National reconciliation is a prerequisite to “national unity” in countries beset with political problems. In Afghanistan, Mohammad Najibullah's proposals for national unification started in 1987 and ended early in the 1990s to stop the Afghan civil war which had haunted the country since 1978 after the Saur Revolution. At the national reconciliation meeting they came to the conclusion that the Soviet armed forces in Afghanistan should withdraw.
Another example is the so-called national reconciliation in Zimbabwe after it gained independence in 1980. Zimbabwe tried three times for national reconciliation after 32 years of independence on April 18, 2012. However, the outcome was unsatisfactory. More than 30,000 people died while fighting for independence and the violence continues today. However, an agreement of sorts was reached between the tribes.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said after he was elected for the first time: “If yesterday I fought as an enemy, today you have become a friend. If yesterday you hated me, today you cannot avoid the love that binds you to me, and me to you." (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
December 10, 2015
Myanmar's new hydropower station to reinforce national power grids
YANGON, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has added one more hydropower station to reinforce its national power grids, official media reported Thursday.
Inaugurated by President U Thein Sein, the Upper Paunglaung hydropower station, which locates in Nay Pyi Taw's Pyinmana township, was put into service Wednesday.
The Paunglaung hydropower station cost over 31 billion kyats (24 million U.S. dollars) since 2004, is estimated to generate 140 megawatts (mw) of electricity and distribute 454 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) per year to the national power grids.
Over the past five years, Myanmar has built 19 power stations with a capacity to generate over 1,577 mw in total. Nationwide power consumption accounts for over 11,406 million kwh with individual consumption hitting 222 kwh per year.
To meet a 15-percent annual growth of power demand, sever hydropower stations and three gas-fired power stations are currently under construction which are expected to generate 2,042 mw of electricity. (Courtesy of GlobalPost)
Inaugurated by President U Thein Sein, the Upper Paunglaung hydropower station, which locates in Nay Pyi Taw's Pyinmana township, was put into service Wednesday.
The Paunglaung hydropower station cost over 31 billion kyats (24 million U.S. dollars) since 2004, is estimated to generate 140 megawatts (mw) of electricity and distribute 454 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) per year to the national power grids.
Over the past five years, Myanmar has built 19 power stations with a capacity to generate over 1,577 mw in total. Nationwide power consumption accounts for over 11,406 million kwh with individual consumption hitting 222 kwh per year.
To meet a 15-percent annual growth of power demand, sever hydropower stations and three gas-fired power stations are currently under construction which are expected to generate 2,042 mw of electricity. (Courtesy of GlobalPost)
Parliament approves ceasefire
The Union Parliament unanimously approved the nationwide ceasefire agreement with eight ethnic armed organisations in Nay Pyi Taw on December 8.
“We held discussions with 16 armed organisations. Eight signed the ceasefire and we have already paved the way to have talks with five others,” said Aung Min, minister for the President’s Office.
He said the ceasefire was just an initial move in a long process, adding that he hoped the next government would push ahead with national reconciliation.
“The agreement must guarantee that political dialogue can be held. There must be a union-wide conference. The next government should carry the process onwards,” MP Thein Zaw said.
MP Thura Aung Ko said the two National League for Democracy representatives in the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee, established after the ceasefire signing, should be significantly increased. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
“We held discussions with 16 armed organisations. Eight signed the ceasefire and we have already paved the way to have talks with five others,” said Aung Min, minister for the President’s Office.
He said the ceasefire was just an initial move in a long process, adding that he hoped the next government would push ahead with national reconciliation.
“The agreement must guarantee that political dialogue can be held. There must be a union-wide conference. The next government should carry the process onwards,” MP Thein Zaw said.
MP Thura Aung Ko said the two National League for Democracy representatives in the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee, established after the ceasefire signing, should be significantly increased. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
Myanmar faces high barriers to joining AEC: economists
The challenges Myanmar faces as it prepares to join the Asean Economic Community are formidable, said economists, as regional countries prepare to form a unified economic group on December 31.
The AEC vision is a globally integrated single market and production base in a highly competitive economic region, with equitable development. In theory, the economic bloc will lead to unlimited investment and trade opportunities between members.
In practice, the barriers are high. Along with Cambodia and Laos, Myanmar has been granted an extension and will not join the AEC until 2018, but economists say even this target may be hard to meet.
“It is true that we are struggling to prepare for the AEC,” economic adviser to the president U Zaw Oo told The Myanmar Times.
“So we are stepping very carefully. We of course need to develop our economic infrastructure, but we must build it without leapfrogging.”
In infrastructure development, a key driver of economic growth, Myanmar lags well behind other countries in the region, including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
Poor infrastructure is a major barrier to competitiveness. Myanmar is rated 145 out of 160 countries in the World Bank’s 2014 Logistics Performance Index – the lowest score in Asia. This will put it at a disadvantage once it joins the regional community. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
The AEC vision is a globally integrated single market and production base in a highly competitive economic region, with equitable development. In theory, the economic bloc will lead to unlimited investment and trade opportunities between members.
In practice, the barriers are high. Along with Cambodia and Laos, Myanmar has been granted an extension and will not join the AEC until 2018, but economists say even this target may be hard to meet.
“It is true that we are struggling to prepare for the AEC,” economic adviser to the president U Zaw Oo told The Myanmar Times.
“So we are stepping very carefully. We of course need to develop our economic infrastructure, but we must build it without leapfrogging.”
In infrastructure development, a key driver of economic growth, Myanmar lags well behind other countries in the region, including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
Poor infrastructure is a major barrier to competitiveness. Myanmar is rated 145 out of 160 countries in the World Bank’s 2014 Logistics Performance Index – the lowest score in Asia. This will put it at a disadvantage once it joins the regional community. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
Yangon police hunt drug fugitives
Many of the drug dealers behind the large quantities of narcotics seized in Yangon earlier in the year cannot be tracked down, admits an unidentified high-ranking officer at the region’s drug control unit.
The abandoned drugs were found in Thaketa, Mayangon and Hlaingthaya townships in Yangon Region.
Police said they found nearly 600,000 abandoned pills and a block of wet opium in a drainage ditch near Kuaksein Street in Thaketa on August 12.
The case was opened at Thaketa Myoma police station.
Similarly, 65,400 pink tablets worth more than Ks320 million were found drifting in the Yoegyi River at ward no.1 in Mayangon Township on September 25.
Police claimed to have seized more than 200,000 pills bearing the letters “WY” on the western embankment of the Pan Hlaing River in Shwelin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaingthaya, on December 5. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
The abandoned drugs were found in Thaketa, Mayangon and Hlaingthaya townships in Yangon Region.
Police said they found nearly 600,000 abandoned pills and a block of wet opium in a drainage ditch near Kuaksein Street in Thaketa on August 12.
The case was opened at Thaketa Myoma police station.
Similarly, 65,400 pink tablets worth more than Ks320 million were found drifting in the Yoegyi River at ward no.1 in Mayangon Township on September 25.
Police claimed to have seized more than 200,000 pills bearing the letters “WY” on the western embankment of the Pan Hlaing River in Shwelin Ban Industrial Zone, Hlaingthaya, on December 5. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
Myanmar stays young while East Asia faces elderly demographic shift
Myanmar is an outlier in a new World Bank report that reveals most Asian countries are facing ageing populations and a rapidly diminishing workforce.
The report, entitled “Live Long and Prosper: Ageing in the East Asia and Pacific”, notes that the East Asia Pacific region is now home to one-third of the world’s over-65 population, roughly 211 million people. As these people leave the workforce and enter into more intensive healthcare services, economies and government policies will have to adjust in order to continue positive growth.
But Myanmar’s 65 and older population makes up just 5.8pc of the total, making it one of the youngest countries studied in the report.
China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Singapore are all expected to face quickly shrinking working-age demographics, losing more than 10 percent of the labour force by 2040, which would translate to about 90 million fewer workers in China alone.
But Myanmar is expected to grow about 1pc in that age demographic over the same period, joining Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia and Laos as countries that will see growth in the employment pool.
Countries’ development and wealth were found to be factors in the shift, correlating with rising life expectancies and lower fertility rates. The 65 and older populations in high income economies like Japan and Korea stood at 14pc of the total in 2010, and are expected to reach 36pc by 2060. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
The report, entitled “Live Long and Prosper: Ageing in the East Asia and Pacific”, notes that the East Asia Pacific region is now home to one-third of the world’s over-65 population, roughly 211 million people. As these people leave the workforce and enter into more intensive healthcare services, economies and government policies will have to adjust in order to continue positive growth.
But Myanmar’s 65 and older population makes up just 5.8pc of the total, making it one of the youngest countries studied in the report.
China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Singapore are all expected to face quickly shrinking working-age demographics, losing more than 10 percent of the labour force by 2040, which would translate to about 90 million fewer workers in China alone.
But Myanmar is expected to grow about 1pc in that age demographic over the same period, joining Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia and Laos as countries that will see growth in the employment pool.
Countries’ development and wealth were found to be factors in the shift, correlating with rising life expectancies and lower fertility rates. The 65 and older populations in high income economies like Japan and Korea stood at 14pc of the total in 2010, and are expected to reach 36pc by 2060. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
Understanding Myanmar’s communal violence
Last year I had the accidental experience of examining attitudes toward incidents of violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar.
It was accidental in the sense that I had not set out to explore this issue at all. I was doing my PhD research on how people – who are involved with work on fostering democracy – tell the story of Myanmar’s democratisation.
But as I spoke to Western aid workers, Myanmar activists and NGO workers about democracy I found that they often linked back to examples of Buddhist-Muslim tensions. As this continued to happen I realised that the way people reacted to news of communal violence was closely related to the wider story of democratisation that they told.
Some people – most commonly Western aid workers – told a wider story of democratic modernisation based on liberal values and institutions and how communal violence was an awful affront to the core value of human rights. And in some cases, anti-Muslim attitudes were portrayed as being associated with a ‘crazy nationalism’. Some aid workers even said that they simply couldn’t talk about the issue any more without getting too emotional.
Another common story – within some circles of activists and NGO workers in Myanmar – was that a central element of the country’s democratisation was about unity. (Courtesy of asiapacific.anu.edu.au)
It was accidental in the sense that I had not set out to explore this issue at all. I was doing my PhD research on how people – who are involved with work on fostering democracy – tell the story of Myanmar’s democratisation.
But as I spoke to Western aid workers, Myanmar activists and NGO workers about democracy I found that they often linked back to examples of Buddhist-Muslim tensions. As this continued to happen I realised that the way people reacted to news of communal violence was closely related to the wider story of democratisation that they told.
Some people – most commonly Western aid workers – told a wider story of democratic modernisation based on liberal values and institutions and how communal violence was an awful affront to the core value of human rights. And in some cases, anti-Muslim attitudes were portrayed as being associated with a ‘crazy nationalism’. Some aid workers even said that they simply couldn’t talk about the issue any more without getting too emotional.
Another common story – within some circles of activists and NGO workers in Myanmar – was that a central element of the country’s democratisation was about unity. (Courtesy of asiapacific.anu.edu.au)
OPPOSITION MP QUESTIONS PURCHASE OF 900 POLICE CARS FROM CHINA
Nay Pyi Taw – Myanmar Deputy Minister of Home Affairs on Wednesday denied that the ministry had breaches parliamentary rules with the purchase of 900 Chinese-made cars for the police force.
The purchase was made in keeping with rules and regulations,” Deputy Minister of Home Affairs U Kyaw Kyaw Tun told parliament during a debate on the extraordinary budget for fiscal year 2015/16, which ends on March 31.
National League for Democracy (NLD) member of parliament Daw Khin San Hlaing, representing Pale, Sagaing Region, had raised a complaint against the 5.3 billion kyat (US$4.1 million) purchase to be discussed in parliament.
Daw Khin San Hlaing said the purchase should not have been made without informing parliament beforehand, but the deputy minister denied that he had breached regulations.
The session ended Wednesday with the approval of an extraordinary budget of 2,464 billion kyat (US$ 1.9 billion) for the remainder of the fiscal year. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
The purchase was made in keeping with rules and regulations,” Deputy Minister of Home Affairs U Kyaw Kyaw Tun told parliament during a debate on the extraordinary budget for fiscal year 2015/16, which ends on March 31.
National League for Democracy (NLD) member of parliament Daw Khin San Hlaing, representing Pale, Sagaing Region, had raised a complaint against the 5.3 billion kyat (US$4.1 million) purchase to be discussed in parliament.
Daw Khin San Hlaing said the purchase should not have been made without informing parliament beforehand, but the deputy minister denied that he had breached regulations.
The session ended Wednesday with the approval of an extraordinary budget of 2,464 billion kyat (US$ 1.9 billion) for the remainder of the fiscal year. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Myanmar Chief Negotiator Briefed Aung San Suu Kyi on Peace Process: NLD
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with the country’s chief peace negotiator Aung Min to discuss reconciliation with armed ethnic groups as her National League for Democracy (NLD) prepares to form a new government after sweeping general elections last month, a party official said Wednesday.
The meeting preceded a decision Wednesday by a bloc of 11 ethnic armed groups to form a committee for negotiations with the incoming NLD administration on the so-called nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) signed Oct. 15 between eight insurgent armies and the government.
Aung Min, the head of the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) in Yangon, held a discussion with Aung San Suu Kyi Monday afternoon on the status of the peace process, senior NLD staffer Win Htein said of the closed-door meeting at her office in the capital Naypyidaw.
“Minister Aung Min met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and explained how [government negotiators] went about signing the NCA and what the MPC has been doing,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
“He explained the process as [the NLD under] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be leading the country soon. She recognized and praised the efforts that led to the signing of the NCA and she reviewed various points from the pact ahead of future peace talks.”
Win Htein said Aung San Suu Kyi explained to Aung Min, who is also vice chair of the government’s Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC), why she opted out of signing the NCA on behalf of the NLD when the agreement was ratified by parliament on Tuesday, although he did not provide details of what she told the minister. (Courtesy of RFA)
The meeting preceded a decision Wednesday by a bloc of 11 ethnic armed groups to form a committee for negotiations with the incoming NLD administration on the so-called nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) signed Oct. 15 between eight insurgent armies and the government.
Aung Min, the head of the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) in Yangon, held a discussion with Aung San Suu Kyi Monday afternoon on the status of the peace process, senior NLD staffer Win Htein said of the closed-door meeting at her office in the capital Naypyidaw.
“Minister Aung Min met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and explained how [government negotiators] went about signing the NCA and what the MPC has been doing,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
“He explained the process as [the NLD under] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be leading the country soon. She recognized and praised the efforts that led to the signing of the NCA and she reviewed various points from the pact ahead of future peace talks.”
Win Htein said Aung San Suu Kyi explained to Aung Min, who is also vice chair of the government’s Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC), why she opted out of signing the NCA on behalf of the NLD when the agreement was ratified by parliament on Tuesday, although he did not provide details of what she told the minister. (Courtesy of RFA)
Top US general in Asia ready to engage with Myanmar
WASHINGTON, Dec 8–The U.S. Army's senior commander in Asia is ready to establish a closer, personal relationship with Myanmar’s armed forces and government, according to reports.
General Vincent Brooks, speaking in Washington, told a defense writers' group, that the US is interested in forming stronger bonds within Myanmar, in part to counter the influence of the Chinese military, which is exerting its power into the region.
He said military forces within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were also calling for more engagement with Myanmar, following the election victory of the National League for Democracy, and what appears to be a peaceful transition of power.
However, he said any high level contacts would have to wait for the approval of administration officials.
The political victory of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other factors "have caused us to be ready to move forward," he said, according to a Reuters report. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
General Vincent Brooks, speaking in Washington, told a defense writers' group, that the US is interested in forming stronger bonds within Myanmar, in part to counter the influence of the Chinese military, which is exerting its power into the region.
He said military forces within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were also calling for more engagement with Myanmar, following the election victory of the National League for Democracy, and what appears to be a peaceful transition of power.
However, he said any high level contacts would have to wait for the approval of administration officials.
The political victory of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other factors "have caused us to be ready to move forward," he said, according to a Reuters report. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
Shankar Acharya: Myanmar's historic election
A month ago, on November 8, most Indians were glued to the television watching the roller-coaster of results pouring in from the Bihar election. Commentators were quick to dub the election as "historic" for stopping the Modi-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), election-winning juggernaut in its tracks. Few paid attention to the truly historic election being conducted in Myanmar that same Sunday. It was the first reasonably free and fair national election held there since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi's fledgling National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory, bagging 80 per cent of the constituencies nation-wide. That election win, occurring with Ms Suu Kyi already under house arrest, was ignored and later annulled by the ruling military government, in power since 1962.
Within 24 hours of the day-long election on November 8 (why did the Bihar elections have to take a month?!), it was clear that Ms Suu Kyi and the NLD were on their way to repeating a feat unprecedented in the annals of democratic elections. (Courtesy of Business Standard Column)
Within 24 hours of the day-long election on November 8 (why did the Bihar elections have to take a month?!), it was clear that Ms Suu Kyi and the NLD were on their way to repeating a feat unprecedented in the annals of democratic elections. (Courtesy of Business Standard Column)
Bangladesh navy detains 92 Myanmar fishermen
DHAKA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Bangladeshi naval forces detained 92 fishermen in 12 trawlers from Myanmar for illegal angling within Bangladeshi waters in the Bay of Bengal, a regional police official said on Wednesday.
Lieutenant Golam Kibria told Reuters the arrests were made on Tuesday night near Saint Martin island in the Cox's Bazar district near the border with Myanmar some 450 km (280 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka. (Courtesy of trust.org)
Lieutenant Golam Kibria told Reuters the arrests were made on Tuesday night near Saint Martin island in the Cox's Bazar district near the border with Myanmar some 450 km (280 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka. (Courtesy of trust.org)
A New Era for China-Myanmar Relations?
With the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) landslide victory in the general elections in November, China expects a new page in Myanmar’s domestic politics and foreign policy under the new government to be inaugurated at the end of March 2016. The NLD’s yet-to-be-clarified policy direction has led to a major sense of uncertainty in the Chinese policy community, giving rise to heated discussion about whether (and if so, how) China should once again adjust its policy toward Myanmar. While the change of government in Myanmar does not alter China’s overall goals in its relations with the southwestern neighbor, China nonetheless hopes to start a new era in its relations with Myanmar. For the foreseeable future, however, the details of China’s policy will be determined by the positions and policies of the NLD government. (Courtesy of The Diplomat)
A Long Road to Recovery in Myanmar’s Remote Chin State
HAKHA, MYANMAR—
Earlier this year in Hakha, the capital of Myanmar’s mountainous and remote Chin state, days of heavy rain saturated the ground beneath the hilltop town.
On the afternoon of July 28, Teng Mawng, 52, felt the floor of his home rumble as a large section of the earth above the town became dislodged, sending the contents of a lake, along with a mass of dirt and rock, surging through his neighborhood.
“The water rushed past and took away all the land,” he said. “Me and all my neighbors had to move out.”
In what locals say was the worst natural disaster in living memory, towns and villages across Chin state were ravaged by landslides. According to data collected from local relief groups, almost 20,000 people have been displaced and a total of nearly 55,000 people were affected by the disaster.
Months after the landslides, the main roads in the capital Hakha have largely been cleared by bulldozers, but the true recovery has barely started. (Courtesy of VOA News)
Earlier this year in Hakha, the capital of Myanmar’s mountainous and remote Chin state, days of heavy rain saturated the ground beneath the hilltop town.
On the afternoon of July 28, Teng Mawng, 52, felt the floor of his home rumble as a large section of the earth above the town became dislodged, sending the contents of a lake, along with a mass of dirt and rock, surging through his neighborhood.
“The water rushed past and took away all the land,” he said. “Me and all my neighbors had to move out.”
In what locals say was the worst natural disaster in living memory, towns and villages across Chin state were ravaged by landslides. According to data collected from local relief groups, almost 20,000 people have been displaced and a total of nearly 55,000 people were affected by the disaster.
Months after the landslides, the main roads in the capital Hakha have largely been cleared by bulldozers, but the true recovery has barely started. (Courtesy of VOA News)
Rakhine group calls for suspension of Kyaukphyu SEZ project
Sittwe (Mizzima) – The Rakhine Social Association has called for the suspension of two deep sea port projects to be built in the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Myanmar’s western coastline.
The project is planned as a key port in the Bay of Bengal which will serve as a hub for energy and goods from India, the Middle East and Africa.
The Rakhine Social Association (Yangon) Chairman Hla Thein said his group was calling attention to their concerns.
“We worry about bringing a coal-fired power plant and the oil refinery industry to this SEZ,” he said.
Kyaukphyu SEZ Management Committee chairman and Union Rail Deputy Minister Myint Thein said at Union Parliament meeting on December 3 that the commencement of the project would take place in February 2016.
Hla Thein noted that environmental hazards have resulted in other countries from such energy-processing industrial zones. “We don’t want to see such hazards in our region,” he said.
He said he was also concerned about local residents being forced to move without proper support. The group’s statement said there is lack of public awareness about the SEZ, and a lack of environmental impact and health studies by independent and internationally recognized organizations.
The government has established three Special Economic Zones: at Thilawa, Dawei and Kyaukphyu.
The Kyaukphyu SEZ will be environmentally sustainable and bring significant socio-economic benefits to the region, say government officials. (Courtesy of Mizzima )
The project is planned as a key port in the Bay of Bengal which will serve as a hub for energy and goods from India, the Middle East and Africa.
The Rakhine Social Association (Yangon) Chairman Hla Thein said his group was calling attention to their concerns.
“We worry about bringing a coal-fired power plant and the oil refinery industry to this SEZ,” he said.
Kyaukphyu SEZ Management Committee chairman and Union Rail Deputy Minister Myint Thein said at Union Parliament meeting on December 3 that the commencement of the project would take place in February 2016.
Hla Thein noted that environmental hazards have resulted in other countries from such energy-processing industrial zones. “We don’t want to see such hazards in our region,” he said.
He said he was also concerned about local residents being forced to move without proper support. The group’s statement said there is lack of public awareness about the SEZ, and a lack of environmental impact and health studies by independent and internationally recognized organizations.
The government has established three Special Economic Zones: at Thilawa, Dawei and Kyaukphyu.
The Kyaukphyu SEZ will be environmentally sustainable and bring significant socio-economic benefits to the region, say government officials. (Courtesy of Mizzima )
US temporarily lifts Myanmar shipping restrictions
YANGON, Myanmar--The United States has temporarily eased restrictions on trade through Myanmar's ports, a post-election move welcomed on Tuesday by business leaders in the economically booming Southeast Asian nation.
The policy shift comes after Myanmar held landmark polls last month swept by the pro-democracy opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi and will make it easier for U.S. companies to deal directly with the country's crucial ports and airports.
Washington lifted most trade sanctions against Myanmar after decades of brutal junta rule gave way to a quasi-civilian reformist government in 2011.
However dozens of junta-era cronies and their sprawling business interests remain on a Washington embargo.
That has made it difficult for businesses to trade with Myanmar because many key export and import points are run by still-blacklisted firms, including Yangon's busiest port terminal, which handles around half the country's freight.
But in a statement released on Monday, the United States Treasury announced a temporary six-month lifting of those restrictions.
"This is a good opportunity for the country because we lived in a closed system for 50 years, without good access to international trade," Thet Thet Khine, of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told AFP.
"The more open a country is to foreign trading, the more it will develop," added the businesswoman, who will also enter parliament next year as an MP for Suu Kyi's party. (Courtesy of The China Post)
The policy shift comes after Myanmar held landmark polls last month swept by the pro-democracy opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi and will make it easier for U.S. companies to deal directly with the country's crucial ports and airports.
Washington lifted most trade sanctions against Myanmar after decades of brutal junta rule gave way to a quasi-civilian reformist government in 2011.
However dozens of junta-era cronies and their sprawling business interests remain on a Washington embargo.
That has made it difficult for businesses to trade with Myanmar because many key export and import points are run by still-blacklisted firms, including Yangon's busiest port terminal, which handles around half the country's freight.
But in a statement released on Monday, the United States Treasury announced a temporary six-month lifting of those restrictions.
"This is a good opportunity for the country because we lived in a closed system for 50 years, without good access to international trade," Thet Thet Khine, of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told AFP.
"The more open a country is to foreign trading, the more it will develop," added the businesswoman, who will also enter parliament next year as an MP for Suu Kyi's party. (Courtesy of The China Post)
Rohingya group protest shooting death in Rakhine State
Eleven Rohingya groups have protested the shooting death of a 25-year-old Rohingya man on Monday near Buthidaung in Rakhine State.
Maung Maung died from a gunshot would after a car he was riding in was stopped by Border Guard Police (BGP) while he was returning home, according to a press release.
Maung Maung was travelling from Maungdaw to Buthidaung after shopping for his family when the car was stopped by a BGP team at Pawan Chaung Na Ta La village, the group said.
BGP officers demanded money from the Buddhist Rakhine driver of the car, the group said. When the driver refused to pay,a shot was fired and a bullet struck Maung Maung in the head. He died at Maungdaw hospital on December 8.
Since June, 2012, deadly violence in Arakan State has claimed many Muslim and Buddhist lives, and left more 160,000 people homeless.
The group said the government has failed to protect the Muslim Rohingya population and has been a source of systematic persecution. (Courtesy of Mizziima)
Maung Maung died from a gunshot would after a car he was riding in was stopped by Border Guard Police (BGP) while he was returning home, according to a press release.
Maung Maung was travelling from Maungdaw to Buthidaung after shopping for his family when the car was stopped by a BGP team at Pawan Chaung Na Ta La village, the group said.
BGP officers demanded money from the Buddhist Rakhine driver of the car, the group said. When the driver refused to pay,a shot was fired and a bullet struck Maung Maung in the head. He died at Maungdaw hospital on December 8.
Since June, 2012, deadly violence in Arakan State has claimed many Muslim and Buddhist lives, and left more 160,000 people homeless.
The group said the government has failed to protect the Muslim Rohingya population and has been a source of systematic persecution. (Courtesy of Mizziima)
Polio vaccine program expands to cover Rakhine
Moving swiftly to stamp out what appeared to be a resurgence of deadly polio in Rakhine State, health officials have completed the first of three planned rounds of vaccinations there.
Between December 5 and 7, nearly 300,000 children under age five were inoculated in 15 townships of Rakhine State, the health ministry said yesterday. The vaccine program was ordered after a second child was found to have contracted vaccine-derived polio virus in November, six months after a first infected child was discovered.
According to the World Health Organization, outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio are believed to be rare. The cases are thought to be linked to extremely low immunisation rates in areas of poor sanitation where an excreted traces of the vaccine circulate through the community.
The incidence of wild polio, the non-vaccine-derived variety, is believed to have been eradicated in Myanmar. Prior to 2007, the country suffered occasional outbreaks.
Dr Thaung Hlaing, Rakhine State’s public health director, said the program covered 92 percent of northern Rakhine. “The mopping-up activities targeted about 300,000 under-fives on December 5, 6 and 7,” he said.
“We will conduct three rounds of vaccination. The second round will start at the end of December and the third in January,” he said.
The two cases of vaccine-derived polio virus in Maungdaw township occurred because coverage was incomplete, said Dr Than Htun Aung, director of public health for epidemiology. In recent years, vaccination coverage in the state has been down to 80pc because of local “culture and attitudes”. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
Between December 5 and 7, nearly 300,000 children under age five were inoculated in 15 townships of Rakhine State, the health ministry said yesterday. The vaccine program was ordered after a second child was found to have contracted vaccine-derived polio virus in November, six months after a first infected child was discovered.
According to the World Health Organization, outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio are believed to be rare. The cases are thought to be linked to extremely low immunisation rates in areas of poor sanitation where an excreted traces of the vaccine circulate through the community.
The incidence of wild polio, the non-vaccine-derived variety, is believed to have been eradicated in Myanmar. Prior to 2007, the country suffered occasional outbreaks.
Dr Thaung Hlaing, Rakhine State’s public health director, said the program covered 92 percent of northern Rakhine. “The mopping-up activities targeted about 300,000 under-fives on December 5, 6 and 7,” he said.
“We will conduct three rounds of vaccination. The second round will start at the end of December and the third in January,” he said.
The two cases of vaccine-derived polio virus in Maungdaw township occurred because coverage was incomplete, said Dr Than Htun Aung, director of public health for epidemiology. In recent years, vaccination coverage in the state has been down to 80pc because of local “culture and attitudes”. (Courtesy of MMTimes)
Top Thai policeman seeks political asylum in Australia, fears for his life
A senior Thai policeman who headed an investigation into human trafficking for the country's military government has fled Thailand in fear of his life and is now requesting political asylum in Australia.
Police Major General Paween Pongsirin had been investigating the trafficking of Muslim Rohingya migrants after the discovery of mass graves and 26 corpses in southern Thailand in early May.
The bodies are believed to be those of Rohingya refugees and were victims of the traffickers.
Major General Paween claims his investigation was stopped by highly influential people within the government, the military and the police.
I believe there should be some safe place for me - somewhere on this earth to help me.
Thai Police Major General Paween Pongsirin
He said high-ranking government officials repeatedly obstructed the investigation.
"A lot of government officials should be facing justice," Major General Paween told 7.30. (Courtesy of ABC News)
Police Major General Paween Pongsirin had been investigating the trafficking of Muslim Rohingya migrants after the discovery of mass graves and 26 corpses in southern Thailand in early May.
The bodies are believed to be those of Rohingya refugees and were victims of the traffickers.
Major General Paween claims his investigation was stopped by highly influential people within the government, the military and the police.
I believe there should be some safe place for me - somewhere on this earth to help me.
Thai Police Major General Paween Pongsirin
He said high-ranking government officials repeatedly obstructed the investigation.
"A lot of government officials should be facing justice," Major General Paween told 7.30. (Courtesy of ABC News)
The Myanmar Elections: Results and Implications
The 8 November elections were a major waypoint in Myanmar’s transition from authoritarian rule. Holding a peaceful, orderly vote in a context of little experience of electoral democracy, deep political fissures and ongoing armed conflict in several areas was a major achievement for all political actors, the election commission and the country as a whole. The victorious National League for Democracy (NLD) needs to use the four-month transitional period before it takes power at the end of March 2016 wisely, identifying key appointees early so that they have as much time as possible to prepare for the substantial challenges ahead.
Its landslide victory, with almost 80 per cent of the elected seats, means Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s party will have an outright majority in both legislative chambers, even after the 25 per cent of unelected seats held by the armed forces is taken into account. This will give it control of law-making and the power to choose the president – a position that the constitution bars Suu Kyi from taking herself. The incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) suffered a crushing defeat, as did most parties representing minority ethnic groups.
The vote represents a huge popular mandate for Aung San Suu Kyi and comes with equally high expectations that she and the NLD will deliver the needed political and economic changes. It will not be easy to meet those expectations. First, Suu Kyi will have to build a constructive working relationship with Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing. The military retains considerable executive power, with control of the defence, home affairs and border affairs ministries. Success in everything from the peace process to police reform and further political liberalisation will depend on the cooperation of the armed forces. With longstanding mutual suspicions, that relationship could easily get off to a bad start, particularly if Suu Kyi chooses a proxy president without the credibility and stature required for the top job, as she has suggested she would. (Courtesy of International Crisis Group)
Its landslide victory, with almost 80 per cent of the elected seats, means Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s party will have an outright majority in both legislative chambers, even after the 25 per cent of unelected seats held by the armed forces is taken into account. This will give it control of law-making and the power to choose the president – a position that the constitution bars Suu Kyi from taking herself. The incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) suffered a crushing defeat, as did most parties representing minority ethnic groups.
The vote represents a huge popular mandate for Aung San Suu Kyi and comes with equally high expectations that she and the NLD will deliver the needed political and economic changes. It will not be easy to meet those expectations. First, Suu Kyi will have to build a constructive working relationship with Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing. The military retains considerable executive power, with control of the defence, home affairs and border affairs ministries. Success in everything from the peace process to police reform and further political liberalisation will depend on the cooperation of the armed forces. With longstanding mutual suspicions, that relationship could easily get off to a bad start, particularly if Suu Kyi chooses a proxy president without the credibility and stature required for the top job, as she has suggested she would. (Courtesy of International Crisis Group)
Myanmar inaugurates new stock exchange
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar inaugurated a new stock exchange on Wednesday with plans for six companies to start trading in March.
Minister of Finance Win Shein said the Yangon Stock Exchange will initially be open only to Myanmar companies and investors, but planned law changes will eventually allow foreigners to invest in Myanmar shares.
The exchange was set up by local companies in a joint venture with Daiwa Institute of Research Japan and Japan Exchange Group, which operates the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Officials hope a stock market will help companies raise capital and fuel economic development in one of Asia's poorest countries.
Myanmar's economy was stunted by decades of international sanctions until military rulers yielded to a civilian government in 2010. The country had a stock exchange during military rule but it attracted few companies and trading was almost nonexistent.
Stock markets established recently in other developing Asian countries have fared poorly. A market in Laos has only two companies traded and Cambodia's stock exchange has attracted just one. (Courtesy of 12 News )
Minister of Finance Win Shein said the Yangon Stock Exchange will initially be open only to Myanmar companies and investors, but planned law changes will eventually allow foreigners to invest in Myanmar shares.
The exchange was set up by local companies in a joint venture with Daiwa Institute of Research Japan and Japan Exchange Group, which operates the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Officials hope a stock market will help companies raise capital and fuel economic development in one of Asia's poorest countries.
Myanmar's economy was stunted by decades of international sanctions until military rulers yielded to a civilian government in 2010. The country had a stock exchange during military rule but it attracted few companies and trading was almost nonexistent.
Stock markets established recently in other developing Asian countries have fared poorly. A market in Laos has only two companies traded and Cambodia's stock exchange has attracted just one. (Courtesy of 12 News )
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