Aung San Suu Kyi’s Role Causes Friction With Myanmar’s Army

Myanmar— Aung San Suu Kyi’s pledge to place herself “above the president” in this nation’s future government is causing friction with the army, which will still have significant control after the handover of power.

Insiders in the incoming government say that choosing a figurehead president to front for Ms. Suu Kyi makes perfect sense. The Nobel Peace Prize winner and former political prisoner is barred by law from becoming president because she was married to a British national. Her children are British too.

What else is she to do after her party won last year’s national elections, they say. But such a move would likely complicate a drawn-out negotiation with the army over who really governs the country. (Courtesy of WSJ)

Seven foreign firms keen on Myanmar licence

Seven foreign companies have expressed interest in Myanmar's fourth mobile licence, it emerged on Monday.

This is according to a report by Reuters, which cited Chit Wai, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). The identity of the firms has not been disclosed, but they have all submitted expressions of interest (EOIs).

Now it is up to the MCIT to select a preferred bidder and apply to the Posts and Telecommunications Department (PTD) for a licence, which will be valid for 15 years. (Courtesy of totaltele.com)

Aung San Suu Kyi meets Myanmar army chief as power transition looms

 Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's powerful army chief held fresh talks on Monday (Jan 25) on the country's dramatic political transition, days before a military-dominated legislature hands over to the most democratic parliament in generations.

The discussions are the latest effort to smooth the transfer of power following a landslide victory for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in November elections, which is set to transform the once-cloistered nation after decades under military rule.

The meeting saw "friendly and open discussions about the formation of a new government, the transition, post-election peace and stability, the parliament and peace process", according to a statement posted on the NLD's official Facebook page late on Monday. (Courtesy of The Straits Times)

Dawei SEZ project sparks hopes and worries

There is a small hut with a thatched roof overlooking the Andaman Sea in Dawei, Tanintharyi Region. Near the hut, there is a milestone engraved with the letters KM 0+000 denoting the beginning of the road.

At present, there is only a wide road and vast fields but the area will soon be a flourishing major economic hub for neighbouring countries including Thailand and Myanmar. It is the site of the Dawei deep-sea port, the largest in the country, with a project area spanning thousands of square kilometres.

Currently, only a few people come to the area and it is just a seaside village. These people take photos to remember their trip and they return to where they came from. It is hard to say how much this area will change over the next five years. But local people and businessmen have high hopes for the mega deep-sea port project which initially took shape as a plan by the Thai and Myanmar governments in 2008. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

On the road with the women building Myanmar

In the mountain village of Kalaw, Myanmar, women in bamboo hats are busy laying the foundations of a road. They woke at dawn, ate mohinga fish soup for breakfast and then joined other female colleagues in the boiling sun. Surrounded by red soil and gravel, the five-month baby of 21-year-old Cho Mi Ko is also on the roadside. He is sleeping under a makeshift shelter, oblivious to his mother’s hard labour.

The sight of women building roads is common in Myanmar. From the rural areas of Rakhine state to touristic Bagan, fuming tarmac and piles of debris are mostly handled by female workers, wearing an extra layer of the traditional yellow plant extract tanaka to protect their faces from the sun. (Courtesy of The Guardian)

Rohingya census to be completed by this year

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque has briefed foreign diplomats and representatives of UN and other international organisations about undocumented Myanmar nationals residing in Bangladesh.

“I briefed them about a project on undocumented Myanmar nationals and census,” the foreign secretary told the Dhaka Tribune.

The government with its own fund has taken the initiative to conduct a census on them to get a clear picture of how many undocumented Myanmar nationals are living in the country.

“We expect to get the final report by this year,” he said.

He said Bangladesh wants them to go back to Myanmar and Dhaka is engaged with Myanmar government in this regard.

“But, we don’t have any intention to force them to go back to Myanmar,” he added.

With limited resources, Bangladesh is trying to meet the basic needs of the Myanmar nationals but the government wants them to go back, the foreign secretary said.

The census will be conducted in Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Patuakhali, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Khagrachari and Chittagong.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics completed its field test in November and going to start zonal operation by this month.

It will conduct household survey and final survey in March. (Courtesy of Dhaka Tribune)