Myanmar's parliament on Monday approved President-elect U Htin Kyaw's plan of forming a new government with reduced ministries.
The proposal was approved by a vote of 611-3 with 21 abstentions.
President-elect U Htin Kyaw made his first public appearance by delivering a speech in the Union Parliament, clarifying the plan of forming a government with 21 ministries and 18 ministers, slashed from 36 and 32 respectively in the outgoing government. (Courtesy of Xinhua)
March 22, 2016
Myanmar president-elect says ethnic ministry 'vital' for peace
Myanmar's new president-elect told lawmakers Monday that plans to create a new ethnic affairs ministry were "vital" as he put efforts to heal relations with minorities at the heart of policy in a nation torn by civil wars and sectarian conflict.
Htin Kyaw, a close confidante of Aung San Suu Kyi who will rule as her proxy, indicated that tackling the legacy of half a century of civil wars in ethnic minority borderlands will be a major priority for his government, which officially takes power next week.
"A ministry of ethnic affairs is of vital importance for the future of the union (Myanmar), which needs peace, development and sustainability," he told lawmakers in his first address since being elected the first civilian leader in decades. (Courtesy of Daily Mail Online)
Htin Kyaw, a close confidante of Aung San Suu Kyi who will rule as her proxy, indicated that tackling the legacy of half a century of civil wars in ethnic minority borderlands will be a major priority for his government, which officially takes power next week.
"A ministry of ethnic affairs is of vital importance for the future of the union (Myanmar), which needs peace, development and sustainability," he told lawmakers in his first address since being elected the first civilian leader in decades. (Courtesy of Daily Mail Online)
Military Captain Arbitrarily Levy on Rohingya Fishermen
A newly appointed military captain at the camp located to the south of ‘Kodan Kauk’ Rakhine village summoned the Rohingya fishermen in ‘Angu Maw,’ ‘Kodan Kauk’ and ‘Shil Khali’ villages in Rathedaung on March 11, 2016.
In the meeting, the captain (of the camp, a camp under the commandment of Kyauk Pandu Military Battalion in southern Maungdaw) imposed inconsiderably high amount of duty charges on each of the Rohingya boat.
He imposed Kyat 20,000 each on a Peddle Boat, Kyat 50,000 each on an engine boat and Kyat 80,000 each on a big fishing trawler per outing to the sea respectively. He further ordered that the charges must be paid by 30th March or otherwise, there will be interest charged on the levies along with the punishments for the fishermen. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
In the meeting, the captain (of the camp, a camp under the commandment of Kyauk Pandu Military Battalion in southern Maungdaw) imposed inconsiderably high amount of duty charges on each of the Rohingya boat.
He imposed Kyat 20,000 each on a Peddle Boat, Kyat 50,000 each on an engine boat and Kyat 80,000 each on a big fishing trawler per outing to the sea respectively. He further ordered that the charges must be paid by 30th March or otherwise, there will be interest charged on the levies along with the punishments for the fishermen. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
Military Motorcyclist Hit and Severely Injure Rohingya Woman
Three Myanmar’s (Burmese) military personnel riding on two motorcycles hit a Rohingya woman while she was walking along the road in Kyauktaw Township yesterday (i.e. 20th March 2016) evening, leaving her with severe injuries above her right-eyebrow and in left-leg broken.
The victim has been identified to be Ms. Shafika (daughter of) Khalu, 32, a mother of four children, hailing from ‘Fauktoli (Auk Paikthay Ywa Thit)’ hamlet of ‘Paikthay’ village tract. She was hit by the military personnel by their motorcyles on her way back home after her work at ‘a Brick Manufacturing Firm’ owned by a Rakhine man U Tin Mang from ‘Taung Pauk’ village. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
The victim has been identified to be Ms. Shafika (daughter of) Khalu, 32, a mother of four children, hailing from ‘Fauktoli (Auk Paikthay Ywa Thit)’ hamlet of ‘Paikthay’ village tract. She was hit by the military personnel by their motorcyles on her way back home after her work at ‘a Brick Manufacturing Firm’ owned by a Rakhine man U Tin Mang from ‘Taung Pauk’ village. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
Around 25,000 Rohingya left Myanmar camps in past year – U.N.
Around 25,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority group have left camps for displaced people in western Myanmar and returned to the communities they fled during state sponsored violence in 2012, the United Nations said on Monday.
The number of people still in camps has fallen to around 120,000 from 145,000 in Arakan (Rakhine) State, Vivian Tan, regional spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency, told Reuters.
The move will bolster optimism among ethnic communities in Myanmar that their situation may improve under the new government of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). The NLD won a landslide electoral win in November and is forming a government to take power on April 1.
The majority of Rohingya who have left the camps have rebuilt houses in their place of origin, Tan said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters. The move out of the camps started in March 2015 in a process led by the Myanmar government, she added. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
The number of people still in camps has fallen to around 120,000 from 145,000 in Arakan (Rakhine) State, Vivian Tan, regional spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency, told Reuters.
The move will bolster optimism among ethnic communities in Myanmar that their situation may improve under the new government of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). The NLD won a landslide electoral win in November and is forming a government to take power on April 1.
The majority of Rohingya who have left the camps have rebuilt houses in their place of origin, Tan said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters. The move out of the camps started in March 2015 in a process led by the Myanmar government, she added. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
Photo night reveals raw Myanmar
More than 1000 people gathered at the Institut Français de Birmanie on the night of March 19 for an event described as historic.
As the sun set over Yangon, a projector showed images that could have been prohibited just a matter of years ago: the real struggles and successes of everyday Myanmar people.
The Yangon Photo Night, part of the 8th Yangon Photo Festival, displayed 21 photo-stories by amateur and professional photographers from all across the country.
“This edition is very special as it is the first time the night is dedicated almost entirely to Myanmar photographers,” said artistic director of the Yangon Photo Festival Christophe Loviny.
“When we started eight years ago there were almost no photojournalists in Myanmar because it was just wasn’t allowed.”
The judging panel looks over professional and amateur entries.The judging panel looks over professional and amateur entries. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
As the sun set over Yangon, a projector showed images that could have been prohibited just a matter of years ago: the real struggles and successes of everyday Myanmar people.
The Yangon Photo Night, part of the 8th Yangon Photo Festival, displayed 21 photo-stories by amateur and professional photographers from all across the country.
“This edition is very special as it is the first time the night is dedicated almost entirely to Myanmar photographers,” said artistic director of the Yangon Photo Festival Christophe Loviny.
“When we started eight years ago there were almost no photojournalists in Myanmar because it was just wasn’t allowed.”
The judging panel looks over professional and amateur entries.The judging panel looks over professional and amateur entries. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
EU ends funding for MPC and says assets must stay
As a major donor to Myanmar’s peace process over the past five years, the EU expression of concern over what will happen to these assets follows reported moves by senior officials of the MPC, including its chair, government minister U Aung Min, to set up their own institution.
The state of uncertainty hanging over the MPC looks set to continue for some weeks as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s incoming government works out how to handle logistics and personnel involved in the peace process. The MPC remains deeply distrusted by the ethnic armed groups outside the ceasefire pact signed last year. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
The state of uncertainty hanging over the MPC looks set to continue for some weeks as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s incoming government works out how to handle logistics and personnel involved in the peace process. The MPC remains deeply distrusted by the ethnic armed groups outside the ceasefire pact signed last year. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
Witnessing Myanmar’s momentous change
Published by ANU Press, the book provides the first ‘on the ground’ account of the sweeping change carried out by a reform-minded faction within the country’s long-ruling military – adjustments that commenced in 1999 with modest experiments, and which eventually led to historic elections in November 2015.
Throughout the book Wilson, who served as Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar from 2000 to 2003 and who has been a close observer of the country ever since, provides his usual high-quality insight into what for too long has been a little-known and highly misunderstood nation. (Courtesy of asiapacific.anu.edu.au)
Throughout the book Wilson, who served as Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar from 2000 to 2003 and who has been a close observer of the country ever since, provides his usual high-quality insight into what for too long has been a little-known and highly misunderstood nation. (Courtesy of asiapacific.anu.edu.au)
Hope for change in Myanmar stems Rohingya migrant flow
Hope that the conditions will improve for the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar under Aung San Suu Kyi's new government has contributed to a slowdown in the number fleeing to Thailand and beyond, the United Nations and European Union said on Monday.
As the season that smuggling and trafficking ships typically ply their human cargoes across the Bay of Bengal comes to a close, the number of migrants leaving Myanmar is down sharply on the year, the U.N. refugee agency said on Monday.
"It is striking, there are many less people coming than last year," Volker Turk, assistant high commissioner for protection at the UNHCR, told Reuters after an event on refugees in Bangkok.
"It's a combination of factors. As well as the new government, there are stronger activities against smuggling and trafficking. And the discovery of the mass graves last year also shocked people."
Thai police launched a campaign in May 2015 following the discovery of 30 bodies in graves near a human-trafficking camp close to the Malaysian border. The crackdown led criminals to abandon ships at sea with thousands of migrants aboard.
Mass graves of suspected human-trafficking victims were also found on the Malaysian side of the border. (Courtesy of Daily Mail Online)
As the season that smuggling and trafficking ships typically ply their human cargoes across the Bay of Bengal comes to a close, the number of migrants leaving Myanmar is down sharply on the year, the U.N. refugee agency said on Monday.
"It is striking, there are many less people coming than last year," Volker Turk, assistant high commissioner for protection at the UNHCR, told Reuters after an event on refugees in Bangkok.
"It's a combination of factors. As well as the new government, there are stronger activities against smuggling and trafficking. And the discovery of the mass graves last year also shocked people."
Thai police launched a campaign in May 2015 following the discovery of 30 bodies in graves near a human-trafficking camp close to the Malaysian border. The crackdown led criminals to abandon ships at sea with thousands of migrants aboard.
Mass graves of suspected human-trafficking victims were also found on the Malaysian side of the border. (Courtesy of Daily Mail Online)
Australia accused of going ‘soft’ on Myanmar at UN rights council
The Australian government has been accused of wanting to downgrade United Nations monitoring of human rights in Myanmar, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on March 20.
It said Australia was supporting a move at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to move Myanmar from an “item 4” state, regarded as having serious human rights issues, to an “item 10” state needing only technical assistance.
The assistance provided to “item 10” states includes help with drafting legislation, the newspaper said.
It quoted Emily Howie, director of advocacy and research at the Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Centre, as saying Australia's position "severely underplays the extent and seriousness of the ongoing human rights abuses" in Myanmar.
"It reduces pressure at a critical time of the democratic transition and diminishes the ability of the international community, including our allies, to push for much needed change," Howie told the SMH. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
It said Australia was supporting a move at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to move Myanmar from an “item 4” state, regarded as having serious human rights issues, to an “item 10” state needing only technical assistance.
The assistance provided to “item 10” states includes help with drafting legislation, the newspaper said.
It quoted Emily Howie, director of advocacy and research at the Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Centre, as saying Australia's position "severely underplays the extent and seriousness of the ongoing human rights abuses" in Myanmar.
"It reduces pressure at a critical time of the democratic transition and diminishes the ability of the international community, including our allies, to push for much needed change," Howie told the SMH. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Britain and Myanmar: friends again
During the hard years of military dictatorship, relations between Britain and Myanmar were often tense. The BBC would get rough treatment from its Myanmar counterparts. Sometimes it was even accused of broadcasting a “sky full of lies”.
When Senior General Than Shwe made the big decision to move government from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw we understand that one of his justifications was the lingering colonial hangover. Even today, everywhere you look in parts of Yangon, there are indications of the former British presence.
Those who appreciate shambolic post-imperial vibes rejoice in Yangon’s old buildings and streetscapes. And, for all their resentment, it was only on rare occasions that Myanmar’s dictators worked actively to destroy the British heritage of bricks-and-mortar. (Source of Myanmar Times)
When Senior General Than Shwe made the big decision to move government from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw we understand that one of his justifications was the lingering colonial hangover. Even today, everywhere you look in parts of Yangon, there are indications of the former British presence.
Those who appreciate shambolic post-imperial vibes rejoice in Yangon’s old buildings and streetscapes. And, for all their resentment, it was only on rare occasions that Myanmar’s dictators worked actively to destroy the British heritage of bricks-and-mortar. (Source of Myanmar Times)
U.S. says Myanmar persecutes Rohingya, but not genocide
The U.S. State Department said on Monday it had determined that Myanmar is persecuting its Rohingya Muslims, but the government's treatment of the religious minority group does not constitute genocide.
"While it's without question that they continue to face persecution, we did not determine that it was on the level of genocide," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
In a report to Congress seen by Reuters, the State Department said the U.S. government is "gravely concerned" about abuses against the Rohingya, but did not determine that they constitute mass atrocities.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled poverty and persecution in western Myanmar since religious violence erupted there in 2012, prompting international calls for investigation into what some called "strong evidence" of genocide. (Courtesy of Reuters)
"While it's without question that they continue to face persecution, we did not determine that it was on the level of genocide," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
In a report to Congress seen by Reuters, the State Department said the U.S. government is "gravely concerned" about abuses against the Rohingya, but did not determine that they constitute mass atrocities.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled poverty and persecution in western Myanmar since religious violence erupted there in 2012, prompting international calls for investigation into what some called "strong evidence" of genocide. (Courtesy of Reuters)
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