By Yoomna Rahim

The Chicago Monitor

August 20, 2015

Although many international efforts to combat human rights violations have proved successful in certain circumstances, some of the greatest acts against a collective group of individuals have gone unchecked. This is the story of the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma, the official name changed in 1988). The Rohingya people have been fleeing Myanmar for almost 30 years because of the intense persecution they face at home, a place that Rohingyas have inhabited as early as 1799. The alleged newly-democratic government denies all Rohingya citizenship, claiming that they are actually illegal Bengali immigrants who have entered their nation in the past half-decade. This dynamic between one of the largest Muslim minorities of Myanmar and the government has bred for an “apartheid-like” state, in which basic democratic liberties such as healthcare and employment have been denied to the Rohingya. By enclosing “the most oppressed people on Earth” into the Rakhine state of Myanmar with almost no resources for the basic sustenance of life, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled their native country in hopes for asylum in nations such as Thailand and Malaysia, who largely disregard their plight.

Myanmar’s political and social dysfunction is not newfound, however, as their autonomy only traces back five decades. Being tossed around by Britain and Japan for almost a hundred years, Myanmar’s independence story is not an anomaly amidst that of the many British colonies. Myanmar has been plagued with the perils of socioeconomic ruin and political disarray quickly after gaining self-governance in 1948. These national problems were exacerbated by a merciless junta, which followed a small democratic period in Burma between 1948 and 1962. The junta was born out of General Ne Win’s militant constitution that bred economic isolationist policies and ethnic stratification, all in attempts to maintain the “Burmese Way to Socialism.” This was an ideology that became the socialist model for the newly created nation. Ironically, the documents designing these monetary policies, which were released years later, describe Burma’s socialist economy in order to prevent the exploitation of man, “irrespective of race or religion, and be emancipated from all social evils and set free from anxieties over food, clothing and shelter”. Retrospectively, the regime’s hopeful sentiments towards a communal nation included all but the Rohingya. The junta preyed on ethnic and religious minorities, specifically suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The regime began targeting the Rohingya in the 1980s, passing the 1982 Citizenship Law. This law declared that citizens are only those who belong to one of the ten national races of Burma as well those able to trace back their lineage in Burma prior to 1823 (the beginning of British control of the Arakan state) . Despite the Rohingya inhabiting the Burmese territory much earlier than what the legislation declares lawful, the junta stripped them of their citizenship because they did not qualify as one of the national races. This action ultimately made the Rohingya stateless criminals in their own homeland. The law essentially legitimized any violent behavior against the Rohingya, as well as altered institutional standards in a way that would erase any employment or education opportunities. Gradually, rising numbers of Rohingya began fleeing the country in 1991, totaling near 260,000 by March of 1992.

Almost thirty years after this first mass exodus of Rohingya, newly-dubbed Myanmar exited its virtually 60-year international isolation, opening both economic and social outlets to the rest of the world. Domestically, the first general election since independence took place in 2010, seen to many as a fraudulent attempt towards democracy as the winner was a previous prime minister and general during the junta. Although Myanmar is no longer the pariah state it once was, it still shares the identical negative values regarding human rights and civil liberties as it did under the regime created 50 years prior.

Despite the conflict being coined as “ethnic cleansing”, the mass attacks made against the Rohingya within Myanmar rely equally upon faith as they do ethnicity. During the alleged democratic government’s rise to power in 2010, the 969 Buddhist Movement gained momentum across the nation. The militant movement’s most foreboding goal was to eliminate the Islamic faith from all of Myanmar. With Ashin Warathu as the face of 969, Rohingya Muslims are persecuted daily because of their faith—facing mass killings, destruction of their homes and mosques, as well as systematic relocation to the treacherous Rakhine state overflowing with refugee camp style homes. Although proponents of 969 claim that Muslims have infiltrated their communities—raping and murdering Buddhists—leading to the claimed systematic decay of Buddhist life collectively, there is little to no evidence of these supposed events. In reality, Rohingya Muslims have been displaced in mass numbers, losing any form of identity and state protection under the heavily Buddhist government.

The most daunting component of surviving as a Rohingya is not limited simply within the borders of Myanmar, however, International attention about the plight has only recently grown because regional nations, such as Thailand and Malaysia, simply do not know how to respond to the massive numbers of Rohingya seeking refuge on their land. As thousands of Rohingya enter the Andaman Sea hoping to escape the treacherous conditions in the Rakhine state back home, Myanmar’s regional neighbors refuse to accept the “boat people.” Not only are the ships essentially stuck at sea with neither Myanmar or its neighboring countries willing to accept them, but the conditions in which Rohingya are lured onto the boats are equally as unnerving. Rohingya are essentially promised a safe trip across the sea by traffickers who then kidnap the men, women, and children, and smuggle them for both sex and slave trafficking purposes…left to starve eventually. Human Rights Watch reports that mass graves of Rohingya Muslims have been found in both Malaysia and Thailand in what have been called abandoned trafficking camps. This raises the question if there is any country that will accept and be livable for the Rohingya.

Despite the Rohingya being one of the largest displaced communities in human history, the world’s most influential leaders have failed to express any outcry to the Burmese government. Myanmar’s very own Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi who is seen for many Burmese as the symbol of democratic reform in the country has remained silent on the Rohingya conflict. Her silence is an example of how political calculation has trumped humanitarian efforts even amongst the most respected individuals. The Dalai Lama has even urged Aung San to utilize her vastly influential role to advocate for the Rohingya people.

Although international law is something which may never be effectively implemented, and questions regarding accountability amongst nations may never be answered, efforts must never cease to be made. The Rohingya people have become aliens not only in their own country, but in our world as a whole, in a way that is formulated to eliminate them almost indefinitely.

By AFP

August 20, 2015

YANGON - A US-based rights group has urged Myanmar to prevent the exclusion of hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya from voting in crucial November elections after the minority were stripped of their identity cards earlier this year.

The Carter Center also warned that growing anti-Islamic hate speech in the Buddhist-majority nation could see religious tensions flare during the upcoming campaign period.

Myanmar authorities began collecting temporary identification documents from minority groups, mainly the displaced Rohingya in western Rakhine state, in April -- a move which takes away their voting rights.

In a report on the looming elections released late Wednesday the centre said it hoped President Thein Sein's decision to revoke the documents "does not result in large-scale disenfranchisement of previously eligible voters".

The advocacy group, which has been invited to observe the Myanmar polls along with the European Union, said Myanmar had substantially improved the political environment in preparation for the November 8 polls, but added "significant challenges remain" .

A host of issues have troubled observers as the country prepares to hold the first nationwide elections to feature Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition in a quarter of a century.

Questions over transparency, media freedom and the dearth of trust in authorities have all caused concern in a nation run by the military for decades until 2011.

Carter warned the campaign could see growing anti-Muslim hate speech, which has been linked to religious bloodshed in a country where hardline monks have become increasingly influential.

It added that members of Suu Kyi's opposition had raised concerns that efforts to portray the party as pro-Muslim -- which have included social media campaigns with crudely altered pictures showing the Nobel laureate wearing a headscarf -- could be politically damaging.

"As the campaign period approaches, it is possible that nationalist groups and political parties will seek to build support by appealing to voters on religious grounds, heightening tensions in an already tense political atmosphere," the report said.

Thein Sein's move to revoke identity documents in March and the subsequent removal of voting rights runs counter to international best practice and appears "discriminatory", said the Carter Centre.

Impoverished Rakhine remains deeply scarred by religious divisions after violence swept across the state in 2012, leaving more than 200 dead and some 140,000 confined to miserable displacement camps, mainly the Rohingya.

Many of those now unable to vote were eligible to cast ballots in controversial 2010 elections, which saw Thein Sein's ruling party court votes in Rohingya areas of Rakhine.

Those polls were marred by widespread accusations of cheating and the absence of Suu Kyi and her party.

The subsequent quasi-civilian government has implemented dramatic political and economic changes that have seen most Western sanctions suspended.

But campaigners have voiced increasing fears that reforms are stalling.

By Morning Star

August 20, 2015

The opposition should win a fair election in November but KENNY COYLE sees little commitment to an all-inclusive society

This November Myanmar (formerly Burma) will go to the polls in elections which will see the participation of the main opposition party the National League for Democracy (NLD). This is despite the current military-dominated government’s ruling that NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains ineligible due to her children holding British citizenship.

Suu Kyi has developed an ambivalent role in Myanmar politics since her release from house arrest in 2010. Earlier this year, she made a highly public visit to China — a move unthinkable without government approval — and she has been a guest of honour at official events to commemorate the centenary of her father, independence hero Aung San.

However, the Nobel Peace Prize winner has been criticised for her continuing silence on the crisis of Myanmar’s Rohingya people, thousands of whom have been killed in clashes or lost at sea and hundreds of thousands forced into exile during the past decade.

Behind this humanitarian catastrophe lurk the familiar ghosts of colonialism as well as domestic agendas.

Precise estimates of the Rohingya population inside the country are impossible as the Myanmar government refuses to recognise the Rohingya ethnicity, instead referring to them as “Bengalis.”

A national census was conducted in 2014 but respondents were only able to choose their ethnicity from one of 135 officially recognised groups categorised in 1982.

Most of Myanmar’s ethnic minorities inhabit areas along the country’s mountainous frontiers.

Karen and Shan groups comprise about 10 per cent each, while Akha, Chin, Chinese, Danu, Indian, Kachin, Karenni, Kayan, Kokang, Lahu, Mon, Naga, Palaung, Pao, Rakhine, Rohingya, Tavoyan, and Wa peoples each constitute 5 per cent or less of the population.

Myanmar presidential spokesman Ye Htut said of the census procedure: “If we ask a family about their ethnicity and they say Rohingya, we will not accept it. If they say Bengali or any other ethnicity it’s fine, but if they say Rohingya we will not register it.”

Rohingyas, whose language is a branch of Bengali, are concentrated in the Myanmar state of Arakan (Rakhine) which borders Bangladesh.

Government data from 2010 put Arakan’s population at about 3.34 million people, of which the Muslim population accounted for 29 per cent. While not all of Arakan’s Muslims are Rohingyas, the figure chimes with most independent estimates that there are more than a million Rohingyas within Myanmar and perhaps another 250,000 outside, principally in neighbouring Bangladesh and Thailand.

Interviewed by Mishal Husein of the BBC in 2013, Suu Kyi framed her response to questions on the Rohingyas within a familiar Islamophobic agenda.

“I think we’ll accept that there is a perception that Muslim power, global Muslim power, is very great, and certainly that’s a perception in many parts of the world and in our country, too…

“This is what the world needs to understand, that the fear isn’t just on the side of the Muslims but on the side of the Buddhists as well… There’s fear on both sides. And this is what is leading to all these troubles. And we would like the world to understand that the reaction of the Buddhists is also based on fear.”

However, this approach not only undermines the very idea of a Myanmar nation based on civic equality but effectively cleaves a country of 135 officially recognised national and ethnic groups into two neat and very unequal components.

Buddhists account for nearly 90 per cent of the country’s inhabitants but that hasn’t stopped the country’s military from conducting ethnically based pogroms against minority nationalities.

For several decades, successive military regimes have discriminated against non-Bamar minorities regardless of their religion.

These minorities are generally Buddhist but also comprise large numbers of Christians, especially among the Chin, Karen and Kachin communities. Islam was not a factor in the army’s onslaughts against these peoples.

One key historical factor fueling the crisis stems from Britain’s colonial legacy in the region.

Burma’s value to British imperialism was in its forests, especially teak and oil. Burmah Oil dominated the latter industry for more than eight decades until nationalisation in 1962. Energy resources continue to draw international attention although today gas production far outstrips oil.

Arakan was an independent state until 1785 when it fell to the Burmese. Britain subsequently annexed Arakan in 1824 in the first of three Anglo-Burmese wars that pushed the frontiers of the empire eastward from India. The third war in 1885 ended Burmese statehood and its remaining territories became part of British India. Burma only became a separately governed colony in 1937.

Estimates vary about the size of the pre-colonial Rohingya population in Arakan and that of subsequent migrations of Bengalis during the period prior to 1937 when Burma and Bengal were both regions of British India. Subseqent migrations of Bengalis during the partition of India in 1948 and the Pakistan-Bangladesh war of 1971 have been used by the Burmese government to discredit the idea that the Rohingya are indigenous to Burma.

Britain’s colonial rule is generally overlooked as a factor in exacerbating ethnic tensions. This is remarkable given the track record of British imperialism. As in almost every other case, British domination over subject peoples was based on the maxim of divide and rule to undermine the majority Burmese or Bamar people.

Until 1937, majority ethnic Bamar (Burmans) were prevented from serving in the British colonial forces in substantial numbers. Instead recruitment was centred on three of the country’s largest minority groups, Kachin, Karen and Chins.

When conflict between the British empire and Japan broke out in 1941, this ethnic division was deepened. During WWII against Japan, Rohingyas also served in British forces in some numbers.

Aung San, who had been a founder member of the Communist Party of Burma, broke with the party and established the Burmese Independence Army. Its membership was drawn largely from the Bamar majority group.

Towards the end of the WWII, the Aung San nationalists reunited in August 1944 with the communists in the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League. In 1947, while negotiating independence from Britain, a conference was held at Panglong to bring the major ethnic groups together to create the foundations of a multi-ethnic and democratic Burma.

However, within six months Aung San had been assassinated by right-wing rivals and the communists were driven underground or into rural bases where they fought an armed struggle against the Burmese state for four decades.

National minorities such as the Karen, Shan and Wa likewise established their own forces to resist Bamar domination.

Great hopes have therefore rested on Aung San Suu Kyi’s capacity for national reconciliation and renewal after decades of internal conflict.

There is little doubt that in fair and free elections, Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy would win. However, her failure to stand up and speak for all Myanmar citizens regardless of language or faith is a worrying sign that, on this issue at least, little will change after November’s results.

By Htet Khaung Linn

Thomson Reuters Foundation

August 19, 2015

NYAUNGDON, Myanmar - Authorities are racing to clean contaminated water sources in flood-hit parts of Myanmar, while distributing bottled water, chlorine powder and purification tablets as they struggle with diarrhea outbreaks.

Torrential rains since late June triggered floods and landslides across central and western Myanmar, killing more than 100 people and affecting 1.3 million, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In four hard-hit states and regions - Rakhine, Sagaing, Magway and Ayeyarwady - tens of thousands of people lack access to clean water for bathing, washing and drinking, officials and aid organizations told Myanmar Now.

Ponds and wells have been contaminated by floodwaters, including seawater in coastal Rakhine state, as well as faeces from farm animals that have sought safety on embankments around ponds, officials said.

"We need to pump floodwater out of these ponds. Only then can we use them to store rainwater in the remaining monsoon period," said Tin Maung Swe, secretary of the Rakhine government.

"If we cannot clean the ponds in time, the locals will face drinking water scarcity in the hot season," he said, noting that about 1,000 ponds in 300 villages in his state were contaminated.

Local media reported that 30 villagers were treated for acute diarrhea in Magway region's Pwintbyu township earlier this month, and 40 were treated for diarrhea last week in a village in Sagaing region, Dr Soe Lwin Nyein, of the Ministry of Health said.

Dozens of villages around Pwintbyu suffered severe flooding, forcing residents to seek shelter in temporary camps.

"In Pwintbyu, we found that there is not enough drinking water in the camps," said Lynette Lim, communications manager for Save the Children, adding that poor hygiene caused by a lack of latrines was further heightening health risks.

Authorities were handing out chlorine powder packets and purification tablets, but the water in many ponds and wells in Rakhine was brackish and could not be treated, local government spokesman Hla Thein said.

Authorities and aid agencies have begun to empty and clean ponds and wells across the country.

In Rakhine, the International Committee of the Red Cross is focusing on installing rainwater collection systems.

In Nyaungdon township in the Ayeyarwady delta region, an official at a displacement camp said 200 villages in the area faced an acute drinking water shortage.

Hundreds of people at the camp, living on bamboo platforms raised above the floodwaters, were relying on donations of bottled water.

By Hnin Yadana Zaw & Antoni Slodkowski

Reuters

August 19, 2015

Myanmar's Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi said on Tuesday her opposition would ally with powerful ousted ruling party leader Shwe Mann, as the country's political forces re-align in the biggest shake-up since the end of military rule.

President Thein Sein purged rival Shwe Mann and his allies from the Ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in dramatic fashion last week, just months before a landmark election.

"It is now clear who is the enemy and who is the ally," Suu Kyi told reporters at the country's parliament, when asked if Shwe Mann's sacking had cost her an ally. "The National League for Democracy will work with the ally."

She did not detail how they would work together. As chairman of the USDP, Shwe Mann sought to build ties with Suu Kyi, which sparked suspicion among some members of the ruling party and contributed to his sacking. The USDP is made up of many former military officers.

Shwe Mann had antagonized the military by backing Suu Kyi's campaign to reform the constitution to limit the sway of the generals over Myanmar's politics.

She is banned from the presidency under a constitution drafted by the military before it handed over power in 2011. The armed forces hold a veto over any charter changes.

On Tuesday, Shwe Mann denied he had divided the country in a speech to the joint chambers of parliament.

"I am not destroying party unity and stability," he said.

Security forces surrounded the USDP compound late on Wednesday, locking down the building while the president's allies met party leaders to remove Shwe Mann's faction from the leadership committee.

"As for the happenings of the middle of the night, this is not what you expect from a working democracy," Suu Kyi said.

In response, Information Minister Ye Htut told reporters at a news conference that police had a duty to respond to a request for protection made during the evening by the USDP.

Suu Kyi's said the upheaval in the USDP was likely to benefit her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which would win more votes in the election.

Her party was already expected to win the most seats in the November ballot, seen as a crucial test of the country's democratic reforms.

Concerns over the durability of those reforms were heightened last week by a media crackdown in the wake of Shwe Mann's sacking. The scrapping of censorship in 2012 was one of boldest reforms of Thein Sein's government.

Ye Htut said on Tuesday that a radio station, Cherry FM, with links to Shwe Mann had been taken off the air until after the election after failing to convince the government it would be impartial.

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

Shwe Mann still holds the position of speaker of the house and opened parliament for the last session before the vote on Tuesday.

He was under pressure to table a bill that establishes the rules for constituents to recall members of parliament and could lead to his own impeachment. He faces a petition from his own constituents.

The bill was not tabled, but a multi-party committee would submit the draft to parliament no later than Thursday, USDP MP Win Oo told Reuters.

Suu Kyi said the bill was "ridiculous", as MPs could be recalled by just 1 percent of constituents.

Shwe Mann on Tuesday also denied that he had misused party funds, which he said he was accused of in a letter last week. He did not give further details.

Shwe Mann's allies vowed to defend him in parliament.

"Most of the USDP lawmakers in the lower house are going to support Shwe Mann," said Aung Lynn Hlaing, a USDP member, as he entered parliament.

"Shwe Mann always represents us when we are ignored by the president. I think it's not right the way they did what they did in our party."

Tension between the rival camps rose after the USDP last week omitted from its list the majority of a group of around 150 officers who retired from military service to run as USDP candidates.

The USDP also sidelined two of the president's closest allies by leaving them off the candidate list.

They were Soe Thein, a powerful minister of the president's office, and Aung Min, who was picked by Thein Sein to lead the government's efforts to forge a peace agreement with the country's armed ethnic groups.

Shwe Mann's fall from grace bears echoes of the political purges under the junta, leading some to doubt he has a future in public life.

"We can be sure they will uproot him by hook or by crook," said Thein Nyunt, a member of the parliament from the New National Democracy Party (NNDP).

"So my best advice for him is 'resign from the speaker's position if you want to prevent further perils for you and your family'."

By Nirmal Ghosh

The Straits Times 

August 19, 2015

Thura Shwe Mann, Myanmar's Speaker of Parliament, has few options after being ousted from the leadership of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) last week - and there is speculation that he may be impeached if he defies the military-backed establishment that moved against him.

President Thein Sein, seen as a top contender for a second term after the ouster of Mr Shwe Mann and several members of his faction from the top echelons of the USDP, arrived at the party's headquarters in Naypyitaw yesterday for a rare visit and confab with the new executive committee. Until late yesterday afternoon, it was not known what was discussed.

It came as Mr Shwe Mann met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for an hour yesterday. The two are known to have developed a close working relationship - one of the factors that pundits say led to the internal party coup against him last Wednesday night. It was also not known what was discussed at their meeting.

The embattled former top general could be impeached based on a petition launched late last month and signed by over 1,700 members of his own constituency, for his "disrespect" towards the role of the military in Parliament. 

The petition came after he allowed a vote in Parliament in June that could have rolled back some of the military's powers. The army used its bloc - 25 per cent of reserved seats - to kill the proposal, which could have made it easier to amend the Constitution; the process would have eventually been to the benefit of Ms Suu Kyi.

The procedure for impeachment is unclear, however.

What is clearer, say analysts, is that Mr Shwe Mann - "Thura" is a title meaning "great hero" - is in a vulnerable position, and choosing to fight could make things worse for him.

For one thing, Mr Thein Sein's loyalists would not have moved so decisively against him without a sign-off from the top-most echelons of the establishment.

"We have a plan to protect and cover him," a USDP Member of Parliament and supporter of

Mr Shwe Mann told Reuters news agency yesterday. "We are watching their moves."

But in a telephone interview, Mr Kyaw San Wai, who is a senior analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, said: "He has no cards up his sleeve.

"For now ,Thura Shwe Mann has had his wings clipped, so it is not that dramatic. But with an institution like the military against you, it is probably smarter to go quietly."

Mr Shwe Mann has little support from within the army.

"They are going to find a way to remove Shwe Mann not just from the party leadership but also as Speaker; I would be surprised if they left the job half finished," a Yangon-based diplomat predicted.

Mr Shwe Mann is vulnerable on other fronts.

Insiders in the President's camp have long compared him in private with Mr Thein Sein, who has a squeaky clean image and whose own family still lives in his native village in the Irrawaddy delta region, with little material change in their circumstances since he became president.

In contrast, Mr Shwe Mann's two sons are wealthy - and on the United States blacklist.

He also had made no secret of his desire to be president.

"The military institutionally views personal ambition with suspicion,'' said Mr Kyaw San Wai. "It is best to toe the line. And Mr Shwe Mann had certainly not been toeing the line.''

By Prothom Alo

August 19, 2015

Bangladesh would be free from the refugee problem if its neighbour Myanmar addresses the Rohingya crisis at home, the United Nations thinks.

Appreciating the role of Bangladesh in helping the refugees, the UN resident coordinator in Dhaka Robert D Watkins said on Tuesday the Bangladeshis “can't stop them from coming because the actual problem lies in Myanmar.”

“Right now they (Rohingyas) are very much discriminated, persecuted... Refugee problem can stop when the problem in Myanmar stops,” he noted, maintaining that the UN has to work with Myanmar authorities to initiate a domestic process to solve the problem. 

The top UN official, who is also the UNDP’s resident representative in Bangladesh, made the observations during an exchange of views with senior journalists of Bengali daily Prothom Alo at its office on Tuesday. Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman moderated the discussion.

Robert Watkins assumed his Bangladesh assignment earlier this year after serving in countries such as Afghanistan, Lebanon, Georgia and Djibouti.

Asked how Bangladesh could solve the Rohingya issue, he said Bangladesh is at the receiving end of the crisis. “I don't think the solution is in the hands of Bangladesh... (Rather) the solution is in Myanmar,” he added.

Dwelling on the state of implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts peace treaty signed 19 years ago, the UN resident coordinator observed that the accord has not been fully implemented.

He pointed out that the hill region is one of the most impoverished parts of the country. He mentioned that the UNDP is expanding development activities there.

On a debate on whether to call the hill people “indigenous” or “tribal”, he said he consulted the legal affairs section of the International Labour Organisation in this regard. “In fact, they told me that there is no difference in meaning legally,” he pointed out. “What’s in name? Whatever you call them the rights of the people are the same.”

When asked about the latest development on the UN secretary-general’s initiative to defuse the country’s political crisis, the UN official said he closely followed the events in Bangladesh and he played his mediation role earlier this year.

“He reached out to all the political parties and actors of the country to see what extent the UN could help to mediate to end violence,” he said.

He said the UN had hoped that the city corporation elections in Dhaka and Chittagong would be a breakthrough because the BNP seemed to come back to the political process again and the UN chief encouraged the party to participate in the elections.

He regretted that the BNP withdrew from the ballot on the election day. “They now have pretty much disappeared from the political scene... rethinking, re-strategising as they said,” he said. “That has brought back 'de facto end' of his (the UN chief’s) involvement.”

Watkins insisted that there has to be certain desires on the part of both the parties to come to a discussion again, so by the time the next election comes there would be some agreement on rules to ensure the best possible kind of elections.

The UNDP official added that the UN secretary general is yet to “see a signal from the government that they would wish him to take on a more active role to play.”

He also underlined the need for improving governance for the sake of development and further progress that need to be made by Bangladesh in line with the UN-set sustainable development goals (SDGs) for 15-year period till 2030 following the millennium development goals (MDGs). The SDGs would be endorsed in the UN General Assembly in New York next month.

By Datuk Syed Ahmed Idid

New Straits Times Online

August 19, 2015

FACED with mistreatment and atrocities, the Rohingyas have to think of an alternative. Much as Myanmar is their home, they have to flee or else they perish. Yet, in their flight, they meet human leeches who bleed them by charging extortionate fees and excessive monetary charges. On top of this, officials get their bribes, which increased the fees and charges. When they or their families could not pay, they were starved in boats or at land camps, and finally many were senselessly killed.

In late 2013, Vivian Tan, spokeswoman for the United Nations, knew “of at least 485 people drowned or lost at sea. The real death toll could be higher”. By middle of this year, the numbers fleeing Myanmar (and “economic immigrants from Bangladesh”) who died, either drowned or by starvation, exceeded 5,000 and counting. 

A Myanmar official denied the Rohingyas were pushed out: “They decided to go on holidays and to see foreign lands.” 

Brunei Times reported: “Malaysia is the sole hope after Bangladesh, Thailand and Singapore closed their doors to these refugees.” These unfortunate souls have been labelled as “the people whom the world wants to forget”.

I have travelled on the Andaman Sea but have not sailed further north to the Bay of Bengal. Cities and towns in Myanmar where the Rohingyas reside, including Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, and the Ramree and Cheduba islands face the Bay of Bengal. The fleeing victims of the Rakhine mob terror could not have flown to Mergui or Dawei airports or motored down to these areas, which are in the southernmost Myanmar.

So, in their rickety boats, either voluntarily or as trafficking victims, the Rohingyas sailed south from Rakhine state, skirting the sea shores of Myanmar until somewhere between Ko Phra Tong and Ko Tarutao in Thailand. It is some distance from Ko Phra Tong to cross the Isthmus of Kra to Surat Thani. Many might have landed on or near Ko Tarutao and gone on to Hatyai, then into the jungles to the Thai border near Perlis/Wang Kelian. Surprisingly there is Gua (Cave) Wang Burma nearby.

I was in Kangar, Perlis, in May and drove to nearby Wang Kelian. Many have read of the human trafficking of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. I shall not describe the discovery of graves and battered bodies on both the Thai and Malaysian sides of the border around Wang Kelian. 

I had served in the Kedah/Perlis/ Thai borders in the 1960s as the head of the revenue and preventive branches in the Kedah Utara and Perlis Royal Customs. There were no human traffickers then. But there were many young children carrying rice from Thailand into Padang Besar. From Malaysia, especially around Changloon, we stopped Malaysian rubber seeds from being smuggled into Thailand. Though I was shot at once during an ambush for tobacco contraband just outside Padang Besar, activities then were more on “candu” or opium, and later heroin.

My Customs chief, based in Penang, expressed unhappiness that I had not arrested these child-smugglers. On his visit to Danok, we took him on the red earth road (within Thailand, or “No Man’s Land” then) intending to cross into Sadao. On our way, we saw two children carrying rice bags on their heads. The chief was excited and yelled an order to “tangkap mereka” (arrest them). I restrained him. I reminded him we were in Thai territory and we had no powers. And, within a few seconds, following the children, two Thai soldiers armed with M-16 walked by!

About eight years ago, Malaysia constructed the road between Changloon and Padang Besar. On the Thai side, there is now a four-lane road. There is also a road from Padang Besar to Wang Kelian.

What the chief failed to understand was that our modus operandi was to let these young smugglers deposit the rice in stores on Malaysian territory. Then, we raided the stores and arrested the adult storekeepers, and seized the contraband. 

“The jungle is neutral” (to quote Colonel Freddie Spencer Chapman), dense and dangerous. I was lucky to learn about the jungles on the Thai-Malaya (then) border from my arwah father who, like Chapman, was in Force 136. My father was the game warden for Perlis/Kedah/Penang. Chapman described the ordeal of living in the jungles with animals, leeches and (as described by those who had experienced it) “ghosts”.

So, whatever the Malaysian authorities want to do with reinforcements of police, soldiers and other agencies, I still think the jungles are not friendly to us. There was a Malay Robin Hood who was famous for rice and candu smuggling. I can claim I managed to contain him. He supplied food, rice and other necessities to the villagers around Wang Kelian, Padang Besar and Changloon to keep them from cooperating with the authorities and bought their silence, quite successfully. The same tactic may continue to this day.

The writer is a former judge of the High Courts of Borneo and Malaya

Foreign Policy

August 19, 2015

By The Guardian Editorial

August 17, 2015

By deposing Thura Shwe Mann as chair of the government party, the generals again dash democratic hopes in Burma

Burma’s so-called transition to democracy has been a fraught process from the beginning. It was clear when it started in 2010 that most of the generals who run the country merely wanted to re-badge the regime, adding some democratic symbols and appurtenances, but without giving up much of the substance of power. The aim was to achieve a degree of respectability abroad and acceptability at home, in a country that had changed greatly since the military first took over and which could not be ruled in the often arbitrary way that once prevailed.

Some military men probably understood that there had to be more to it than a few generals changing into civilian suits, and above all, that Aung San Suu Kyi, who has more democratic legitimacy by far than any other figure in Burma, could not be indefinitely denied a serious political role.

Among these was Thura Shwe Mann, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, who was suddenly deposed as chairman of the government party last week and who may face other sanctions on Tuesday, including expulsion from the legislature. This may seem like remote shenanigans in a distant country, but the alliance between Thura Shwe Mann and Aung San Suu Kyi had emerged in recent months as the only way in which Burma could conceivably move away from its quasi-authoritarian system towards something like genuine democracy. It could have provided the bridge the country needed. Put simply, Aung San Suu Kyi had the votes, and Thura Shwe Mann had, or appeared to have, the connections. The regime had persisted in refusing to change the law that prevents her from standing for the presidency after the coming general elections in November.

But it could not alter the fact that she and her National League for Democracy were popular and likely to win more seats than any other party. So, in the indirect elections for the presidency that follow general elections, she could be in a position to direct her MPs to vote for a particular candidate. If other parties followed suit, or if the regime decided that concession was unavoidable, Thura Shwe Mann could have become president. This would hardly have been an ideal solution, as his past is murky, his reform credentials are not unspotted, and some felt he was not to be trusted. But it would still have featured an elected president supported by the most important party in the legislature. He and Aung San Suu Kyi could then have moved the country on to the path of true reform, with her cultivating her popular base and him coaxing the military into going along.

Unfortunately, Thura Shwe Mann’s trustworthiness was also a consideration for the generals, including President Thein Sein, who wants to serve another term, and perhaps General Than Shwe, at the head of the regime for 20 years, retired but still influential behind the scenes. Thein Sein and Thura Shwe Mann were already rivals, and in any case the decision seems to have been made that his alliance with Aung San Suu Kyi represented an outflanking manoeuvre that could not be permitted. The result is a disaster for Burma because it closes off the one remaining avenue, after Aung San Suu Kyi had been blocked from the presidency, through which a settlement could be reached that bore some relationship to the state of popular feeling in the country, gave her a substantial role, and would have allowed a gradual reduction of military influence.

Two weeks after severe flooding affected an estimated one million people across Myanmar, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is expanding its support to the government’s response in both Rakhine State and Sagaing Region.

This will both help meet the immediate needs of those directly affected by flooding, and mitigate the elevated risk facing communities from water- and mosquito-borne infectious diseases, including malaria, diarrhoea, and dengue fever.

Dengue fever is endemic to Rakhine state and Sagaing region, where thousands of people are currently living in makeshift camps in schools, monasteries and churches following the flooding. According to the Ministry of Health, between January and July a dengue outbreak already infected 16,000 people nationwide.

“This is peak dengue season and we need to remain vigilant after the floods to prevent further spread,” says Liesbeth Aelbrecht, MSF Myanmar Country Director. “We will focus on helping treat the disease as well as training Ministry of Health staff and volunteers on how to fumigate potential breeding sites and to spread messages to communities about dengue prevention.”

In Kalay, the most impacted township in Sagaing, over 80 percent of rural areas are affected by flooding and around 22,000 people displaced. In the coming days, MSF will donate 13,000 mosquito nets to help prevent any potential outbreak there, as well as 600 rapid diagnostic tests able to detect dengue in twenty minutes.

In Rakhine State, MSF has complemented its immediate flood response with surveillance for infectious diseases, particularly dengue, and is ready to respond to an outbreak if required. In Maungdaw Township MSF teams are actively seeking and treating patients with diarrhoea, and training local health workers to do the same. In Buithidaung Township, which remains very difficult to access, MSF is also ready to assist in case of outbreak.

MSF will also begin supporting the Ministry of Health’s general medical activities in Kalay, where many displaced people are suffering from respiratory infections, skin problems, and influenza. MSF will also donate materials to build additional latrines.

In addition, a mobile medical team will be sent to Tamu Township, north of Kalay, which is also badly affected by flooding and largely inaccessible. 

MSF has worked in Myanmar since 1992 and currently has medical projects in Rakhine, Shan and Kachin states, the Thanintharyi region, and in Yangon. MSF offers services including basic healthcare, reproductive care, emergency referrals, and malaria treatment. Since 2004, MSF has treated more than 1.2 million people across Rakhine State for malaria. MSF is also one of the largest providers of HIV/AIDS care in Myanmar, currently treating over 35,000 HIV patients nationwide, as well as close to 1,500 HIV patients for co-infection with TB and drug-resistant TB. MSF is also experienced in disaster response, and provided assistance to 460,000 people following Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

By Reuters

August 17, 2015

Myanmar's ousted ruling party leader Shwe Mann has met opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in the country's capital, a member of parliament for the ruling party said.

President Thein Sein sacked Shwe Mann from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in dramatic fashion last week, in part because of his relationship with rival party leaders.

Shwe Mann, who remains speaker of parliament and a USDP member, had built ties with Ms Suu Kyi.

The two met for an hour, the parliamentarian said on condition of anonymity. He said he did not know what they discussed.

On Monday, the president made a rare appearance at the ruling party headquarters as his newly installed leadership team prepared for a showdown in parliament with Shwe Mann.

Members of the USDP, made up mostly of former military officers, made an appeal for unity at the meeting.

The country's first free elections in 25 years are due in three months.

The party, which took power in 2011 to end almost half a century of military rule, is expected to fare poorly against Ms Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy in the vote.

"Today, as you see, president Thein Sein also came to meet the party members," the new chairman of the party, Htay Oo, said in a speech.

"The USDP needs to stay strong. The USDP has to be a powerful political party. Not only do we need to build a strong and united force to achieve our goals, but we also need to work together with allied political forces to win the 2015 election."

Two rivals face off

Myanmar has undergone major changes since the 2011 shift to a quasi-civilian system, but is now seeing tensions between rival forces vying for power.

The rivalry between Thein Sein and Shwe Mann — two of the major establishment figures — came to a head in a late-night drama last Wednesday, when trucks with security personnel sealed off the headquarters of the party.

Thein Sein sacked Shwe Mann before the president's allies, under the presence of the security personnel, hosted late-night meetings at the USDP complex.

He purged Shwe Mann's faction from the party's executive committee.

Next week, Shwe Mann will face the emboldened presidential faction of his own party as the chamber reopens for the last session before the November 8 vote.

The president said in his remarks it was only the second time in recent years that he had attended a USDP leadership meeting, USDP lawmaker Hla Swe said in a post on his Facebook page.

Shwe Mann has said little since his sacking on what he plans to do.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, he said he would do nothing to endanger the country or the people, and that neither should anybody else.

By Shwe Yee Saw Myint

Myanmar Times

August 17, 2015

A picture showing the Magwe government taking credit for boxes marked as UN flood donations has stirred outrage on Facebook. Commenters accused the government of claiming the donations to bolster the appearance of their flood response and to drum up support ahead of the November election.

Posted to the Myanmar Journalists Network Facebook page on August 10, the widely circulated photo shows a stack of cardboard boxes marked UNICEF, but with a sign saying the lot was donated by the Magwe Region government.

“UNICEF, do not allow the government to misuse your products,” wrote one angered poster.

U Kyaw Win Soe, spokesperson for the Magwe Department for Social Welfare and Resettlement, said flood aid is accepted from many organisations but the proper donor is always acknowledged in line with regulations. He denied the Facebook photo shows improper attribution in the Magwe office, adding that it was probably faked.

The government has previously been accused of misusing, hoarding and profiteering from international organisations’ donations. In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, there were reports of relief kits being embezzled, and some of the donated aid made its way to markets for resale.

UNICEF confirmed they have been receiving an onslaught of complaints following the social media picture of aid in Magwe and said they will investigate the claim of misused aid.

“Many people are asking our organisation about this case. We will explain later, but at the moment we cannot give any comment,” Ko Hlaing Min Oo, a UNICEF advocacy officer, told The Myanmar Times.

UNICEF said the pictured boxes were most likely hygiene refill kits meant to support children and families affected by severe monsoon flooding that has lashed through nearly every state and region in the country.

“Five thousand hygiene refill kits were provided to the Magwe government for delivery to those children and families in need,” Alison Rhodes, chief advocacy and policy officer for UNICEF, said by email. More than 14,400 such kits have been sent to Sagaing, Rakhine and Magwe regions, she added.

U Thet Oo, an administrator in Pwint Phyu township, Magwe Region, said UNICEF had provided a “sample” of supplies on August 10 that have yet to be distributed.

“We didn’t have any UN donations or cooperation in my township before UNICEF came to us. But they didn’t bring many supplies. They came here to collect data assessment for the region,” he said.

The government has been accused by flood victims of a delayed and underwhelming response to the recent floods. Minister of Information U Ye Htut admitted the government’s response has been “weak” and called on international agencies to help the response.

Both the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party and the main opposition National League for Democracy have been pictured providing aid while also encouraging votes for the upcoming general election.

By Ruth Morris

PRI

August 17, 2015

Fardan Rezeky shows pictures on his phone of friends he’s made in the Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugee camp in Bayeun, on July 19, 2015. Rezeky was there in May when the refugees arrived. He felt a call to help them, as many other countries helped Aceh after the 2004 tsunami. Credit: Carey Wagner/IRP

Sahi Dullah is a Rohingya refugee living in a camp in Bayeun, East Aceh, Indonesia. He was a shopkeeper back in Myanmar before he journeyed by boat with other Rohingya and Bangladeshi with Malaysia as their destination. Credit: Carey Wagner/IRP

Muslim refugees wash before evening prayer at the Bayeun, East Aceh, Indonesia refugee camp on July 19, 2015. Credit: Carey Wagner/IRP