Participants at the meeting with about 20 UN agencies, including the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank, said they were pleasantly surprised at the warm reception they were given on May 11 by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is well known for being critical of international agencies in the past.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in her capacity as foreign minister, spent most of the one-hour meeting listening to the views of the assembled agency heads. “It was not a lecture,” one participant said. “We were expecting a list of dos and don’ts but there was hardly a single don’t,” he said.
However on the controversial topic of Rakhine State, where hundreds of thousands of mostly stateless Muslims are facing desperate living conditions and restrictions under enforced segregation from the Buddhist majority, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was said to have urged caution. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
May 13, 2016
The new US ambassador in Myanmar dances around the country’s most sensitive word
Years ago, when the newly appointed United States ambassador to Myanmar, Scot Marciel, first visited Yangon in a different capacity, he came to the American Center, a US-backed outpost of books and learning that was a haven in a country full of secret dissidents and spies.
“It was a place where people could meet and talk freely,” he said on Tuesday in his first speech as ambassador, standing behind a lectern at the same center. “I remember I would come in and meet with a series of [Burmese] people who would introduce themselves ... and tell me how many years they had spent in prison.”
Myanmar is a different place now.
Social and economic reforms opened up the country in 2011. Political prisoners have been freed, and longtime dissident Aung San Suu Kyi guided her party to power in elections in November. You don’t need to go to the American Center to whisper about freedom anymore. You can do it on Facebook. (Courtesy of pri.org)
“It was a place where people could meet and talk freely,” he said on Tuesday in his first speech as ambassador, standing behind a lectern at the same center. “I remember I would come in and meet with a series of [Burmese] people who would introduce themselves ... and tell me how many years they had spent in prison.”
Myanmar is a different place now.
Social and economic reforms opened up the country in 2011. Political prisoners have been freed, and longtime dissident Aung San Suu Kyi guided her party to power in elections in November. You don’t need to go to the American Center to whisper about freedom anymore. You can do it on Facebook. (Courtesy of pri.org)
A new low for Myanmar's nationalist movement
Last month, at least 21 people died after a boat transporting passengers from an IDP camp to Sittwe capsized off the coast of Rakhine State. At least seven of the dead were aged eight or under; at least two were infants.
Most of the passengers were residents of the Sin Tet Maw camp in Pauktaw Township, established in the wake of the 2012 communal strife that claimed hundreds of lives and displaced almost 140,000 people. In an environment of endemic malnutrition and extreme restrictions on freedom of movement, the passengers had been granted permission for a day trip to the Rakhine capital to buy essential supplies.
It was a tragedy regardless of the identity of those who perished. But to use these deaths as a political weapon is an obscenity. As such, last month's protest outside the United States Embassy represented a total abandonment of human decency, a new depth in poor taste — even by the standards of a nationalist movement that has cravenly sought to pander to the basest prejudices of its audience. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Most of the passengers were residents of the Sin Tet Maw camp in Pauktaw Township, established in the wake of the 2012 communal strife that claimed hundreds of lives and displaced almost 140,000 people. In an environment of endemic malnutrition and extreme restrictions on freedom of movement, the passengers had been granted permission for a day trip to the Rakhine capital to buy essential supplies.
It was a tragedy regardless of the identity of those who perished. But to use these deaths as a political weapon is an obscenity. As such, last month's protest outside the United States Embassy represented a total abandonment of human decency, a new depth in poor taste — even by the standards of a nationalist movement that has cravenly sought to pander to the basest prejudices of its audience. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Rohingya a Term ‘People Can’t Accept,’ Shwe Mann Tells US Ambassador
Shwe Mann, chairman of an influential legal review committee and former member of the military ruling elite, warned new US Ambassador to Burma Scot Marciel to be “careful” about using a term that “the Myanmar people can’t accept,” during a meeting in the capital Naypyidaw on Wednesday.
The term in question is “Rohingya,” referring to a largely stateless Muslim minority residing in western Arakan State. The Burmese government and much of the population do not recognize the right of the persecuted minority to self-identify as Rohingya, instead labeling them “Bengalis,” implying that they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh.
Shwe Mann’s words represent a marginally stronger—but consistent—stance to that of Aung San Suu Kyi, state counselor and minister of foreign affairs, who last week asked the US Embassy not to use the term after nationalist protesters demanded that her National League for Democracy (NLD) government condemn the use of “Rohingya” by members of the international community in Burma. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
Rakhine MPs to request govt aid for war refugees
A letter of request will be sent to the president and the state counsellor urging the Union government to provide emergency aid to war refugees in Rakhine State following the the Lower House’s blocking of the submission of a proposal related to the issue, said Khin Saw Wai, Lower House MP for Yathedaung Constituency and member of the Arakan National Party.
The MP reported the plan to reporters before a session of the Union Parliament in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.
She said the proposal was submitted at the request of local voters after her visits to refugee camps in Yathedaung and Buthidaung townships, where many villagers are taking shelter to flee ongoing fighting. They requested that she table a motion to parliament calling for an end to the conflict and assistance to enable refugees to earn a living in a peaceful manner. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
The MP reported the plan to reporters before a session of the Union Parliament in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.
She said the proposal was submitted at the request of local voters after her visits to refugee camps in Yathedaung and Buthidaung townships, where many villagers are taking shelter to flee ongoing fighting. They requested that she table a motion to parliament calling for an end to the conflict and assistance to enable refugees to earn a living in a peaceful manner. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
Myanmar's border police fires 6 mortar shells on Bangladesh security camp
Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP) has allegedly fired six mortar shells targeting a camp of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Bandarban.
Lieutenant Colonel Reza of 57 Alikadam Battalion of Border Guard Bangladesh said the helipad of the camp inside the remote Sangu Wildlife Sanctuary was damaged by the shelling, reports the Daily Star.
Reza said that Border Guard Bangladesh has prepared a protest letter, which will be handed over to the Myanmar border guards later in the day. (Courtesy of newkerala.com)
Lieutenant Colonel Reza of 57 Alikadam Battalion of Border Guard Bangladesh said the helipad of the camp inside the remote Sangu Wildlife Sanctuary was damaged by the shelling, reports the Daily Star.
Reza said that Border Guard Bangladesh has prepared a protest letter, which will be handed over to the Myanmar border guards later in the day. (Courtesy of newkerala.com)
Myanmar expands aviation capability
Myanmar is expanding its aviation capability with a new airline and the construction of an international airport, industry website Air Transport World reported on 11 May.
The new carrier, to be named Asian Blue Aviation, is a joint venture (JV) between Japan’s full-service carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Myanmar-based banking, infrastructure and telecoms company Golden Sky World, a subsidiary of Myanmar conglomerate Shwe Than Lwin Co. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
The new carrier, to be named Asian Blue Aviation, is a joint venture (JV) between Japan’s full-service carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Myanmar-based banking, infrastructure and telecoms company Golden Sky World, a subsidiary of Myanmar conglomerate Shwe Than Lwin Co. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
Myanmar: Pagodas being built on church lands
In the face of a campaign by a Buddhist monk to build pagodas on church property, Christians in Myanmar have decided to turn the other cheek.
According to Morning Star News, U Thuzana and his supporters built a Buddhist pagoda on Anglican property in Kun Taw Gyi village, Karen state, on April 23. It was the third pagoda the monk has erected on church lands.
Bishop Saw Stylo of St. Mark's Anglican Church -- where the pagoda was built -- said Christian leaders didn't want to further inflame religious and ethnic conflicts in a country seeking national reconciliation. (Courtesy of worthynews.com)
According to Morning Star News, U Thuzana and his supporters built a Buddhist pagoda on Anglican property in Kun Taw Gyi village, Karen state, on April 23. It was the third pagoda the monk has erected on church lands.
Bishop Saw Stylo of St. Mark's Anglican Church -- where the pagoda was built -- said Christian leaders didn't want to further inflame religious and ethnic conflicts in a country seeking national reconciliation. (Courtesy of worthynews.com)
US AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH SHWE MANN OVER ROHINGYA FRACAS
New US Ambassador Scot Marciel has met with former parliamentary speaker Thura U Shwe Mann to discuss the vexed question of Myanmar’s stateless Rohingya population, two weeks after an official statement on the issue prompted a loud protest outside the US Embassy.
Fresh from his first major policy speech on Tuesday, which outlined the future of US-Myanmar cooperation, Ambassador Marciel met with Shwe Mann in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday.
In an account of the meeting posted on Shwe Mann’s Facebook page, the former chair of the Union Solidarity and Development Party said he had made clear that the ambassador should not use a word that was “unacceptable” to the people of Myanmar, in reference to the Rohingya community’s preferred means of self-identifying.
In response, Marciel said that he had not sought to disregard the opinion of the people of Myanmar by using the word Rohingya, and that his actions as ambassador were determined by US government policy, according to the post. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Fresh from his first major policy speech on Tuesday, which outlined the future of US-Myanmar cooperation, Ambassador Marciel met with Shwe Mann in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday.
In an account of the meeting posted on Shwe Mann’s Facebook page, the former chair of the Union Solidarity and Development Party said he had made clear that the ambassador should not use a word that was “unacceptable” to the people of Myanmar, in reference to the Rohingya community’s preferred means of self-identifying.
In response, Marciel said that he had not sought to disregard the opinion of the people of Myanmar by using the word Rohingya, and that his actions as ambassador were determined by US government policy, according to the post. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Myanmar parliament calls for halt to Parkway hospital project in Yangon
The US$70-million, 250-bed hospital broke ground in January this year, and was to be developed and operated by a joint venture consortium comprising majority shareholder Parkway Healthcare Indo-China.
Politicians in Myanmar’s lower house called for a stop on Thursday (May 12) to the Parkway Yangon Hospital project.
The new hospital, costing US$70 million, was to provide a 250-bed private medical facility in downtown Yangon.
The previous government had approved the project, saying it would improve the healthcare standards and services to the Myanmar citizens, but the decision was reversed by the Lower House. (Courtesy of channelnewsasia.com)
Politicians in Myanmar’s lower house called for a stop on Thursday (May 12) to the Parkway Yangon Hospital project.
The new hospital, costing US$70 million, was to provide a 250-bed private medical facility in downtown Yangon.
The previous government had approved the project, saying it would improve the healthcare standards and services to the Myanmar citizens, but the decision was reversed by the Lower House. (Courtesy of channelnewsasia.com)
ANP LAWMAKER CENSURED BY WIN MYINT OVER RAKHINE CONFLICT COMMENTS
U Win Myint issued a stern warning to Arakan National Party MP Daw Khin Saw Wai in a private meeting on Wednesday, reproaching her for criticizing the Pyithu Hluttaw speaker on social media after parliament rejected a proposal to discuss recent armed conflict in Rakhine State.
Before a joint parliamentary session on Tuesday, Khin Saw Wai told media in Nay Pyi Taw she was prevented from submitting a proposal that urged relief efforts be made for civilians displaced by recent skirmishes between the Arakan Army and the military. She later took to Facebook to say she would continue to demand that parliament discussed the proposal after consultations with other ANP lawmakers.
U Win Myint said on Wednesday that Khin Saw Wai’s proposal had been rejected because it was a figleaf for attempt to open political negotiations between the Arakan Army and the government. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Before a joint parliamentary session on Tuesday, Khin Saw Wai told media in Nay Pyi Taw she was prevented from submitting a proposal that urged relief efforts be made for civilians displaced by recent skirmishes between the Arakan Army and the military. She later took to Facebook to say she would continue to demand that parliament discussed the proposal after consultations with other ANP lawmakers.
U Win Myint said on Wednesday that Khin Saw Wai’s proposal had been rejected because it was a figleaf for attempt to open political negotiations between the Arakan Army and the government. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
New Myanmar Government Proposes Keeping Some Junta Curbs On Protests
Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi is facing criticism from rights groups and student activists who say her ruling party is planning to retain restrictions on free speech once wielded against it by the country’s former junta.
Since taking power in April, former political prisoner Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has released scores of detainees and is making a big push to revise some of the most repressive measures from the long years of military rule.
But its new version of the law governing public demonstrations has prompted alarm since the proposals were submitted to parliament last week.
The draft bill would punish protesters for spreading “wrong” information and make straying away from pre-registered chants an offense. It bars non-citizens – a category that includes the largely stateless Muslim Rohingya minority – from protesting and lists criminal penalties for “disturbing” or “annoying” people. (Courtesy of oann.com)
Since taking power in April, former political prisoner Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has released scores of detainees and is making a big push to revise some of the most repressive measures from the long years of military rule.
But its new version of the law governing public demonstrations has prompted alarm since the proposals were submitted to parliament last week.
The draft bill would punish protesters for spreading “wrong” information and make straying away from pre-registered chants an offense. It bars non-citizens – a category that includes the largely stateless Muslim Rohingya minority – from protesting and lists criminal penalties for “disturbing” or “annoying” people. (Courtesy of oann.com)
Offensive ‘boat people’ cartoon slammed by Rohingya activist as ‘dangerous’
A CARTOON published by Burmese magazine The Irrawaddy has been slammed by critics as “disgusting”, “xenophobic” and “dangerous”.
The offending cartoon features a dark-skinned individual with a sign saying “BOAT PEOPLE” hanging on his back cutting in front of a queue of Burmese ethnic minority groups.
Many believe the individual climbing into the queue purportedly depicts an undocumented Rohingya Muslim. The minority Muslim group is a subject of contention in Burma (Myanmar), with many accusing the government of systematically persecuting them. (Courtesy of Asian Correspondent)
The offending cartoon features a dark-skinned individual with a sign saying “BOAT PEOPLE” hanging on his back cutting in front of a queue of Burmese ethnic minority groups.
Many believe the individual climbing into the queue purportedly depicts an undocumented Rohingya Muslim. The minority Muslim group is a subject of contention in Burma (Myanmar), with many accusing the government of systematically persecuting them. (Courtesy of Asian Correspondent)
WWII veteran in Ealing breaks silence over his time in brutal Japanese prison
A 95-year-old war veteran who has lived in Ealing for more than 40 years, has spoken of his time as a prisoner of war during the Second World War for the first time.
David Gibson, who lives with his wife in Clarendon Road, survived three and a half years held as a prisoner of war of the Japanese Imperial Army.
He was only 20 when he joined the army in 1940, and left for Singapore two years later. (Courtesy of getwestlondon.co.uk)
David Gibson, who lives with his wife in Clarendon Road, survived three and a half years held as a prisoner of war of the Japanese Imperial Army.
He was only 20 when he joined the army in 1940, and left for Singapore two years later. (Courtesy of getwestlondon.co.uk)
When my conscience finally trumped my camera
I have travelled with a camera in 32 countries but I take fewer and fewer pictures.
It was on a group tour to Myanmar (sometimes called Burma) that I forever lost my taste for photographing people in exotic places. We had two guides: a local who spoke English as well as Burmese to explain the culture, and an American, who was there presumably because he understood us Westerners and our need for photo ops.
The American guide was sitting up front in our tour bus, on the lookout for places to stop for pictures. “Photo op!” he cried suddenly, and the bus pulled over and came to a stop. About a dozen of us climbed down and crowded around to stare at a group of startled Burmese women bathing and washing their clothing in the lake beside the road. Cameras started clicking, and I felt embarrassed. (Courtesy of theglobeandmail.com)
Former regime defender to be state counsellor’s minister
U Kyaw Tint Swe has been appointed by President U Htin Kyaw and his name will be put to parliament tomorrow as minister for the newly created office of state counsellor, senior National League for Democracy official U Win Htein told The Myanmar Times yesterday.
“We assume that he is the most appropriate candidate for the position, with his vast diplomatic experiences,” U Win Htein said.
U Zaw Htay, deputy director general of the President’s Office, declined to comment, saying it was “inappropriate” to speak before parliament was told. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
“We assume that he is the most appropriate candidate for the position, with his vast diplomatic experiences,” U Win Htein said.
U Zaw Htay, deputy director general of the President’s Office, declined to comment, saying it was “inappropriate” to speak before parliament was told. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
Push for Citizenship Verification Brings Contentious Law Into Focus
A proposal submitted to the Lower House of Burma’s Parliament late last week by a lawmaker of the Arakan National Party (ANP) urged the government to “resolve citizenship issues” in Burma in accordance with the 1982 Citizenship Law. The proposal suggested that a nationwide citizenship verification drive be undertaken—although it remained vague on the focus and scope of the proposed exercise.
The contentious 1982 legislation defines eligibility in racial terms and renders stateless most Rohingya, a Muslim minority residing in western Arakan State.
The ANP lawmaker Khin Saw Wai stated that “illegal migration from another country” and an influx of “Bengalis” had led to violence and instability in Burma. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
The contentious 1982 legislation defines eligibility in racial terms and renders stateless most Rohingya, a Muslim minority residing in western Arakan State.
The ANP lawmaker Khin Saw Wai stated that “illegal migration from another country” and an influx of “Bengalis” had led to violence and instability in Burma. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
Suu Kyi’s stance on Rohingya makes a mockery of justice
When Aung San Suu Kyi’s pro-democracy party stormed to power, following general elections in Myanmar last November, the world erupted in celebrations to mark the stunning transition from decades of military rule to a civilian government. As the leader of Myanmar’s first democratically elected government since 1962, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate raised a lot of expectations from the international community of building a truly harmonious society.
But those hopes are swiftly evaporating with Suu Kyi’s hardening stance against one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, the Rohingya. The immediate cause for concern is Suu Kyi’s advice to the United States against using the term “Rohingya” to describe the persecuted Muslim population that has lived in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar for generations. Her stance is not new. Even in the run-up to the election campaign last year, Suu Kyi showed a deliberate reluctance to embrace the Rohingya as integral part of Myanmarese society. Rather than being the mascot of unity and harmony in a country repressed by decades of junta rule and crippling sanctions, Suu Kyi now appears to exhibit the familiar contours of an opportunist politician, ready to embrace the very narrative of discrimination she fought so bitterly against. (Courtesy of gulfnews.com)
But those hopes are swiftly evaporating with Suu Kyi’s hardening stance against one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, the Rohingya. The immediate cause for concern is Suu Kyi’s advice to the United States against using the term “Rohingya” to describe the persecuted Muslim population that has lived in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar for generations. Her stance is not new. Even in the run-up to the election campaign last year, Suu Kyi showed a deliberate reluctance to embrace the Rohingya as integral part of Myanmarese society. Rather than being the mascot of unity and harmony in a country repressed by decades of junta rule and crippling sanctions, Suu Kyi now appears to exhibit the familiar contours of an opportunist politician, ready to embrace the very narrative of discrimination she fought so bitterly against. (Courtesy of gulfnews.com)
Burma Needs to Promote Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim Solidarity
This type of interfaith cooperation and harmony used to be the norm between various ethnic and religious groups in Rakhine state long before successive military dictatorships and extremists groups such as the Ma Ba Tha started to propagate narratives of exclusion and hate in order to divide communities. Prof. Michael Charney alluded to this point when speaking at a recent conference on the genocide against the Rohingya, noting that Rakhine state used to be marked by its: inclusiveness, tolerance, heterodoxy and diversity and was greatly influenced by ‘Persian, Islamic, Christian and Buddhist cultures.’
Rakhine state’s history of communal amity was deeply ruptured by the 2012 pogroms that targeted the persecuted Rohingya. Many Rohingya villages in Rakhine state came under attack from Rakhine Buddhist extremists, forcing Rohingya Muslim villagers out of their homes and into a life in squalid camps.
Indeed, since then other Rohingya villages have faced the perilous uncertainty of wondering “when the next attack will occur” and whether they face a fate similar to their brethren, one where they are consigned to living in a state of limbo in dismal “Internally Displaced Peoples” (IDP) camps. There have been several documented incidents in which extremists were poised to attack Rohingya villages but through the efforts of human rights activists, the Burmese government was moved to prevent a repeat of the 2012 atrocities which put Burma’s persecution of the Rohingya on display for the world to see. (Courtesy of chicagomonitor.com)
Rakhine state’s history of communal amity was deeply ruptured by the 2012 pogroms that targeted the persecuted Rohingya. Many Rohingya villages in Rakhine state came under attack from Rakhine Buddhist extremists, forcing Rohingya Muslim villagers out of their homes and into a life in squalid camps.
Indeed, since then other Rohingya villages have faced the perilous uncertainty of wondering “when the next attack will occur” and whether they face a fate similar to their brethren, one where they are consigned to living in a state of limbo in dismal “Internally Displaced Peoples” (IDP) camps. There have been several documented incidents in which extremists were poised to attack Rohingya villages but through the efforts of human rights activists, the Burmese government was moved to prevent a repeat of the 2012 atrocities which put Burma’s persecution of the Rohingya on display for the world to see. (Courtesy of chicagomonitor.com)
Myanmar buyers get second bite at Malaysian Paradiso
Myanmar investors are to get a second chance to invest in Malaysia’s luxury property market. Singapore-based KAE Alliance is selling another set of units at the Paradiso Nuova luxury condo in Medini city, said Ko Naung Ko Ko Latt, the company’s sales consultant.
The high-rise condo, on a 2.2-acre (0.88-hectare) plot, involves two 35-storey towers built by the Chinese Zhuoda property group and the Malaysia-based Medini Islanda company.
The development is located in Iskandar, Malaysia, on a purpose-built site near the border with Singapore.
“At K250 million, the units are cheaper than some Myanmar luxury condominiums. The Malaysian ringgit has fallen in value this year, so it’s a good time to invest in Malaysia’s property market,” said Ko Naung Ko Ko Latt. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
The high-rise condo, on a 2.2-acre (0.88-hectare) plot, involves two 35-storey towers built by the Chinese Zhuoda property group and the Malaysia-based Medini Islanda company.
The development is located in Iskandar, Malaysia, on a purpose-built site near the border with Singapore.
“At K250 million, the units are cheaper than some Myanmar luxury condominiums. The Malaysian ringgit has fallen in value this year, so it’s a good time to invest in Malaysia’s property market,” said Ko Naung Ko Ko Latt. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
BMW drives into first Myanmar Expo
The expo is being held at the Myanmar Event Park and will run until May 15, with 24 different vehicles on show across over 5000 square metres of floor space, according to organisers. In addition to BMW, BMW M and BMW I models, the expo will display the BMW i8 and the all-new BMW 7 series.
BMW i8 is the firm’s first plug-in hybrid sports car, built with carbon fiber, reinforced plastic and powered by a high-voltage battery. But potential buyers may be disappointed to learn BMW will not ship the car to Myanmar.
“This model will not be imported to Myanmar because we lack the machinery to recharge the battery and experts to fix it,” said U Chan Mya, managing director of Prestige Automobiles, the authorised importer of BMW vehicles in Myanmar. The BMW i8 on show will be returned to the production factory overseas after the expo, he added. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
BMW i8 is the firm’s first plug-in hybrid sports car, built with carbon fiber, reinforced plastic and powered by a high-voltage battery. But potential buyers may be disappointed to learn BMW will not ship the car to Myanmar.
“This model will not be imported to Myanmar because we lack the machinery to recharge the battery and experts to fix it,” said U Chan Mya, managing director of Prestige Automobiles, the authorised importer of BMW vehicles in Myanmar. The BMW i8 on show will be returned to the production factory overseas after the expo, he added. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
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