A global mind: Refugee crisis is more than just Syrians

If all of the displaced people in the world were placed into one country, the group would form the 24th largest country in the world.

Katie Morris
Katie Morris
There are approximately 60 million people who have been forced to leave their homes as a result of civil war, genocide or extreme poverty. One of the groups getting the most attention is Syrian refugees, who are contributing to the largest exodus ever from a single country. The hardships these Syrians face are brutal and people need to know what is happening to them.

Yet, there’s another group of refugees that is suffering just the same and is receiving little attention. It’s a minority Muslim group called the Rohingyas and it has been cited as one of the world’s most persecuted minority groups. (Courtesy of The Brown and White)

China Moves to Revive Its Sway in Myanmar

China is trying to rekindle its influence in Myanmar by building a deep-water port here, presenting an early test for the incoming government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in balancing local objections against ties with the country’s top economic partner.

The project, which includes a special economic zone, would help Beijing’s effort to extend its presence in the Indian Ocean and in South Asia and restore the privileged position it once enjoyed under Myanmar’s former military junta. (Courtesy of WSJ)

Emirates to fly daily from Dubai to Yangon and Hanoi

Emirates is to increase its capacity to Southeast Asia with a daily service to Yangon in Myanmar and Hanoi in Vietnam, beginning from August 3.

The new service will expand the airline’s network in Southeast Asia to 12 cities (including Cebu and Clark in the Philippines which start on March 30) in seven countries.

“Emirates’ first air service to Myanmar supports the country’s Tourism Master Plan to target 7.5 million tourist arrivals by 2020 and for Hanoi, the service will provide additional options for Vietnamese to travel to Dubai and Emirates’ global network of destinations, while also making it easier for overseas Vietnamese and the growing number of tourists to travel to Vietnam,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, strategic planning, revenue optimisation & aeropolitical affairs. (Courtesy of The National)

Myanmar lawyers to visit Sri Lanka next month

A team of senior lawyers from Myanmar will visit Sri Lanka next month seeking assistance from legal experts to set up the legal system in Myanmar. They will meet legal experts during the Law Conference organised by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) from March 18 – 20.

The Myanmar lawyers have called upon the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) to permit them to have one-on-one discussions with legal experts, said President’s Counsel Ali Sabri, Chairman of the BASL’s Law Conference. (Courtesy of Sri Lanka Guardian)

The Central Bank and The Runaway Kyat

The volatility of the kyat and its impact on the banking sector has been in the headlines as Myanmar continues its cautious journey towards democratic reform.

Over 10 days from the start of February, the kyat strengthened from about K1,300 to the US dollar, to about K1,205, an appreciation against the American currency of around 7 percent.

The volatility of the kyat during the period seriously disrupted the operations of private banks and authorised foreign exchange counters, forcing them to temporarily suspend buying US dollars.

This week I would like to explore the reasons for the volatility of the kyat, the likely consequences and the role of Central Bank of Myanmar. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)

Myanmar triples electricity supply expenditure

Myanmar has tripled its expenditure on electricity supply over the past five years, an official report said on Sunday.

In the fiscal year 2015-16 until March, the government invested $481 millions, up from $143 million, Deputy Minister of Electric Power U Maw Tha Htwe said.

Noting that the country's individual consumption of electricity stands at 222 kilowatts, the deputy minister revealed the installed capacity of electricity of Myanmar rose from 3,400 megawatts in 2010 to 5,089 mw in 2015 and electricity has been distributed to 15,000 of 60,000 villages across the country, Xinhua news agency reported. (Courtesy of Business Standard News)

Myanmar nationalists demonstrate against Suu Kyi presidency bid

Hundreds of demonstrators in Yangon Sunday protested against tweaking the constitution to allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to become the next head of state.

About 500 Buddhist nationalists gathered in the commercial capital Yangon wearing white-shirts bearing the slogan "We support section 59 for the country's future."

Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won a landslide election in November, has been in negotiations with the outgoing military administration to repeal or suspend article 59 (f), which outlaws anyone with foreign family memebers from taking the post. Suu Kyi's late husband was British, and their two sons are British citizens. (Courtesy of dpa news)

Dawei road start faces delays

Construction of a road linking the Dawei deep-sea port in Myanmar with Kanchanaburi will be delayed after Japan determined that 15-degree inclines along seven stretches of the road would be unsafe for lorries.

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said on Friday construction of the 138km road from the Dawei deep-sea port to Ban Phu Nam Ron in Kanchanaburi must be postponed.

The project was due to start in March.

The delay comes following an inspection by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica). (Courtesy of Bangkok Post: News)

Myanmar anti-drug group fears for its safety after being ambushed by poppy farmers

Christian anti-drug vigilantes in Myanmar said on Saturday they had halted a mission to raze poppy fields while at least 30 of their members were recovering from injuries sustained during violent clashes with unknown attackers this week.

Pat Jasan, a hardline Christian group known for flogging drug users, said it was assailed by a mob wielding explosives and stones on Thursday after it set out to destroy poppy plants against the wishes of local farmers in the hilly and far-flung Kachin state. (Courtesy of South China Morning Post)

NLD surprised over peace mission report

Drawing attention to the Naga Hoho and ENPO peace mission to Myanmar, the National League for Democracy (NLD), Naga Region Headquarters, Lahe town, Naga Self-Administered Zone, Myanmar has said while it was happy to know the about trip, though it was not informed, it was equally surprised to learn “certain elements” in their trip report.

In a press release, NLD, Naga region chairman Law Yone the report mentioned the former MPs as incumbent though they were no more in the office since February 1, 2016.

NLD, Naga Region termed it as “unfortunate” and said not an iota about the trip was informed to them though they had been given the office since February 1. (Courtesy of Nagaland Post)

Karen WARY of ceasefire in world’s longest civil war

The boisterous crowd suddenly falls silent as booming drums signal the start of the military parade. Smartphones are whipped from pockets by Karen of all ages who have been gathering since before dawn.

The highlight of the 67th Karen Resistance Day is underway with the first-ever march-past by every brigade of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), an unprecedented show of military might and defiance by the armed wing of the Karen National Union.

The January 31 parade was the culmination of a day of music and traditional dancing interspersed with more sombre reflection over photos and stories of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for independence. More poignant reminders of what is being fought for came in an exhibition on Karen state's natural treasures - rivers, forests and wildlife. (Courtesy of The Nation)

Amid transition, general emerges from the shadows

Like many of his generation, the head of Myanmar's powerful military is a recent but enthusiastic convert to Facebook. On his profile background picture, the commander-in-chief gives a "thumbs up" from the cockpit of an aeroplane. Posts show him celebrating New Year in a traditional boar tusk head-dress and visiting wounded soldiers.

It's a far cry from just a few years ago, when the only glimpse into the work of the military top command came in turgid reports from state media, and offers a daily reminder that the changes sweeping the nation have reached even the secretive generals who ruled for almost 50 years until 2011.

As he cements his position as de facto number two on Myanmar's post-election political scene, Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing has transformed himself from taciturn soldier into a politician, public figure and statesman, say diplomats in Yangon. (Courtesy of Bangkok Post: News)

Myanmar: Rights group wants gov’t to allow Rohingya home

A Southeast Asia-based human rights group is calling on Myanmar’s government to immediately and unconditionally facilitate the right to return for more than 145,000 Rohingya Muslims and others confined to 67 internment camps in Rakhine State, now that a plan to sell their properties has been frozen.

In a statement released Friday, Fortify Rights said that the government should ensure safe and voluntary reintegration and return of displaced Muslims to their original homesteads, and provide reparations for lost property and livelihoods in accordance with international law and standards.

The government of the troubled western state had planned to sell Muslim-owned properties and commercial licenses in the state capital Sittwe but it recently put the plan on hold. (Courtesy of Fulton News)

Thein Sein's potentially important and lasting legacy

The Myanmar army’s imminent plan to launch military offensives against a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) threatens to derail Myanmar's peace process promoted by Myanmar President Thein Sein.

Fears of the offensive against the UNFC member, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), prompted the alliance to call an urgent meeting in Chiang Mai from Feb 18-21. The federal council comprises nine ethnic groups that did not sign a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the Thein Sein government in October last year. (Courtesy of Bangkok Post: Opinion)

BD takes initiative to boost its outreach with Myanmar society

Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar has taken an initiative to increase its outreach with the Myanmar society and people in order to project strengths of Bangladesh culinary and culture and dispel any misperception through public diplomacy.

As part of the Embassy's ongoing public diplomacy campaign in Myanmar to showcase Bangladesh's cultural diversity and rich tradition particularly her culinary tradition, a Pitha Utsab (traditional cake festival) was organised in Yangon on Tuesday.

It was arranged to introduce Bangladesh's culinary tradition to Myanmar and resident foreign nationals, said a PID handout on Friday. (Courtesy of Financial Online News Portal)

Rohingya refugee crisis: Mediterranean rescue ship to help migrants from Myanmar

A rescue ship credited with saving thousands of migrants stranded in the Mediterranean Sea is to embark on a new mission in south-east Asia. The MY Phoenix, owned by charity Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), has been used to rescue almost 13,000 people making the perilous journey from north Africa and the Middle East to Europe.

But now its crew is sailing the 40-foot vessel to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, where it will spend four weeks helping rescue Rohingya refugees. Last year tens of thousands of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh attempted dangerous sea crossings to reach Malaysia and Indonesia. (Courtesy of ibtimes.co.uk)

Refugee search-and-rescue team launches ship in Southeast Asia

The humanitarian team that sent ships to rescue refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean will launch a Southeast Asia mission this weekend to comb the seas for boat people, including Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar.

American entrepreneur Christopher Catrambone and his Italian wife Regina set up the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) in response to the 2013 Lampedusa tragedy, when several hundred migrants drowned after their boat sank, as they tried to cross to Europe from Libya.

In Samut Prakan, a Bangkok suburb on the Gulf of Thailand, Catrambone on Friday took journalists on a tour of the M.Y. Phoenix, whose crew will coordinate with coast guards, navies and NGOs to track and rescue boat people as needed.

“If we can save one life, this entire mission is worth it,” Catrambone said. (Courtesy of euronews.com)

Rakhine top job tussle about more than politics

The closely watched appointment of the Chief Minister in Myanmar’s Rakhine state would have implications on both the humanitarian situation for Rohingya Muslims and the country’s parliamentary composition, said a prominent Rohingya activist.

In an interview with TODAY earlier this week, Mr Maung Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, noted that the political jockeying for Rakhine state’s top post was being played out between the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), the ultra-nationalist Arakan National Party (ANP), and the country’s military — which remains a potent political opposition in Parliament.

“The ANP is saying that if the NLD is really democratic, (the latter) has to select someone from ANP,” he said, referring to the fact that the ANP beat the NLD at the state-level polls last November. (Courtesy of TODAYonline)

British Ambassador discusses the massive change in Myanmar

British Ambassador Mr. Andrew Patrick hopes to see Myanmar “firmly on the road to democracy” before he finishes his tenure in the country next year.

In a wide-ranging interview with Mizzima Editor-in-Chief Soe Myint, Mr. Patrick discussed a range of issues including his hopes for the country, the democratic transition, and Britain’s aid commitment and programmes.

The interview was carried out on February 22 at the British Embassy in Yangon.

Mizzima: What are the key elements with the British relationship with Myanmar?

British Ambassador: I think the key elements of Britain’s relationship with this country obviously go back a long way. There were a lot of difficult things in that relationship and more recently a lot of positive things. At the moment our engagement is mainly about supporting the reform process here, supporting the peace process and helping people address the situation in Rakhine. So those are the main thing that we do as part of the relationship. There are people to people contacts, education is a very big element of what people in this country see as what is important about the UK. And of course there is the trade relationship which is still very small but it is growing. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

Myanmar’s “lady” faces challenge of a lifetime

Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won the country’s first free nationwide election in a quarter of a century with the slogan “time for change”. After decades of oppression and long periods under house arrest, just taking power is a momentous achievement for the pro-democracy activist known to locals as “the lady”. Yet when she takes effective charge of the resource-rich nation on April 1, her first challenge will be to build on the rapid reforms undertaken by the previous regime.

Myanmar doesn’t look like a country that has endured decades of Western-led sanctions. Visitors to Yangon encounter a bustling Asian emerging market, where wealthy locals eat at KFC and shop for Calvin Klein products in air-conditioned malls. Taxi drivers own smart phones. Small boutique hotels serving high quality French food can even be found a bumpy six-hour drive away from the country’s biggest city.

Myanmar is already one of the world’s fastest-growing nations. The economy probably expanded by 8.5 percent in the year ending this March, the International Monetary Fund reckons. Outgoing President Thein Sein’s semi-civilian government ushered in a wave of reforms after taking over after almost 50 years of military rule in 2011. At the time, Europe and the United States rewarded the tentative transition by easing sanctions. (Courtesy of Reuters)

Myanmar Army conducts combined operations in northern Shan State

The Ministry of Defence yesterday announced that the Myanmar Army is conducting combined operations in the areas in Namhsam and Kyaukme, towns of northern Shan State, where fighting between Shan State Army – South (SSA-S) group and Ta’ang national Liberation has been ongoing, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported on 24 February.

The commander of North-East Command sent a letter of complaint denouncing the acts of SSA-S and asking it to return to the territory designated for the group to U Sai Aung Mya, vice-chairman (1) of Joint Monitoring Committee-State level and Myanmar Peace Centre on 12 February. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

UK MP Paul Scully discusses Myanmar’s transition, hard work of MPs

British Conservative Party MP Paul Scully is visiting Myanmar to check out the changes as the country heads towards a more democratic future.

Mr Scully was born in Britain to a Myanmar father and British mother and has long felt he had an important link with the Golden Land.

In the following interview with Mizzima, Mr Scully discusses a range of issues from his hopes for Myanmar’s new government to UK-Myanmar relations and the need to be patient with the new government and Myanmar MPs as they learn on the job. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

Myanmar Army conducts combined operations in northern Shan State

The Ministry of Defence yesterday announced that the Myanmar Army is conducting combined operations in the areas in Namhsam and Kyaukme, towns of northern Shan State, where fighting between Shan State Army – South (SSA-S) group and Ta’ang national Liberation has been ongoing, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported on 24 February.

The commander of North-East Command sent a letter of complaint denouncing the acts of SSA-S and asking it to return to the territory designated for the group to U Sai Aung Mya, vice-chairman (1) of Joint Monitoring Committee-State level and Myanmar Peace Centre on 12 February. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

Myanmar's NLD Needs to Up its Game

For the past five years, Myanmar’s transition has mainly been about building legitimacy. By implementing various political and economic reforms, President Thein Sein validated his government and, more importantly, the new political arrangement, created under the 2008 constitution. Now, with an overwhelming victory in the 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has the mandate to pursue political reforms in Myanmar. However, what can it realistically achieve?

When President Thein Sein came into power in March 2011, Myanmar was in a state of despair. International sanctions were in place, the economy was in ruin and widespread, armed conflicts plagued the borderlands. Most significantly, the administration lacked electoral legitimacy. (Courtesy of Economy Watch)

South Korea to Help Build Myanmar Road Network

South Korea and Maynmar governments plans to build expressways and roads over the next 20 years based on a master plan for Myanmar''s national road network, put together by a consortium of Korean enterprises with funding from the Korea International Cooperation Agency(KOICA) according to Yonhap news.

The Yooshin Consortium worked on the master plan in cooperation with the Maymar government as part of the Korea International Cooperation Agency's grant program. The road network development plans outline 34,378 kilometers of highways and roads. The master plan also provides advice on developing road networks, managing traffic demand, implementing strategies and guidelines as to financing. (Courtesy of Prensa Latina News Agency)

Myanmar: Rohingya Children Losing Future Without Education

As Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy steps into power in Myanmar this month, one of the big questions is whether the Nobel Laureate’s party will improve human rights in the country – particularly for the long-persecuted Rohingya Muslims. Confined to prison-like internment camps, a generation of Rohingya children are growing up deprived of education, leaving little hope for their future.

The future for the Rohingya children of Myanmar looks bleak. They will receive, at most, a high school education. Under the current system, a child would be lucky to complete the fourth grade.

The vast majority - 60 percent - have never even been to school because their families are too poor. An estimated 80 percent of Rohingya are illiterate. (Courtesy of VOA News)

Myanmar Cease-fire Committee Member Tells Rebel Group to Lay Down Its Arms

A member of Myanmar’s cease-fire committee told an armed ethnic group to withdraw its troops from restive Shan state where it has engaged in fighting in recent weeks against another rebel army, as the government military prepares to take charge of security in the area, a committee member said Tuesday.

Retired Lieutenant General Kin Zaw Oo from the government’s Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC), made the comment to leaders of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S), which has been involved in clashes with the ethnic Palaung/Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in northern Myanmar’s Shan state.

“Lieutenant General Khin Zaw Oo told them [RCSS/SSA] to withdraw their troops from conflict areas in the northern Shan state,” said Nyo Ohn Myint from the Myanmar Peace Center, who is a member of the UPWC delegation. “The RCSS would have to move out of the area at a certain time, and they said they would surely do so.”

“The Tatmadaw [Myanmar’s military] is making plans to take charge of security in the area and has asked those concerned to abide by the points in the nationwide cease-fire agreement,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service.

The RSCC/SSA is one of the eight armed ethnic groups that signed the government’s nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) last October. (Courtesy of RFA)

Myanmar urged to make public sector more accountable

The bank’s guidance was issued in a series of policy notes to help the country towards achieving inclusive growth as it emerges from decades of military and quasi-military rule into a period led by its first democratically elected government.

Ulrich Zachau, World Bank country director for Southeast Asia, said Myanmar was faced with a “great opportunity” to turn continued strong economic growth into better lives for its people.

Zachau said three policy directions will be key: public sector accountability; universal access to basic education, health and energy services; and further opening and diversification of the economy.

Currently, other than the budget, there is a lack of publicly available information on government spending priorities in Myanmar. Neither the budget or draft budget are submitted to parliament and audited financial statements of the government go unpublished. (Courtesy of Public Finance)

Myanmar army chief puts brakes on immediate changes to constitution, dealing blow to Aung San Suu Kyi’s presidential hopes

Less than a week after a third transition meeting between Myanmar’s commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the powerful army chief has pushed back against any quick changes to the constitution.

The 2008 document, which bars Suu Kyi from becoming president even after her National League for Democracy (NLD) swept a historic election last year, has been a bone of contention between her party and the military. Suu Kyi has vowed to disregard it and lead the country from “above the president”.

Min Aung Hlaing said that the junta-drafted constitution should be amended “at an appropriate time” in accordance with constitutional provisions. Some senior NLD members and pundits had speculated that the articles banning Suu Kyi from becoming president could be temporarily suspended as part of a power-sharing deal between the armed forces and the NLD. (Courtesy of South China Morning Post)

Bay of Bengal 'three times more deadly' than Mediterranean for migrants and refugees – UN

Refugees and migrants crossing the seas of Southeast Asia died at a rate three times higher than those in the Mediterranean last year, a new United Nations report has found, highlighting the urgency of greater life-saving cooperation among the affected States.

The report, Mixed Maritime Movements in South-East Asia, from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), states that those movements had been “three times more deadly” than in the Mediterranean last year, due largely to mistreatment by smugglers and disease on the boats.

Refugees and migrants often employ the same routes, modes of transport, and networks, and their movements are commonly referred to as “mixed movements.” (Courtesy of UN)

Military not involved in Shan State conflict

Col Wunna Aung, secretary of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) spoke at a press conference on February 22, where he said the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Defence Services) has not been participating in the battles between the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

The RCSS/SSA is a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), while the TNLA is not.

Col Wunna Aung also commented on the RCSS’s incursion into TNLA territory, which has been cited as one of the causes of the current conflict. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)

Myanmar Peace Negotiator Meets Armed Ethnic Group Alliance

Myanmar’s chief peace negotiator led a government peace-making delegation on Monday in meeting with an alliance of armed ethnic groups that did not sign last year’s nationwide cease-fire agreement to try to persuade them to join the accord.

Aung Min, minister of the president’s office, and members of the Union Peacemaking Working Committee (UPWC) met with leaders of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of  armed ethnic groups, at the end of the UNFC’s meeting in Chang Mai, Thailand, which began on Feb. 18.

The UPWC is trying to get UNFC members to sign the government’s nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA), which it inked last October with eight other armed ethnic groups, before a new government led by the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) takes power on April 1.

The UNFC, which now includes nine non-signatories to the peace pact, maintains that a peace agreement with the government to end decades of civil wars within the country should include all armed ethnic groups. (Courtesy of RFA)

A Myanmar Perspective on the Rebalance

In light of the recent US-ASEAN summit in Sunnylands, California, I would like to take this opportunity to pen a rebuttal to Mr. Kurlantzick's take on Myanmar, outlined in "Pivotal Moment", which appeared in the Democracy Journal earlier this month. While the author has made a few valid points, I believe his stance on U.S-Myanmar foreign relations simply does not reflect the reality on the ground.

In this article, I argue why the United States should bet on Myanmar's economic potential, why the U.S focus on Mainland and Maritime Southeast Asia need not be viewed as a zero-sum game, that Myanmar's political progression has not stalled, and that increased U.S engagement will not alienate young Myanmar democrats. I also argue that focusing on foreign aid alone would undercut American competitiveness in Myanmar, and that the power-balance between the United States and China in the region is not America's only economic challenge. (Courtesy of huffingtonpost.com)

Myanmar expects entry of more US businesses

The visits have gathered pace since the National League for Democracy (NLD) won the election and the power transition from military rule appeared to be going smoothly, Win Aung, president of the federation, said last week.

"I strongly believe that Myanmar-US economic relations will strengthen in the next government's term.

"As now is the transition period, many US and Western companies are in a wait-and-see mood. Most of them want to observe what would be the NLD's economic policies and the important legislative changes in the next government's term," he said.

At the US-Myanmar business-matching event held by the federation and the American Chamber of Commerce Myanmar Chapter, more than 30 executives of 22 US companies, including blue chips like Ford Motor, Dow Chemical, DuPont and Honeywell, mingled with more than 50 local businessmen. (Courtesy of The Nation)

Myanmar: Stand-Off Continues Between Police and Christian Anti-drug Vigilantes

A stand-off continues between police and Christian anti-drug vigilantes in Myanmar. The Christian anti-drug vigilantes want to destroy the poppy fields in Kachin.

Thousands of anti-drug vigilantes were arrested in the stand-off after they were prevented from destroying the poppy fields, reported Mail Online. Pat Jasan, a hard-line Christian anti-drug organisation is presently camping outside the town of Waingmaw in Kachin. Around 3000 members have joined in the stand-off.  The members of this group often don military-style uniform and are well-known for their attacks on drug users.

The group has vowed to eradicate local poppy fields but they are prevented from doing so by the authorities. Hpala Lum Hkawng, a senior member of Pat Jasan in Waingmaw said, ”Local army and police told us that they are still blocking the way for security reasons. We have asked the state government to get access.” (Courtesy of Australia Network News)

Don’t use NCA as military and political weapon, says UNFC

Armed ethnic organizations that are members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) which did not sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) said that the incumbent government and Tatmadaw (defence services) were using the NCA as a military and political weapon against them.

The statement issued on February 21 after the 4-day UNFC extraordinary meeting, held from February 18 to 21, says the UNFC strongly condemns the strategy used by the government and Tatmadaw for creating racial hatred and a divide and rule policy as a military strategy against them.

UNFC general secretary Khoo Oo Reh said to reporters that they condemned the government and Tatmadaw as they were preparing to launch military offensive against the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and were creating clashes between the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S) and the Palaung State Liberation Front/T’ang National Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA). (Courtesy of Mizzima)

Government restrictions severely impacting access to healthcare in Rakhine State

Nearly a year since deadly inter-ethnic clashes in Rakhine state first broke out, conditions in displaced persons camps, combined with movement restrictions and ongoing segregation of Rakhine and Muslim communities, are severely impacting access to healthcare, said Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today. An estimated 140,000 people are still living in makeshift camps. According to official estimates, the vast majority of the displaced are from a Muslim minority referred to as the Rohingya. The Rohingya are a stateless minority group, not recognized as citizens by the government of Myanmar.

As well as the displaced, tens of thousands of people still in their homes have been almost entirely cut off from health facilities, food, markets, their fields, and in some cases even clean water.

“MSF has just returned from areas where whole villages are cut off from basic services,” said Ronald Kremer, MSF emergency coordinator in Rakhine state. “We have seen that movement restrictions are having a detrimental impact on people’s health. This includes TB patients unable to access the treatment they need to stay alive, and pregnant women dying because they have nowhere safe to deliver.” (Courtesy of msf.ca)

World Bank Vice President Meets with Key Leaders in Myanmar

The World Bank’s Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, Axel van Trotsenburg, today reaffirmed the World Bank Group’s continued strong partnership with Myanmar in its pursuit of ending extreme poverty and promoting growth that will benefit more people in Myanmar. Three weeks after the swearing in of Myanmar’s new parliament, van Trotsenburg met National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders and senior government officials in Nay Pyi Taw and congratulated the country on the historic transition.

Van Trotsenburg met with the Chairperson of the NLD Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Union Minister for Ministry of Finance His Excellency (H.E.) U Win Shein, and Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw H.E. U Win Myint to discuss the World Bank Group’s current and future support to Myanmar. Van Trotsenburg expressed the World Bank Group’s gratitude for the partnership with Myanmar. (Courtesy of worldbank.org)

Myanmar cardinal calls for greater respect for religious liberty

As a new government assumes power in Myanmar, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon expressed hope for national reconciliation, including forgiveness of the military leaders who ruled the nation from 1962 to 2011.

Speaking with the French news agency Églises d’Asie, the prelate called for greater respect for religious liberty in the officially Buddhist nation, including the return of Catholic schools confiscated by the military regime in the 1960s.

Acknowledging recent progress—including permission to register Catholic schools under individuals’ names—Cardinal Bo called for official recognition of the Church’s right to open schools. (Courtesy of Catholic Culture)

NLD leader calls region Speakers to Nay Pyi Taw

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will today meet her party’s Speakers from the state and regional parliaments in Nay Pyi Taw, although they say they are in the dark as to why they have been summoned to the capital.

The talks come ahead of a meeting tomorrow with all 14 regional Speakers – including those from Shan State and Rakhine State, who are not from the National League for Democracy – where they will discuss the formation of the Myanmar Parliamentary Union.

The MPU will comprise the Speakers and deputy speakers of each hluttaw and will be led by the chair of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. It is a new initiative from the NLD – no such body existed in the previous parliament – and is designed to improve coordination between the various legislative bodies, according to the NLD.

U Aung Kyaw Oo, Speaker of the Mandalay Region hluttaw, told The Myanmar Times that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will meet the Speakers today at an office in the parliamentary compound. He said he had not been told what was on the agenda and expected to spend most of the meeting listening.(Courtesy of Myanmar Times)

Thailand Like Myanmar Before 2011: Thaksin

In comments certain to infuriate Thailand’s military government, fugitive prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has likened the situation in his country to that in Myanmar under junta rule.

A draft constitution released last month by a panel appointed by Thailand’s junta was a “charade” to show the country was returning to normal, the Asian Wall Street Journal quoted Mr Thaksin as saying. “But in reality, it would be like Myanmar before its political reforms,” he said in the interview in Singapore on February 21.

“There would be a prime minister, but the real power would be in some politburo above him and the economy would suffer. No other government would want to touch Thailand.”

Mr Thaksin, who was also interviewed by the Financial Times, said the draft constitution was “a waste of time and a waste of manpower”.

“If this constitution is implemented, Thailand will be taking a step backwards,” he said. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)

UN support still necessary in improving Burmese rights scenario: AI

As Burma (Myanmar) is going to have a new government at NayPieTaw by next few weeks with more non-military Parliamentarians, expectation for improving human rights  across the southeast Asian country has been emerged. However, an international rights body cautioned that quasi-democratic nation still needs the supports from UN Human Rights Council.  

“When it assumes power at the beginning of April 2016, Myanmar’s new government will be confronted with a wide range of human rights challenges, and it is unclear, at this stage, what capacity it will have to address them. The Council’s attention on the human rights situation in Myanmar is still necessary to ensure the new government receives the support it needs to fulfill its international human rights obligations and commitments,” said Amnesty International (AI).  

An AI statement, issued recently by Laura Haigh, also added that the new NayPieTaw administration would need to take swift action to address discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, in particular the Rohingya and other Muslims. (Courtesy of Review Nepal News)

Prison Food 101

Life is grim for prisoners in Myanmar, and the food is no exception. With the transfer of power to a National League for Democracy government imminent, many are hopeful that Myanmar’s remaining political prisoners will soon be free. Based on the fare served on the inside, one of the first things they’ll do when they get out is eat a decent meal.

“They give you enough to survive but that’s it,” said Ko Aung Hmaing San, who has been detained at Thayawady prison since the crackdown on student protestors and their supporters at Letpadan last March. “The food is so bad, it’s cooked badly… we need more nutrients and vitamins if we’re going to be healthy.”

Breakfast at Thayawady prison is plain congee, a flavourless gruel made from rice and water. Ko Aung Hmaing San called it “rice juice” and said the rice was of poor quality.

“At lunchtime we are treated to rice with bean soup and fish paste. The rice and the fish paste are really bad,” he added.

Meat or fish is available for non-vegetarians on Wednesdays and Sundays but dinner on other days is a watery vegetable soup containing “unidentified leaves”, he said. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)

OIL to conduct survey on Arakan basin in KA soon

Finally, state-run Oil India Ltd (OIL) will conduct a survey on Assam-Arakan basin in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district for exploration of huge deposit of oil and natural gas in the hill district, official sources informed here on Sunday.

A team of senior officials of the oil company comprising Diponjoy Daulaguphu, Tridip Hazarika, Diganta Borah, Pallav Borgohain and MR Deuri held two separate meetings with Karbi Anglong DC Mukul Gogoi and officials of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) on February 4 and 5 to discuss various aspects of the survey work, especially on the security measures for the officials and the staff to be engaged in survey operations.

The OIL will conduct the survey in search of the Assam-Arakan basin at Dilaji, Doldoli, Dhansiri, Rongapahar and Maisibailam to assess the details stock of the oil deposit.

Both officials of KAAC and district administration assured the officials of OIL for giving full cooperation and help in conducting the survey, sources said. (Courtesy of Nagaland Post)

Despite a hopeful election, full democracy is still uncertain in Myanmar

The sight of hundreds of freely elected members of Myanmar's Parliament — former political prisoners among them — at the opening of its legislative session earlier this month was testament to the Southeast Asian country's extraordinary journey from military-run pariah state to would-be democracy. Only five years ago, Myanmar was under the control of a military junta with little respect for elections. But last November, the opposition National League for Democracy Party, led by the Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, won an astonishing 80% of the contested seats in Parliament.

This transition is far from complete, however, and its most difficult tests lie ahead. Per Myanmar's constitution, the military still controls 25% of the seats in Parliament and three top ministerial posts. The constitution also forbids anyone with a spouse or child of foreign citizenship from becoming president. This stricture was intended to bar Suu Kyi — a former political prisoner whose late husband was a British citizen and whose two sons are as well — from becoming president, even though she has been the face of Myanmar's democracy movement for nearly three decades. Suu Kyi's party certainly has the votes in Parliament to pick the president it wants — except Suu Kyi. A member of Parliament herself, she has made no secret of her desire to be president. In fact, she has indicated that if she isn't chosen, she intends to exert great control over whoever is. (Courtesy of LA Times)

US embassy raises alarm at fighting in northern Myanmar

The U.S. embassy in Yangon said it was "deeply concerned" over clashes involving ethnic armed groups and the military in northern Myanmar that have displaced thousands of people, warning that the violence threatened to unravel the country's delicate peace process.

Heavy bouts of fighting broke out last week in Shan state between two ethnic rebel groups in the region, the Restoration Council for Shan State (RCSS) and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

The flare-up of violence comes during a complicated political transition from an army-backed government to Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party, which dominated historic polls last year.

"The U.S. embassy is deeply concerned about ongoing clashes in Shan State involving the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), and the military," the embassy said in a statement published Friday evening. (Courtesy of The Daily Star)

Ethnic Media Conference demands equal opportunity for media

Ethnic media reporters, editors and publication owners are calling on the Myanmar government, parliament and legislative assembles across the country to recognize them like the mainstream media as they are also working in the role of fourth estate.

The fourth ethnic media conference was held in Mrauk U, Rakhine State from February 14 to 16 under the theme, “Peace and Reconciliation through Ethnic Media.”

A total of over 200 representatives attended, with the opening speech given by Rakhine State Chief Minister Mya Aung. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

Kachin leader says all armed groups are struggling

The chairperson of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) General N Ban La of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has told the organisation that every ethnic armed group is struggling.

The UNFC is made up of groups which did not sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement last October.

He said: “The extended meeting of the UNFC is being held and all groups have many struggles. We have to discuss problems very patiently in order to get the correct result. We have to be careful because sometimes we find that the meetings make decisions too easily. We are working for the sake of our nationalities and regions. Our actions greatly affect our people and we need to aware of that. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)

The NLD and the Rohingya

The new parliament has convened and an overwhelming National League for Democracy majority means it can draft or pass any bill except those seeking to amend the constitution. With the NLD poised to assume legislative and executive power after the new government takes office on April 1, questions are emerging about how it will address the sensitive issue involving Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State and the Muslim community generally.

The international community is especially concerned to know how the NLD and its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, will address the issue of the Rohingya.

The NLD government under Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will implement reforms cautiously and patiently.

The first priority of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in this transition period is to ensure the smooth running of the new parliament and government. Her second priority might be to become president, but we don’t know that yet. It is highly likely that the NLD will wait until the parliament is functioning smoothly and it has a firm hold on government power before it begins to address issues such as minority rights. It has no intention of tackling such sensitive issues hastily. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)

Myanmar strategic opportunity for both India, China: Former Indian ambassador

Preet Malik, the former Indian ambassador to Myanmar, says the country presents a 'strategic opportunity' for India and China.

In his recently published memoirs “My Myanmar years - A Diplomat’s Account of India’s Relations with the Region”, Malik says, “the external relations of Myanmar shall continue to rest on the poles of China and India as its great and immediate neighbouring powers hold the significant capacity to contribute to its economy and institutional development.”

Malik says the US, Japan and ASEAN will be the three other 'poles' for Myanmar's foreign relations.

He said that by trying to develop Myanmar, both India and China can improve the lot of its people in frontier regions, some of them in ferment.

“For India, the development of infrastructure and economic links for its north-eastern region with Myanmar and through Myanmar are of great strategic importance,” Malik says in his 200-page memoirs. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

NGO calls on NLD-led government to tackle the Rohingya crisis

The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK this week published a new briefing paper calling on the NLD-led government, which will take power in April, to take four practical steps to start addressing human rights violations against the Rohingya.

In a press release, dated February 18, the NGO said that addressing the root causes of prejudice and human rights violations against the Muslim Rohingya will take many years.

But, they say, in order to start this process, and to have an immediate impact saving lives and reducing human rights violations, there are practical steps an NLD government can take in its first six months.

The four points put forward by the NGO are as follows:

1) Action against hate-speech and extremists - Take action to prevent hate speech and incitement of violence, and demonstrate moral leadership, with Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders personally and specifically speaking out against prejudice and hatred, and challenging the extreme nationalist narrative. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

Suu Kyi to meet NLD Speakers

Aung San Suu Kyi, chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), will meet the NLD’s Speakers and Vice-Speakers in Nay Pyi Taw on February 22.

Saw Chit Khin, Speaker of Kayin State Parliament, announced the meeting.

Rakhine and Shan states' Speakers and Vice-Speakers are not NLD members and have not been invited.

A separate meeting of the Myanmar Parliament Union for Speakers and their deputies from across the union will be held in Nay Pyi Taw on February 23. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)

Myanmar activists stopped from destroying of opium fields

Anti-drug activists said on Friday the military and local police are preventing them from destroying fields of opium poppies in northern Myanmar, a major cultivation area for the drug that can be made into heroin.

The Pat Jasan group has more than 1 000 members engaged in the current eradication campaign and is affiliated with Christian churches of the Kachin ethnic minority. The effort it started in late January is opposed by farmers and militias that profit from drug trafficking.

Three Pat Jasan activists have been injured by land mines and one 19-year-old member has been shot dead. The group claims to have destroyed many hectares of poppies. They say they were told that the military would not provide security for any future attempts at clearing the poppies because Pat Jasan is not a registered organisation. (Courtesy of News24)

Chinese Company to Begin Controversial Copper Mining Operation in Myanmar

A Chinese mining company will begin copper production at a controversial site in central Myanmar in May, a month after the new government led by the opposition party comes to power, a corporate spokesman said Friday.

The large mine project operated by China’s Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd. Company and Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (UMEHL), a Myanmar an army-owned conglomerate, in the town of Letpadaung in Sagaing region has come under fire by local farmers who have long protested the company’s land takeovers in the area.

“We will start copper production in May, a month after the new National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government takes power,” Dong Yunfei, Wanbao’s spokesman, told RFA’s Myanmar Service.

He added that Wanbao expected to benefit from good relations with the NLD government because party leader Aung San Suu Kyi would make policy decisions based on the rule of law and national reconciliation.

“So we believe the country will be more developed,” he said. (Courtesy of RFA)

MPs say student release a priority

MPs have formed the parliamentary education committee and named Dr Tin Aung as chairman, who has promised that a solution would be found for the students who have been detained for almost a year.

“These matters are the responsibility of the current government and Parliament can do little until it comes to power. Under the new administration, we will devote utmost effort to this matter,” said Tin Aung, MP for Kyaukse.

The union-level committee is responsible for the development of education policy and oversees large projects and monitors other significant factors. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)

Scarred by trafficking abuses, Rohingya stay put in Myanmar camps

After Husaina’s 20-year-old son fled poverty and discrimination in Myanmar’s Rakhine State by boat, she heard nothing from him for seven months.

Then, in a shocking phone call, she was told the young Rohingya Muslim was in the hands of people smugglers in Thailand, and had fallen severely ill. The only way for him to be released was to somehow find the money to pay a ransom.

“The man said: ‘If you don’t pay money, he will die… I was so upset. How did he get into the hands of the brokers? How did he become so ill?’” she said, her eyes downcast while sitting in her dank and crumbling one-room temporary home in Thet KelPyin displacement camp, a few kilometres outside Sittwe.

They found an employer in Malaysia willing to pay about $1,600 in exchange for Mamed Rohim’s labour. That was over a year ago and Rohim is still working to repay the debt. He only manages to send over about $50 every two to three months, which the family uses to repay their own debts. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

NLD blasts U Ye Htut’s comments on presidency bid

In an interview with Voice of America during an ASEAN gathering hosted by President Barack Obama in California, U Ye Htut said the outgoing military-backed government was opposed to any attempt to “suspend” article 59(f) of the constitution which bars the NLD leader from the presidency because her sons are foreign nationals.

It was the first time that a senior government figure had expressly ruled out such a move, which NLD MPs have said they are considering in parliament.

In his interview, carried by state media yesterday, the minister also said, “If the two sons want their mother to become president, they and their wives can apply for Myanmar citizenship according to the 1982 Immigration Law. This is in fact their family matter.” (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)

Political corruption or transparency

The biggest threat to Myanmar's democracy and development efforts is political corruption. As stated on Wikipedia, political corruption is the use of the powers of government by officials or politicians for illegitimate private gain.

An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties, is done illegally or involves trading in influence.

Forms of corruption vary but include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, influence peddling, graft and embezzlement.                              

Corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking, money laundering and human trafficking, although it is not restricted to these activities. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is also considered political corruption. A state of unrestrained political corruption is known as a kleptocracy, literally meaning "rule by thieves".

Some forms of corruption – now called "institutional corruption" – are distinguished from bribery and other kinds of obvious personal gain. A similar problem of corruption arises in any institution that depends on financial support from people who have interests that may conflict with the primary purpose of the institution. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)

Myanmar's secret frontline in medical education

Zalattni​ Press sits in a low, nondescript building behind a simple family-run restaurant in Yangon's Seven Mile district. Below its front step, chickens scavenge around the base of tangled jasmine bushes and ever-increasing amounts of traffic block the main road metres away.

Until late 2015, the operation had only a single, old-fashioned printing press, often run in the dead of night. Buddhist scripts bundled with string now commonly leave the building, but, in the kleptocratic Myanmar of military rule, the press – partly funded by the small Sydney-based charity, Myanmar Australia Conolly Foundation (MACF) – became a secret frontline in the medical education of the country's most poorly served. (Courtesy of smh.com.au)

Myanmar worker killed, 15 hurt in van crash

A woman was killed and 14 other Myanmar workers and a baby injured when a passenger van taking them from Phuket to the Tak border crashed into a roadside tree and overturned in Muang district of this central district of this central province on Friday morning.

The accident occurred on the Liang Muang-Wang Yang route in tambon Ban Pho, said Pol Lt Somchet Nutchanart, a duty officer at Muang police station. It was reported to police around 8am.

The van was carrying 15 Myanmar migrant workers and a one-year-old child. They were heading back to Myanmar, travelling from Phuket to Tak’s Mae Sot district. (Courtesy of Bangkok post: news)

ADB ‘keen’ on Bangladesh-Myanmar railway network

The project to set up rail communication with Myanmar was approved in 2010 but has been on hold due to lack of funds.

“The ADB has been prioritising Bangladesh’s policy for development through regional connectivity,” said Economic Relations Division (ERD) joint secretary (ADB branch) Saifuddin Ahmed.

“The project under Trans-Asian Railway corridor will set up rail links with Myanmar. The ADB wants to fund it because of its tremendous prospect.” 

About 100 km of tracks will connect Dohazari, Ramu, Cox’s Bazar and another 28 km will go until Ukhia’s Ghumdhum under the project.

“We’ve had two meetings with the ADB mission on this project. The ADB has agreed to give $1.5 billion in loan at two percent interest.”

The ADB in its conditions said the tracks needed to be dual gauge and underpasses must be built to make sure elephant corridors were not disturbed. (Courtesy of bdnews24.com)

India, Myanmar to hold coordinated patrol in Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal

India and Myanmar have signed an agreement on standard operating procedure for coordinated patrols in the strategically significant Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal even.

As part of the ongoing India-Myanmar defence relations, the fourth edition of the India-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR) was successfully undertaken from February 13-16 along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in the Andaman Sea.

Indian Navy ships Saryu and Bitra, along with Myanmar ships Aung Zeya and FAC 563, participated in the 4th IMCOR. (Courtesy of The Economic Times)

Sardar Umar Alam, Head of UNESCO, Yangon Office: Interview

How is the Capacity Development for Education for All (CapEFA) programme enhancing management skills in the Ministry of Education (MoE)?

SARDAR UMAR ALAM: In 2012, Myanmar took the overdue decision to reform the education sector, and thus to improve access to and quality of education. Through CapEFA and other education sector programmes, UNESCO strengthened national capacity in the priority areas of policy formulation, decentralised education planning, education costs, monitoring and evaluation, financial planning and management. We appreciate the government’s lead in the reform process and have supported the MoE by providing tools in order to strengthen the process, as per international standards. UNESCO’s focus has been to increase the MoE’s efficiency and effectiveness in delivery quality. We have noticed that the steps taken by the ministry have been equally rewarding, as they have restructured the ministry and realigned departments. This includes setting up the new Department for Teacher Education, and the current focus on setting up an Education Management Information System for Myanmar. This, in turn, will empower state and township level officers, who are at the forefront of managing education and education investments, to better prepare plans for school management. UNESCO will continue to support MoE in developing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that would further strengthen their decision-making, accountability and transparency. (Courtesy of oxfordbusinessgroup.com)

Help Myanmar build democracy

For decades, the isolationist nation-state of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was ruled with an iron fist by an authoritarian regime that crushed reform movements and imprisoned dissidents.

However, in recent years, the country has slowly begun to emerge from the darkness. The much-anticipated transition to democratic rule will enter a new phase in March, when a newly elected government finally takes control of many of the levers of power.

Myanmar held flawed but nominally democratic elections in November 2015. “The 8 November elections were a major waypoint in Myanmar’s transition from authoritarian rule,” states a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG).

A pro-democracy political party defeated the incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and also easily bested other parties that represented various ethnic groups. “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,” stated the ICG report, entitled The Myanmar Elections: Results and Implications. (Courtesy of thewhig.com)

ASEAN MPs: Action must follow Sunnylands commitments

Parliamentarians from across Southeast Asia today called on ASEAN leaders to make good on commitments included in the Sunnylands Declaration, which was unveiled at the end of this week’s US-ASEAN Summit in California.

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) specifically noted commitments to strengthen democracy, promote and protect human rights, and work toward inclusive economic development, but voiced wariness over the resolve of ASEAN leaders to follow through.

“ASEAN leaders have made these kinds of commitments before, including in the ASEAN Charter, but what has come of it? Up until now, we’ve seen backsliding, rather than progress,” said APHR Chairperson and Malaysian MP Charles Santiago.

“In order for things to be different this time, ASEAN leaders must step up to the plate and make good on their promises. That means taking concrete steps, including restoring democracy in Thailand and ending the persecution of opposition leaders in Cambodia and Malaysia, among many other to-dos.” (Courtesy of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights)

Trafficked Rohingya Woman Face Risk of Repartriation to Myanmar

A lonely and helpless Rohingya woman smuggled into India by human traffickers has been currently in a Government-Run’Ladies-Shelter’ home in Dehradun city, India.

The authorities of the shelter home who are willing to repatriate her to Arakan state, Myanmar, find it difficult to do so as she has lost contacts with her relatives for a long time. She is identified to be ‘Miss Najiba daughter of Syed Alam and Noor Bahar from Kyein Chaung (Boli Bazaar) village, Maungdaw Township.

“Kindly help us find her parents (mobile number, address, etc.) so that we can repatriate her to Burma and reunite with her parents.
She seems to be a victim of human trafficking and has been rescued by the Government of India,” says in a letter written to a Rohingya Vision by Manoj Chandran, an in-charge person of the shelter home. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)

Burma President Thein Sein Cancels ASEAN Trip for Fear of Rohingya Genocide Charge

Last year in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, President Barack Obama announced that he would convene a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Late in December the White House set the date for the summit, Feb.15-16 2016 at the “Camp David of the West Coast,” Sunnylands, California. President Thein Sein of Burma was among the leaders who were confirmed for the summit. However, just four days before the summit began Thein Sein surprisingly canceled his trip and sent Vice President Nyan Htun in his place.

Originally, the reason given for the cancellation was that Thein Sein “had other business to attend to.” Since then the Burmese government has stated that President Thein Sein wouldn’t attend the two-day summit because he is committed to presiding over the “transition of political power” from his government’s military-backed rule to Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected National League for Democracy (NLD). (Courtesy of The Chicago Monitor)

Suu Kyi meets Myanmar's military chief again as transition talks drag on

Aung San Suu Kyi met again with Myanmar's powerful commander-in-chief on Wednesday, according to a Facebook post by his office, as talks over a protracted political transition drag on and amid reports that the military chief has secured a five-year extension.

The meeting is the third between Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Suu Kyi since her National League for Democracy (NLD) won a sweeping victory at the Nov. 8 general election, securing some 80 percent of elected seats in parliament.

The post on the page of the commander-in-chief's office said that discussions in Naypyitaw, the capital, lasted just over an hour and focused on "the rule of law and achieving everlasting peace." Top aides from the NLD and military were both present.

The meetings between Suu Kyi and Min Aung Hlaing, the last of which took place in late January, have been closely watched by the Myanmar public, but neither side has divulged the content of the talks. (Courtesy of Reuters)

Parliament Not for Self-Promotion, Suu Kyi Tells MPs

National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told Union MPs that they are not to use their positions to further themselves or their own interests, at an international training programme for freshman lawmakers in Myanmar’s capital on Monday.

Addressing hundreds of newly-minted MPs in the Union parliament building, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that those assembled had been elected to represent the national interest.

“MPs are in the parliament to represent the people, not representing themselves,” she said. “The Hluttaw is not a place for self-interest or self-promotion. It is not a boxing ring to host fights between people of different opinions. It is a place for all to work together for the benefit of the country.” (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)

Thousands displaced in Myanmar rebel clashes: UN

Heavy fighting in the northern state of Shan broke out last week between the Restoration Council for Shan State (RCSS) and the Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

It is a rare instance of the country's ethnic armed groups turning on each other and comes during a complicated transition from an army-backed government to Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party.

"We are receiving reports that more than 3,000 people have been displaced in the past week," said Mark Cutts, country head of the UN?s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

He said most of them were being housed in monasteries in the town of Kyaukme and receiving help from local groups and the Myanmar Red Cross.

Kyaukme's lower-house MP Sai Tun Aung told parliament in an emergency debate on the issue that locals have reported teachers and students fleeing on foot to escape arrests, killings and arson attacks being carried out by "an armed group moving around the region". (Courtesy of Yahoo 7)

Aung Myo Min: ‘Treat Us as Human Beings, Not as a Problem’

U Aung Myo Min is one of Myanmar’s best-known LGBT activists. He fled to Thailand after the 1988 anti-government uprising, joining the All Burma Students Democratic Front movement, before studying human rights at Columbia University in New York.

In 2012, he returned to Myanmar for the first time in 23 years, where he devoted his attention to the issues facing the country’s LGBT people. His story – which includes the torture and death of his partner during the anti-government struggle – is documented in the award-winning movie “This Kind of Love”.

What is some of the work Equality Myanmar is currently doing in Myanmar?

We have three strategies. First is the empowerment of LGBT people, so we are working on community-based activities and social events, for example hosting the IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia) on May 17.

The second part is through the media. We educate non-LGBT people about how to understand what LGBT is, and about discrimination of people based on sexual orientation. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)

Myanmar’s forgotten local elections

Despite its importance, this historic exercise in local democracy has been almost fully overlooked and ignored by the media, donors, and local and international organisations. Until recently, not a single donor dollar had been allocated to support the process. No election monitoring missions were deployed and no voter education conducted. Few media articles had been devoted to the topic. Since then, a small but important initiative by one international organisation late in the process has resulted in mobilisation of a handful of local civil society organisations. But overall the level of support and interest stands in stark contrast to that for the general election of November 8, 2015.

The backdrop to the vote

These forgotten elections are for ward and village-tract administrators. On December 30, 2015, the General Administration Department (GAD) announced in the Global New Light of Myanmar that the elections would take place during January 2016. This came as no surprise, because the law stipulates that the term of ward and village-tract administrators is concurrent to that of the Union Parliament, or Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which ended in late January. The local elections are under the purview of the GAD and not the Union Election Commission (UEC). (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)

Myanmar featured in Bangkok festival

The very next day, British troops marched into Mandalay Palace to demand the unconditional surrender of King Thibaw, the last king of the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma and the last in Myanmar history. Thibaw, along with his two wives and their young daughters, was exiled to the remote town of Ratnagiri in India, ending the dynasty’s 103-year reign.

What happened to the family during the 30 years that followed, however, has remained something of a mystery ever since, as the stories of the young princesses and their descendants have been buried by the sands of time. Until, that is, Indian author Sudha Shah – inspired by Amitav Ghosh’s historical novel The Glass Palace – spent eight years uncovering them, meticulously piecing together fragments of their forgotten stories for her 2012 book The King in Exile: The Fall of the Royal Family of Burma. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)

Ex-general who led Myanmar from dictatorship leaves mixed legacy

When US President Barack Obama hosts a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in California this week, his Myanmar counterpart Thein Sein will be notably absent.Myanmar's outgoing president abruptly pulled out of the summit as secretive talks continued between his country's powerful military and the incoming government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

For his admirers, a smooth transition of power would seal Thein Sein's legacy as the former general who led Myanmar's dramatic emergence from nearly half a century of military dictatorship.He freed political prisoners, scrapped censorship, oversaw a historic election and repaired relations with the West, turning Myanmar from a global pariah into a buzzing destination for tourists, investors and world leaders.On March 31, he will pass the unfinished task of transforming Myanmar to a National League for Democracy (NLD) government led by Suu Kyi, his wildly popular political rival, who in November won the country's first credible general election in 25 years.

Despite fears of fraud, the election ran smoothly and Thein Sein's Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), dominated by former military officers, accepted a crushing defeat.But critics say Thein Sein, who gave no reason for cancelling his attendance at the California summit today and tomorrow, did little to tackle his country's profound poverty or the religious tensions that regularly erupted into deadly violence.Nor did he challenge the military, whose abiding influence over every aspect of Myanmar - politics, bureaucracy, business - poses a major challenge to Suu Kyi's fledgling administration. (Courtesy of webindia123.com)

Parliament should be people-centred, not group-centred: Suu Kyi

National League for Democracy chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi said the parliament is a place where everyone will have to work together for the sake of the nation and its citizens. She urged parliamentarians to exercise people-centred leadership without being “group-centred”.

She spoke at the parliament meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on February 15.

“MPs should not forget that we are just representatives. We represent the people in the parliament. We do not represent ourselves. All MPs should keep that in mind. The parliament is not a stage where each MP works for his or her own sake. And it’s not a ladder to climb up the ranks. It’s not a boxing ring where people with different views wrestle. It is a place where we all should try our best for the sake of the nation and the people. The people’s representatives should only take care of the people, not their parties or groups. We should live up to the good standards set by the first parliament, regardless of one’s own party, sect, religion or race, without self-centredness,” said Suu Kyi. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)

The challenges ahead for Myanmar’s new leaders

Ever since the National League for Democracy won a significant victory in Myanmar’s November 2015 elections, attention has turned to who will become president for the next five years. This issue has generated a large amount of interest not only because the president holds a significant amount of power under the 2008 Constitution, but also because the most favoured person, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, cannot be nominated. The constitutional requirements for presidential nominees appear designed to explicitly exclude Aung San Suu Kyi.

So who are the new leaders of Myanmar, how are they appointed and what constitutional challenges will they face moving forward?

Electing new leaders

The quality and skill of the country’s new leaders will determine the NLD’s impact, and this goes beyond the leadership of the president. On 1 February 2016, the new members of parliament took office in Naypyidaw, the capital city. The NLD has a majority in both houses of parliament, although its members sit alongside a handful of members of parliament from ethnic political parties and members from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (backed by the military), as well as the 25 percent of non-elected members from the military. (Courtesy of UNSW Newsroom)

Myanmar Gas exploration activities underway

There have been a total of 51 offshore blocks reserved for gas exploration tender.
In addition, there are also 53 onshore blocks designated for such undertaking.

According to statistics, 17 companies are currently performing offshore natural gas drilling, while 19 other companies have been permitted to carry out similar activities on onshore blocks.

Oil companies are set to carry out oil and gas exploration along Myanmar’s coastline of Rakhine state and Tanintharyi region as well as the offshore region of Mottama. (Courtesy of newsghana.com.gh)

NLD, ANP and military face off over Rakhine chief minister post

The chief ministers of the states and regions, as well as their cabinets, are to be nominated directly by the president of the Union to be elected by parliament next month. March 17 has been set as the deadline for nominations for the presidency and the two vice-presidential posts.

Whatever the eventual choice, the issue is likely to be contentious in a state still gripped by poverty and ethnic and religious tensions, as well as armed clashes in the north.

According to some sources, the nominee will be Sittwe’s National League for Democracy leader, U Nyi Pu. Others point to the return of the former chief minister, U Maung Maung Ohn, who has a military background. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)

Suu Kyi secretly held power talks with ethnic leaders

Khun Tun Oo, the chairman of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), was invited to Nay Pyi Taw in January at the invitation of Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), it has only just been revealed.

A photo of the meeting was posted on the parliamentary Facebook page on February 13.

“The SNLD chairman was invited by the NLD. The report did not mention whom Khun Tun Oo met and what he discussed in Parliament,” said Sai Thiha Kyaw, Lower House MP for Mongral, Shan State.

Aye Tha Aung of the Arakan National Party also visited Suu Kyi in January before he was nominated as Deputy Speaker for the Upper House. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)

ANP takes aim at militarised ministries

The Arakan National Party is taking issue with the profusion of retired military officials embedded within ministry ranks.

Last year, the health, education and judiciary sectors all launched ribbon campaigns against a perceived “militarisation” effect. The professionals said the military appointees were preventing civil servants from career advancement, with non-military officials unable to attain appointments above the former officers, many of whom were under-qualified.

The movement against military personnel being installed in government and judicial positions quickly spread into other sectors as well, with a rainbow ribbon protest launched shortly before the election. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)

Another FB users nabbed in Myanmar

Owner of the Facebook account ‘Kyat Pha Gyi’ has been arrested by the police for doctoring images of President Thein Sein and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

The accused was identified as sailor Hla Bhone, 38, from Mayangone Township. He allegedly posted manipulated pictures that depicted the senior general wearing a sarong as a turban, Thein Sein putting on footwear for the general as well as other personal attacks.

The case against Hla Bhone under the Electronic Communications Law Section 66(d) was opened by the Yangon military command. The investigation was conducted by the military before the police were asked to arrest him.

"According to his passport, he is a sailor making frequent overseas trips. We have confiscated his computer and are investigating the claims," said Deputy Superintendent Zaw Htun. (Courtesy of The Nation)

Chinese Investors are Rushing to Myanmar

China has been increasing their investments in Myanmar over the past few years and has just won two more contracts to do so. However, despite attaining the parliament greenlight to go ahead with the projects, China may face some resistance from the local populace.

Overseas foreign investments from China into Myanmar go a long way back. China has played a big role in developing Myanmar’s Special Economic Zones, cooperating closely to build the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone specifically. In fact, in 2009, Myanmar’s Ministry of Energy established a memorandum of understanding with China National Petroleum Corp to jointly build an oil pipeline linking the Maday Island in Kyaukpyu and the Yunnan province in China. (Courtesy of InvestAsian)

Fire ruins 600 houses in Myanmar southern region

A fire has destroyed 600 houses in Myanmar's southern Tanintharyi region, an official report said on Sunday.

The fire was triggered by a child playing with a lit candle in Palaw town, local police was quoted as saying.

As the village area was not accessible by fire engines, firefighters had to battle the blaze with water pumps.

The fire caused a total loss of property to 75 million kyats (over 585,000 U.S. dollars), the police said. (Courtesy of Xinhua)

In Myanmar, slum eviction highlights Suu Kyi's military challenge

Days before democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi led her lawmakers into parliament as Myanmar's government-in-waiting, Ei Than watched bulldozers sent by the military destroy her house in a slum on the outskirts of Yangon.

Ei Than was one of around 2,500 people thrown off military-owned land at Mingaladon in a mass eviction that gives a glimpse into the challenges Suu Kyi faces in sharing power with the armed forces after nearly 50 years of iron-fisted junta rule. The land, on the edge of the commercial capital, is owned by Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL), a sprawling military-owned conglomerate that entrenches the armed forces' grip over swathes of one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economies. Suu Kyi's party won a resounding election victory last November, but must still work with the military because of its continued hold over key cogs of the government machinery. During the 20 years Ei Than had lived on the land, she had no idea it was owned by the military: like many migrants to the country's biggest city, she built her house on vacant land. "It was just scrub and bushes when we moved here," she said, breastfeeding an infant in a flimsy shelter covered in plastic sheeting that was erected nearby after the eviction. Colonel Tin Aung Tun, minister of security and border affairs for the Yangon Regional Government, said he did not know what the land, surrounded by an industrial park housing many military-owned manufacturing plants, would be used for. (Courtesy of dailytimes.com.pk)

More natural gas discovered in Myanmar

More natural gas was discovered in the deep-sea offshore block AD-7 at Thalin (1) exploration well in Myanmar's western Rakhine Basin offshore, sources in the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise under the Ministry of Energy said on Friday.

The gas was jointly explored by Daewoo International Corporation and Woodside Energy (Myanmar)Co., Ltd in a joint venture business, Xinhua reported.

Further exploration and drilling will be conducted to identify whether the gas reserves will be commercially exploitable. (Courtesy of Business Standard News)

Police guard Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi after death threat

Police in Myanmar have assigned personnel to protect Ms Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time, after the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader received a death threat on Facebook.

A police chief told BBC Burmese that a special unit had been assigned to protect Ms Suu Kyi after the threat was issued over a possible constitutional change enabling her to become President in the wake of the NLD sweeping to power in the country in a landmark election last November.

The man who made the death threat against Ms Suu Kyi in a Facebook post, Mr Ye Lwin Myint, has since apologised. But the threat is being taken seriously, the police chief told the BBC: "I told the local police office straightaway to take care of her security when I saw the post. We cannot afford anything to happen to a person of her stature." (Courtesy of The Straits Times)

Bangladesh begins census of Myanmar's Rohingya refugees

Bangladesh has started to conduct a census on Myanmar's Rohingya refugees living in the country's southeastern districts bordering Myanmar to determine their exact figure.

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has began the listing of households as part of primary task in six southeastern districts - Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban and Patuakhali, Xinhua reported.

The listing of Rohingya households will continue till February 17, according to Md Emdadul Huq, joint director of Chittagong Divisional Office of BBS. After completion of listing of households, the census will begin by the end of the next month.

Officials said the census aimed at ending confusion about the exact number of Rohingya people living in Bangladesh. (Courtesy of Business Standard News)

In Myanmar, political mood sours as transition talks hit a snag

The mood of goodwill evident in early talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's military over the country's transition to democratic government has soured, as tensions rise over how to divide up power and deal with the legacy of junta rule.

The apparent stalemate has forced Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) to push back the election by parliament of a new president to March 17, cutting close to the April 1 deadline when the new government is supposed to start its term.

While negotiations have been conducted amid tight secrecy, lawmakers say divisions emerged after the military put forward its list of demands to the incoming government last month.

The appointment of ex-general Shwe Mann, now a key Suu Kyi ally, to a powerful advisory panel has also stoked mistrust, some say, because his insider knowledge could enable Myanmar's new rulers to delve into the actions of the outgoing government. (Courtesy of Reuters)

The Thai journalist whose reporting on the Rohingya refugee crisis shocked the world

Journalist Thapanee Ietsrichai, 38, has found herself in hot water many times. She was accused of lese majeste towards the King of Cambodia and branded a traitor to Thailand for reporting on the Rohingya immigration crisis. But last month, Amnesty International Thailand vindicated her tireless work when it named her the winner of the 2015 Media Awards’ digital television category. BK caught up with her to talk about investigative journalism in Thailand, and the criticism she receives from home.

After all the criticism, how does it feel to have won this award?

I don’t care. I don’t care that I’ve gone from traitor to superwoman journalist. I just hope this award can make people in this city understand the humanitarian issues that surround them; there are so many people living in misery whose fate is unknown. (Courtesy of BK Magazine Online)

Myanmar seeks to assure others of commitment to reform at US-ASEAN summit

The US-ASEAN Summit will take place on American soil for the first time next week, with Myanmar planning to call on participating leaders for their continued support for the new government.

The summit would have been the last international event for the Union Solidarity and Development Party's (USDP) Thein Sein as President before stepping down at the end of next month.

However, he cancelled at the last minute giving no reason, sending Vice President Nyan Htun instead. Myanmar's Foreign Affairs, National Planning and Information Ministers will be accompanying him. (Courtesy of Channel NewsAsia)

Myanmar's outgoing president cancels visit to U.S.-ASEAN summit next week

Myanmar's outgoing President Thein Sein has at the last minute canceled plans to attend the U.S.-ASEAN summit in California next week, his office said late on Thursday, giving no reasons for the decision.

While no official delegation from the Myanmar side had been announced before, experts expected the trip to be Thein Sein's last chance to highlight his reformist legacy in front of President Barack Obama and Southeast Asian leaders.

Thein Sein's Union Solidarity and Development Party was crushed by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in a November election, kicking off a lengthy transition process that will end on April 1 when the new government's term begins. (Courtesy of Reuters)

Reconsidering the Last Parliament

There was little enthusiasm about prospects for reform when the Union parliament convened for the first time in January 2011. The Burma Campaign UK derided the assembly as the preserve of “soldiers, ex-soldiers, pro-regime parties, corrupt businessmen and stooges” and noted that the junta-drafted 2008 Constitution reserved many of the usual powers of parliamentary democracy for the military leadership. After decades of authoritarian rule, many also doubted whether the military would be willing to cede real power to democratic institutions, other than what was necessary to create a façade of representative government.

Five years on, suspicions linger about the military but it is clear that the legislature has greatly exceeded the low expectations it laboured under. The committee system has thrived, the two hluttaws hosted reasoned debate, MPs consulted a broad range of civil society and other groups and, for the most part, comported themselves with dignity and in deference to the arcane traditions of parliamentary forums. Although the constitution is overwhelmingly weighted towards the president, and grants undemocratic reserve powers to the Tatmadaw commander-in-chief, the last five years have demonstrated that the parliament has the ability to function as a constitutional check on executive authority. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)

Suu Kyi–the next Myanmar president

When Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory late last year in Myanmar’s first national vote since a nominally civilian government was allowed to work in 2011, ending nearly 50 years of military rule, the world expected the country’s democracy icon to finally take the helm of government. That’s because her party will control the next parliament and can choose the next president.

As things stand, however, Suu Kyi can’t become president. Article 59 (F) of the Myanmar constitution states that if one of your “legitimate children…owes allegiance to a foreign power” you are disqualified. That covers both Suu Kyi’s sons Kim and Alexander, who carry British passports. Her long-shot chance is to change this provision of the country’s basic law. But changing the constitution is impossible without the support of the unelected army representatives. (Courtesy of Business Mirror)

Myanmar: New Parliament, Old Constitution

Myanmar’s new parliament convened for the first time last week amid a flurry of underground power struggles and intense negotiations between the military and the National League for Democracy’s chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi.

But it is clear that despite the overwhelming 255-30 electoral victory by the NLD on Nov. 8, the constitutional frame designed in 2008 by the junta is as solid as ever despite the humiliation of the military-backed USDPby the voters, whereas the new NLD government still has to figure out how to fit in despite the party’s landslide victory.  The rise to dominance of the political landscape, if indeed Suu Kyi can pull it off, will come by incremental steps in the long term, without pressing the military towards a reforming agenda too soon.

It is clear is that the NLD will not handle the country’s political future alone. The military has made sure that befriending them was unavoidable, constitutionally but also technically. Ruling efficiently and reforming the country require the help of the General Administration Department, the widely-spread centralized bureaucratic machinery under the control of the military. (Courtesy of Asia Sentinel)

13 banks apply for Myanmar’s second round of foreign bank licensing. All 5 new applicants from Taiwan

Thirteen foreign banks from Taiwan, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea and Africa have shown interest in starting operations in Myanmar.

The applications, submitted to the Central Bank of Myanmar, are part of the second round of bank licensing the country plans to issue, as it opens up its economy to increased foreign direct investment following decades of isolation.

Nine foreign banks were awarded license in the country last year, and they are from Australia, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Japan and Thailand. These included Singapore’s OCBC and UOB, ANZ Banking Group, Thailand’s Bangkok Bank, Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group. (Courtesy of dealstreetasia.com)

Myanmar military plane crash kills 4

Four Myanmar military personnel were killed and one survived Wednesday when an air force utility aircraft crashed after taking off from the airport in the capital Naypyitaw, officials said.

An Information Ministry statement identified the aircraft, which crashed in a rice field about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the airport, as a Beech 1900, a 19-passenger twin-engine turboprop no longer in production. Photos of the crashed plane showed that most of its fuselage had burned up.

The dead included a major, two captains and a corporal, said Gen. Aung Ye Win of the office of the Myanmar army commander. The sole survivor was another corporal who has been hospitalized. (Courtesy of San Francisco Chronicle)

Myanmar: The Understanding

So far the military has not tried to halt the momentous and unexpected (to them) power shift. These changes accelerated in November 2015 when veteran reform advocate Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won 80 percent of the available seats in parliament in the first nationwide elections in 25 years (and the first to actually take power since the 1960s). The new government is expected to take action on two issues (ethnic unrest and Chinese encroachment) the military was reluctant to tackle, as was the current elected (but still military dominated) government.

The military was always in favor of getting the economy growing rapidly, something decades of military rule had prevented. But many military leaders had prospered during the dictatorship because they could be corrupt (to get rich) without fear of prosecution. The new government is under a lot of pressure to crack down hard on corruption in order to increase economic growth and reduce the widespread poverty. Such a crackdown would also cause tensions with China, which has, for over a decade, invested heavily in the tribal north via corrupt deals with the military. Unwinding all these unfair (especially to local tribes) deals will be painful for the Chinese as well as prominent Burmese military leaders and businessmen. (Courtesy of strategypage.com)