As Yangon Circular Railway makes its way around Myanmar’s biggest city a boy is dancing in the aisle while another plays a toy electric guitar. Commuters smile benignly. A young vendor, her face painted with thanaka, a paste made from bark, pauses with her basket of freshly cut pineapple to watch him dance, and the teeming, chaotic city drifts past outside the open windows.
Along the 46km loop, which takes in 39 stations, shanties’ rusty corrugated roofs lean against the track, lush paddy fields and faded colonial houses pass by, skyscraper building sites look busy, and groups of cheerful boys play volleyball on makeshift courts behind the railside houses.
For less than €1 you can take this train for a three-hour journey that shows you the optimism that has pervaded Myanmar (which used to be known as Burma) since Aung San Suu Kyi took her seat in parliament on Monday, after a landslide election win in November for her party, the National League of Democracy. (Courtesy of Irish Times)
February 6, 2016
The Europe I want to live in
In his opinion ‘Storm in a teacup‘ published on 3 February, Carmel Vassallo boldly claimed that Muslims are granted “too much” tolerance in Europe.
Is Vassallo implying that granting and safeguarding people’s human rights is excessive? Is he suggesting that some Muslims should be stripped of their rights?
He makes no difference between Muslim migrants and European Muslims, so is he suggesting that refugees should be sent back to a Syria destroyed by Assad’s bombs and Islamic State’s tyranny? What about the millions of Muslims born and bred in Europe… should they convert to Christianity? (Courtesy of MaltaToday.com.mt)
Is Vassallo implying that granting and safeguarding people’s human rights is excessive? Is he suggesting that some Muslims should be stripped of their rights?
He makes no difference between Muslim migrants and European Muslims, so is he suggesting that refugees should be sent back to a Syria destroyed by Assad’s bombs and Islamic State’s tyranny? What about the millions of Muslims born and bred in Europe… should they convert to Christianity? (Courtesy of MaltaToday.com.mt)
New dawn in Myanmar
At long last conceding electoral victory to Aung San Suu Kyi the military regime has handed over government to people's elected representatives who were sworn in as members of Myanmar's bicameral parliament. Some 600 members, including about a hundred former political prisoners, took oath of office on Monday amidst an air of hope and despair - hope that they would introduce institutional reforms to strengthen democracy and despair that they won't be able to elect Suu Kyi as president of the country. Under a Suu Kyi specific constitutional mandate anyone having foreign husband and/or children cannot be elected president of Myanmar. Reports that she was in touch with military to remove this ban have been quashed, proving right her premonition and hence her oft-quoted decision to govern from behind the scene. And that she will, given it is she who won her National League for Democracy 80 percent of the contested seats, with overwhelming support of Myanmar's ethnic minorities who constitute 40 percent of country's 51 million populations. The sitting president, Thein Sein, a general-turned-politician, will step down in March and NLD nominee will take over. But, as Washington said in its congratulatory message, 'impediments remain to realisation of a full democratic and civilian government'. The military will not only retain 25 percent of seats in the newly-elected parliament - just as ex-president Suharto had Golkar party in the Indonesian parliament - but also some key ministries. But expectation is that finding itself increasingly a pariah in the emerging democratic ambience world over the military rulers would like to keep a low profile, just as they have over the last few years. (Courtesy of Business Recorder)
Govt launches Zika virus awareness campaign
At the same time, the World Health Organization has warned that the global outbreak, which began in Brazil, is spreading “explosively”, and pegged Asia as vulnerable to the disease, for which there is no cure and no vaccine.
There have been no confirmed cases in Myanmar.
The virus has been linked to deformities in infants including microcephaly, and the rare paralysis-inducing autoimmune disease Guillian-Barre Syndrome, but does not cause symptoms in up to 80 percent of patients. Those who do experience symptoms may see signs similar to dengue infections, including fever, skin rash, muscle and joint pain, and a headache, according to the WHO. Although the Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947, few cases were identified until an isolated outbreak in 2007 in Micronesia, and then another, large outbreak in Polynesia in 2013. The current outbreak has affected several million people, primarily in the Americas. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
There have been no confirmed cases in Myanmar.
The virus has been linked to deformities in infants including microcephaly, and the rare paralysis-inducing autoimmune disease Guillian-Barre Syndrome, but does not cause symptoms in up to 80 percent of patients. Those who do experience symptoms may see signs similar to dengue infections, including fever, skin rash, muscle and joint pain, and a headache, according to the WHO. Although the Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947, few cases were identified until an isolated outbreak in 2007 in Micronesia, and then another, large outbreak in Polynesia in 2013. The current outbreak has affected several million people, primarily in the Americas. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
Ruling party eyes bill that could make Suu Kyi president
Myanmar's ruling party plans to submit a new bill that could allow its leader Aung San Suu Kyi to become president, multiple party members told The Nikkei, in a move that will surely draw fire from the military and may even grind the country's power transition to a halt.
The bill aims to temporarily suspend a clause in the constitution that bans individuals with foreign family members from becoming president. Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy, has two sons with British citizenship.
Changing the constitution requires a more than three-quarters vote in parliament, among other tough conditions. Opposition by military-appointed lawmakers thwarted an amendment submitted last June. But the NLD now holds a majority of seats in both houses after a crushing victory in last year's election. It has the numbers to pass the new bill, which would result in a new law and technically not alter the constitution. (Courtesy of Nikkei Asian Review)
The bill aims to temporarily suspend a clause in the constitution that bans individuals with foreign family members from becoming president. Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy, has two sons with British citizenship.
Changing the constitution requires a more than three-quarters vote in parliament, among other tough conditions. Opposition by military-appointed lawmakers thwarted an amendment submitted last June. But the NLD now holds a majority of seats in both houses after a crushing victory in last year's election. It has the numbers to pass the new bill, which would result in a new law and technically not alter the constitution. (Courtesy of Nikkei Asian Review)
ANP Lawmaker Fires Warning on Preserving Controversial Laws
An Arakanese lawmaker warned the National League for Democracy (NLD) on Friday against pursuing amendments to several controversial laws that critics contend discriminate against religious and ethnic minorities in the country.
Khin Saw Wai, a Lower House lawmaker with the Arakan National Party (ANP) embarking on her second term in Parliament, said the party would oppose any moves to amend either the 1982 citizenship law or the package of four so-called “race and religion protection laws” which were passed by Parliament last year.
“Those laws are our life,” Khin Saw Wai told The Irrawaddy. “We will oppose [amendments] as much as we can.”
Burma’s widely criticized 1982 citizenship law states that only recognized ethnic nationalities and others that settled in the country before 1823 are automatically entitled to Burmese citizenship. The law effectively denies the Muslim Rohingya population that primarily resides in Arakan State from obtaining citizenship. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
Khin Saw Wai, a Lower House lawmaker with the Arakan National Party (ANP) embarking on her second term in Parliament, said the party would oppose any moves to amend either the 1982 citizenship law or the package of four so-called “race and religion protection laws” which were passed by Parliament last year.
“Those laws are our life,” Khin Saw Wai told The Irrawaddy. “We will oppose [amendments] as much as we can.”
Burma’s widely criticized 1982 citizenship law states that only recognized ethnic nationalities and others that settled in the country before 1823 are automatically entitled to Burmese citizenship. The law effectively denies the Muslim Rohingya population that primarily resides in Arakan State from obtaining citizenship. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
26 Rohingya Homes Razed in Huge Accidental Fire
The fire, believed to have started from the kitchen accidentally ignited, razed at least 26 homes at ‘Taman Thar’ village in northern Maungdaw around 12:45 PM yesterday.
The 26 houses razed hosted 41 (Rohingya) families and were said to be linked-houses. The fire that flamed for 2 hours displaced 208 people internally, where 83 were men and 125 were women. Furthermore, it also destroyed the paddy (rice) stored in the houses and damaged all the household properties
“The fire reportedly flamed bigger due to the strong winds. While the villagers were trying to extinguish the fire, the Military and the Border Guard Police (BGP) from the camps in the (Taman Thar) village also arrived and extended their hands to the villagers.
While extinguishing the fire, some villages got injuries.
The Military and the BGP listed the number of the homes destroyed in the fire and encouraged the people affected not to be saddened due to the incident. The BGP donated 2100 bamboos to set up temporary tents for the displaced people. They also promised to provide the villagers with rations. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
The 26 houses razed hosted 41 (Rohingya) families and were said to be linked-houses. The fire that flamed for 2 hours displaced 208 people internally, where 83 were men and 125 were women. Furthermore, it also destroyed the paddy (rice) stored in the houses and damaged all the household properties
“The fire reportedly flamed bigger due to the strong winds. While the villagers were trying to extinguish the fire, the Military and the Border Guard Police (BGP) from the camps in the (Taman Thar) village also arrived and extended their hands to the villagers.
While extinguishing the fire, some villages got injuries.
The Military and the BGP listed the number of the homes destroyed in the fire and encouraged the people affected not to be saddened due to the incident. The BGP donated 2100 bamboos to set up temporary tents for the displaced people. They also promised to provide the villagers with rations. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
Global migration crisis and the Bangladesh experience
More than 1 million refugees have entered Europe by land and sea in 2015. The mass exodus of people from North Africa and Middle East have made the migrant crisis Europe's worst since World War II. While more than 80% of the migrants have arrived by sea routes, the fierce winter has not been able to slow down the daily influx, particularly in Greece. Europe has been struggling to deal with these large groups of helpless people, registering them as migrants and refugees, catering to their basic needs of shelter and food. In many stances, relocation of the migrants to share burden among the EU nations have failed due to resistance from both some of the EU countries as well as migrants who wanted to migrate to their country of choice. Hence, balancing the crisis has become a key challenge for Europe both socially and economically.
While there is ongoing debate on Europe's policy on refugee management, Bangladesh has experience and learnings from the successful refugee migration and repatriation in a number of cases. During the liberation war in 1971, approximately 10 million refugees from Bangladesh fled to neighbouring India facing brutal aggression by the Pakistani military force. After the 9-month-long war ended, they were successfully repatriated back to their homeland. Bangladesh also has successfully managed the waves of Rohingya refugees who have fled from Myanmar at different stages in time. Despite resource constraints, Bangladesh has successfully repatriated majority of the refugees through mass repatriation and provided citizenship to many of them who chose to stay back. Even in the context of Biharis, a large portion of the minority chose to stay back after 1971; many of them in recent years have applied of citizenship and have been granted. Hence, the country has a strong record of success stories in dealing with migrant flow as both the source and destination country. These case studies could provide substantial learning evidence for bothpragmatic policy resolution as well as effective means to deal with the migrant crisis facing Europe. (Courtesy of The Daily Star)
While there is ongoing debate on Europe's policy on refugee management, Bangladesh has experience and learnings from the successful refugee migration and repatriation in a number of cases. During the liberation war in 1971, approximately 10 million refugees from Bangladesh fled to neighbouring India facing brutal aggression by the Pakistani military force. After the 9-month-long war ended, they were successfully repatriated back to their homeland. Bangladesh also has successfully managed the waves of Rohingya refugees who have fled from Myanmar at different stages in time. Despite resource constraints, Bangladesh has successfully repatriated majority of the refugees through mass repatriation and provided citizenship to many of them who chose to stay back. Even in the context of Biharis, a large portion of the minority chose to stay back after 1971; many of them in recent years have applied of citizenship and have been granted. Hence, the country has a strong record of success stories in dealing with migrant flow as both the source and destination country. These case studies could provide substantial learning evidence for bothpragmatic policy resolution as well as effective means to deal with the migrant crisis facing Europe. (Courtesy of The Daily Star)
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