By The Nation Editorial

September 8, 2015

Denying Muslim Rohingya the right to political representation will only pour more fuel on sectarian disputes

Recent developments in Myanmar threaten to turn the country's first free election into a setback for democracy and reconciliation rather than a milestone.

Ethno-religious conflicts that have raged for decades are still far from settled, and more fuel is being poured on the flames in the run-up to November's poll. Probably worst-affected are the Muslim Rohingya minority in the eastern border state of Rakhine, most of whom are still not recognised as Myanmar citizens.

Last week a Rohingya member of parliament, Shwe Maung, was barred from contesting November's election on the basis that his parents were not Myanmar citizens at the time of his birth. His appeal to the state election commission "was thrown out in less than 10 seconds", he says. The commissioners had refused even to look at documentary proof he provided of his parents' citizenship.

Myanmar's election commission revealed that it has rejected at least 88 candidates for failing to meet the citizenship requirement. Eighteen of those were Muslim, according to local media reports.

It is understandable that Myanmar, with its many diverse ethnic groups and often-porous borders, feels it necessary to scrutinise the nationality of political candidates. But, by its treatment of Shwe Maung, the election commission has shown that the scrutiny is biased and unjust.

And that prejudice extends to the way state and national authorities treat members of minorities. 

Muslim Rohingya have been excluded at every stage of modern Myanmar's development as a nation-state. Despite having lived in Rakhine in significant numbers for generations, they remain stateless and without the basic rights and services that citizenship confers.

Although their origins are still a matter of debate, their longstanding residence in eastern Myanmar is no longer in question and dates back beyond independence from British rule in 1948.

Yet both the state authorities and the national leadership in this predominantly Buddhist nation continue to bar Muslims from social and political participation. 

The picture is no brighter for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi, which is not fielding a single Muslim candidate in the upcoming election. Favourite to win the majority of seats, the NLD has paid little attention to communal conflict in the run-up to the poll. Its policy on the issue is almost the same as that of the military-backed USDP. Suu Kyi appears loath to express empathy, let alone sympathy, for the Muslim minorities targeted by Buddhist mobs during sectarian bouts of violence.

Meanwhile religious and nationalist extremists have played a crucial role in fanning anti-Muslim sentiment over the past few years. Figures such as the firebrand monk Wirathu have used racist rhetoric to marginalise Myanmar's Muslims, who account for just 5 per cent of the 51-million-strong population.

In a recent interview with AFP, Wirathu claimed "victory" for his campaign to pressure the government to push controversial laws through parliament that helped snatch away voting rights from hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya in strife-torn Rakhine.

The Myanmar authorities claim to be moving towards democracy and reconciliation, but no progress can be made unless they review the citizenship policy. The road to democracy and reconciliation can only be travelled with the participation of all. A nationalist ethos of Burmese Buddhism is a dangerous diversion that will end in more violence.

By The Nation

August 23, 2015

Passing of laws relating to religious conversion and polygamy shows Myanmar's parliament cares little about human rights

A country long associated with gross human rights violations, Myanmar, also known as Burma, is now trying to regulate private faith. 

But judging the atmosphere and conditions leading up to the passing of two laws in Nay Pyi Taw recently, morality was not high on the mind of Myanmar's parliamentarians. The bills regulate religious conversion and polygamy.

Buddhist nationalists with strong anti-Muslim sentiment were the people who came up with the idea behind these bills. They believe the country's Muslims are a threat to Myanmar. It wasn't clear how Muslims, one of the many minority groups in the country, constitute such a threat. 

But the main target appeared to be the Rohingya Muslim population, a persecuted minority who are not even recognised as citizens despite many having lived in the country for generations. 

"These discriminatory draft laws risk fanning the flames of anti-Muslim sentiment," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said after the bills were passed.

The fact that these bills were passed just ahead of a general election, which is expected to take place in November, should not be overlooked. This is not to say that election, an important component of democratisation, should not be permitted. 

But the passing of these bills as the politicians went on the campaign trail says something about the kind of politics and politicians that Myanmar possesses.

"Parliament has not only shown disregard for basic human rights norms, but turned up the heat on Burma's tense intercommunal relations and potentially put an already fragile transition at risk, with landmark elections right around the corner," Robertson said.

Even Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and champion of democracy, has been largely silent about the plight of the Rohingya. 

Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, who lived under house arrest for about 15 years, is expected to win the election. Fellow Nobel laureates, like the Dalai Lama, have urged her to take a stand on the Rohingya's plight. And if she hasn't speaks now, it is hard to imagine she will change her mind after the election, as it would be seen as a betrayal of her party supporters.

Although the country has opened up to outsiders and committed itself to the path of democratisation, as well as a peace process with armed ethnic rebel armies, the country's lawmakers, backed by radical monks, government leaders and an angry Buddhist population, continue to persecute the Rohingya via a series of discriminatory regulations and laws. The government even tried to limit the number of children that Rohingya can have.

And if fellow Asean members think this is not their problem, they need to think again.

The apartheid-like conditions that many Rohingya live in have forced tens of thousands to flee on overcrowded boats and headed for live elsewhere. Many have died on these crowded boats, while others became victims of slave labour in various industries, including Thai fishing vessels. 

Myanmar's appalling treatment of the Rohingya constitutes an early warning sign of genocide. The second-class status, government-built camps, - plans to curb movement, plus social mobility and basic well-being of the Rohingya are already in the pipeline. 

Moreover, international media and human rights groups have shown that many of the violent attacks against the Rohingya were not just carried out by angry mobs but also facilitated by government security officials. 

Given what the Rohingya and the Muslims in general face, it is pretty much left to the international community, particularly the country's main donors, to condemn these acts and pressure the country to change its course. 

Issuing statement after statement to criticise the military-dominate government can only do so much. Thailand is a perfect example of how so-called concerns expressed on paper do not change anything. 

They need to take the away the money. Perhaps that will get these nationalists to pay attention to things such as international norms and human decency.

By The Nation Editorial

June 27, 2015

Funding radio stations for the ultra-nationalist burmese monks goes against buddhist beliefs of peace

In another setting, president of the youth wing of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth would be holding an assault rifle and making all sorts of noises about how much he wants to liquidate unbelievers from the face of the Earth.

In the case of Dr Pornchai Pinyapong, he was not holding an assault rifle, but a pile of money to put toward the setting up of two radio stations for the nationalist Buddhist monks who have launched an anti-Muslim campaign in Myanmar.

Though he may not have been armed, the very thought of him and the Thai-Buddhist community financing Myanmar's nationalist monks for their propaganda purposes is scary. 

He defends this by saying the money is going towards enhancing communi?cation channels for monks, but if there is a place where words can actually kill or encourage people to murder members of another race, then Myanmar is it.

Pornchai was leading a delegation to donate US$35,800 (Bt1.2 million) to Ma Ba Tha, or the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion - a network of ultra-nationalist monks behind much of the anti-Muslim sentiment in Myanmar. The money was for the construction of two radio stations. 

"We only had pens before, but now we've got microphones too. So thank you for the donation," the Irrawaddy quoted Wirathu, the most well-known Ma Ba Tha member, as saying.

While the Myanmar military was in power, people like Wirathu were kept at bay by draconian laws. Now however, with newfound freedom, Wirathu and his like can direct their frustration and anger towards the country's Muslims, especially the Rohingya. 

What's more worrying is that Myanmar's military leaders are quietly supporting the anti-Muslim campaign, which many say is close to genocidal. Also, the country's political leaders are either keeping their mouths shut or openly backing these hideous events. Clearly they are forgetting that they too once lived in the same hell they are creating for the Burmese Muslims now. "We will begin a revolution via our own media to protect our religion," Wirathu declared.

Pornchai said monks in Thailand and Myanmar need to aggressively defend their religion against threats from the minority Muslim population.

"We need to have monks like Wirathu. About 80 per cent of monks only act according to tradition; sometimes we need fighter monks," Pornchai said.

He told the Irrawaddy that funding the radio stations was justified because the Muslim threat was real, citing the ongoing conflict in Thailand's southernmost provinces, where more than 6,000 people have been killed since January 2004. 

Like many Thais, who are unable to let go of their racist and ethnocentric attitude, Pornchai and his ilk will see the conflict in the deep South the way they want to see it - especially if it advances their agenda. 

If Pornchai and Ma Ba Tha leaders want to win converts or to strengthen faith in Buddhism, then that's fine. But they should not try to achieve this at the expense of the country's Muslim minority. Instead, they should practice the teachings of the Buddha - especially those related to peace. 

Even if they are not out to convert anybody, but to contain Muslim people's influence and role in society, perhaps they should ask themselves if Buddha would approve of their tactics.

Like many people, Myanmar's nationalist monks have said they despise extremists like the Islamic State, yet these very monks are taking out their frustrations on Muslim people living by their side and slowly becoming more like IS members themselves. 

These monks may not tote automatic rifles, because who needs them when they have microphones to rouse anti-Muslim sentiments and instruct others to do the dirty work?

Forty years ago, a prominent Thai monk declared that it was not a sin to kill Communists. The following day, many Thais went on a killing spree against pro-democracy students.

Sadly, some of us still haven't come to our senses and obviously see nothing wrong with courting ultra-nationalists like Wirathu and Ma Ba Tha monks.

By The Nation

May 31, 2015

The US on Friday said it has commitment to support an effort of regional governments to tackle the migration problem in the Indian Ocean. It would provide financial and material assistance, said US Assistant Secretary of State Ann Richard.

The US also prepares to support a UNHCR-led resettlement solution to help the regional governments to tackle the issue.

Richard, an Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration represented the US in a special meeting on on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean held in Bangkok today.

According to Richard, the US remained the largest donor to the international organizations for migration and the UNHCR with already US$109,000,000 worth of material assistance to help the Myanmar migrants, including the Rohingyas over the past two years.

The United States also prepares to support a UNHCR-led resettlement solution to help the regional governments to tackle the issue as well as to provide humanitarian assistance, including flying surveillance flights over the region to search for stranded Rohingyas in regional waters with a cooperation from the Malaysian government although an approval from the Thai government hasn’t been fully sought yet.

After the meeting, she will fly to Malaysia and Indonesia to seek a review of the situation with both governments.

By Phuket Gazette/The Nation

May 12, 2015

'Trafficking bag man' named

PHUKET: Police yesterday obtained an arrest warrant for a man they said was a key financier behind the entire Rohingya trafficking racket in the South.

The suspect, the 50th and latest wanted in connection with human labor trafficking in the region, has been identified as fugitive Pajjuban Angchotiphan, or Ko Tong. He is a brother of a high-ranking local politician based in Satun.

National Police Chief Somyot Poompangmoung, meanwhile, has floated the idea of opening a temporary center to shelter Rohingya and other migrants in the South to cope with the large number of them scattered throughout the area.

Gen Somyot said he would meet with his Malaysian counterpart in Phuket on Wednesday to discuss the Rohingya smuggling crisis. Malaysia is the prime destination of 'boat people' after they are smuggled to Thailand.

The Royal Thai Police commissioner said he was ready to keep transferring police of various units if they were suspected of having ties with human traffickers or who deemed incompetent – in their previous roles or carrying out the ongoing crackdown on trafficking.

Another 14 police have been transferred away from areas where trafficking has taken place. In all, 67 officers have been transferred.

Gen Somyot said anyone found not guilty after an internal investigation would return to their previous post.

He promised to look into an allegation about a senior immigration policeman based in Songkhla's Sadao district accused of using a service vehicle to transport Rohingya.

Another 10 police are set to be transferred to inactive positions while being investigated. Gen Somyot did not give further details.

Malaysia-based daily The Star reported yesterday that Thai and Malaysian police were expected to meet in Hat Yai on Friday to discuss the human trafficking issues plaguing both nations.

Abandoned, nearly starved

The move will see authorities from both sides going all out in their clampdown on the nefarious trade following the recent discovery by Thai police of trafficking camps on a mountain on the Thai-Malaysian border in Padang Besar in Songkhla, and scores of migrant corpses in shallow graves.

Provincial Police Region 9 Deputy Commissioner Puthichart Ekachant said the meeting with their Malaysian counterparts would likely be held in Hat Yai but he did not give further details.

Meanwhile, a group of 151 Rohingya will be charged with illegal entry after it was found they voluntarily entered Thailand unlawfully. 

A Rohingya man will be charged with human trafficking after police discovered he served as a guard who controlled Rohingya detainees at a camp.

A group of 26 Rohingya was left stranded in the jungles in Hat Yai district for 14 days, after they were abandoned by smugglers following the crackdown. 

The group, including six boys and three girls, are nearly starved. They ate dry tamarind seeds to survive. 

By The Nation

January 21, 2015

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would coordinate with related parties to move some Rohingya refugees in Thailand on a voluntary basis to a third country, initially set as the United States.

The information was revealed during the UNHCR Thailand officials' visit yesterday to a shelter in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Hua Sai district to provide 90 Rohingya people there with commodity items as well as toys and education tools.

In related news, Hua Sai Police yesterday summoned Rohingya representatives, as the damaged party in human trafficking, to identify five cars used to transport them.

The Rohingya people were rescued earlier this month while being transported in Nakhon Si Thammarat, but one woman died in the crowded conditions.

The provincial court earlier issued arrest warrants for three human-trafficker suspects identified as Sawat Phadungchat, Warachai Chadathong and Suriya Yodrak.

By Editorial

The Nation

November 9, 2014

Recent reports have shone a light on the dark side of a country supposedly reforming its ways

All of a sudden, Myanmar is being squeezed from all sides. It couldn't have happened at a worse - or better - time, depending on how one looks at it.

This past week, the country's security forces have been accused of profiting from human trafficking of Rohingya Muslims via boats off the west coast of Myanmar. 

Fortify Rights revealed, in a report released this week, that Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State, where most of the Rohingya reside, have since 2012 been collecting payments from these Muslims, who are desperate to get out and find better lives, usually in Malaysia. The United Nations says Rohingya are some of the most mistreated people in the world. 

In some cases, the Myanmar navy escorted boats run by criminal gangs out to international waters, the report claimed.

"Not only are the authorities making life so intolerable for Rohingya that they're forced to flee, but they're also profiting from the exodus," said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. "This is a regional crisis that's worsening, while Myanmar authorities are treating it like a perverse pay day."

The report said local Rohingya brokers mostly delivered payments to members of the Lon Thein riot police, Myanmar Police, the navy, and the army in amounts ranging from Ks500,000 (Bt16,200) to Ks600,000 per shipload of Rohingya asylum seekers in exchange for passage out to sea. 

In one case documented by Fortify Rights, the navy demanded Ks7 million from a criminal gang operating a ship filled with Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia. 

More than 100,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar's western shores by boat over the past two years amid anti-Muslim violence that many said was tactically supported by government security officials. 

The setback has become a source of embarrassment for many Western countries who often talk about the so-called reforms the country has taken but not enough about the atrocities committed against the people, as well as the jailing and harassment of local media for their criticism and vicious assaults on ethnic armies amid talks of peace and a national ceasefire.

Also this past week, a report by the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School said there is sufficient evidence to prosecute high-ranking officers for crimes against humanity that government troops committed against the Karen ethnic minority.

The report is based on a three-year study of villages near the Thai border, where the military conducted a large-scale widespread and systematic attacks against ethnic Karen fighters from 2005 to 2008. 

The report accuses the military of "firing mortars at villages; opening fire on fleeing villagers; destroying homes, crops, and food stores; laying land mines in civilian locations; forcing civilians to work and porter; and capturing and executing civilians" during the offensive against the Karen. Three Myanmar military commanders were named for the offensive. All are still active in the country's military. 

Myanmar President Thein Sein was dismissive of the report, saying some human rights violations might have taken place but suggested that it was normal in civil war. 

And then there was the death of an ethnic Karen journalist Aung Kyaw Naing, better known as Par Gyi, who died while in military detention. It was nothing less than a sad reflection on the rule of law in a country whose government is still largely run by the military top brass.

Domestically, pro-democracy icon and key opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has finally broke her silence and put a squeeze on the country's leaders. She said reforms have been slow and warned against optimism. 

The deepening crisis comes ahead of the next week's Asean Summit, the largest event in the country over the past six decades. While the summit is a suggestion that the country is making progress in its relationship with the international community, Myanmar's past deeds must not be swept under the carpet and forgotten. 

It's not too late for the country to face up to its past and come to terms with its dark past. But they can only do this if they face the truth, instead of brushing these concerns aside as if they were fiction.

By Wai Moe

The Nation

June 24, 2014

But education discrimination persists against this minority of 1.3 million people

MYANMAR'S most repeated motto under President Thein Sein is: "Building a modern developed nation through education". For thousands of Rohingya Muslim schoolkids, education is a way of escaping from lifetime tragedy in locked internally displaced person (IDP) camps and villages in Rakhine state. Such an environment, human rights groups say, is akin to the world's" biggest openair prisons".

The struggle to get away is incredible. Rohingya Muslim students need higher marks in the Grade 11 examination. And only the highly competitive medical study is allowed. It's a winner-take-all contest as the Rohingya Muslim students are not permitted to apply for other subjects at Sittwe University. They are banned from studying liberal arts or sciences such as English or zoology, as a result of the sectarian violence in June 2012.

Last year, nevertheless, an IDP Rohingya teenager, Maung Min Naing, from the camp here with outstanding grades was permitted to enrol in the medical school in Magway in central Myanmar.

"Students at medical schools are a good role model for Rohingya kids. It's the only channel opened for them to continue their studies since they cannot study at the university level in Rakhine," Hla Kyaw, a Rohingya teacher in the Thet Kay Pin IDP camp in Sittwe, said recently. The teacher has been privately tutoring a group of 11thgraders at a bamboo house to prepare them for the next academic year. He lamented that just 16 Rohingya students from camps in Sittwe took the Grade 11 exam last March.

"Two students out of 16 passed the exam and one with two distinctions," said Hla Kyaw, who graduated from Sittwe in chemistry in 1996. "I often think about a hundred Rohingya students joining the exam next March." More than 150,000 Rohingya Muslims from Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, were driven from their homes during the sectarian violence in June 2012. At least 200 were believed to have been killed and 13 Muslim quarters out of 14 were burned down.

The government of Myanmar set up temporary camps for hundreds of thousands of internally displace persons, most of them Muslims, around the north of Sittwe. Now entering the third year, there are still no signs that these residents can return to their homes in Sittwe town.

"We fled from the town and took refuge here. I thought it would be a few months. But now temporary means permanent," said Daw Sandar, who runs a pharmacy in the camp.

"Alongside a host of problems, the one we are most worried about for our kids is their education."

According to IDP camp committee members,about 200 Muslim students who werestudying at Sittwe University before the violence are barred from returning to the university. Just one high school was

allowed to operate in the 2014 academic year. In the following year of the violence, Muslim students in IDP camps were depending on a middle school to further their education.

"My daughter was in the 10thgrade when we fled from the violence. But in the camps, there was no high school education available," Daw Sandar said.

"So my daughter went repeatedly to a middle school for Grade 9." It is a tearful panorama that Sittwe

University is located just within walking distance from Muslim IDP camps north of Sittwe. It is out of reach for Muslim students.The university entrance is still heavily guarded by riot police in khaki uniform and soldiers in green. Muslim students can only watch with dismay as three-wheel motorcycle taxis carry Rakhine students to the university passing through Bumay, a Muslim village near Sittwe University.

"We are just sitting at teashops or corners of dusty roads, seeing my friends going to the university," said Mohammad Shari, or Maung San Oo, his Burmese name, who was studying psychology before June 2012.

"Of course, I am shattered."Last year Maung San Oo and his friends signed a letter to Sittwe University authorities, requesting to continue their studies. But there were only told that only correspondence courses might be provided. The Education Ministry merely says the situation there is not conducive for Muslim students.

The request letter was sent to U Shwe Kan Kyaw, a student affairs administrator at Sittwe University. When asked about the future of Muslim university students and why they are kept out, he wiped sweat from his face."Decisions for the Muslim students came from Nay Pyi Daw due to security, not from the university. So we can only allow them to reenrol if we get the green light from Nay Pyi Daw. 

"As teachers, all of us staff at the university want to see all students studying at the university equally."

This education discrimination among the Rohingya Muslim minority with an estimated 1.3 million population reflects a likely apartheid policy in western Myanmar alongside the restrictions on freedom of movement and access to healthcare. 

Since March 27, all international NGO healthcare workers at Rohingya camps were suspended after Rakhine mobs attacked their offices in Sittwe. Before the violence, Rakhine and Muslims were living side-by-side for generations. In many instances, it was an employee-employer relationship as most of Rohingya Muslims worked in Rakhine's shops, restaurants and houses as labourers. While Rohingya Muslims drove trishaws in Sittwe, Rakhine were their passengers. The situation took a turn overnight in the middle of 2012 following photos of a raped and murdered Rakhine girl that appeared on social media such as Facebook and the streets of Rakhine. Three Muslim were accused. The incident ignited sectarian violence between Rakhine Buddhist and Muslims across Rakhine in the following days, and hundreds were killed and millions of dollars worth of properties were destroyed.

The government in Nay Pyi Daw now separates and bars the two communities from using barbed wire and security forces on grounds of preventing hatred and further violence.

Many people in the country including those in Rakhine feel that such tactics are fruitless in the long run since they don't address the root causes of the crisis.

"Muslim refugees without hope for education can be more dangerous," said U Khaing Kaung Zan, director of the Wan Latt development foundation in Sittwe.

"People without education can become extremists at any time."

As Rohingya are banned from higher education,an increasing alternative education resource for Muslim teenagers has become "Madrasa" religious schools set up in the IDP camps and villages.

A major Madrasa is the Dar Paing Madrasa near Sittwe. Ahmad Hussein, the headMaulana, said the student bodies at religious schools have dramatically increased in the past two years from 50 to 350 members.

"Students cannot go to high school and the university. So we are getting more students,"said Ahmad Hussein, who wears a Pakistani long white dress and sports a beard. Asked whether there are extremists among young Rohingyas since they are living in a heart-breaking environment, Hussein said his preference is escape rather than resistance.

"As long as I'm alive, I'll be patient in this situation. If I could not live here, I would be ready to run away elsewhere," he said.

For some teenage Rohingya Muslim students in the private tuition class organised by teacher U Hla Kyaw, escaping from this tragedy takes on another meaning. They believe hard study to get good marks at the university entrance exam is a ticket out.

"I'm trying to get as high marks as I can in order to go to the medical school in Magway," said Maung Soe Than Htut, a 15-year-old Rohingya student referring to one of four medical universities in Myanmar.

"I know if I cannot get good enough grades to attend medical school, I will be still be locked in here," he said.

By Nyi Nyi Kyaw

The Nation

May 17, 2014

Calls for boycott of Qatari telecom giant Ooredoo displays economic xenophobia that should worry risk analysts

Myanmar's rising Buddhist nationalism is taking an economic turn. Qatar's Ooredoo, which is scheduled to launch its mobile-phone service in Myanmar this July, has been subject to a growing wave of attacks in Myanmar's social media in recent months. Hit by angry claims that it wanted to Islamise its all-female Myanmar sales staff by sending them for training in the Middle East, Ooredoo was forced to issue an official denial.

The campaign against Ooredoo, led by an extensive online network of Buddhist monks known as Ma-Ba-Tha, could deal the telecom firm a serious blow when it launches operations in two months' time. The attack on the Qatari company will be carefully watched by international investors for its implications on foreign investment in Myanmar.

Reforms of the Asean member's antiquated and poorly functioning telecom sector followed political opening and economic liberalisation which began in 2011. Tenders were invited from international and regional investors including Singapore-based SingTel. In April 2013, Ooredoo was chosen as the principal provider and Norwegian Telenor the secondary provider. Both are scheduled to launch their operations in July.

Myanmar's 60-million-strong population has been waiting for decades for reliable telecommunications services. Mobile phones were a luxury until a few years ago. A SIM card alone cost US$5,000 in the early 2000s. That price has now dropped dramatically, but SIM cards bought at the state-operated Myanmar Post and Telecommunications or military-owned Myanmar Economic Corporation still cost about $100 apiece.

No surprise then that only about 9 per cent of the population owns a cellphone, which leaves tremendous untapped potential for the international telecom companies, who have promised 3G networks and cheap SIM cards available to all.

At the same time, rising Buddhist nationalism has led to the emergence of the Ma-Ba-Tha (Organisation for Protection of Race and Religion), an institutionalised nationwide movement headed by senior monks. Among them are leaders of the anti-Muslim 969 movement, including the controversial monk Wirathu. Ma-Ba-Tha's extensive network includes chapters at state and township levels across the country. 

The unmatched social and moral authority enjoyed by Buddhist monks explains the powerful hold of the fiercely-agitating Ma-Ba-Tha and 969 movements.

Most recently, Ma-Ba-Tha's chapters in Northern Shan State and Upper Myanmar released online statements asserting that their members and followers would not answer any calls made from phone numbers serviced by "Muslim Ooredoo". They alleged that Ooredoo was financially backed by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and harboured secret aims to influence Buddhist Myanmar.

Against the backdrop of sectarian conflict in the western state of Rakhine in June and October 2012 and other parts of Myanmar in 2013, a new militant Buddhist movement has emerged in the country. Myanmar media rejected the Western interpretation of the clashes as "communal violence" between Rakhine Buddhists and their Muslim neighbours, calling the Muslims illegal immigrants. The growing intensity and spread of attacks to other parts of Myanmar, plus the precarious situation of tens of thousands of Muslims who have fled their homes for camps in Rakhine, has brought calls from the international community for protection of the Muslim minority. These have been interpreted by Myanmar's nationalist media, politicians and Sangha as pro-Muslim and anti-Buddhist.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), with 57 member states, has raised its voice more than most over the treatment of Myanmar's Muslims. The OIC's efforts to open a Myanmar humanitarian aid office for those caught up in the conflict - both Muslims and Buddhists - met with a backlash of nationwide anti-OIC protests led by Buddhist monks. 

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has conceded that anti-Muslim feeling is running high. 

"There's a perception that Muslim power, global Muslim power, is very great. And certainly that is the perception in many parts of the world, and in our country, too," she told the BBC in October 2013.

The xenophobic atmosphere shows no sign of abating, and seems set worsen in the run-up to the 2015 election. The Thein Sein administration is becoming increasingly populist in a desperate bid to win more support and stave off what looks an almost-certain victory at the polls for Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy. Recently, President Thein Sein formed a commission to draft two bills to restrict religious conversion and population growth.

He has also suggested that the Supreme Court work on two other bills relating to interfaith marriage and monogamy. Known as the Race Protection Bills, these four pieces of legislation were demanded by Ma-Ba-Tha through a campaign that collected millions of signatures.

International telecom giants like Ooredoo conducted market surveys and reports on Myanmar before they put in their tenders. But they may have overlooked the power and influence of Buddhist nationalism. Amid the rise of religious and nationalist fervour, future market surveys and risk analyses must consider its impact on customers' spending decisions and patterns. They must also not forget that the majority of Myanmar's Buddhists still live in remote rural areas. Market surveys must be complemented by well-informed political and financial risk analyses, including what rising Buddhist nationalism may mean for foreign investments.

Nyi Nyi Kyaw, an alumnus of RSIS, is working on a PhD in politics at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia.

By Nirmal Ghosh

The Nation

April 8, 2014

Myanmar's ongoing census - the first since 1983 - could lead to dramatic revisions in the way the diverse and multi-ethnic country and its economy are analysed, and resources allocated.

The 12-day, US$75-million (Bt2.4 billion) exercise involving 120,000 or so census workers spread out across the country and going door-to-door with a 41-item questionnaire began nine days ago.

Policymakers have thus far been operating in what Myanmar scholar David Steinberg calls a "miasmal mist".

The last comprehensive census was in 1931. The one in 1983 did not cover many areas where conflict raged between government troops and armed ethnic forces.

"Myanmar's published population figures range from 48 million to 65 million. No one knows. In the past, statistics of all sorts were manipulated to suit the leadership's desires," Professor Steinberg wrote last month.

For instance, Myanmar government officials are hard-pressed to assess the impact of, say, a dam or a road project because they do not know how many people live in the area.

Of the current census, Khaing Khaing Soe, director of Myanmar's department of population and a member of the Central Census Commission said: "It is very important for the government because they will use this census when they lay down their policy. When they undertake projects, they need to know the number of people in the project area."

The questionnaire will yield basic data on things like birth and death rates, maternal mortality, household income, employment, sanitation and fuel sources.

"The most basic data is how many people there are in Myanmar; we really have no idea," said Professor Sean Turnell, a specialist on Myanmar's economy at Australia's Macquarie University.

"We have been going on for 40 years about the lack of data on Myanmar," he said. The numbers that emerge "might make nonsense of the per capita income figures we have".

Professor Nicholas Farrelly, of Australian National University, who is currently doing research in Myanmar, said: "Across the gamut of Myanmar society, the information available to decision-makers is incomplete and inconsistent."

The results of the census may even help decision-makers learn more precisely how many Myanmar people have left the country, he said.

"Such information could help a future government plan for the reintegration of Myanmar's diaspora", he added.

However, the census continues to be dogged by controversy. The United Nations Population Fund, which is helping Myanmar conduct the census, says it is "deeply concerned" that the government would leave out those in western Rakhine state who identify themselves as "Rohingya".

This was a "departure from international census standards, human rights principles and agreed procedures", the agency said.

The Rohingya are a heavily persecuted Muslim minority concentrated in Rakhine state - and widely regarded by local Buddhist Rakhines as illegal Bengali immigrants from Bangladesh out to grab land and Islamise the state.

The view is widely shared by Myanmar's Buddhist Burman majority, and the term "Rohingya" is not recognised by the Myanmar government.

Media reports say census workers, who are accompanied by armed police, leave if a respondent says he or she is Rohingya.

In Myanmar's eastern Kachin state, census workers are having difficulty negotiating access to areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Organisation, which could leave out several hundred thousand people.

Also remaining to be negotiated is access to some 130,000 Myanmar people of various ethnic groups living in refugee camps in Thailand. And some areas under the control of Karen armed groups are also not being covered.

"It is critical for this exercise to be depoliticised because it is about dividing up state resources," Prof Turnell said. "These are areas that are already critically under-served. The big danger is the groups that need to be counted will continue to be under-represented."

Yet any new and accurate data will be better than the assumptions most policy decisions are currently based on.

The process may not be elegant, said Prof Farrelly, but "even a partial set of data about these matters will be much better than what is available today".

The results of the census will be made public in August, with details out early next year.

By Eliane Coates

The Nation

March 8, 2014

Nay Pyi Taw's road to reform remains long and winding, but its neighbours can help power the country towards internal peace

Myanmar's chairmanship of Asean, which began in January, will become an open display of its progress on national economic and political reforms. Nay Pyi Taw's hosting of the regional bloc has the potential to improve the country's international reputation, national economy and domestic reconciliation efforts.

After emerging from international-pariah status, Myanmar sees taking the Asean helm as an opportunity to demonstrate its reformist credentials and as a platform to re-engage the global community. The nation's chance comes after almost 50 years locked in the grip of a fierce and repressive military regime that paid little attention to international criticism.

However, under the leadership of a quasi-civilian government, it has stepped onto a path towards substantial reforms, including a loosening of the political system, press freedom and economic liberalisation. This has not only convinced Nay Pyi Taw's Asean neighbours, but has also managed to woo major powers including the United States into easing sanctions.

As Asean Chair, Myanmar now has the opportunity to discard its isolationist foreign policy and become a responsible stakeholder of the international community, helping steer Southeast Asia through contentious regional issues, including the South China Sea disputes. Nay Pyi Taw's challenge now is to translate this chairmanship into genuine leadership.

Apart from raising its international profile, leading Asean could unlock greater economic opportunities for Myanmar, spurring investor confidence and further integration with surrounding economies.

Asean's goal is to create a single Southeast Asian market and regional trading bloc by 2015. However, Myanmar remains the bloc's poorest member with a GDP of only US$53 billion (Bt1.75 trillion), contributing only 0.2 per cent of total production in mainland Southeast Asia. Myanmar will struggle to meet the strict policy reform requirements for the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in the specified time frame. 

Nevertheless, increased investor confidence after taking the regional helm could help narrow the crucial gaps in critical infrastructure and employment, as well as provide the momentum to achieve market regulation and greater human capacity in Myanmar.

Domestic economic reforms have already helped to increase the flow of foreign capital into Myanmar. In a recent report by the private sector, Myanmar was listed as one of five countries that had made the greatest improvements over the last five years to their business environment. The floating of its currency, the kyat, as well as the launch of a new foreign investment law to regulate foreign ownership limits and land leasing rules, have not only made Myanmar more attractive to foreign investors but has also enabled further exploitation of its natural resource riches, such a arable land, forestry and natural gas. One report suggests the country's energy and mining sector is projected to expand to $22 billion by 2030 from $8 billion in 2010.

However, Myanmar's capacity to fully exploit such opportunities is questionable at best. Endemic corruption, lack of transparency, limited legal recourse, slow and costly approval procedures to rebuild infrastructure, and remaining Western economic sanctions continue to stifle the country's economic growth. The World Bank recently ranked Myanmar 182 out of 189 countries for ease of doing business.

There has also been a brain drain of skilled workers to neighbouring countries which offer higher wages. While the economic payoffs in heading Asean may be great, more reforms must be made to create an inviting business environment to set the stage for Myanmar's full integration with the AEC.

Rohingya crisis

National reconciliation presents the biggest hurdle to the country's reform process. Many outsiders remain sceptical of Myanmar's development amid ongoing internal inter-ethnic conflict. Myanmar expects Asean to recognise its national reconciliation efforts to solve deep-rooted conflicts between the government and ethnic armies with ceasefire deals and comprehensive peace settlements. 

While its neighbours are keen to see it succeed in its path to democratisation, Asean's support for the country will not be unconditional. The prestige and legitimacy associated with helming Southeast Asia's regional bloc must not obscure the fact that Myanmar still has a long way to go, particularly in protecting human rights and pursuing national reconciliation. 

Myanmar's inter-ethnic violence continues to strain its Asean neighbours with the flow of Rohingya-Muslim refugees to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The Rohingya also pose a spillover potential security threat to some Aseanmembers. In 2013 two Rohingya leaders linked to the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) were reported to have enlisted assistance in the form of weapons and tactical knowledge from Islamist groups in Indonesia. 

At present, peace agreements with ethnic armies have not been consolidated. Instead of granting greater autonomy,Nay Pyi Taw is offering economic incentives through development projects to rebel leaders in exchange for signing ceasefire agreements. While this process has facilitated re-engagement between the two sides, it is no more than a short-term fix; it cannot replace sincere political dialogue to address the underlying political, economic and social causes of the ongoing armed conflict.

Human rights setbacks

Slow progress in national reconciliation efforts is compounded by increasing concern over human rights inside Myanmar. Reports of rights violations - particularly against the Rohingya- are rife, despite Nay Pyi Taw having set up a national human rights commission in 2011. The visit last month by the UN special rapporteur on Human Rights only confirmed Myanmar's inability to conduct objective investigations on widespread violations and to bring the perpetrators to justice, including those belonging to local security forces. 

Last week, Nay Pyi Taw further angered the international community by suspending the operations of medical NGO Doctors Without Borders in Rakhine state, claiming it was biased towards the Rohingya.

While Myanmar has announced the Rohingya issue will not be on the Asean agenda, the government says it will accept advice on the crisis from individual Asean members. Asean could thus play an instrumental role in pushing Myanmar to achieve national reconciliation and encourage it to implement the 2012 Asean Human Rights Declaration. The bloc could also call upon its Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR). The AIPR's Intergovernmental Commission of Human Rights could investigate the various demands of ethnic groups and give recommendations to Nay Pyi Taw. 

As the largest democracy in Asean, Indonesia could also cooperate to strengthen Myanmar's civil society and engage in more transparent inter-ethnic dialogues. With the potential regional spillover of Myanmar's internal strife, Nay Pyi Taw should not interpret Asean's move as intervening in its internal affairs. Rather, it would be in Nay Pyi Taw's best interests to embrace Asean's assistance with open arms.

Eliane Coates is a senior analyst at the Centre of Excellence for National Security at the Singapore's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.

By The Nation Editorial

February 16, 2014

Questions about contentious issues such as citizenship could intensify racial conflict, spur more intercommunal strife

One has to wonder what Myanmar is really up to with its plan to carry out a nationwide census knowing that such a move risks inflaming communal violence and religious tension at a critical time.

The country is going through a peace process with armed ethnic groups and democratic transition and carrying out a census with questions that are contentious could put these initiatives in jeopardy.

Fears that the census may be a possible flash point were raised by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG), but concern has been voiced repeatedly by the international community about violence directed at Muslims, as well as the shaky peace initiatives with armed ethnic groups. 

Unfortunately, the leadership in Nay Pyi Taw decided to turn a deaf ear to these concerns and stated that the census planned for late next month to early April will go ahead, as scheduled. 

Yes, a census is a good thing for national planning and development, if managed with sensitivity. But the leaders in Myanmar need to ponder the possible negative consequences of asking questions at this point in time about ethnicity, citizenship, race relations, communal violence and stateless people, like the Rohingya, who the Myanmar authorities insist on calling "Bengali" to try to minimise any link to areas where they live in Rakhine state and areas along the country's western border.

ICG said the census, which is being assisted by the United Nations Population Fund, was "ill-advised" and "fraught with danger", because of the possibility that it could fuel ethnic tensions. 

"A postponement by the government, United Nations and donors can demonstrate that they are sensitive to the serious risks presented by the census as currently conceived, and that they are willing to respond to the deep reservations expressed by many important groups in the country," the ICG said.

The most disturbing point about the upcoming census is that it is based on the much criticised classification list of 135 ethnic groups that was drawn up in the early 1980s.

Some of these groups, like the Chin and its numerous sub-groups, for example, are pretty much based on the locality of their respective villages but have no anthropological basis in ethno-linguistic terms. 

Myanmar should proceed only in areas with little political risk or ethnic tension, or limit the census to key demographic questions, such as age, sex and marital status. 

Instead of doing something that may exacerbate intercommunal relations, which are already tense, perhaps Myanmar's leaders should think about doing more in terms of promoting racial harmony. They need to stop turning a blind eye to the anti-Muslim campaign that has begun to move dangerously toward being ethnic cleansing. 

Another sad reality is that rights defenders who flourished during the oppressive years when the Myanmar military was gunning people down and chasing opponents out of the cities and into the jungle, seem to be less vocal about violence against Muslims and the Rohingya.

Whatever happened to that passion and plea for the sake of humanity and the greater good of mankind? The world likes to believe that it meant something and that something was universal.

By The Nation Editorial

January 28, 2014

The latest incident of anti-Muslim violence shows the hollowness of authorities' commitment to reform and reconciliation

Myanmar authorities have responded to credible reports of a massacre of Rohingya villagers with denials and indignation. Far from helping to resolve the chronic ethno-religious conflict raging in the northwest state of Rakhine, this response will only further undermine the country's ongoing reform process.

Last Friday Myanmar's Foreign Ministry announced that reports by foreign media and international agencies of the massacre of more than 40 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine were based on unverified information and made unjustified accusations against authorities.

One of these reports came from the United Nations. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said last Thursday she had received credible information that eight Rohingya Muslim men were attacked and killed in Du Char Yar Tan village by Rakhine locals on January 9.

The UN official said this incident was followed by a deadly clash on January 13 in the same village, which came after the reported kidnapping and killing of a police sergeant by Rohingya residents, according to witnesses and rights groups.

Rather than conducting an investigation, Myanmar authorities issued a statement the next day rejecting the UN report and offering their own version of events. It claimed the murders took place as part of a revenge attack by Buddhist villagers after a Rohingya mob attacked police on routine patrol on the night of January 13, leaving one sergeant missing. A subsequent search unearthed a bloodstained uniform, belt and boots, according to the statement.

The authorities did not mention the January 9 killings and instead shifted all blame for the violence onto the militant Muslim Rohingya Solidarity Organisation.

Last Friday UN Under-secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos called for the Myanmar government to "immediately launch an impartial investigation".

The United States and rights organisations also expressed concerns and called for action from Myanmar authorities to directly respond to the incident.

Sectarian conflict in Rakhine is not news to the international community. The problem has deep roots that have been spreading for some time. It made international headlines in June 2012 when deadly violence between local Rakhine Buddhists and their Muslim Rohingya neighbours - whom Myanmar authorities refer to as Bengalis - claimed more than 100 lives. Ensuing clashes have driven 110,000 people out of their homes and into refugee camps. 

The communal conflict has also spread to other parts of the country, shattering decades of peace among Buddhist and Muslim communities. Groups of Buddhist-nationalist extremists have emerged to launch a series of anti-Muslim campaigns under the nose of the government. The Myanmar elite and government officials remain unsympathetic to the plight of Muslims - especially Muslim Rohingya - whom they regard as alien members of this predominantly Buddhist society.

The government under President Thein Sein, who since 2011 has championed reforms in the formerly military-ruled country, has made efforts to foster peace and reconciliation, but has failed to address the root causes of divisions.

To begin doing so, Myanmar authorities must forego their state of denial every time international media report on the Muslim Rohingya. Instead, Nay Pyi Taw needs to look deep inside its own governance and social structures and find solutions that will allow citizens of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to live peacefully together.

By The Nation

December 29, 2013

The PM pledged action after Reuters reported Thai officials' involvement in human-trafficking; instead, the Navy is taking reporters to court

Earlier this month Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Thailand would cooperate with the United Nations and the United States on any investigation into Thai immigration officials' involvement in human trafficking. 

The pledge came after Reuters reported that immigration officers were taking Rohingya refugees from Thai detention camps and selling them to human traffickers waiting out at sea. 

The UN and US gave weight to the Reuters report when they asked Yingluck to look into it, gaining a positive response from the premier.

The news seems to offer respite from Thai authorities' longstanding practice of turning a blind eye to the Rohingya question, sometimes even pushing them back out to sea to face uncertainty and even death. 

Eight years ago Thai marine officials were caught on tape towing Rohingya boat people back out to sea. A subsequent investigation found that the action had sent the refugees to their deaths. 

But it didn't take long to realise that Yingluck's pledge over this issue didn't mean much. Preoccupied with the political turmoil in Bangkok and lacking leadership, her government has decided to put the case on the backburner. Never mind that human lives are at stake. 

The Rohingya are stateless Muslims who live in Rakhine on the western border of Myanmar. Up until 1982 they were considered citizens of that country. 

Clashes between Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists erupted last year, forcing nearly 150,000, mostly Rohingya, to flee their homes. Since then, anti-Muslim campaigns led by extremist Buddhist monks have ratcheted tensions higher, forcing tens of thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar by boat. Many have ended up on the southwest coast of Thailand, better known as a holiday paradise for foreign visitors. 

But the sand, sea and sun isn't so much fun when refugees fleeing persecution are arriving by the boatload. The local Phuketwan news website on December 26 reported the harrowing ordeal of 139 Rohingya found hiding in a rubber plantation just north of Phuket after 22 days at sea. They told of how they had been handed over by the Myanmar Navy to smugglers, who had killed 12 among their number and savagely beaten others.

The arrival of Rohingya refugees is a source of embarrassment for Thailand, whose authorities are renowned for window dressing rather then getting to the roots of the problem, any problem. 

In line with that mindset, the Thai Navy last week filed a lawsuit against Phuketwan journalists who followed up on the Reuters report. 

"The Thai navy's lawsuit is a reckless attempt to curtail journalists' reporting on alleged human trafficking by its officers," said Brad Adam, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Unless the government withdraws the case, its impact will be felt far beyond those reporting on abuses against the Rohingya - and could have a choking effect on all investigative reporting in Thailand."

If convicted, Phuketwan's Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian each face up to five years in prison and a fine of Bt100,000. The Reuters journalists who broke the story could also face similar charges.

If the Navy thinks this lawsuit will restore its tarnished image, it needs to think again. If it really wants to improve its reputation, the Navy needs to launch a thorough investigation into the allegations. It's not too late. But the longer the authorities wait, the dumber they look.

By The Nation Editorial

November 3, 2013

Fear of safety and communal strife is forcing the minority community to flee the country

The UN refugee agency this weekend issued a statement warning about the possible exodus of boat people from Myanmar because of the outbreak of violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine state. 

Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) pointed out that more than 1,500 people had left Rakhine state by boat last week and there were reports that some of them had drowned off the coast. 

Fear of personal safety and instability in Rakhine state are some of the reasons why a growing number of the people are leaving, according to the UNHCR. 

The ongoing tension between the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Rakhine state this past year has resulted in numerous casualties. More than 140,000 are internally displaced. 

The violence has been largely described as communal, but experts warned that it was on the verge of becoming a genocide if left unchecked. 

The violence in Rakhine state has also fostered anti-Muslim sentiment in this Buddhist-majority country that has been on course for political reform over the past couple of years. 

A leading monk even came out and called for the boycott of Muslim businesses in Myanmar. 

But while the open anti-Muslim campaign is something relatively new, the ill treatment of the Rohingya by the state is not. And as the UN just pointed out, things are not getting better. 

During the first eight months of this year, the UN estimated that more than 24,000 people, mostly Rohingya, from the Myanmar-Bangladesh border had left the 

area in search of a better life in places like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Rohingya travel by boat because they have no citizenship, making travel over land that much more difficult. 

There were hopes that Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, would provide some moral support. 

But apparently, party politics in Burma has taken its toll on the once-icon of democracy and human rights and a person who many believed possessed a great deal of moral authority. 

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on the situation in human rights in Myanmar, recently warned that the anti-Muslim feeling could seriously damage the country's economic and political reforms. 

President Thein Sein has paid lip service to the need to coexist peacefully but more has to be done to translate this into reality. Groups like Human Rights Watch have suggested that local authorities are turning a blind eye to the killings of Muslims. 

The Myanmar government has been working hard to push through a peace deal with the armed ethnic armies but unfortunately, the underlying issue of discrimination against Muslims and particularly Rohingya receives only lip service. 

With the armed minorities, Myanmar speaks of democracy, human rights and dignity and explores the kind of concessions they are willing to make to obtain a peace agreement with them. 

One can only hope that the Burmese leaders would extend the same principles to the Rohingya and other Muslims in the country.