The government has an emphasised political and security affairs during the 21st-century Panglong Conference to make a peace process more effective.
The conference is scheduled for late July.
The Panglong Agreement was reached in Panglong, southern Shan State, between Aung San and the Shan, Kachin, and Chin peoples on February 12, 1947. The agreement accepted "full autonomy in internal administration for the frontier areas" and envisioned a federal union. It is celebrated in Myanmar as Union Day each February 12. (Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
May 30, 2016
The Trouble with DDR: Ending the World’s Longest Civil War
Among myriad fiercely debated issues, three words are obstructing Myanmar’s peace process negotiations: demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration.
Myanmar has been fighting a civil war for more than 68 years, and although many of the Ethnic Armed Organizations—a series of armed rebel factions—have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government, the powerful Kachin Independence Army continues to battle Myanmar’s state military, the Tatmadaw, in the jade-laden North. Moreover, even those groups that have agreed to a temporary truce are far from at peace with the Burmese state.
Speaking anonymously with the HPR, a member of the KIA described the situation: “The Tatmadaw call demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration a trade-off with peace. Even conceptually, this is wrong: peace cannot be traded. Neither can it be given to the other group as if one were superior in deciding such a thing.” (Courtesy of harvardpolitics.com)
Myanmar has been fighting a civil war for more than 68 years, and although many of the Ethnic Armed Organizations—a series of armed rebel factions—have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government, the powerful Kachin Independence Army continues to battle Myanmar’s state military, the Tatmadaw, in the jade-laden North. Moreover, even those groups that have agreed to a temporary truce are far from at peace with the Burmese state.
Speaking anonymously with the HPR, a member of the KIA described the situation: “The Tatmadaw call demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration a trade-off with peace. Even conceptually, this is wrong: peace cannot be traded. Neither can it be given to the other group as if one were superior in deciding such a thing.” (Courtesy of harvardpolitics.com)
Tourist visas to be simplified: govt
The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism says it will reform the process for entry of blacklisted foreigners and visa overstays in a shakeup to the tourist sector.
Ye Mon, permanent secretary at the ministry, told the Committee for Foreign Visitors: “On 4 May, the government formed the committee with officials from nine ministries to ensure the massive numbers of foreigners arriving have a smooth experience. The new government has introduced many relaxations to allow a massive boom in arrivals." (Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
Ye Mon, permanent secretary at the ministry, told the Committee for Foreign Visitors: “On 4 May, the government formed the committee with officials from nine ministries to ensure the massive numbers of foreigners arriving have a smooth experience. The new government has introduced many relaxations to allow a massive boom in arrivals." (Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
Ex-prisoners demand an end to discrimination
A report on the struggles of 1,459 ex-prisoners says that the government needs to provide support for people who sacrificed their liberty to establish democracy.
The report by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and Federation of Political Prisoners Society (FPPS) called "Life starts again after escape" said the chronic emotional suffering caused by torture prevented rehabilitation into society.
It said many convicts were released under Section 401, which barred educational and job opportunities. (Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
The report by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and Federation of Political Prisoners Society (FPPS) called "Life starts again after escape" said the chronic emotional suffering caused by torture prevented rehabilitation into society.
It said many convicts were released under Section 401, which barred educational and job opportunities. (Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
Myanmar Wants the World to Stop Using the Word Rohingya for Persecuted Ethnic Group
For human rights groups outside Myanmar, the Rohingya people are among the most persecuted ethnic groups in the world. But for Myanmar authorities and Buddhist nationalists, they are treated as illegal immigrants living in the western Rakhine State.
Myanmar’s foreign ministry is asking other governments to refrain from using the word Rohingya since it is deemed offensive by many people inside the country.
But last month, the United States embassy in Myanmar issued a statement expressing condolence to the families of Rohingya boat refugees who perished in an accident. (Courtesy of globalvoices.org)
Myanmar’s foreign ministry is asking other governments to refrain from using the word Rohingya since it is deemed offensive by many people inside the country.
But last month, the United States embassy in Myanmar issued a statement expressing condolence to the families of Rohingya boat refugees who perished in an accident. (Courtesy of globalvoices.org)
CANCELLED DEALS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES
On May 12, the Lower House approved without objection a proposal to cancel a controversial US$70 million project to build a private hospital on government-owned land in downtown Yangon.
A consortium headed by Singapore-based Parkway Pantai, a subsidiary of Malaysian healthcare provider, IHH Healthcare, had begun work on the 250-bed Parkway Yangon Hospital on a 4.3 acre site at the corner of Bogyoke Aung San and Pyay roads in late January.
The move against the hospital in the Pyithu Hluttaw was launched on May 4 by National League for Democracy MP Dr San Shwe Win (Yegyi, Ayeryarwady) who had called for the long-term lease granted to the consortium for the build-operate-transfer project to be withdrawn. (Courtesy of frontiermyanmar.net)
After Decades of Fighting, a Onetime No Man’s Land Transforms
The town of Thaton is located on the highway linking Burma’s commercial capital, Rangoon, with the Mon State capital city of Moulmein. When we arrive in a taxi, we are greeted by a muscular man with tattooed arms, who takes us into a liaison office of an ethnic Karen rebel group, the Karen National Union (KNU).
He politely introduces himself, saying he will give us a ride to a base of the KNU’s military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). The base is home to the KNLA’s Brigade 1. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)
He politely introduces himself, saying he will give us a ride to a base of the KNU’s military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). The base is home to the KNLA’s Brigade 1. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)
David I. Steinberg -- US moves on Vietnam and Myanmar highlight glaring discrepancies
On his just completed trip to Asia, President Barack Obama announced in Hanoi that he was ending the decades-old embargo on U.S. arms sales to Vietnam, one of the last regional policy relics of the Cold War.
Although he denied that the shift was part of any deliberate "containment" policy, as China has charged, Beijing certainly interpreted it as such. As rivalries over conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea continue to preoccupy the U.S., China and some Southeast Asian states including Vietnam, the lifting of the arms sales prohibition was seen by some as a further element of the Obama "pivot" -- which was designed, as U.S. policy has been for a century and a half, to prevent the rise of any hegemonic power in East Asia. (Courtesy of asia.nikkei.com)
Although he denied that the shift was part of any deliberate "containment" policy, as China has charged, Beijing certainly interpreted it as such. As rivalries over conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea continue to preoccupy the U.S., China and some Southeast Asian states including Vietnam, the lifting of the arms sales prohibition was seen by some as a further element of the Obama "pivot" -- which was designed, as U.S. policy has been for a century and a half, to prevent the rise of any hegemonic power in East Asia. (Courtesy of asia.nikkei.com)
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