ‘mentally sick’
It is not clear whether migrants will take to the seas in the same numbers this year after Thailand launched a crackdown on major human trafficking rings in May.
For more information - Visit here.
Polling complaint sent to Arakan State Election Commission
During the national election only one complaint has been officially lodged from recent polling in Arakan State, according to U Thurein Htut, an officer with the Arakan State election sub-commission office. The Ramree Township election sub-commission submitted a complaint against U Kyaw Shwe, the winning Lower House candidate from Arakan National Party (ANP).
For more information - Visit here.
For more information - Visit here.
November 26, 2015
Riddle of the Rohingya Resettler Solved by a Roti Seller
PHNOM PENH: Mohammed Ibrahim took time off selling warm roti on the crowded streets of the Cambodian capital to greet a fellow Rohingya man who was arriving in the country under Australia's controversial $55 million agreement to resettle refugees from Nauru.
Mr Ibrahim felt empathy for the single man in his early 20s who had decided to abandon hopes of reaching Australia to take a one-way ticket to one of the world's poorest nations.
"I want to help him . . . life is very difficult for us here," he said, as he waited at the gate of Phnom Penh's airport on a stifling hot morning in June.
But the man and three Iranian refugees - the first and only group so far to arrive from Nauru - were whisked past him in a van and taken to a luxury villa in a Phnom Penh suburb.
Over the following weeks 32-year-old Mr Ibrahim made repeated attempts to contact the newly arrived Rohingya, including asking the Australian embassy to arrange a meeting, but was blocked each time.
For more information - Visit here.
Mr Ibrahim felt empathy for the single man in his early 20s who had decided to abandon hopes of reaching Australia to take a one-way ticket to one of the world's poorest nations.
"I want to help him . . . life is very difficult for us here," he said, as he waited at the gate of Phnom Penh's airport on a stifling hot morning in June.
But the man and three Iranian refugees - the first and only group so far to arrive from Nauru - were whisked past him in a van and taken to a luxury villa in a Phnom Penh suburb.
Over the following weeks 32-year-old Mr Ibrahim made repeated attempts to contact the newly arrived Rohingya, including asking the Australian embassy to arrange a meeting, but was blocked each time.
For more information - Visit here.
In Burma, false claims of French rally 'to kick out Muslims'
In just 24 hours, this Facebook post in Burmese has been shared more than 5,000 times, and “liked” nearly as much. Two photos of massive protests are captioned “a hundred thousand French people protested on November 22 to kick Muslims out of France”. In Burma, where Islamophobia runs rampant, this seemed believable to many.
The post was spotted by Aung Aung, a Burmese Observer living in France. It was published by a popular Facebook page whose name translates to “Knowledge Digest”. Apparently aimed at young people, this page shares all types of news and opinion, including a lot of anti-Muslim and anti-Rohingya rhetoric. In the past few years, the rise of extremist Buddhist nationalists in Burma has led to growing Islamophobia and persecution of the Rohingyas, a Muslim ethnic minority.
Of course, anyone who pays attention to news from France knows that there have been no major anti-Muslim protests since the November 13 Paris attacks. A quick Google Images search shows that the two photos used in the post are not at all what the caption claims they are.
For more information - Visit here.
The post was spotted by Aung Aung, a Burmese Observer living in France. It was published by a popular Facebook page whose name translates to “Knowledge Digest”. Apparently aimed at young people, this page shares all types of news and opinion, including a lot of anti-Muslim and anti-Rohingya rhetoric. In the past few years, the rise of extremist Buddhist nationalists in Burma has led to growing Islamophobia and persecution of the Rohingyas, a Muslim ethnic minority.
Of course, anyone who pays attention to news from France knows that there have been no major anti-Muslim protests since the November 13 Paris attacks. A quick Google Images search shows that the two photos used in the post are not at all what the caption claims they are.
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar Cannot Ignore China
Forecast
The next phase of Myanmar's political transition has been settled. The results of the country's Nov. 8 elections have confirmed that the opposition National League for Democracy now holds a healthy majority in parliament and can form a new government without the help of the formerly ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. For the first time since Myanmar's 1962 coup, a fully civilian party will lead the government, although it will still have to vie for power with the country's military elite.
Meanwhile, China has been watching Myanmar's political transition with growing concern. Myanmar, which shares a 2,192-kilometer (1,362-mile) border with China that cuts across rugged highlands, represents access to trade routes in the Indian Ocean Basin and to overland commerce with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), now China's largest trading partner. However, the relationship between the National League for Democracy and Chinese leaders has been cool; Beijing conspicuously avoided congratulating party chief Aung San Suu Kyi on her victory. This track record would seem to suggest that she will lead her party — and her country — toward the West, in both diplomatic and economic terms. But Suu Kyi's actions and tactics will still be informed by Myanmar's geopolitical position, and regardless of the party in power in Naypyidaw, China will continue to play a massive role in the Myanmar capital.
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- China will remain a major source of foreign investment and trade for Myanmar, even as Naypyidaw diversifies its partners.
- Myanmar's new ruling party will need to compromise with the military establishment to be able to govern, especially on economic and ethnic militant issues.
- China will continue to leverage its influence over militant groups in the border region to exert pressure on Naypyidaw.
The next phase of Myanmar's political transition has been settled. The results of the country's Nov. 8 elections have confirmed that the opposition National League for Democracy now holds a healthy majority in parliament and can form a new government without the help of the formerly ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. For the first time since Myanmar's 1962 coup, a fully civilian party will lead the government, although it will still have to vie for power with the country's military elite.
Meanwhile, China has been watching Myanmar's political transition with growing concern. Myanmar, which shares a 2,192-kilometer (1,362-mile) border with China that cuts across rugged highlands, represents access to trade routes in the Indian Ocean Basin and to overland commerce with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), now China's largest trading partner. However, the relationship between the National League for Democracy and Chinese leaders has been cool; Beijing conspicuously avoided congratulating party chief Aung San Suu Kyi on her victory. This track record would seem to suggest that she will lead her party — and her country — toward the West, in both diplomatic and economic terms. But Suu Kyi's actions and tactics will still be informed by Myanmar's geopolitical position, and regardless of the party in power in Naypyidaw, China will continue to play a massive role in the Myanmar capital.
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar Aims to Leave LDC Status Behind by 2021
Myanmar should graduate from the United Nation-designated least developed country (LDC) status by 2021, at the earliest, a senior minister told Parliament on Tuesday.
Dr Kan Zaw, Union Minister for National Planning and Economic Development, told the 13th session of parliament that after joining the LDC grouping in 1987 Myanmar had already exceeded two out of three criteria for the UN ranking, and should shed the status by fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
“We would be out of LDC only by (fiscal) 2020/21 at the earliest,” he said, responding to a question from Lower House Member of Parliament U Thein Aung, of the Union Solidarity and Development Party.
Myanmar applied for and was granted LDC status in 1987, a national humiliation that helped to spark the anti-military protests of 1988 that led to the resignation of former strongman U Ne Win and the abandonment of the socialist system.
LDC status allows countries to write off their debt to creditor governments and receive interest-free overseas aid in areas such as health, education, social welfare and development.
For more information - Visit here.
Dr Kan Zaw, Union Minister for National Planning and Economic Development, told the 13th session of parliament that after joining the LDC grouping in 1987 Myanmar had already exceeded two out of three criteria for the UN ranking, and should shed the status by fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
“We would be out of LDC only by (fiscal) 2020/21 at the earliest,” he said, responding to a question from Lower House Member of Parliament U Thein Aung, of the Union Solidarity and Development Party.
Myanmar applied for and was granted LDC status in 1987, a national humiliation that helped to spark the anti-military protests of 1988 that led to the resignation of former strongman U Ne Win and the abandonment of the socialist system.
LDC status allows countries to write off their debt to creditor governments and receive interest-free overseas aid in areas such as health, education, social welfare and development.
For more information - Visit here.
Hyderabad police detain 15 Myanmar nationals
The Hyderabad police early on Tuesday conducted a cordon and search operation in old city following a terror alert issued by the central intelligence agencies. The police detained 115 suspects from different areas in cluding 15 Myanmar nationals.
A 500-strong police contingent under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) V. Satyanarayana carried out door-to-door search in the areas of Noorinagar, Ghousenagar and Hafeezbabanagar near Chandrayangutta.
The police force descended on the thickly-populated area at around 5 a.m. and split into 30 teams. While many teams comprising armed policemen and women cops conducted door-to-door search, the remaining cordoned the entry and exit points to the colonies.
During the two-hour operation, the police seized 40 vehicles as the ‘owners’ failed to produced support documents. A scrapyard, a gutkha manufacturing unit and a meat processing unit being run illegally in Noorinagar area were also seized. Among those detained were 15 Myanmar nationals who were staying illegally at Hafeezbabanagar.
For more information - Visit here.
A 500-strong police contingent under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) V. Satyanarayana carried out door-to-door search in the areas of Noorinagar, Ghousenagar and Hafeezbabanagar near Chandrayangutta.
The police force descended on the thickly-populated area at around 5 a.m. and split into 30 teams. While many teams comprising armed policemen and women cops conducted door-to-door search, the remaining cordoned the entry and exit points to the colonies.
During the two-hour operation, the police seized 40 vehicles as the ‘owners’ failed to produced support documents. A scrapyard, a gutkha manufacturing unit and a meat processing unit being run illegally in Noorinagar area were also seized. Among those detained were 15 Myanmar nationals who were staying illegally at Hafeezbabanagar.
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar hopes to boost South Korea trade ties
Fresh from their second outing in Seoul, Myanmar producers are looking forward to enhanced trade with South Korea, particularly in value-added products. The experience will also be useful in the ASEAN economic community that is due to come into effect next month, they said.
Nine Myanmar companies took part in the “ASEAN Fair 2015: Touch and Taste ASEAN” from November 18 to 21, along with about 100 companies from other countries across the regional bloc.
The event was organised by the ASEAN-Korea Centre as its yearly flagship program showcasing food, beverages, culture and tourism in the 10 ASEAN countries.
Participants from Myanmar included Ah Yee Taung tea leaf company, cashew nuts from Cheen Cheen, traditional htoe mout from Myint Myint Khin, green tea from Power Maw Shan, dried mango from Tha Zin New Family Trading, coffee from Ywar Ngan, and companies Golden Horse, Kaung Ko Group and Myanmar Phoenix Manufacturing.
Daw Mya Mya Sein, deputy director of the Myanmar Trade Centre under the Ministry of Commerce, said in Seoul last week that it was Myanmar’s second trip to the Korean trade show.
“This year, we showed dried mango, as well as noting the high demand for roast beans and white cow peas in Korea,” she said.
For more information - Visit here.
Nine Myanmar companies took part in the “ASEAN Fair 2015: Touch and Taste ASEAN” from November 18 to 21, along with about 100 companies from other countries across the regional bloc.
The event was organised by the ASEAN-Korea Centre as its yearly flagship program showcasing food, beverages, culture and tourism in the 10 ASEAN countries.
Participants from Myanmar included Ah Yee Taung tea leaf company, cashew nuts from Cheen Cheen, traditional htoe mout from Myint Myint Khin, green tea from Power Maw Shan, dried mango from Tha Zin New Family Trading, coffee from Ywar Ngan, and companies Golden Horse, Kaung Ko Group and Myanmar Phoenix Manufacturing.
Daw Mya Mya Sein, deputy director of the Myanmar Trade Centre under the Ministry of Commerce, said in Seoul last week that it was Myanmar’s second trip to the Korean trade show.
“This year, we showed dried mango, as well as noting the high demand for roast beans and white cow peas in Korea,” she said.
For more information - Visit here.
Need people's support in Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor: MEA official
KOLKATA: Seeking people's support to build Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor, a Ministry of External Affairs official today said it is for the benefit of the local populace.
"The corridor is for the benefit of the people who live in the region. We need the support of people in this," MEA Director (investment and technology promotion division) K Nagaraj Naidu said at the 11th K2K (Kolkata to Kunming) forum here.
Stressing that economic development can be the anchor of peace and development, he said North-Eastern states of India would be at the heart of this process.
The government has already announced that all North-East state capitals will be connected with rail network by 2020.
He said West Bengal has a very large role to play in the corridor because of its size and geographical location.
The state government has already announced that 'Biswa Bangla' store, under which the State's handloom and handicraft products are promoted, would soon be set up at Kunming, Yunnan Province of China.
For more information - Visit here.
"The corridor is for the benefit of the people who live in the region. We need the support of people in this," MEA Director (investment and technology promotion division) K Nagaraj Naidu said at the 11th K2K (Kolkata to Kunming) forum here.
Stressing that economic development can be the anchor of peace and development, he said North-Eastern states of India would be at the heart of this process.
The government has already announced that all North-East state capitals will be connected with rail network by 2020.
He said West Bengal has a very large role to play in the corridor because of its size and geographical location.
The state government has already announced that 'Biswa Bangla' store, under which the State's handloom and handicraft products are promoted, would soon be set up at Kunming, Yunnan Province of China.
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar's army chief says 'no limits' in talks with Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar’s powerful commander-in-chief has said he will meet with Aung San Suu Kyi in December for a “no limits” discussion on the transfer of power following her sweeping win in elections this month.
“I am prepared to talk and answer and discuss. No limits. She can have any topics and I will answer,” Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said, adding that the discussions will take place in December “when the electoral process is finished”.
In the wake of Aung San Suu Kyi’s victory, the 70-year-old Nobel peace prize winner asked Min Aung Hlaing and current president Thein Sein to discuss a national reconciliation government she intends to form, key talks that she hopes will further reduce a half-a-century military grip on power.
Asked during an interview with the Washington Post if he could work with Aung San Suu Kyi – a woman his predecessors placed under house arrest for much of the past two decades after she demanded democratic reforms – he replied: “Why not?”
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“I am prepared to talk and answer and discuss. No limits. She can have any topics and I will answer,” Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said, adding that the discussions will take place in December “when the electoral process is finished”.
In the wake of Aung San Suu Kyi’s victory, the 70-year-old Nobel peace prize winner asked Min Aung Hlaing and current president Thein Sein to discuss a national reconciliation government she intends to form, key talks that she hopes will further reduce a half-a-century military grip on power.
Asked during an interview with the Washington Post if he could work with Aung San Suu Kyi – a woman his predecessors placed under house arrest for much of the past two decades after she demanded democratic reforms – he replied: “Why not?”
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Police: Search for victims of Myanmar jade mining landslide called off
HPAKANT, Myanmar (AP) — Police in northern Myanmar said Wednesday they have ended efforts to find bodies in a jade mining landslide that killed more than 100 people and highlighted the perilous conditions created by a breakneck effort to dig up the world's richest deposits of the green gem.
Separately, the government of Kachin state in the country's far north has offered compensation of 600,000 kyats ($550) to families of identified victims. The desultory sum reflects the limited resources of a state that is largely locked out of a mining bonanza worth billions.
The collapse early Saturday of a 60 meter (200-foot) mountain of dirt and debris created by industrial jade mining in Hpakant enveloped 70 makeshift huts and killed at least 113 people. Officials have said as many as 100 people are still missing. Many of the dead were itinerant jade pickers and their families who made a living scavenging for scraps of jade in the debris left behind by mining companies.
Hpakant police officer Naing Win said search operations ended on Wednesday morning.
The landslide was the area's worst such disaster in recent memory, but dozens of other people have been killed or maimed in the past year. In January, a landslide of unstable waste earth killed at least 30 jade pickers.
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Separately, the government of Kachin state in the country's far north has offered compensation of 600,000 kyats ($550) to families of identified victims. The desultory sum reflects the limited resources of a state that is largely locked out of a mining bonanza worth billions.
The collapse early Saturday of a 60 meter (200-foot) mountain of dirt and debris created by industrial jade mining in Hpakant enveloped 70 makeshift huts and killed at least 113 people. Officials have said as many as 100 people are still missing. Many of the dead were itinerant jade pickers and their families who made a living scavenging for scraps of jade in the debris left behind by mining companies.
Hpakant police officer Naing Win said search operations ended on Wednesday morning.
The landslide was the area's worst such disaster in recent memory, but dozens of other people have been killed or maimed in the past year. In January, a landslide of unstable waste earth killed at least 30 jade pickers.
For more information - Visit here.
OIC Supports Democratic Transition in Myanmar, Urges Rights of the Rohingya to be Restored
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has noted the completion of voting in the general elections in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the landslide majority achieved by the National League for Democracy under the leadership of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The OIC Secretary General Mr. Iyad Ameen Madani has conveyed a message to the Chairperson of the NLD on the occasion of her party’s electoral victory in which he expressed the hope that “the new government would actively support the process of reconciliation and transformation for all ethnic minorities in Myanmar, including the Rohingya”.
The Secretary General also noted that “the Rohingya have been denied their rights in the name of certain arbitrary laws” and he called for “an inclusive and constructive approach that would ensure their rightful recognition and status in light of the new democratic environment in Myanmar.”
The OIC reaffirms its commitment to support the people of Myanmar in the ongoing process of achieving a democratic society with equality and justice for all.
For more information - Visit here.
The OIC Secretary General Mr. Iyad Ameen Madani has conveyed a message to the Chairperson of the NLD on the occasion of her party’s electoral victory in which he expressed the hope that “the new government would actively support the process of reconciliation and transformation for all ethnic minorities in Myanmar, including the Rohingya”.
The Secretary General also noted that “the Rohingya have been denied their rights in the name of certain arbitrary laws” and he called for “an inclusive and constructive approach that would ensure their rightful recognition and status in light of the new democratic environment in Myanmar.”
The OIC reaffirms its commitment to support the people of Myanmar in the ongoing process of achieving a democratic society with equality and justice for all.
For more information - Visit here.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s Greatest Failure – The Plight of the Rohingya People
Aung San Suu Kyi became a symbol of hope to those that lived in desperate situations without the protection of democratic rights. She stood in opposition to the Myanmar military dictatorship and was considered a threat, as exemplified by the fact that between the periods of 1989 to 2010 she was condemned to house arrest. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and in 2011 stood for a candidacy in a by-election. However, her greatest legacy, a supporter of the oppressed, could become her greatest failure.
The Rohingya people, a Muslim ethnic group of approximately 1.3 million, face severe persecution. They are not recognized as citizens (due to the highly discriminatory 1982 citizenship law) of Myanmar and as a result they lack access to education, healthcare and basic human rights. They are persistently viewed as outsiders and illegitimate ‘Bengali citizens’ by the Buddhist majority and have been attacked by some extremist Buddhist monks. The politicians, including Ms Suu Kyi, remain reluctant to address their plight and raise the debate of granting them equal citizenship.
The main issue is that supporting the Rohingya people remains politically unpopular, therefore, for the democratic process to continue Ms Suu Kyi must be rational and proceed to support policies which are popular.
For more information - Visit here.
The Rohingya people, a Muslim ethnic group of approximately 1.3 million, face severe persecution. They are not recognized as citizens (due to the highly discriminatory 1982 citizenship law) of Myanmar and as a result they lack access to education, healthcare and basic human rights. They are persistently viewed as outsiders and illegitimate ‘Bengali citizens’ by the Buddhist majority and have been attacked by some extremist Buddhist monks. The politicians, including Ms Suu Kyi, remain reluctant to address their plight and raise the debate of granting them equal citizenship.
The main issue is that supporting the Rohingya people remains politically unpopular, therefore, for the democratic process to continue Ms Suu Kyi must be rational and proceed to support policies which are popular.
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar Still Has a Long Way To Go
The new government has its hands full in bringing a more inclusive and genuine democratic system to Myanmar.
By most accounts, November 8 marked a watershed moment in Myanmar’s struggle for democracy. For a country with a long history of military rule, there are plenty of reasons for pro-democracy forces to celebrate.
With an estimated 80% voter turnout, most electoral observers declared the voting process to be largely smooth and peaceful. Despite structural disadvantages and credible reports of some electoral irregularities both before and during the election, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) was able to repeat a landslide victory, reminiscent of the party’s 1990 electoral success.
Most importantly, the military leadership, as well as the ruling Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP), indicated that they would accept the results. Unlike the ill-fated 1990 elections, the NLD will finally be able to form a new government.
The Military’s Democracy
Despite this positive outlook for the NLD, the real fight over the political direction of the country is only just beginning. Critically, since reforms began in 2011, Myanmar has not been transitioning to what would commonly be considered a genuine “democracy.” Rather, it has been undergoing a carefully controlled transformation toward the military’s version of a “disciplined multi-party democratic system.”
For more information - Visit here.
By most accounts, November 8 marked a watershed moment in Myanmar’s struggle for democracy. For a country with a long history of military rule, there are plenty of reasons for pro-democracy forces to celebrate.
With an estimated 80% voter turnout, most electoral observers declared the voting process to be largely smooth and peaceful. Despite structural disadvantages and credible reports of some electoral irregularities both before and during the election, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) was able to repeat a landslide victory, reminiscent of the party’s 1990 electoral success.
Most importantly, the military leadership, as well as the ruling Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP), indicated that they would accept the results. Unlike the ill-fated 1990 elections, the NLD will finally be able to form a new government.
The Military’s Democracy
Despite this positive outlook for the NLD, the real fight over the political direction of the country is only just beginning. Critically, since reforms began in 2011, Myanmar has not been transitioning to what would commonly be considered a genuine “democracy.” Rather, it has been undergoing a carefully controlled transformation toward the military’s version of a “disciplined multi-party democratic system.”
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar rejects campaign to strip Muslims of citizenship
One million more Rohingya remain largely stateless, with pathway to citizenship requiring them to deny their identity
By Joshua Carroll
YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s deputy immigration minister has rejected an appeal by nationalists to strip hundreds of Muslims of citizenship, local media reported Wednesday, marking a rare show of government defiance of Buddhist hardliners.
Just over 200 Muslims in conflict-hit Rakhine state were granted citizenship as part of a government verification process that started in mid-2014.
In late October, campaigners submitted a petition to parliament signed by over 1,100 people objecting to the decision and claiming that the Muslims had been granted citizenship using defunct laws.
The Myanmar Times reported Wednesday that deputy immigration minister Win Myint had rejected the petition, telling members of parliament that the signatories had misunderstood the law.
Rakhine is home to roughly one million Rohingya Muslims, who are officially regarded as outsiders and are largely stateless — government officials insist they are illegal immigrants and refer to them as “Bengalis”.
For more information - Visit here.
By Joshua Carroll
YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s deputy immigration minister has rejected an appeal by nationalists to strip hundreds of Muslims of citizenship, local media reported Wednesday, marking a rare show of government defiance of Buddhist hardliners.
Just over 200 Muslims in conflict-hit Rakhine state were granted citizenship as part of a government verification process that started in mid-2014.
In late October, campaigners submitted a petition to parliament signed by over 1,100 people objecting to the decision and claiming that the Muslims had been granted citizenship using defunct laws.
The Myanmar Times reported Wednesday that deputy immigration minister Win Myint had rejected the petition, telling members of parliament that the signatories had misunderstood the law.
Rakhine is home to roughly one million Rohingya Muslims, who are officially regarded as outsiders and are largely stateless — government officials insist they are illegal immigrants and refer to them as “Bengalis”.
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar Rohingya calendar men jailed on new charges: police
Five Myanmar men fined for publishing a calendar that described the country's persecuted Muslim Rohingya as a recognised ethnic minority have been rearrested and jailed on fresh charges, police said Wednesday.
The men were initially taken into custody over the weekend in Yangon and fined $800 each on Monday after pleading guilty to a publishing law offence.
But they have now been rearrested and jailed on separate charges of inciting alarm or panic, a charge that carries up to two years jail.
For more information - Visit here.
The men were initially taken into custody over the weekend in Yangon and fined $800 each on Monday after pleading guilty to a publishing law offence.
But they have now been rearrested and jailed on separate charges of inciting alarm or panic, a charge that carries up to two years jail.
For more information - Visit here.
Publisher, four others jailed over calendar
A Muslim publisher and four others have been detained in Insein Prison for attempting to produce a calendar containing quotes from government officials in the 1950s and 1960s using the term “Rohingya”.
The calendar contains quotes from speeches by former prime minister U Nu and other major post-independence figures describing the Rohingya as a distinct ethnic group. It also quotes a 1946 speech by Bogyoke Aung San in which he invites Muslims to live in peace with the Buddhist majority.
The current government – and many people in Myanmar – insist that Rohingya is a confected identity and that those who call themselves by this name are instead Bengali.
The publisher, U Kyaw Kyaw Wai, and four associates have also been fined K1 million for offences under the Printing and Publishing Law, and police have sealed a print shop that is storing copies of the calendar.
U Kyaw Kyaw Wai and his associates were fined on November 23 at Pazundaung Township Court in Yangon after their arrest on November 21.
Immediately afterward, the police arrested the five again and detained them under the criminal code for allegedly intending to cause “fear or alarm to the public”.
For more information - Visit here.
The calendar contains quotes from speeches by former prime minister U Nu and other major post-independence figures describing the Rohingya as a distinct ethnic group. It also quotes a 1946 speech by Bogyoke Aung San in which he invites Muslims to live in peace with the Buddhist majority.
The current government – and many people in Myanmar – insist that Rohingya is a confected identity and that those who call themselves by this name are instead Bengali.
The publisher, U Kyaw Kyaw Wai, and four associates have also been fined K1 million for offences under the Printing and Publishing Law, and police have sealed a print shop that is storing copies of the calendar.
U Kyaw Kyaw Wai and his associates were fined on November 23 at Pazundaung Township Court in Yangon after their arrest on November 21.
Immediately afterward, the police arrested the five again and detained them under the criminal code for allegedly intending to cause “fear or alarm to the public”.
For more information - Visit here.
November 25, 2015
A man of many letters
U Kaung San Hla is, by his own admission, not much of a businessman. So profound is his distaste for corruption and bribery that it stood in the way of what might otherwise have been a flourishing career in logging. In 2008 he landed in Sittwe Prison for 40 days for complaining about corruption in the forestry department.
“If I was a representative in the parliament my first work would be to solve corruption and bribery,” he told The Myanmar Times in Sittwe last week.
However, he won’t be giving up his day job taking tourists around the temples of Mrauk-U yet, and he’ll have to continue expressing his frustration with graft the way he always has: writing many, many letters.
U Kaung San Hla, 50, joined the National League for Democracy in 1996, and ran on the party’s ticket in the November 8 elections for the state seat in northern Rakhine’s Buthidaung – arguably one of the tougher sells the party faced nationwide. He was defeated by a candidate from the Arakan National Party, which also came close to winning a majority in the state assembly. Still, he doesn’t feel it was all for nothing.
“I want to give knowledge to the local people, even during my electoral [campaign] time. I am very satisfied because I gave knowledge about freedom, rights and democracy. The people were very happy,” he said.
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“If I was a representative in the parliament my first work would be to solve corruption and bribery,” he told The Myanmar Times in Sittwe last week.
However, he won’t be giving up his day job taking tourists around the temples of Mrauk-U yet, and he’ll have to continue expressing his frustration with graft the way he always has: writing many, many letters.
U Kaung San Hla, 50, joined the National League for Democracy in 1996, and ran on the party’s ticket in the November 8 elections for the state seat in northern Rakhine’s Buthidaung – arguably one of the tougher sells the party faced nationwide. He was defeated by a candidate from the Arakan National Party, which also came close to winning a majority in the state assembly. Still, he doesn’t feel it was all for nothing.
“I want to give knowledge to the local people, even during my electoral [campaign] time. I am very satisfied because I gave knowledge about freedom, rights and democracy. The people were very happy,” he said.
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Govt Spokesman Rejects Calls for Rohingya Citizenship
A spokesperson for President Thein Sein took to social media on Saturday to reject recommendations that Rohingya Muslims be granted a path to citizenship.
“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term ‘Rohingya’. We will grant citizenship rights to Bengali people who have stayed within the boundary of Rakhine [Arakan] State based on the 1982 Citizenship Law,” read a Facebook post shared by Minister of Information Ye Htut, using the government’s preferred term to refer to the stateless minority.
“We will not grant the right of citizenship if it is not suitable to the 1982 law, even when there is pressure on us. This is our own sovereign power. There are laws in America and Britain and other Western countries about the right to grant citizenship. If it is not suitable to the rule of law in their countries, they do not grant citizenship.”
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“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term ‘Rohingya’. We will grant citizenship rights to Bengali people who have stayed within the boundary of Rakhine [Arakan] State based on the 1982 Citizenship Law,” read a Facebook post shared by Minister of Information Ye Htut, using the government’s preferred term to refer to the stateless minority.
“We will not grant the right of citizenship if it is not suitable to the 1982 law, even when there is pressure on us. This is our own sovereign power. There are laws in America and Britain and other Western countries about the right to grant citizenship. If it is not suitable to the rule of law in their countries, they do not grant citizenship.”
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Human Traffickers Flee Leaving Rohingyas on Boats off Sittwe Coast
Around six human trafficking boats reported to have been waiting around off Sittwe (Akyab) coast for past few days were abandoned by the traffickers after hearing of a police raid, according to the reliable sources.
With already around 70 people from on the boats, the human traffickers were waiting more potential victims from the Rohingya IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps, whom (the victims) were set to be later smuggled to Malaysia via Thailand.
On Monday night around 9:30PM, acting upon an information tip, the Police in ‘Manzi’ village led by the Station Commander, Hla Myo Thu, made to the coast of ‘Ohn Daw Gyi’ village where the human traffickers were reported to be waiting.
However, the traffickers abandoned the boats and fled from the place to go into hiding before the police’s arrival. Upon so, the victims on the boats (who are) mostly from the IDP Camps – such as Bodu Pha, Thakkay Pyin, Ohn Daw Gyi, Thay Chaung and Aung Mingalar — also ran away in fear.
Later, the police came back and said “we went there but found no one.”
However, the police said that they would be looking for the human traffickers and take actions.
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With already around 70 people from on the boats, the human traffickers were waiting more potential victims from the Rohingya IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps, whom (the victims) were set to be later smuggled to Malaysia via Thailand.
On Monday night around 9:30PM, acting upon an information tip, the Police in ‘Manzi’ village led by the Station Commander, Hla Myo Thu, made to the coast of ‘Ohn Daw Gyi’ village where the human traffickers were reported to be waiting.
However, the traffickers abandoned the boats and fled from the place to go into hiding before the police’s arrival. Upon so, the victims on the boats (who are) mostly from the IDP Camps – such as Bodu Pha, Thakkay Pyin, Ohn Daw Gyi, Thay Chaung and Aung Mingalar — also ran away in fear.
Later, the police came back and said “we went there but found no one.”
However, the police said that they would be looking for the human traffickers and take actions.
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OIC, HRC should support Rohingya Muslims: Academic
Press TV has conducted an interview with Liaqat Ali Khan, a professor at the Washburn University from Kansas, to ask for his insight into the impact of political change in Myanmar on the fate of the country's Rohingya Muslims.
The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: It’s quite clear that Myanmar’s path towards democracy isn’t as democratic as many would like it to be.
Khan: That’s very true. I think the National League for Democracy, which is the political party of the Nobel laureate has won landslide more than 70 percent of the seats in both houses; so, one would hope that the situation of Rohingyas will change, but I would suggest that there should be two international pressures that should be brought on the government of Myanmar.
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The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: It’s quite clear that Myanmar’s path towards democracy isn’t as democratic as many would like it to be.
Khan: That’s very true. I think the National League for Democracy, which is the political party of the Nobel laureate has won landslide more than 70 percent of the seats in both houses; so, one would hope that the situation of Rohingyas will change, but I would suggest that there should be two international pressures that should be brought on the government of Myanmar.
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Myanmar result is a tentative move towards democracy
In what has been hailed by many onlookers as an historic breakthrough, the recent general election in Myanmar saw Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD (National League for Democracy) party win over 300 seats across both houses of parliament. For a party whose recent history vividly recalls the dogged political struggle of Suu Kyi’s father and national icon, Aung San, the result is nothing short of momentous. Cornered into political wilderness for vast periods of its short existence, the party can now operate with as powerful a mandate as has been seen in the state since it gained its independence from Britain in 1948. That a substantial proportion of newly-elected members of parliament were once political prisoners indicates the enormous strides the country has taken towards establishing a democratic state.
It is perhaps therefore surprising that optimism does not reign throughout the country. Yes, large swathes of the population appear jubilant at the prospect of a government who will not rule by brute force but by the will of the electorate, that the master-narrative of Suu Kyi’s phoenix-like journey is nearing its triumphant conclusion. But there remains an undercurrent of doubt, of an optimism tempered by anxiety that the NLD’s mission is one which exclusively serves the country’s large Buddhist population.
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It is perhaps therefore surprising that optimism does not reign throughout the country. Yes, large swathes of the population appear jubilant at the prospect of a government who will not rule by brute force but by the will of the electorate, that the master-narrative of Suu Kyi’s phoenix-like journey is nearing its triumphant conclusion. But there remains an undercurrent of doubt, of an optimism tempered by anxiety that the NLD’s mission is one which exclusively serves the country’s large Buddhist population.
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Australia's 'Rohingya' refugee in Cambodia wrongly identified, returns to Myanmar
Phnom Penh: Mohammed Ibrahim took time off selling warm roti on the crowded streets of the Cambodian capital to greet a fellow Rohingya man who was arriving in the country under Australia's controversial $55 million agreement to resettle refugees from Nauru.
Mr Ibrahim felt empathy for the single man in his early 20s who had decided to abandon hopes of reaching Australia to take a one-way ticket to one of the world's poorest nations.
"I want to help him ... life is very difficult for us here," he said, as he waited at the gate of Phnom Penh's airport on a stifling hot morning in June.
But the man and three other Iranian refugees – the first and only group so far to arrive from Nauru – were whisked past him in a van and taken to a luxury villa in a Phnom Penh suburb.
Over the following weeks 32-year-old Mr Ibrahim made repeated attempts to contact the newly arrived Rohingya, including asking the Australian embassy to arrange a meeting, but was blocked each time.
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Mr Ibrahim felt empathy for the single man in his early 20s who had decided to abandon hopes of reaching Australia to take a one-way ticket to one of the world's poorest nations.
"I want to help him ... life is very difficult for us here," he said, as he waited at the gate of Phnom Penh's airport on a stifling hot morning in June.
But the man and three other Iranian refugees – the first and only group so far to arrive from Nauru – were whisked past him in a van and taken to a luxury villa in a Phnom Penh suburb.
Over the following weeks 32-year-old Mr Ibrahim made repeated attempts to contact the newly arrived Rohingya, including asking the Australian embassy to arrange a meeting, but was blocked each time.
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From Rohingyas to India: Challenges that will test Suu Kyi’s mettle as a leader of Myanmar
Myanmar’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy swept the recent national elections, will now have to prove her credentials to those who gave her unstinted support during her days under house arrest. She has already disappointed many of her fans by refusing to speak up for Rohingya Muslims living in the Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.
Fear of turning the majority community against NLD:
One reason for her caution in condemning the deadly attacks on minorities was the fear of a backlash from the majority Buddhists Burmese ahead of the all important elections. Batting for the minority Muslims could have cost her in the polls. Now that she has already won the November 8 elections, she will not have such constraints.
Will she give the Rohingyas a better deal than President U Thein Sein? Will Suu Kyi, herself a victim of persecution, reach out to them and let them live in dignity in the land of their ancestors. Or will she again turn a blind eye, as she did before the elections? It will now be up to Suu Kyi to prove her commitment to human rights by granting the one million or so Rohingyas a just deal.
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Fear of turning the majority community against NLD:
One reason for her caution in condemning the deadly attacks on minorities was the fear of a backlash from the majority Buddhists Burmese ahead of the all important elections. Batting for the minority Muslims could have cost her in the polls. Now that she has already won the November 8 elections, she will not have such constraints.
Will she give the Rohingyas a better deal than President U Thein Sein? Will Suu Kyi, herself a victim of persecution, reach out to them and let them live in dignity in the land of their ancestors. Or will she again turn a blind eye, as she did before the elections? It will now be up to Suu Kyi to prove her commitment to human rights by granting the one million or so Rohingyas a just deal.
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar government rebuffs calls for Rohingya citizenship
Myanmar's military-backed government has rejected calls for granting citizenship to the country’s most persecuted ethnic Rohingya Muslims.
Myanmar’s presidential spokesman and Information Minister Ye Htut said on Saturday that the administration would not grant the right of citizenship to the Rohingya Muslim community.
“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term Rohingya,” the minister wrote on his Facebook page, rejecting calls that the Muslims be granted a path to citizenship.
The comments came in the wake of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, which examines the human rights situation in all UN member states.
Myanmar’s government snubbed over half of the review’s 281 recommendations, including all those related to civil and political rights of the Southeast Asian country’s Rohingya Muslims.
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Myanmar’s presidential spokesman and Information Minister Ye Htut said on Saturday that the administration would not grant the right of citizenship to the Rohingya Muslim community.
“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term Rohingya,” the minister wrote on his Facebook page, rejecting calls that the Muslims be granted a path to citizenship.
The comments came in the wake of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, which examines the human rights situation in all UN member states.
Myanmar’s government snubbed over half of the review’s 281 recommendations, including all those related to civil and political rights of the Southeast Asian country’s Rohingya Muslims.
For more information - Visit here.
November 24, 2015
Border Guard Police Rob Rohingya Woman
Maungdaw, Arakan State (RohingyaVision) — The Burmese Border Guard Police robbed a Rohingya woman while going through the check-post in Maungdaw Township on Sunday, according to eyewitnesses.
The victim is identified to be 39-year-old Kaneez Fatema Jamal Hussein hails from ‘Yedwin Chaung’ village in northern Maungdaw. She was on the way to ‘Myo Oo’ village when she got robbed.
“The victim was said to be visiting Myo Oo (Naitor Dael) village to see her sick relatives. The BGP at the check-post nearby ‘Shwe Zarr (Shujah)’ bridge stopped their bus for a (routine) check-up like they usually do to Rohingya passers-by. As she got off from bus, she took off her Gold-Chain weighed 16-gram off her neck and put inside her purse.
However, a BGP staff put his hand inside her purse on pretext of checking out what’s inside. After that, the BGP staff asked her to leave. As she found her gold-chain missing from before she left, she went back to the BGP camp and asked them to give her chain back.
The BGP declined and said that they didn’t find any such thing in her purse. So, she started crying for the chain as she had only that to call her valuable belonging. The BGP scolded her and threatened to beat her
So, she had to leave the place in desparity, ” said an eyewitness on the condition of anonymity.
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The victim is identified to be 39-year-old Kaneez Fatema Jamal Hussein hails from ‘Yedwin Chaung’ village in northern Maungdaw. She was on the way to ‘Myo Oo’ village when she got robbed.
“The victim was said to be visiting Myo Oo (Naitor Dael) village to see her sick relatives. The BGP at the check-post nearby ‘Shwe Zarr (Shujah)’ bridge stopped their bus for a (routine) check-up like they usually do to Rohingya passers-by. As she got off from bus, she took off her Gold-Chain weighed 16-gram off her neck and put inside her purse.
However, a BGP staff put his hand inside her purse on pretext of checking out what’s inside. After that, the BGP staff asked her to leave. As she found her gold-chain missing from before she left, she went back to the BGP camp and asked them to give her chain back.
The BGP declined and said that they didn’t find any such thing in her purse. So, she started crying for the chain as she had only that to call her valuable belonging. The BGP scolded her and threatened to beat her
So, she had to leave the place in desparity, ” said an eyewitness on the condition of anonymity.
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Rohingyas cry out for practical solutions
COUNTDOWN to Annihilation: Genocide in Myanmar, a report by the International State Crime Initiative (ISCI), Queen Mary University of London, has identified that Rohingyas in Myanmar are being subjected to genocide. The conventional definition of genocide usually involves mass killing committed by the state. However, ISCI investigation shows that the persecution of Rohingyas has developed into genocidal practice based on the historic and current conditions. In other words, the genocide is underway in Myanmar. This claim of genocide was supported by the Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School which found that there was strong evidence of state crimes committed against Rohingyas.
Most Rohingyas live in the state of Rakhine (formerly Arakan) in the northwestern part of Myanmar. Rakhine is the second poorest state in Myanmar. Rohingyas are often referred to as "illegal Bengali immigrants" who came from Bangladesh.
In the book, Genocide as Social Practice: Reorganising Society under the Nazis and Argentina's Military Juntas, Daniel Feierstein outlines six stages of genocide. ISCI identified that the first four stages have been and are still occurring to the Rohingyas. The four stages are 1) stigmatisation and dehumanisation; 2) harassment, violence and terror; 3) isolation and segregation; and 4) the systematic weakening of the target group. ISCI claimed that the Rohingyas potentially face the final two stages of genocide which are 5) mass annihilation and eventually 6) erasure of the group from Myanmar's history.
There are countless records and witnesses to prove the genocidal process. These include organised massacre in 2012 and systematic discriminatory policies. For example, Rohingyas need approval to leave their camps to get medical treatment and they need to pay a large amount of money to get approval from the authorities to get married. Due to the oppressive livelihoods, many Rohingyas flee their "home country".
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Most Rohingyas live in the state of Rakhine (formerly Arakan) in the northwestern part of Myanmar. Rakhine is the second poorest state in Myanmar. Rohingyas are often referred to as "illegal Bengali immigrants" who came from Bangladesh.
In the book, Genocide as Social Practice: Reorganising Society under the Nazis and Argentina's Military Juntas, Daniel Feierstein outlines six stages of genocide. ISCI identified that the first four stages have been and are still occurring to the Rohingyas. The four stages are 1) stigmatisation and dehumanisation; 2) harassment, violence and terror; 3) isolation and segregation; and 4) the systematic weakening of the target group. ISCI claimed that the Rohingyas potentially face the final two stages of genocide which are 5) mass annihilation and eventually 6) erasure of the group from Myanmar's history.
There are countless records and witnesses to prove the genocidal process. These include organised massacre in 2012 and systematic discriminatory policies. For example, Rohingyas need approval to leave their camps to get medical treatment and they need to pay a large amount of money to get approval from the authorities to get married. Due to the oppressive livelihoods, many Rohingyas flee their "home country".
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Forget the nonviolent reputation: Buddhism can be lethal
Buddhist fundamentalism, sometimes with deadly results, is on the rise in three Asian countries — Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand — where Theravada Buddhism is the main branch of the religion and monks have been behind growing hard-line pressure.
Hard-line Buddhism has emerged in ethnically and religiously diverse Myanmar. Ironically, this has taken place under newfound freedoms of speech and expression, which have blossomed in the country since its generals swapped their military uniforms for the business attire of white shirts and traditional longyis after a reform process that began in 2010.
Across the Buddhist-majority country, long-standing anti-Muslim sentiment has also triggered conflict, particularly in the western state of Rakhine. Violence in 2012 left more than 200 people dead and forced tens of thousands — mostly Rohingya Muslims — to flee their homes. An estimated 150,000 people in the state have been trapped in temporary camps for displaced people, stripped of their rights to vote or even leave the camps.
Subsequently, anti-Muslim sentiment, mainly fomented by the radical movement known as Ma Ba Tha, which claims half of Myanmar's 400,000 monks as adherents, spread across the country with violence erupting in Meikhtila, in the center, to Lashio in northern Shan State near China, as well as the nation's second-largest city, Mandalay.
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Hard-line Buddhism has emerged in ethnically and religiously diverse Myanmar. Ironically, this has taken place under newfound freedoms of speech and expression, which have blossomed in the country since its generals swapped their military uniforms for the business attire of white shirts and traditional longyis after a reform process that began in 2010.
Across the Buddhist-majority country, long-standing anti-Muslim sentiment has also triggered conflict, particularly in the western state of Rakhine. Violence in 2012 left more than 200 people dead and forced tens of thousands — mostly Rohingya Muslims — to flee their homes. An estimated 150,000 people in the state have been trapped in temporary camps for displaced people, stripped of their rights to vote or even leave the camps.
Subsequently, anti-Muslim sentiment, mainly fomented by the radical movement known as Ma Ba Tha, which claims half of Myanmar's 400,000 monks as adherents, spread across the country with violence erupting in Meikhtila, in the center, to Lashio in northern Shan State near China, as well as the nation's second-largest city, Mandalay.
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Myanmar government rebuffs calls for Rohingya citizenship
Myanmar's military-backed government has rejected calls for granting citizenship to the country’s most persecuted ethnic Rohingya Muslims.
Myanmar’s presidential spokesman and Information Minister Ye Htut said on Saturday that the administration would not grant the right of citizenship to the Rohingya Muslim community.
“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term Rohingya,” the minister wrote on his Facebook page, rejecting calls that the Muslims be granted a path to citizenship.
The comments came in the wake of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, which examines the human rights situation in all UN member states.
Myanmar’s government snubbed over half of the review’s 281 recommendations, including all those related to civil and political rights of the Southeast Asian country’s Rohingya Muslims.
Myanmarese officials categorize most of the 1.3 million Rohingyas as Bengalis, implying they are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s Rohingyas, currently living in the western state of Rakhine, have been subject to systematic repression by extremist Buddhists since the country’s independence in 1948.
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Myanmar’s presidential spokesman and Information Minister Ye Htut said on Saturday that the administration would not grant the right of citizenship to the Rohingya Muslim community.
“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term Rohingya,” the minister wrote on his Facebook page, rejecting calls that the Muslims be granted a path to citizenship.
The comments came in the wake of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, which examines the human rights situation in all UN member states.
Myanmar’s government snubbed over half of the review’s 281 recommendations, including all those related to civil and political rights of the Southeast Asian country’s Rohingya Muslims.
Myanmarese officials categorize most of the 1.3 million Rohingyas as Bengalis, implying they are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s Rohingyas, currently living in the western state of Rakhine, have been subject to systematic repression by extremist Buddhists since the country’s independence in 1948.
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5 Myanmar Men Fined for Printing 'Rohingya Calendar’
YANGON — A Yangon court has used a printing and publishing law to fine five men USD$800 each for their involvement in printing a calendar that stated that Rohingya Muslims are an ethnic-religious minority living in Myanmar.
Pazundaung Township police chief Maj. Khin Maung Lat informed Myanmar Now of the sentence, handed down Monday evening, adding that police charged the men Saturday. A sixth suspect remains at large.
The 2016 calendar mentions the word Rohingya and contains a statement that there used to be a “Rohingya radio channel” in the 1950s Burma of Prime Minister U Nu. It said U Nu himself had publicly used the word Rohingya.
“This is an activity that threatens the law and order of the country,” Khin Maung Lat said in an interview at his office. He added that an investigation was started after police heard about the calendar “on Facebook.”
The men were charged with breaking Article 4 of the 2014 Printing and Publishing Law, which bars individuals from publishing materials that could damage national security and law and order. It stipulates a fine of between $800 and $2,400.
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Pazundaung Township police chief Maj. Khin Maung Lat informed Myanmar Now of the sentence, handed down Monday evening, adding that police charged the men Saturday. A sixth suspect remains at large.
The 2016 calendar mentions the word Rohingya and contains a statement that there used to be a “Rohingya radio channel” in the 1950s Burma of Prime Minister U Nu. It said U Nu himself had publicly used the word Rohingya.
“This is an activity that threatens the law and order of the country,” Khin Maung Lat said in an interview at his office. He added that an investigation was started after police heard about the calendar “on Facebook.”
The men were charged with breaking Article 4 of the 2014 Printing and Publishing Law, which bars individuals from publishing materials that could damage national security and law and order. It stipulates a fine of between $800 and $2,400.
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United States urges Myanmar to change constitution barring Suu Kyi rule
In each house under the constitution, the military automatically receives 25 percent of the seats. Frequently under house arrest several times, her Nobel Prize was awarded in absentia.
She has already vowed to govern from “above the president” saying she will circumnavigate the charter ban by appointing a proxy for the top office.
That control will now be tested.
The NLD has won 256 of the 299 seats declared so far in the country’s parliament, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. Elections weren’t held in seven constituencies, which means a effortless majority might be reached at 329 seats. Now the ruling party is expected to cooperate. The NLD has won more than 80 percent of the seats contested, enough to overcome the one-quarter of parliamentary seats that are reserved for the military.
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She has already vowed to govern from “above the president” saying she will circumnavigate the charter ban by appointing a proxy for the top office.
That control will now be tested.
The NLD has won 256 of the 299 seats declared so far in the country’s parliament, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. Elections weren’t held in seven constituencies, which means a effortless majority might be reached at 329 seats. Now the ruling party is expected to cooperate. The NLD has won more than 80 percent of the seats contested, enough to overcome the one-quarter of parliamentary seats that are reserved for the military.
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Where there is sunshine, there are also shadows
Those results are now clear. The National League for Democracy trounced its opponents across the Bamar heartland, and managed to score a surprising number of big wins in ethnic areas, particularly in Mon, Kayin, Kayah and Kachin states.
This resounding endorsement of the party of democratic struggle has given the country an undeniable glow.
At the November 8 election, a relatively open and transparent process was implemented by officials who struggled with inevitable logistical, administrative and political challenges. The thumping NLD victory over a military-political machine that enjoyed more than five decades of incumbency is cause for celebration.
But where there is sunshine there are usually shadows. Without being too gloomy about some of the problems, it makes sense to ask: Who missed out and what does their exclusion mean for Myanmar’s future?
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This resounding endorsement of the party of democratic struggle has given the country an undeniable glow.
At the November 8 election, a relatively open and transparent process was implemented by officials who struggled with inevitable logistical, administrative and political challenges. The thumping NLD victory over a military-political machine that enjoyed more than five decades of incumbency is cause for celebration.
But where there is sunshine there are usually shadows. Without being too gloomy about some of the problems, it makes sense to ask: Who missed out and what does their exclusion mean for Myanmar’s future?
For more information - Visit here.
Six dead as explosion rocks Myanmar town
YANGON - Six people were killed when an explosion tore through a house in the Myanmar town of Hakha, police said Monday.
The blast struck late Sunday in the town which is the capital of Chin, a mountainous western state that borders both Bangladesh and India and is one of Myanmar's poorest.
"Six people died and seven are in the Hakha hospital," Than Kyaw Htay, an officer at the town's police station, told AFP by telephone.
He said the cause of the blast was unknown but gunpowder or some sort of explosive was suspected.
Eyewitness Ko Ko arrived on the scene shortly afterwards.
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The blast struck late Sunday in the town which is the capital of Chin, a mountainous western state that borders both Bangladesh and India and is one of Myanmar's poorest.
"Six people died and seven are in the Hakha hospital," Than Kyaw Htay, an officer at the town's police station, told AFP by telephone.
He said the cause of the blast was unknown but gunpowder or some sort of explosive was suspected.
Eyewitness Ko Ko arrived on the scene shortly afterwards.
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Myanmar Mine Disaster Highlights Challenge to Suu Kyi
YANGON, Myanmar—The worst mining disaster in Myanmar in a decade has renewed calls for scrutiny around the secretive jade trade and highlighted entrenched economic interests linked to the long-ruling military confronting the incoming government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
Search-and-rescue operations had recovered 113 bodies as of Monday evening from the site of a collapsed hill of waste soil near jade mines in Hpakant in northern Myanmar, witnesses and local authorities said, two days after a landslide buried almost an entire village at the base. Relief workers said that more than 100 people were missing and expected the toll would keep climbing.
The disaster comes two weeks after Ms. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won a huge victory in national elections that will enable the party to select Myanmar’s next president after a new parliament meets in January. But the tragedy shows how far her party, which is still finding its feet after the election, has to go to regulate an industry in a remote area near China intermittently contested by rebel groups and the army.
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Search-and-rescue operations had recovered 113 bodies as of Monday evening from the site of a collapsed hill of waste soil near jade mines in Hpakant in northern Myanmar, witnesses and local authorities said, two days after a landslide buried almost an entire village at the base. Relief workers said that more than 100 people were missing and expected the toll would keep climbing.
The disaster comes two weeks after Ms. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won a huge victory in national elections that will enable the party to select Myanmar’s next president after a new parliament meets in January. But the tragedy shows how far her party, which is still finding its feet after the election, has to go to regulate an industry in a remote area near China intermittently contested by rebel groups and the army.
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Myanmar Leader Thanked for Move Toward Democracy
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Ten Southeast Asian heads of state and nine world leaders, including President Barack Obama, are meeting in Malaysia to discuss trade and economic issues. Terrorism and disputes over the South China Sea are also on the agenda. (All times local.)
8:25 p.m.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has thanked Myanmar President Thein Sein for steering his country in its transition to a "new democratic Myanmar."
Thein Sein's military-backed party was overwhelmingly voted out of office in a general election this month. Myanmar's military had taken power in a 1962 coup and transferred power to Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government in 2011.
Despite being hand-picked by the military junta, Thein Sein is regarded as a reformist who has overseen a gradual democratization process.
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8:25 p.m.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has thanked Myanmar President Thein Sein for steering his country in its transition to a "new democratic Myanmar."
Thein Sein's military-backed party was overwhelmingly voted out of office in a general election this month. Myanmar's military had taken power in a 1962 coup and transferred power to Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government in 2011.
Despite being hand-picked by the military junta, Thein Sein is regarded as a reformist who has overseen a gradual democratization process.
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Tallying the Triumph: NLD’s Appeal Knows Almost No Bounds
RANGOON — With final results announced late last week, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has won 886 out of 1,150 seats at play in Burma’s Nov. 8 general election, including a commanding 59.3 percent of all seats in the Union Parliament, even when 166 military appointees across both houses are factored in.
The final results announced by the country’s electoral body on Friday gave the NLD a total of 255, or 78.9 percent, of 323 elected seats in the Lower House, where seven seats were not contested due to active conflict or, in the Wa Special Region, a failure to secure cooperation with relevant authorities in the semi-autonomous zone. In the Upper House, the NLD won 135, or 80.4 percent, of 168 elected seats.
The party’s election victory saw it exceed by nearly 10 percentage points the 329-seat majority that is required to choose the country’s next president out of 657 votes in the Union Parliament.
The NLD also won big in most regional parliaments, taking 75.3 percent of all 659 elected seats, including 21 out of 29 ethnic affairs minister posts, though the party did not secure majorities in the Shan and Arakan state legislatures, losing 70 out of 93 seats it contested in Shan State and 23 out of 32 in Arakan State.
For more information - Visit here.
The final results announced by the country’s electoral body on Friday gave the NLD a total of 255, or 78.9 percent, of 323 elected seats in the Lower House, where seven seats were not contested due to active conflict or, in the Wa Special Region, a failure to secure cooperation with relevant authorities in the semi-autonomous zone. In the Upper House, the NLD won 135, or 80.4 percent, of 168 elected seats.
The party’s election victory saw it exceed by nearly 10 percentage points the 329-seat majority that is required to choose the country’s next president out of 657 votes in the Union Parliament.
The NLD also won big in most regional parliaments, taking 75.3 percent of all 659 elected seats, including 21 out of 29 ethnic affairs minister posts, though the party did not secure majorities in the Shan and Arakan state legislatures, losing 70 out of 93 seats it contested in Shan State and 23 out of 32 in Arakan State.
For more information - Visit here.
Genocide against Rohingya - the Holocaust is recurring
The recent report entitled Countdown to Annihilation: Genocide in Myanmar by the International State Crime Initiative (ISCI), Queen Mary University of London, has identified that Rohingya in the Rakhine state of Myanmar have been subjected to genocide based on Nazism ideology.
The term ‘genocide’ sounds very controversial and many parties may be reluctant to make such a strong and serious allegation. The conventional definition of genocide usually involves mass killing committed by the state. However, ISCI investigation shows that the persecution of Rohingya has developed into genocidal practice based on the historic and current conditions. In other words, the genocide is underway in Myanmar.
This claim of genocide was also supported by a Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School which found that there was strong evidence of state crimes committed against Rohingya.
Who are the Rohingya?
The Rohingya community mostly live in the state of Rakhine or its former name Arakan in the north-western part of Myanmar. Rakhine state, which is inhabited by mainly Buddhist community and Rohingya Muslims, is the second poorest state in Myanmar. Rohingya are often referred to as ‘illegal Bengali immigrants’ who came from Bangladesh by the state and in public discourse.
For more information - Visit here.
The term ‘genocide’ sounds very controversial and many parties may be reluctant to make such a strong and serious allegation. The conventional definition of genocide usually involves mass killing committed by the state. However, ISCI investigation shows that the persecution of Rohingya has developed into genocidal practice based on the historic and current conditions. In other words, the genocide is underway in Myanmar.
This claim of genocide was also supported by a Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School which found that there was strong evidence of state crimes committed against Rohingya.
Who are the Rohingya?
The Rohingya community mostly live in the state of Rakhine or its former name Arakan in the north-western part of Myanmar. Rakhine state, which is inhabited by mainly Buddhist community and Rohingya Muslims, is the second poorest state in Myanmar. Rohingya are often referred to as ‘illegal Bengali immigrants’ who came from Bangladesh by the state and in public discourse.
For more information - Visit here.
A new generation comes out to beg
THE sight of children knocking on the windows of cars stopped at traffic light junctions to beg for money is common on the streets near the North Klang bus terminal in Klang.
StarMetro checks revealed there were about 20 Rohingya child beggars in the area.
They were seen moving along Jalan Pos, Jalan Raja Hassan and the Bulatan Seratus roundabout in Persiaran Sultan Ibrahim and the five-foot ways of those streets.
The high volume of traffic and congestion along the streets had led the children to base themselves in the area.
Some of the children could be spotted as early as 8am on weekdays while others would make their appearance much later.
They would walk from car to car, working the whole line of vehicles that were waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
“Tolong, encik, saya orang susah. Tolong bagi duit, saya nak duit untuk makan (Please, sir, I am in distress! Please give me money, I want money for food).” This is their common appeal.
For more information - Visit here.
StarMetro checks revealed there were about 20 Rohingya child beggars in the area.
They were seen moving along Jalan Pos, Jalan Raja Hassan and the Bulatan Seratus roundabout in Persiaran Sultan Ibrahim and the five-foot ways of those streets.
The high volume of traffic and congestion along the streets had led the children to base themselves in the area.
Some of the children could be spotted as early as 8am on weekdays while others would make their appearance much later.
They would walk from car to car, working the whole line of vehicles that were waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
“Tolong, encik, saya orang susah. Tolong bagi duit, saya nak duit untuk makan (Please, sir, I am in distress! Please give me money, I want money for food).” This is their common appeal.
For more information - Visit here.
Nationalism defeated at the ballot box
Why did self-proclaimed nationalist parties fare so badly in the election? Though the absence of opinion polls and comparable electoral data made it difficult in advance to gauge the extent of support for any party, nationalist candidates appeared to be well-organised and amply funded. The hardline nationalist Buddhist Committee for the Protection of Nationalism and Religion, known by its Myanmar acronym Ma Ba Tha, seemed to be enjoying nationwide support, whipping up crowds tens of thousands strong in its tour of the country during campaign season.
Before the election, the hardliners fomented anti-Muslim sentiment, sparred with the National League for Democracy and attempted to castigate the largest opposition as soft on Muslims while also throwing support behind President U Thein Sein. Rights groups and political analysts kept a wary eye on what was deemed a growing tide of radical Buddhist nationalism, warning that it could stymie the NLD in its goal to sweep the majority and provoke unrest.
Yet not a single candidate identifying as a nationalist was elected.
“In a profoundly Buddhist society which generally supported the four ‘race and religion’ bills promoted by Ma Ba Tha, voters have sent a quiet but clear message that political choice is their personal concern and that they are not influenced by Ma Ba Tha’s posturing,” said Derek Tonkin, former British ambassador to Thailand and chair of the non-profit Network Myanmar.
For more information - Visit here.
Before the election, the hardliners fomented anti-Muslim sentiment, sparred with the National League for Democracy and attempted to castigate the largest opposition as soft on Muslims while also throwing support behind President U Thein Sein. Rights groups and political analysts kept a wary eye on what was deemed a growing tide of radical Buddhist nationalism, warning that it could stymie the NLD in its goal to sweep the majority and provoke unrest.
Yet not a single candidate identifying as a nationalist was elected.
“In a profoundly Buddhist society which generally supported the four ‘race and religion’ bills promoted by Ma Ba Tha, voters have sent a quiet but clear message that political choice is their personal concern and that they are not influenced by Ma Ba Tha’s posturing,” said Derek Tonkin, former British ambassador to Thailand and chair of the non-profit Network Myanmar.
For more information - Visit here.
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