BURMA RELATED NEWS – JANUARY 26, 2012
Jan 27th, 2012
By Jason Szep | Reuters – 3 hrs ago
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (Reuters) – In Myanmar’s sprawling parliamentary complex, lawmakers flexed their newly democratic muscles on Thursday. Some drafted anti-graft legislation for one of the world’s most corrupt nations or clamored for transparency on a typically secret national budget.
Others wanted answers from the government: why are train lines across the country woefully inefficient? Will the government move faster to revamp clearer foreign-exchange rate laws and hold companies to task for shabby infrastructure on state contracts?
Derided as a well-choreographed sham in one of the world’s most authoritarian countries when it opened a year ago, Myanmar’s parliament began a third session on Thursday with feisty stirrings of democracy, under pressure to accelerate economic and political reforms that could soon convince the West to lift decades-old sanctions.
The main legislation up for debate requires the government to seek parliamentary approval for its budget. That alone is a significant change for Myanmar, where past military regimes drew up spending plans in secrecy, often carving out largesse for the army, which handed power to a nominally civilian government in March last year.
In the cavernous hallways of the lower house and the gilded main legislative chamber, legislators expressed unvarnished views, including some scathing criticism of government policy by those in the opposition.
It wasn’t always this way.
“When we first came to parliament, we were worried we might be arrested,” said U Ba Shin, a member of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, a major ethnic party that
won nine of the lower house’s 440 seats in the first general election in two decades in November 2010.
“Now there is less fear among the people. But many people still don’t know their rights or speak their minds in parliament. There is big room for improvement.”
Myanmar’s purpose-built capital, Naypyitaw, has been a curiosity since it was built from scratch seven years ago, a virtual fortress where the then-military rulers of the former Burma isolated themselves some 320 km (200 miles) from the largest city, Yangon.
Bestowed with manicured, heavily watered lawns and forbidding stone walls, Naypyitaw bears no resemblance to the rest of the country, one of Asia’s poorest, including nearby villages of mostly thatched wooden huts. Parliament’s 31 buildings with pagoda-style roofs are its main attraction. Its wide boulevards and streets are eerily quiet.
In addition to the lower house there is a 224-seat senate. There are also 14 assemblies spread across the country.
“DON’T BE SCARED”
But changes inside the Hluttaw, or legislative chamber, are at the heart of the most dramatic reforms since the army took power in a 1962 coup and ushered in five decades of unbroken military rule that ended with the 2010 elections.
Shwe Mann, speaker of the house and a member of the military-backed dominant party that won the election, encouraged lawmakers to speak their minds on at least three occasions in the second session of parliament, from August 22 to November 25.
Shwe Mann’s call for openness is in stark contrast to a year ago, when he was the powerful third-in-command of a much-feared junta that brutally crushed dissenting voices.
“He is trying very hard to put this democratic process in the parliament. He has been saying when we hold open voting ‘You can openly show your opinion. Don’t be scared’,” said Sai Saung Si, 65, a member of parliament from northern Shan State and vice-chairman of the Shan Nationalities Development Party, that won 18 lower house seats in the election.
Sai Saung Si regularly voices the concerns of his constituency, including illegal seizures of land by companies or the army that went on for years unchecked.
“In the past, it would get taken away and people wouldn’t know where to go to complain. But now we raise it in parliament. Seizing the land is not according to the law … they must give it back to the people,” he said in an interview.
Overtures by the government in recent months have included calls for peace with ethnic minority guerrilla groups, some tolerance of criticism, an easing of media controls, the legalization of labor unions and more communication with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released in 2010 after spending 15 of the past 20 years in detention.
But there is plenty of work to do and challenges ahead. Parliamentary politics is clearly a new phenomenon. Just ask the men in green.
Sitting on the right flank of the lower-house chamber are military men in fatigues. A quarter of lower house seats are reserved for the military.
And there are other conservative pockets of resistance to reforms, say legislators, although President Thein Sein stressed last week in an interview with the Washington Post that his government had “no intention to draw back” on reform.
“It is not at all impossible for the reforms to be reversed,” said Sean Turnell, an economist at Macquarie University in Sydney who closely follows Myanmar.
“There are significant groups that are in opposition to some of the reforms but overall we are in a very much different space than we were only a matter of six months ago.”
He described the first legislative session convened by the former military junta in January last year as “a mockery of a parliament.” But there were flickers of change in the second session after the junta formally ceded power.
“The second session started to behave like a parliament. It was no longer a vehicle purely of the president or the military. It had a degree of independence. We are looking now to the third session to see which one was representative — the first session or the second.”
BARRIERS TO PROGRESS
It is a crucial question for investors who see plenty of opportunities as Myanmar begins to opens up.
But barriers to progress are formidable: U.S. sanctions, an incoherent exchange rate regime, woeful infrastructure, weak investment laws, a crippled banking system, decades of mismanagement and a shortage of skilled workers.
“Economic reform, if anything now, is beginning to lag behind the political reform,” said Turnell, adding that investors were waiting for a long-overdue foreign investment-protection law to snake through parliament.
“We have yet to see it. I am a little bit worried about that. It is a law that needs to get through but there is still a little bit of debate about it.
“When something like that does pass, that will be quite a signal that real economic reform is under way.”
Some see that change happening if Suu Kyi wins a seat in the lower house in April by-elections.
“When she comes to the parliament, if she raises one issue, and this issue is very beneficial to the country, then who will dare go against it?” said Sai Saung Si.
Reuters – 20 hours ago
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday praised the government of Myanmar for its democratic reforms and said he planned to visit the Southeast Asian nation soon.
“I am very pleased and encouraged by what the current Myanmar authorities led by President Thein Sein has been leading, including the releasing of political prisoners,” Ban told reporters in New York.
“I have been engaging in direct talks with the leaders of Myanmar,” he said. “I am also planning to visit in the near future Myanmar to have further discussions with the Myanmar authorities.”
Ban’s announcement that he intends to make a third trip to the former Burma – he last went there in 2009 – comes after a visit last month by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Earlier this month Clinton announced that Washington would return an ambassador to Myanmar, a country rich in natural resources, after an absence of two decades, a significant step in Washington’s quickening but still tentative re-engagement with the country.
Myanmar’s reforms have included freeing from detention pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, launching peace talks with ethnic rebels, relaxing media censorship, lifting bans on trade unions and protests, and pulling back from the economic and political orbit of neighboring China.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Myanmar’s biggest opposition force, won a 1990 election by a landslide but the country’s military refused to cede power and, for the following two decades, suppressed the party’s activities, putting many of its members in prison.
Despite the transition to civilian rule, Myanmar’s generals still effectively control parliament after a deeply flawed 2010 election and the constitution, written in 2008, guarantees the military’s dominant role in politics.
Separately, Ban also announced that he had appointed his chief-of-staff, Vijay Nambiar of India, as his special envoy to Myanmar.
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON | Associated Press – 1 hr 2 mins ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Partisan squabbling has hobbled the business of government in Washington, but on one foreign policy issue at least, Democrats and Republicans appear willing to set aside their differences and get things done. It is Myanmar.
The Obama administration has support from key Republicans to restore full diplomatic relations and contemplate easing sanctions against the country also known as Burma, reversing two decades of U.S. isolation of a reviled military regime.
Primarily that is because the president has political cover from a slight figure idolized on both sides of the political aisle in Washington: democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“She’s really the key figure,” said Walter Lohman, director of Asian studies at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank. “As long as they stay close to her, I don’t see any controversy.”
Standing up for Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi has long been a pillar of Washington’s policy toward Myanmar. The administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both urged the military to honor the rejected 1990 election victory by Suu Kyi’s party. They pursued policies that left the ruling junta an international outlier.
That was an uncontroversial stance, backed by other Western governments, and a relatively painless one for Washington because of the limited American business and strategic interests in the country. In recent years, however, misgivings about emerging superpower China’s pervasive influence over its southern neighbor have given traction to the argument that the U.S. should be more engaged.
While there is far more bipartanship on U.S. foreign policy than on domestic issues, Myanmar is unusual to the extent that influential Republicans and Democrats alike appear on the same page as the White House. On other areas of foreign policy where there is broad agreement, differences in nuance and tactics cause divisions.
For example, the U.S. remains the staunchest international ally of Israel but Republicans accuse Obama of being too sympathetic to Palestinians. Despite billions in weapon sales to Taiwan, lawmakers of both parties have said it is not enough. Obama also faces bipartisan demands to punish China for keeping its currency undervalued.
The U.S. first applied sanctions on arms sales to Myanmar after its bloody suppression of a democracy uprising in 1988. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have since tightened restrictions to cover political, economic and trade ties, making them among the stiffest Washington has against a foreign government.
“In many respects, most of our major policy initiatives were designed and implemented by the legislative branches, so there will need to be partnership in place as we go forward,” Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, said last week.
The most prominent voice in Congress on Myanmar has been the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, a staunch advocate of Suu Kyi’s cause for years. He has emerged an unlikely supporter of the administration’s engagement strategy, which has gained traction since the military staged fresh but flawed elections in November 2010, then freed the opposition leader and began releasing political prisoners.
After McConnell made his first visit to Myanmar this month, he praised the decision to exchange ambassadors with that government for the first time in more than 20 years, a significant endorsement as the U.S. ambassadorial nominee will need Senate approval.
McConnell wrote in a newspaper commentary that according to Suu Kyi and others he met, Myanmar appears to have made more progress in the past six months than in the previous five decades of military rule. He concluded it was too soon to lift sanctions but was open to rewarding the government for further reforms, saying he would take his cue from Suu Kyi.
It is unusual for McConnell to endorse an administration initiative with such enthusiasm, especially in an election year. During 2011, Republican opposition made it a struggle for Obama even to keep government running and raise the debt ceiling, and McConnell has said his single most important goal is the make Obama a one-term president.
Obama’s Republican rival in the 2008 presidential election, Sen. John McCain, visited Myanmar this week and struck a similar note to McConnell’s. Like the administration, both the Republican senators are watching to see whether by-elections April 1, in which Suu Kyi is a candidate, will be free and fair before deciding whether it is time to act on sanctions.
They also want to see more releases of political prisoners, an end to decades of ethnic violence and a severing of military ties with North Korea.
Even with their support, setting U.S. policy toward Myanmar will not be all smooth sailing. While some easing of sanctions can probably be conducted by executive order from the president, other steps will require approval by both houses of Congress.
Some in the Republican-controlled House have accused the Obama administration of moving too far, too fast.
The hawkish Republican leader of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, has called concessions to the military “grossly premature.”
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a dogged human rights advocate, voiced concern over alleged persecution of Christians in Myanmar. He told The Associated Press that while he was supportive of Suu Kyi, the U.S. should not be naive in its dealings with the government and “reward that which can be taken back in a heartbeat.”
Smith said the U.S. had normalized diplomatic and trade relations with authoritarian regimes in Vietnam and China only to see them crack down on activists afterward.
AFP – 21 hrs ago
The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday published its analysis of Myanmar for the first time since 1999, applauding recent reforms but stressing the need to move further to stabilize the economy.
It said Myanmar’s economy, coming out a long period of stifled activity under an autocratic military regime, would grow about 5.5 percent this fiscal year, ending in March, and 6.0 percent the next.
But it said reforming the “complex” exchange rate system is a top priority, and that will need to come with other broad adjustments and management reforms to maintain macroeconomic stability.
“The new government is facing a historic opportunity to jump-start the development process and lift living standards,” the head of the IMF mission to Myanmar said in a statement.
Long a pariah in Western eyes, the country formerly call Burma has taken strides toward democracy since a nominally civilian government took over last March from a military junta year that had ruled the country for half a century.
“Myanmar has a high growth potential and could become the next economic frontier in Asia,” said IMF mission chief Meral Karasulu, whose team conducted an evaluation of the economy earlier in the month.
“If it can turn its rich natural resources, young labor force, and proximity to some of the most dynamic economies in the world, into its advantage,” she said.
The IMF in particular called on the authorities to step up reforms to enhance the business and investment climate, modernize the financial sector, and further liberalize trade and foreign direct investment.
It stressed the need for a sweeping change in foreign exchange and currency management as the country opens up.
It said the rapid appreciation of the kyat currency is “primarily due to large foreign inflows into the economy, which cannot find an outlet due to exchange restrictions on current international payments and transfers.”
AFP – Wed, Jan 25, 2012
The European Union is mulling a 150-million-euro aid package to help Myanmar’s new army-backed government continue on the path of reforms, EU diplomats said Wednesday.
A possible package, focused on health, education, agriculture and institutional capacity-building, was discussed by EU foreign ministers at talks in Brussels on Monday, said a source close to the matter who asked not to be identified.
At the talks, EU ministers agreed on the immediate lifting of travel bans on Myanmar leaders as a first step towards easing sanctions against the country of 60 million people.
Welcoming “the remarkable programme of political reform” undertaken by the nominally-civilian government, the 27-nation bloc said further positive steps on the road to political change “would lead to the further easing or lifting of the restrictive measures.”
It called for the unconditional release of remaining political prisoners “within the next few months” and the “free and fair” conduct of the April 1 elections, which will see a historic bid for parliament by democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
At stake are embargos on arms deliveries, logging and mining while the assets of more than 900 firms and utilities have been frozen.
By ANI | ANI – Wed 25 Jan, 2012
New Delhi, Jan 25 (ANI): Myanmar’s Foreign Minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, on Wednesday said his country was moving ahead with democratic reforms and expected to see concrete and tangible steps from the western powers to ease its two-decade-long international isolation.
“The United States and the European Union have expressed recognition and support of the democratic reforms undertaken by the government of Myanmar,” said Lwin, while delivering a lecture at the Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA) on ‘Myanmar: A Country in Transition to Democracy’ here.
” Now, there are signs that they are willing to review and reconsider to lift the sanctions and restrictions that they have unilaterally imposed upon Myanmar in the last 20 years. We welcome all these positive responses and hope to see concrete and tangible results as soon as possible,” he added.
Lwin urged that international community for assisting in Myanmar’s nation building process.
“At this critical juncture of national transition, the international community can best assist Myanmar by providing encouragement and support. We are willing and ready to work hand-in-hand with the international community in our nation building endeavors, as well as for the development, peace, and stability of the world,” he said.
Lwin said that there would be no derailment in their path to democracy and the reforms being undertaken by the government were irreversible.
“Myanmar has entered into a new era. The new constitutional government is pursuing a national goal of building a modern, developed and democratic nation in accordance with the will of the people. The reform process that we have started is irreversible. There will be no turning back or derailment in the road to democracy,” he said.
Asserting that Myanmar is working hard towards maintaining good ties with both emerging global giants-India and China, Lwin said: “So, we have a very good and historical and traditional relations with both of the countries. You can choose friends, but you cannot choose neighbours. So this is the story of Myanmar. So we have to be in good relation with both India and China.”
Meanwhile, reacting to Myanmar’s role in building parts of ASEAN highway, Lwin said that the country is working closely with both India and Thailand in this regard.
“(Link to) ASEAN highway and to the highway that leads to China also, so it is a very important highway. So we are discussing and cooperating very closely with India and Thailand,” said Lwin.
The ASEAN or Asian Highway (AH) project is a cooperative project among various countries in Asia and Europe aimed at improving connectivity systems in the region.
Too few workers, too high wages at home
Published: 26/01/2012 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business
Srithai Superware Plc, the world’s leading melamine producer, is looking to Myanmar as a production base in the near future.
President Sanan Ungubolkul will visit the country soon to look for potential locations to set up a new factory.
Srithai has about 700 workers from Myanmar at its factory in Thailand and operates its SNatur direct-sales business in Myanmar, achieving a positive response. It plans to set up a branch office for direct sales in that country this year.
Mr Sanan said if the company does build a new plant in Myanmar, it will invest 50 million baht and use it as a production base for exports.
Srithai exports melamine products to over 100 countries.
“We can’t expand our production capacity in Thailand due to the labour shortage and higher wages. Myanmar and Vietnam are alternative bases,” said Mr Sanan.
The planned hike in the daily minimum wage means Srithai plans to raise its product prices in April.
The embargo on Iranian oil has driven up oil prices and thus costs, another factor in the company’s decision.
Apart from Myanmar, the company will spend almost 300 million baht to produce closure products at its factory in Vietnam.
Registered capital of Srithai Vietnam will go up to 335 million baht this year from 270 million.
The closure products will serve a giant soft drink firm in Vietnam as part of a three-year contract. The first delivery will start in August.
This will push sales in Vietnam this year to 540 million baht, up from 340 million last year, before rising to 600 million in 2013.
In Thailand, the firm is poised to spend one billion baht on investment this year.
Some 100 million baht will be used to expand its melamine business at its factory in Nakhon Ratchasima province, 600 million will be used for its plastic products and the remaining 300 million is for expanding its direct sales business and overseas investment.
For SNatur direct sales, it plans to expand to Cambodia and Indonesia before reaching 10 countries in a few years. Sales of SNatur are expected to reach 460 million baht this year, up from 353 million last year.
Srithai’s total sales this year are projected to reach 7.8 billon baht, up from 6.65 billion last year.
SITHAI shares closed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 8.70 baht, down 10 satang, in trade worth 1.23 million baht.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP): Recent visit of President Asif Ali Zardari to Union of Mynamar will promote bilateral relations and boost trade between the two countries. Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit while giving details of the visit said, President Zardari held a meeting with the President of Myanmar Thein Sein and the two leaders exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues.
President Zardari called for enhancing trade between Pakistan and Myanmar and a preferential tariff arrangement, leading to a free trade agreement.
He proposed setting up a Joint Ministerial Commission to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries as well as collaboration in the oil and gas sector.
The President offered to Mynamar to send the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources for exploring prospects of meaningful cooperation.
He also called for consultations between the central banks of the two countries to study prospects of a currency swap arrangement for closer economic and trade cooperation.
The President suggested greater interaction between chambers of commerce of both the countries and offered to send a delegation of businessmen.
He expressed the hope that closer interaction between trade bodies would lead to establishment of a Joint Business Council.
President Zardari also offered to share Pakistan’s experience in poverty alleviation and women empowerment.
He said Benzair Income Support Programme had proved to be very successful and has been lauded by the international community.
President Zardari offered educational and training facilities for Myanmar’s youth in medical, engineering and business colleges in Pakistan, as well as courses for Myanmar’s diplomats at the Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy.
The President proposed that besides parliamentary exchanges, the two countries should also establish regular consultations between foreign ministries.
He expressed the hope that Myanmar assuming the Chairmanship of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014 would see the culmination of Pakistan’s quest for closer and more effective institutional relationship with the organization as Full Dialogue Partner.
The President also extended an invitation to Myanmar’s President to visit Pakistan.
During his stay, the President also met with the Chairperson National League for Democracy (NLD), Madam Aung San Suu Kyi.
President Zardari conferred Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Award on Madam Aung San Suu Kyi at a special investiture ceremony.
Later, the President paid a visit to the mausoleum of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Pakistan and Myanmar enjoy cordial relations since 1948, when Myanmar achieved Independence from Britain.
Shane Worrell
Thursday, 26 January 2012
From a small community radio station in Melbourne, Australia, a group of passionate Karen refugees broadcast a weekly news program in their native language that beams into the homes of fellow Karen.
News of change from their homeland, Myanmar – Burma to this ethnic minority – has dominated discussion between presenters in recent months and made the wider Karen community, which numbers more than 5000 in Melbourne, wonder if a return home might soon be possible.
Since holding elections in 2010 and ending military rule, the Myanmar government has released hundreds of political prisoners, relaxed media and internet censorship, embarked on economic reform and introduced legislation that allows workers to strike.
ASEAN nations have responded by calling for sanctions against Myanmar to be lifted, the US has waxed lyrical about boosting relations and the EU has agreed to lift visa bans on Myanmar president Thein Sein and other high-ranking officials, citing “remarkable” reform.
For Karen people in Melbourne, the biggest news in recent times has been the January 12 cease-fire between the government and Karen rebels, ending hostilities that began in 1949.
Shah Paung, the Karen radio show’s secretary and a journalist who has lived in Australia since 2008, didn’t expect this progress so soon.
“Since 1949, Karen villagers, particularly those in rural areas, have had to flee fighting between the Karen National Liberation Army and Burmese troops,” she says.
“So these changes bring hope of peace.”
There are an estimated four million Karen people, and as many as 500,000 of them live outside Myanmar, mostly in Thailand.
Many have spent years in Thai refugee camps, and those who have made it out have been accepted as refugees in Western countries.
The cease-fire stipulates that Karen people must be helped to return home. Although this is something many of the displaced dream of, the reality of a swift and smooth return is far from simple, Paung
says.
“The Karen people are hoping to live a peaceful life in their own territory . . . but this will probably not happen soon.
“The first step would be for the government to guarantee a safe life for the Karen people and clear landmines in areas the villagers would return to.
“[The government] has accepted the 11 points the KNU asked for and signed a written agreement; the Burmese military government has made only verbal cease-fire agreements in the past.”
Paung, 30, grew up in a small village in Karen state, in the country’s south, that was under the control of brigade six of the Karen National Union.
She recounts a childhood marked by constant upheaval as her family fled from fighting between the Karen National Liberation Army and Myanmar troops.
“The Burmese army always came to attack our village, especially during the summer time,” she says.
Some villagers were killed, women were raped and men were detained and forced into hard labour, Paung says.
“In 1997, the Burmese military government launched an offensive against the KNU in brigade six.
“All the villagers fled to the Thai-Burmese border . . . [and] we sought refuge in the Nu Poe refugee camp in Tak province of Thailand.”
Paung and her family waited until September, 2008 to be re-settled in Australia.
Venerable Ashin Moonieinda, part of a regional community of about 300 Karen refugees in Bendigo, 150 kilometres from Melbourne, is hopeful that Karen people will be able to return home, but remains sceptical of the government’s commitment to democracy.
“If we look back to when the civil war started, many agreements have been made,” he says. “I don’t think Burma will be a true democracy soon. In 1996, [the government] warmly welcomed other countries as a ‘real democracy’, but after a year they changed the new policies – and no one had a chance to respond.
“Many people want to return to Karen state if they get the opportunity, because they like their birthplace and mother language, but I don’t think the military will be changing its rules and policies.”
Reginald Shwe, vice-president of the Karen Community of Victoria, says the sett-lement and reconciliation process will take a long time.
“Most Karen people view [the cease-fire] as a positive step and welcome it with some conditions, Shwe says.
“They are always willing to return home, [but this] depends on the political process between the military-backed government and the opposition group – and also how much the international community is involved.”
Ethnic community groups, local NGOs, the government, the international community and an independent monitoring body would need to play a part in returning Karen people to their homeland, Shwe says.
Michael North, an Australian involved with Karen communities in Burma, Australia and at the Thai border, says he has encountered mixed responses from Karen people about their possible return home.
“Some have hope and some are cynical; many say, ‘Let’s wait and see’,” North says.
Disagreement among leaders, internally displaced Karen people unwilling to be part of a united nation and refugees in Western countries not acknowledging that change has occurred are issues that will affect Karen people’s efforts to return home, he says.
“As for the Karen I know who have settled [in Austra-lia] . . . I imagine that returning would present a dilemma, as now they have children who are more Australian than Karen, and who would not wish to return.
“Overall, there hangs the question of whether the chan-ges . . . will continue and be lasting, and there is the personal matter of deciding between two ways of life, each with its own comforts and contacts.”
While the world waits to see what will happen in Myanmar, especially as the April by-elections approach, many Karen people will watch closely for assurance that a return to Karen state will be peaceful, Paung says.
In the meantime, her radio team will continue to report on the change that may one day help them to return home.
“Even if the country started to change to a democratic country, there are many things that need to be arranged for the Karen people to be able to return,” she says.
“The Karen people cannot return yet.”
January 26, 2012 8:33 am by Gwen Robinson
But just like recent reforms on the political front, economists and long-time Myanmar-watchers gained some rare insights on Thursday into the fundamentals of the country’s battered economy.
A summary of a two-week multilateral study mission led by the International Monetary Fund contained a mini-treasure trove of basic data, for example, an estimated annual rate of GDP growth for the year to the end of March 2012 of 5.5 per cent and a projection for 6 per cent growth for 2012/13.
The government has variously claimed as much as 12 per cent annual growth in past years – patently untrue even if one does not believe earlier estimates by international agencies that more than a third of the country’s 60m population lives on less than one dollar a day.
Also revealing was the IMF’s estimate of annual inflation – which it said would rise to 5.8 per cent this year from 4.2 per cent in 2011 as the effect of food price declines wears off.
The critical issue, however, in the mission’s view is the country’s dual exchange rate system which has grossly distorted what economic data has been available.
The mission said:
“Myanmar has a high growth potential and could become the next economic frontier in Asia, if it can turn its rich natural resources, young labor force, and proximity to some of the most dynamic economies in the world, into its advantage.”
The mission is drawing up recommendations on economic reforms – seen as a precursor to the lifting of western sanctions on Myanmar if it meets criteria set by the US and EU for fair parliamentary by-elections on April 1, resolving ethnic conflicts and political prisoner releases.
Whatever the outcome, Myanmar watchers can expect a lot more data in coming months. And given that figures on just about everything have varied as wildly as the “unofficial” exhange rate – now about 850 kyats per dollar – versus “official” – at just 5 or 6 kyats per dollar, anything with the IMF imprimatur is bound to be more reliable than the alternatives.
January 26, 2012
“Are there really no graves in Myanmar?” I asked my guide.
“No. Since the bodies of deceased people are just cast-off shells of souls, we have no emotional attachment to them,” the guide replied.
The bodies of those who have died are cremated in big cities, while they are buried without being cremated in the countryside, the guide explained, adding that people in Myanmar dump the ashes of the bodies of their deceased relatives rather than entomb them. Therefore, people in Myanmar never pay respects at their loved ones’ remains at burial sites.
Followers of Theravada Buddhism, which is prevalent in Myanmar, are aiming to relieve their own souls. Ultimately, they try to attain nirvana, or an enlightened state of mind, through religious training. People in Myanmar have no family name. Even though family bonds are close, the fact that they have only their given names may reflect their religious belief that attaches particular importance to individual souls.
In her “Letter from Burma” column in the Mainichi Shimbun, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi wrote about her dialogue with a Buddhist priest:
Priest: Did you come and visit me because you want to be rich?
Suu Kyi: No, I’m not interested in becoming wealthy.
Priest: The most expensive treasure you can gain is nirvana.
Suu Kyi appears to have been embarrassed when she noticed she misunderstood the real meaning of the priest’s question.
Generally speaking, Buddhists in this country appear to attach more importance to their spirituality than modern Japanese people do and seem vaguely aware of the impermanence of tangible things and the world.
The Martyrs’ Mausoleum, popularly known as the Aung San Mausoleum, is situated in front of the north gate to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the old capital. The soul of Gen.
Aung San, the father of Aung San Suu Kyi and the assassinated hero who led the country to win independence, is enshrined there. It appears to be a memorial to him rather than his grave.
I wanted to visit the mausoleum. However, a local diplomat said, “It’s open only when a ceremony to mark Martyrs’ Day is held.” Security around the facility is extremely tight.
“You should just glance it from the pagoda’s north gate as if to say, ‘What’s that?’” If you try to take photos of it you’ll become the photographic subject of security authorities,” the guide advised me.
When I stood in front of the north gate, I saw the mausoleum with a red roof through iron bars. A police station is situated next to the gate and many police officers are around there.
I hesitated to take out my camera, but the guide rushed into the police station. Upon retuning, the guide said, “You can take photos. The police chief has granted you permission.” This is a sign that authorities’ regulations have loosened.
Security was tightened around the Aung San’s Mausoleum in 1983 because a terrorist bombing occurred there when then South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan and his entourage visited the site. The president escaped unhurt but 21 officials of both governments, including Cabinet ministers, were killed. It is known as an incident that North Korea is responsible for.
At the time, Myanmar regarded Gen. Aung San as a symbol of the unity of the nation that the government was desperately trying to maintain. Therefore, Myanmar retaliated at North Korea’s tarnishing of the holy site with blood by breaking off their diplomatic relations and ceasing to even recognize the country as a sovereign state.
North Korea is considered a rogue state by Myanmar. Nevertheless, Myanmar resumed diplomatic relations with Pyongyang in 2007. At the time, the Japanese government asked a high-ranking official with Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry over its real intensions behind the decision.
According to a diplomatic source, the official explained that “Myanmar is pursuing omni-directional diplomacy,” and added, “The people of Myanmar don’t carry a grudge forever. (As Buddhists), they have such a mentality.”
Rumors are widespread in the international community that Myanmar is receiving military assistance from North Korea in return for providing Pyongyang with rice. Myanmar is apparently attempting to warn Western countries against continuing economic sanctions against it.
Myanmar has no nepotism unlike N. Korea
A North Korean restaurant recently opened in a high-class residential area in Yangon. The restaurant looks like it symbolizes the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The restaurant that looks rather like a luxurious mansion had a signboard, “Koryo Restaurant.” Six waitresses clad in blue dresses welcomed me saying, “Annyeong Haseyo.”
They wore their nameplates with North Korea’s national flag. There was a stage in the restaurant, tables made of teakwood and a bar counter. A flat-screen television set was hung on the wall. The prices of food served there are higher than other restaurants in the city, but the waitresses are very friendly and polite.
I had heard a portrait of North Korea’s founder, the late President Kim Il Sung, was hung in the restaurant, but did not see it.
I told one of the waitresses, “I came here to see a portrait of the great president.”
The waitress told me, “One moment, please.” However, she never told me what happened to the portrait.
The United States had regarded Myanmar and North Korea in the same light for many years. However, Yoshihiro Nakanishi, head of the Institute of Developing Economies, pointed out that there are defining differences between the two countries.
“Myanmar’s political leaders never make themselves look charismatic or hand over power to their offspring,” he says. “They never give their relatives official posts in the government or the military. It can be said for certain that it’s difficult for dictators to hand over power to their successors even without citing the example of the Arab Spring.”
In March this year, Than Shwe, who had been dubbed a dictator, handed over his post to one of his closest aides, achieving a shift to civilian rule. He did so partly because he placed priority on the maintenance of order and unity of the military organization, according to Nakanishi.
In other words, it was necessary for the military to demonstrate its unity in order to confront ethnic minorities and pro-democracy forces. However, there appear to be more important reasons. I wonder whether the move derives from a spiritual nature common to the people of Myanmar. (By Takayuki Kasuga, Foreign News Department)
(This is part 7 of a series on Myanmar)
January 26, 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) — Myanmar has a historic opportunity to raise living standards and jump-start development, and is planning reform of its exchange rate that could lift a major constraint on growth, the International Monetary Fund said.
The Washington-based institution on Wednesday completed a two-week mission in the impoverished country which has taken some steps toward democracy after five decades of military rule. The new government has also promised economic reforms.
“Myanmar has a high growth potential and could become the next economic frontier in Asia, if it can turn its rich natural resources, young labor force, and proximity to some of the most dynamic economies in the world, into its advantage,” the mission’s leader Meral Karasulu said in a statement assessing the country’s economic prospects.
The IMF is advising Myanmar, also known as Burma, on economic management, particularly reforms to its Byzantine exchange rate system. The official rate of the kyat currency used to calculate the budget and revenues of state enterprises is about 120 times over its market value against the dollar, fueling suspicions the government could have vastly underreported its revenues. Only state banks can conduct transactions with overseas banks, forcing many transactions into the informal sector.
Those constraints have impeded business and foreign investment in the country, also encumbered by tough trade and economic sanctions by the U.S. and other Western governments. Despite fertile soils and rich resources including natural gas, Myanmar is Southeast Asia’s least developed country, according to a key U.N. index.
The IMF forecast gross domestic product would grow by 5.5 percent in the fiscal year that ends in March, and 6 percent next year. Inflation is projected at 4.2 percent this year, and 5.8 percent next year.
It said the Central Bank of Myanmar has begun technical work to prepare for exchange rate reform, which the IMF said was a priority for eliminating constraints on economic growth.
The statement did not say when the reforms would take effect, but it said certain exchange restrictions can be removed immediately, such as allowing use of all foreign currency bank account balances for imports and easing import licensing requirements.
The IMF welcomed authorities’ plan to grant autonomy and accountability to the central bank, which it described as a step toward improving macroeconomic management.
The statement said exchange rate unification is expected to improve fiscal revenues but cautioned it would reveal the losses of state enterprises. Overall, the fiscal balance is expected to improve in the medium term, mainly due to new exports of natural gas, it said.
Myanmar has long spent heavily on its military, and the IMF welcomed government plans to spend more on health and education, while targeting a moderate fiscal deficit.
The bank projected the fiscal deficit to be about 4.6 percent of GDP, about 1 percent lower than the last year’s deficit.
Myanmar began opening its economy in the late 1980s, after a quarter-century of socialist rule under former dictator Ne Win, but has suffered from continued mismanagement. Myanmar is rated by Transparency International, a private group that campaigns against graft, as the third-most corrupt country in the world.
Karasulu’s statement said Myanmar authorities had engaged openly with the IMF mission.
Press Trust Of India
United Nations, January 26, 2012
Last Updated: 09:35 IST(26/1/2012)
Veteran Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar has been appointed as special adviser on Myanmar, UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon announced on Thursday. Nambiar is currently Ban’s chief of Staff, a position he has held since 2007. “Nambiar expressed (his) wish to step down, so as to allow me to compose a new team of senior managers for his second term as UN chief,” Ban told reporters announcing the appointment.
Nambiar will move to serve as Ban’s “Special Advisor on Myanmar at an appropriate time, following the transition in my executive office,” the UN Chief said, thanking the former Indian Permanent Representative to the UN for his “unfailing support, wise counsel, and dedication in handling the many challenges that have faced the organisation during my first term.
Nambiar previously served as India’s ambassador to Pakistan, China and Afghanistan.
Ban said the United Nations has been playing a key role in furthering the democratisation process of Myanmar.
“Encouraged” by the recent release of political prisoners in the country, Ban said he is planning to visit Myanmar in the near future to have further discussions with the authorities.
January 25, 2012, 11:21 AM EST
By Bibhudatta Pradhan and Daniel Ten Kate
Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) — Myanmar’s government is confident that April 1 by-elections will be “free and fair” as demanded by Western countries that have imposed sanctions on the Southeast Asian nation, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said.
Democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi’s party will contest the special vote for 48 seats in the 664-seat parliament, the first time it is participating in an election since winning 1990 polls that were ignored by the military. Her National League for Democracy boycotted a 2010 election that ended more than five decades of army rule.
“We are confident that we will be able to hold the upcoming by-election free and fair as in the last nationwide general elections,” Wunna Maung Lwin said in a speech today in New Delhi, where he was on a four-day visit. “The reform process that we have started is irreversible. There will be no turning back or derailment in the road to democracy.”
U.S. and European Union policy makers are looking to the April 1 ballot as a test to determine whether to lift sanctions in place for more than two decades. The EU this week ended travel restrictions on President Thein Sein and other senior leaders after he released hundreds of dissidents, eased media restrictions and sought peace with ethnic groups.
The government plans to continue releasing political prisoners “as and when appropriate taking into account public security, peace, stability and the interest of the people and the state,” Wunna Maung Lwin said today.
U.S. Sanctions
Hillary Clinton, who last month made the first trip to Myanmar by a secretary of state since 1955, moved to upgrade diplomatic relations after hundreds of prisoners were freed on Jan. 13. The process of easing U.S. sanctions in place since 1988 should begin after an assessment of the April 1 by- elections, Senator John McCain said during a visit to Myanmar on Jan. 22.
The U.S., Canada and the U.K. condemned the 2010 elections, with President Barack Obama saying they “were neither free nor free.” In last night’s State of the Union address, Obama said “a new beginning in Burma has lit a new hope,” referring to the country by its former name.
U.S. sanctions ban imports, restrict money transfers, curb aid money, freeze assets and target jewelry with gemstones originating in Myanmar. The EU has lighter restrictions,
including a ban on weapons sales and imports of minerals.
The sanctions have left Myanmar dependent on neighbors India, China and Thailand, which have poured more than $25 billion into ports, power plants, and oil and gas pipelines. India last year approved plans for Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and GAIL India Ltd. to invest $1.3 billion in a natural gas project.
Fri, 2012-01-27 02:03 — editor
By Kanbawza Win As a person who had worked at the European Union in Brussels, came as a shock to hear that the Foreign Affairs Council of the E U had adopted conclusions in favour of the current situation in Burma and is suspending the visa ban to prepare the ground for a further significant relaxation of sanctions when they are due for renewal in April.
Even though there are unprecedented causes for optimism, and changes for the better should be positively encouraged, one must harbour the benefit of doubt given the track record of Junta in lying to the international community. There have been many false dawns in the past and we are afraid that the West especially EU might tend to follow the Constructive Engagement used by the Asian countries to prolong the Junta backed administration.
One should note that the current government ministers are the same persons as in the previous Junta administration and lying and procrastination are their standard norms e.g. President Thein Sein made a speech in March 2011 which promises changes in economic and social development but it takes a year to release some political prisoners and still it did not meet the EU criteria of releasing them unconditionally. What more the catch is releasing more criminals like ex-military and ex-government prisoners e.g. the Spy Chief and his MIS team so that it can use them again in their administration as even now Khin Nyunt get $5000 per month for being a patron to a suspicious philanthropic Mya Yeik Nyo Foundation owned by business tycoon and MP Khin Shwe with a salary of $US5, 000 a month. Every Burmese see the writings on the wall of this staggering salary,
in a country where a third of the population lives on less than a dollar a day
Seeking ceasefire with some of the armed ethnic nationalities can be welcome but one recollect that the increased conflict in the past year is a direct result of the military-backed government breaking three ceasefire agreements since elections held in November 2010. Why did the EU made no comment when the ceasefires were broken down, and human rights abuses by the Burmese Army have actually increased? Even now at the time of this writing an all out war against the Kachin with 48,000 soldiers, (120 battalions) while the peace proposal with the Mon has broken down. It is a good aspect that the EU is finally paying more attention to ethnic issues, but talking about financial assistance for returnees is highly premature. Even the ceasefires that have been agreed are tentative, and ceasefires have frequently been broken by the Tatmadaw in the past. With the military-backed government still not engaging in an inclusive political dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict, it is likely to be some time before most refugees feels safe to return. The quasi civilian regime is still using its old trick of Divide and Rule only because of increased international pressure, but has so far refused to engage in dialogue about the political root causes of the conflict, instead deferring discussions to a later date.
EU welcomes the relaxation of censorship, in a recent interview with the Washington Post, President Thein Sein refused to give guarantees on media freedom, and when asked if he would repeal censorship laws he said; ‘The media needs to take responsibility and proper actions. Media freedom will be based on the accountability they have.” Burma’s media is still highly restricted and not been repealed. The regime warns that “Action will be taken” to any one that publish the true story of unfairly evicting of the abbot of the Sadhu Pariyatti Monastery in Rangoon for his outspoken views or the ethnic conflicts where the government is dishonesty dealing with them. Moreover local journals have already been prevented about irregularities—including in Kawhmu Township where Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will contest. USDP has been telling people that they will only get access to electricity and micro-credit schemes only if they vote for them. There are several limits on what media can report. Does EU is aware that free and fair conduct by elections is not possible under current laws in Burma?
Everybody welcomes freedom of assembly in Burma but there are numerous conditions in place such as the location of demonstration, numbers of people, and permissions needing to be sought by various authorities as such that no legal protest will go ahead without government approval. For Example if the Monks protested again as in 2007 they could be treated much more worst. Promulgating human rights law seems hallow in view of the many caveats and security laws as they are extremely restrictive. It is a good thing that the EU welcomes legislation on trade union activity, but the first trade union was turned down because the President has not promulgated the law and flatly denied the request to creating a new student union or flies the peacock flag which symbolize Burma’s pro-democracy movement
We are dumfounded when the EU says that it welcomes the humanitarian access and is serious about the welfare of those in the conflict zone when it still refuses to fund cross-border aid to reach those unfortunate citizens where the military-backed government does not allow access. Hypocrisy is a strong word which we dare not use but the price of EU inaction in this areas are costing thousands of lives.
One could not comprehend of why the Thein Sein government is establishing Human Rights Commission, when Than Shwe the previous dictator has already established a Human Rights Commission to cover up their abuses. A classic example being on the bias report of the conditions in Insein jail and we simply could not understand why did EU fails to call for independent international monitors like the Red Cross to be allowed into Burma’s jails?
Human Rights Watch had proved that the Burmese military continues to violate international humanitarian law through the use of extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, beatings, abusive forced labour, antipersonnel landmines, and pillaging of property, particularly in Kachin, Shan, and Karen States. Yesterday it was revealed that the Tatmadaw deliberately killed a pregnant woman. Burmese army units in Karen State forced convicts to work as porters in ongoing operations in combat zones, mistreating them through beatings, torture, and use as “human shields” to deter attacks or clear antipersonnel landmines. The army continues to actively recruit and use child soldiers, even as the government cooperates with the International Labour Organization on demobilizing child soldiers. Tatmadaw is recruiting child soldiers and using antipersonnel landmines around civilian areas. With such glaring atrocities EU has the heart to reward the Junta backed Government as perhaps because of the numerous German firms and the French Total oil companies are calling the shots at the European Union?
EU members have spoken about three key benchmarks, the release of all political prisoners, the end of conflict, and free and fair elections. None of these benchmarks have been met.
(1) Political prisoners have been released, but not all and most of them are still in jail. This benchmark has not been met. Independent international monitors must be allowed into Burma’s jails to make a proper assessment.
(2) Steps are now being taken to agree ceasefire agreements, but conflict remains. This benchmark has not been met either.
(3)Free and fair elections under Burma’s laws are not possible. NLD with its high profile and strong support can be overcome this hurdle as long as ballot counting is not rigged. However, other smaller political parties remain disadvantaged.
When Senator John McCain met President Thein Sein, he asked to allow international observers to monitor the by-election but it seems that he refused. It should be recollect that in 2010, the regime did not allow any observers, but rather sealed the country off from most international press, rigged the election and appointed ex-military leaders to the new quasi-civilian government. It seems that the reforms are only a ploy to have sanctions removed, rather than a sign of genuine political change.
The EU does not have the broad scale and depth of sanctions which the American has. To give away too many sanctions too soon removes what little leverage the EU has. This will more likely discourage further change, rather than encourage it, and the EU will be sidelined in its influence. The EU has flexibility to change its sanctions regime at any time, not just in April when the annual renewal takes places. There is no need for a premature rush to remove all or most sanctions in April.
It is understandable that the European Union has focus on positives and opportunities as a way of encouraging further change is understandable, but glossing over and ignores serious problems that remain tantamount to be preparing the ground for more significant sanctions to be lifted, and inconvenient truths are ignored. It is still early to see the real motivations for what is taking place as the dialogue process that will lead to real reform and reconciliation is still needed. The EU must show that it is willing to respond positively to changes when they do take place, but at the same time must start to be more realistic about the real scale and nature of what is taking place. None of the changes they refer to involve the military and military backed government relinquishing any power or control Implicit in the argument that sanctions must be relaxed to encourage further change is an acceptance that an important motivation for changes taking place is to get sanctions lifted, rather than the military-backed government having a genuine desire to see a democratic transition. We feel that it is too early to give them the attention they deserve
The 11-member National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) comprised of the inner circle of Burma’s government and military leaders, which are the real power behind Thein Sein Administration reportedly, discussed sanctions and come to the conclusion that lifting the visa ban is not their top priority. The greater concern are those that restricting the transfer of their ill gotten treasures to the Western financial institutions for the old generals’ near and dear ones because they did not trust the Chinese banks and have taken lessons on the episode of Slobodan Miloševi?’s wealth .
What moral leadership would EU give to the Third World countries which are bent on rewarding the Junta’s proxy at the cost of 30 million ethnic nationalities of Burma? Perhaps the economic lens of the EU on the natural and human resources of Burma is too great to count the life and limb of the poor and persecuted ethnic nationalities.
Footnotes:
Analysis of EU Conclusion of Burma by Burma US Campaign No 17 Jan 2012
Interview with Gen. Sumlut Gun Maw, the vice chief of staff of the KIA
Analysis of EU Conclusion of Burma by Burma US Campaign No 17 Jan 2012
Answer to Lally Weymouth, senior associate editor for The Washington Post,
Irrawaddy 23-2-2012 Burma’s Censors Tighten Grip Ahead of By-election
Analysis of EU Conclusion of Burma by Burma US Campaign No 17 Jan 2012
Human Rights Watch 23-1-2012 Burma: Promises of change, but abuses continue
Irrawaddy 23-1-2011 Sanctions Debate Heated Up in Naypyidaw
Hindstrom;Hana EU sanctions move triggers heated debate 25-1-2012
Daniel Ten Kate | Bloomberg News
BANGKOK – Myanmar has the potential to quickly boost economic growth if the government modernizes the financial sector and makes it easier for companies to trade and invest, the International Monetary Fund says.
”The new government is facing a historic opportunity to jump start the development process and lift living standards,” Meral Karasulu, who led an IMF mission to Myanmar that ended Wednesday, said in a statement.
”Myanmar has a high growth potential and could become the next economic frontier in Asia” if it takes advantage of rich natural resources, a young labor force and its proximity to China and India, she said.
The IMF is pushing for an overhaul of Myanmar’s finances as President Thein Sein releases political dissidents, lifts media restrictions and engages with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The moves have prompted the United States and Europe to reassess sanctions against the former military dictatorship that have been in place for more than two decades.
Myanmar’s government is confident that April 1 by-elections will be ”free and fair” as demanded by Western countries that have imposed sanctions on the Southeast Asian country, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said Wednesday in New Delhi during a four-day visit.
Suu Kyi’s party will contest the special vote for 48 seats in the 664-seat parliament, the first time it is participating in an election since winning 1990 polls that were ignored by the military.
The EU this week ended travel restrictions on Myanmar’s senior leaders and pledged to consider lifting other sanctions in April, a view shared by U.S. policymakers.
U.S. sanctions ban imports, restrict money transfers, curb aid money, freeze assets and target jewelry with gemstones originating in Myanmar. The EU has lighter restrictions, including a ban on weapons sales and imports of minerals.
26 January 2012 –
A top United Nations official called today on the Government of Myanmar to boost partnerships between the private and public sectors to support the country’s recent reforms as well as to help accelerate development and job creation in the country.
“Myanmar is experiencing a new beginning that is generating an unprecedented sense of hope for a future where opportunities are created for all, including the poorest and most marginalized segments of the population,” said the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Noeleen Heyzer, during a meeting with Myanmar’s President, Thein Sein.
Ms. Heyzer noted that investment can play a significant role in supporting the President’s reform agenda and Myanmar’s social and economic development goals, and added that for partnerships to be successful open dialogue must occur between all stakeholders.
Myanmar is experiencing a new beginning that is generating an unprecedented sense of hope for a future where opportunities are created for all.
Her remarks were made during a two-day forum organized by the Government and ESCAP in the city of Yangon to forge public-private partnerships.
“We hope that this workshop will help Myanmar’s public and private sectors to respect and build on each others strengths, learn a common language of investment partnership, and create a new environment to achieve key development goals,” Ms. Heyzer said.
The President stated that the country needs “private sector investment to contribute to national development and inclusive growth,” and affirmed his hope that “ESCAP will continue to be a trusted partner and help develop a framework for public-private partnerships for development in Myanmar.”
Representatives from Government ministries and more than 130 members of the private sector took part in the meeting, the first in a series that will focus on the infrastructure sector.
Speaking about possible future developments, Ms. Heyzer offered to convene a special session of ESCAP’s Asia-Pacific Business Forum when the international community is ready to lift restrictions on investment in Myanmar.
Last year, Myanmar started a series of democratic reforms that are slowly opening the country.
By Naing Ko Ko
January 26, 2012
With Burma’s economy having for decades been operating without an appropriate system of government budgeting and accounting, the Burmese people have a complete lack of information about their country’s overall financial picture. The government therefore urgently needs to implement measures to improve governance of its institutions, ensure fiscal transparency and improve fiscal policy if it is to properly transition towards being a successful, modern nation.
The hybrid-military-dominated parliament was this week scheduled to debate the union budget. But designing systems to ensure fiscal discipline requires input from all stakeholders on macroeconomic and social issues.
There’s no universal formula for ensuring fiscal discipline, but regardless of how a country gets there, it should require organizations to ensure that expenditures can be met without relying on significant debt (or excessive printing of money) and that fiscal information is released publicly in a timely manner. To ensure balance, Burma’s budget should be aimed at allocating more to education, health and social affairs, while reducing overspending on the military and defense sector.
The nation’s economic growth and performance will ultimately need to be based on the foundations of good governance and prudent fiscal policy.
In practical terms, this means the administration should at the outset establish a special budget reform taskforce to concentrate on tackling the challenges likely to occur during the budget reform process. In order to prevent the deterioration of the prospects for fiscal reform, parliamentarians will have to play a more proactive role in budgetary discussions. The government, for its part, should send its economists overseas to study fiscal reforms and economic transitional experiences.
Second, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, Burma has been ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world for decades. This corruption has a direct impact on the people and the economic health of the entire nation. Both the generals and the state’s bureaucrats have responsibility for the existence of such corruption as they have failed to ensure adequate budget and fiscal management. State agencies need to be more accountable to the people of Burma.
Third, Burma’s former generals printed money to try to ensure double-digit economic growth, but such an approach has led to hyperinflation. Burma must work to combat inflation and ensure a stable monetary policy in order to create the environment needed for economic prosperity, financial investment, and stability.
Fourth, although sub-national governments were only established recently, the union government ought to encourage them to establish their own fiscal plans and taxation. They must manage their revenue, expenditures and projects by themselves.
Finally, the people’s participation in the budgeting process and financial reporting should be transparent and accountable. The public should be informed about their foreign debt and overseas borrowing. Burma needs to undertake profound economic and fiscal reform if it is to march down the path towards a more democratic society. The budget submitted by the government will be an indicator of just how serious the government is about economic reform and tackling poverty.
Naing Ko Ko is a recipient of the 2010 Amnesty International New Zealand Human Rights Defender Award and a former Burmese political prisoner.
26 Jan 2012
ITD will press on with the Dawei project pending reconsideration of the plans
Uncertainty is hanging over a key detail of the Dawei port and industrial zone in southern Myanmar following a decision by the government to veto a coal-fired power plant.
Myanmar’s government cited public opposition and environmental concerns as the reasons behind its decision: therefore, its no longer clear what will power the energy plant, part of the multibillion dollar project which includes the port, roads and a communications network in its first phase.
ITD, the Thai conglomerate which is developing Dawei, told press they have yet to receive formal notification of the decision but will press on with the project pending reconsideration of the plans.
ITD has been granted a 75-year concession for the energy project that will cover 250 square kilometers about 350 kilometers west of Bangkok.
However, ITD needs some US$8 billion to develop the port. “The funds will be raised in the form of equity, loans and strategic partners,” Somchet Thinaphong, managing director of Dawei Development Co (DDC) said.
India has already expressed interest in the project as a hub for India’s long-sought transport corridor to south east. Both Delhi and the private sector believe the port will allow India to develop its trade relationship with Southeast Asia as part of India’s “Look East” campaign.
By ZARNI MANN / THE IRRAWADDY Thursday, January 26, 2012
Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin expressed confidence on Wednesday that by-elections slated for April 1 will be free and fair, and described reforms initiated by Burma’s nominally civilian government last year as “irreversible.”
“The reform process that we have started is irreversible. There will be no turning back or derailment in the road to democracy,” he said, speaking at the Indian Council of World Affairs in New Delhi, where he was making a three-day official visit that began on Monday.
Citing the participation of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the April by-election as evidence of the progress the country has made, he said he was “confident that we will be able to hold the upcoming by-election free and fair as in the last nationwide general elections.”
Burma’s last election, held in November 2010 under the then ruling junta, was widely dismissed as heavily rigged in favor of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy boycotted that election, but decided late last year to re-register for this year’s by-election to compete for 48 seats in the 664-seat Parliament.
Wunna Maung Lwin also said that the government planned to release Burma’s remaining political prisoners, but added that the move would come “When appropriate, taking into account public security, peace and stability and the interest of the people and the state.”
In his lecture on Wednesday, titled “Myanmar—A Country in Transition to Democracy,” he also expressed his appreciation for the support Burma had received from neighboring countries such as India, as well as the international community’s role in encouraging the reform process.
His hosts also welcomed the changes in Burma and said they looked forward to improved relations.
“I have no doubt that as Myanmar continues on the new path charted out by its leaders, the political, economic and commercial relations between our two countries will only deepen further,” India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Shri E Ahamed said in a press release.
In an interview with The Washington Post last week, President Thein Sein also stressed that there was no turning back on the road to reform. But in another interview with the same newspaper, Suu Kyi said she thought a reversal was possible.
By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY Thursday, January 26, 2012
The New Mon State Party (NMSP), an ethnic armed group, said it will hold another round of peace talks with the Burmese government on the first of February in the Mon State capital Moulmein.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, NMSP spokesperson Nai Hong Sar Pon Khaing said that his party has already appointed the vice chairman of the party, Nai Rot Sa, to lead the peace mission for the talks.
“These talks may not result in a ceasefire agreement, but if we can agree on a number of points, they could create the preconditions for one,” said Nai Hong Sar Pon Khaing.
The peace mission will include seven leaders from the NMSP and Mon community leaders, including Buddhist monks, the group said.
The NMSP held its first peace talks with Railways Minister Aung Min on Dec. 22 in the Thai border town of Sangkhlaburi.
Although the group sees no advantage in reaching a ceasefire agreement, it feels that it has no option but to pursue peace talks now that other major ethnic armed groups such as the United Wa State Army, the Shan State Army-South and the Karen National Union (KNU) have all signed ceasefire deals with Naypyidaw.
The KNU’s ceasefire agreement has especially increased pressure on the NMSP, because the two groups are based near each other.
The NMSP leaders said they wanted to follow the policy of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), which is to have a nationwide ceasefire first followed by political talks attended by all of its members.
However, NMSP Secretary-General Nai Hang Thar said that the UNFC’s policy was weakened by the decision of the KNU and the Chin National Front to sign ceasefire agreements.
“If we were united, we could tell them how we want to solve our ethnic conflicts. But it is impossible now, as they have already taken the ceasefire,” said Nai Hang Thar.
Mon community leaders say the NMSP should hold firmly to its demand for a nationwide ceasefire and also push for the release of two Mon political prisoners, Min Nay Win (aka Nai Yekha) and Min Myo Thwe, who are serving life sentences in prison.
By CARLOS SARDINA GALACHE Thursday, January 26, 2012
On the first floor of a dilapidated building in downtown Rangoon, a narrow staircase leads up to a small space that probably houses more contemporary art per square meter than anywhere else in the city: the Pansodan Gallery. Unlike other galleries, such as those at Bogyoke Aung San market that only sell paintings with “exotic” themes to satisfy the wildt Orientalist fantasies of tourists, Pansodan reveals an art scene far richer than one would expect in a country like Burma/ Myanmar—mired in poverty, isolated for years from the rest of the world, and tightly controlled by one of the most repressive dictatorships in the world.
In its three years, the gallery, open every day of the week until six in the evening, has become a meeting place for artists and art enthusiasts. Burmese and foreigners all visit the gallery, not only to buy or sell pieces of art, but to have a tea, exchange ideas, attend a poetry reading, or simply to relax for a while. The gallery’s owner, Aung Soe Min, is a gentle and kind man that welcomes visitors with Burmese hospitality, and is always relaxed and happy to answer any questions.
Aung Soe Min was born 41 years ago in a small town in central Burma. Testifying to the country’s isolation, he says he never met a foreigner until he was 25 years old. After studying engineering, he spent several years in the publishing business and began collecting books. Today he owns one of the largest libraries of Burma, which is visited by scholars from around the world.
In the late 1980s, after the collapse of the regime of Gen. Ne Win and his “Burmese Way to Socialism,” there was a slight cultural opening when the military junta that succeeded tried to attract foreign investment. “The country was changing and I tried to take advantage of this to study everything I could,” says Aung Soe Min. He also tried to make films, but he couldn’t always get the necessary permits, which, combined with a lack of official support or distribution, made it a nearly impossible undertaking.
During those years, Aung Soe Min met numerous writers and artists, and seeing that the country lacked the “infrastructure and market necessary for artists to distribute their works,” he decided to open his own gallery in 2005. It took him three years, but in 2008, after overcoming many obstacles and using the profits he made from selling “three especially valuable paintings” he was able to buy a property located in downtown Pansodan Street, close to the old colonial neighbourhood at the heart of the city, and open his gallery.
“At that time there were several galleries in Rangoon, but the majority catered exclusively to foreign clients. Burmese people did not even visit many of these galleries, or if they did it was only when accompanying a foreigner. What I’m trying to do here is create a space that’s open to evrybody,” says Aung Soe Min. His purpose is not only to “sell paintings, but also awaken Burmese people’s interest in the arts. When people say that I promote artists, I say no, I’m promoting a public.”
According to Aung Soe Min, works from some 200 artists are for sale at the Pansodan Gallery, which is not hard to believe since every day new paintings appear on the walls or scattered around the floor. “Artists will often come in and tell me they need money urgently. They bring me a painting, and if I like it I buy it myself and then try to resell it. Most other galleries, on the other hand, usually don’t pay artists until they sell their works,” he explains.
It’s not easy being an artist in Burma. The poverty, the lack of opportunities, and the scarce knowledge or interest in contemporary art make developing an artistic career far more difficult than it is the case of other countries. One of the young artists that displays his work at the Pansodan Gallery, Ein Aye Kyaw, manages to make a hard living painting by commission, especially traditional landscapes. After studying zoology and fine arts at the University of Rangoon, he decided to devote himself professionally to art five years ago when he saw a man painting on his street, he thought that “he’s the only person that really looks tranquil and happy” and that man became his first mentor.
Ein Aye Kyaw’s paintings, in a simple, impressionist style that he polishes in each painting, depict ordinary scenes or images that, as he explains, compel him to paint without really knowing why—an old taxi in the rain, a child playing in a park, or the strange structure of the Arakanese Kingdom, a half-pagoda, half-military fort palace that came to his mind after seeing an official building in Naypyidaw, Burma’s new capital that the military junta built in the middle of the jungle six years ago.
The gallery also exhibits portraits of the Burmese democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which would have been unthinkable just a few months earlier. In any case, government control over the visual arts is not as strict as with literature or the press. “The government simply is not interested and doesn’t care about art. They don’t help us, but they don’t cause problems either. They just ignore us,” comments Aung Soe Min.
But artistic freedom can sometimes constrained by prejudice and bias. Burmese society is deeply conservative and does not tolerate, for example, the exhibition of nudes (http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15783), nor is it legal.
At the same time, the art world is imbued with a sense of tradition and hierarchy which makes it a closed shop where innovation is not always well received. The rejection of modern styles in Burmese art dates back to the colonial era, when for many years “Western” influence was considered a threat to the cultural purity of the nation.
Painters like Bagyi Aung Soe (1924—90), considered by many to be the father of modern Burmese art, fought a long and hard cultural battle for the acceptance of artistic ideas that were looked down upon as “foreign” by the purists. From this arose the expression “crazy art” to describe modern and abstract art.
This battle has not yet come to an end, but the pieces on exhibit at the Pansodan Gallery attest to the growing presence of contemporary artistic styles, and that realist art lives side by side with the abstract, the expressionist, or pop. The Burmese artistic scene is very eclectic, and has witnessed a slight boom (http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?
art_id=3301&page=1) in recent years, as well as a surge in interest overseas. Several artists now exhibit their works in neighbouring countries, as well as places like the United States or the United Kingdom.
Nonetheless, very few Burmese people can buy paintings or sculptures, even though nearly half of the buyers at Pansodan are from Burma. With an art market so underdeveloped, people rarely buy works as an investment, a trait that differentiates them from collectors in other countries.
According to Aung Soe Min, for a Burmese person “buying a painting is a personal decision.” Another peculiarity in Burma is that people like to collect, almost obsessively, the largest possible number of works from a single artist. “They don’t care if they have 100 paintings from only one painter. Often, they store the paintings and alternate them on the walls of their homes.”
Driven by his love of collecting, Aung Soe Min has embarked on a parallel project, a history of Burmese graphic art since the colonial era. He is working with Kirt Mausert, a young American anthropologist living in Rangoon who also collaborates in the management of the gallery. Mausert explains that the goal is to publish a book that “explores, through publicity and propaganda, the changes in social relations that the country has experienced in recent history,” an unprecedented approach in Burmese historiography. For this project, they have created an archive of old photographs, newspapers, postcards and propaganda advertisement that they have acquired at innumerable places around the streets of central Rangoon. In many cases, the vendors themselves go to the gallery to offer the materials they have acquired.
Mausert is convinced that the project will help to shed light on the recent history of Burmese art, especially considering that the vast majority of painters combine their personal artistic careers with other commercial work like advertising or comics, a very popular genre in the country. However “the artistic value of these commercial works is not demeaned when they do more serious art. There is no stigma against painters doing commercial work, and both activities influence each other.”
“The historiography of Burma has suffered many distortions in recent years,” explains Soe Min. “In any case, it is based on the texts, not the images produced by this society, which are not given any importance when it comes the time to reconstruct history. Hardly anybody values this kind of things, and I think they should be preserved in a museum.” Faced with the neglect of the government, the conservation of the visual legacy of the country, as well as the promotion of the Burmese cultural and artistic life, depends almost exclusively on the enthusiastic work of people like Aung Soe Min.
Thursday, 26 January 2012 18:21 Mizzima News
(Mizzima) – Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Burma’s Dawei deep-sea port industrial zone could be India’s long-sought transport corridor to Southeast Asia.
In her address to business associations in New Delhi on Wednesday, Shinawatra said Thailand is commitment to building a deep sea port in southern Burma and a massive industrial complex to serve as a gateway to Southeast Asian countries, according to an article on the Indianexpress.com website.
Estimated to cost more than $50 billion when completed, and to be implemented in multiple phases, the Dawei project could be the biggest infrastructure project ever in Southeast Asia.
Once translated into reality, the shipping-industrial complex will put the recent Chinese port development in Gwadar (Pakistan) and Hambantota (Sri Lanka) and Kyauk Phyu (Myanmar) into the shade, the article said.
Unlike the Chinese ports, which are surrounded by underdeveloped hinterlands, Shinawatra’s proposal for a Chennai-Dawei corridor will connect economically prosperous regions. From Chennai, Dawei is directly across on the other side of the Bay of Bengal.
The Dawei development project also came up for discussion in Delhi this week in talks with Burma’s visiting foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin.
Thursday, 26 January 2012 22:43 Myo Thant
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A joint session of both houses of the Burmese Parliament will have only one day to deliberate on next year’s budget, say lawmakers. The joint session will meet on Tuesday in Naypyitaw.
Parliament speaker Khin Aung Myint told lawmakers on Thursday that the budget would be the only item on that day’s agenda.
Upper House MP Phone Myint Aung told Mizzima that ministers and state government officials would brief lawmakers throughout the day.
“We were told that we must remain in session until the deliberations on the budget are finished,” he said.
Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) MP Dr. Aye Maung told Mizzima on Wednesday that lawmakers would try to cut items from the budget that were non-essential projects.
In the Upper House session on Thursday, lawmakers raised a number of questions:
Border and Development Affairs Minister Thein Htay told MPs that infrastructure improvement work would be done as funds become available.
Upper House MP Khin Waing Kyi asked about the national plan for future energy sufficiency. Energy Minister Than Htay answered, saying that Burma currently consumes 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day and domestic production was only 20,000 barrels per day. Current production is not sufficient for the demands in the country, he said.
Upper House MP Myo Mhint of Mandalay constituency No. 6 moved a motion to change from the current imperial metric system.
Rangoon constituency No. 1 MP Khin Waing Kyi moved a motion to increase maternity leave from the current 45 days.
Parliament will debate the motions in future sessions. MPs said the current third session of Parliament would last about one month.
By HANNA HINDSTROM
Published: 26 January 2012
The future of a UN inquiry into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Burmese regime has been thrown into doubt after a number of one-time supporters of a probe, including Britain and the US, appear to have retreated in the wake of reforms made by the new government.
Altogether 16 governments threw their weight behind a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) first mooted by UN Special Rapporteur to Burma Tomas Ojea Quintana. But the US was the first to publicly drop its support, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggesting during her December 2011 visit that Washington now favours a wait-and-see approach.
She told reporters following the visit that “it’s important to try to give the new government and the opposition a chance to demonstrate they have their own approach toward achieving [accountability for past state crimes]”.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon announced yesterday that he will visitBurma“in the near future” and confirmed the appointment of his chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, as special envoy to the country.
It is as yet unclear how prominently the discussion of human rights will feature on the secretary general’s agenda when he visits, with the trip more likely to focus on positive engagement. Ban has previously been criticised for failing to vocally back a CoI on Burma, which would investigate abuses committed by the army and sanctioned by the regime.
A number of governments who supported the now CoI now feel they should gauge the outcome of Burma’s reform programme before pressing ahead with an inquiry, but the about-face has drawn criticism.
“It’s unfortunate that the 16 countries who stated their support for a CoI are now temporarily retreating from that support in the hope that the government pursues some mechanism for accountability for past abuses and, crucially, takes steps to end impunity and ongoing violations,” David Mathieson, Burma researcher at Human Rights Watch, said.
The international community has broadly welcomed the positive changes seen to be happening in Burma, including the release of political prisoners, easing of media restrictions and ceasefire discussions with rebel factions. Earlier this week the EU agreed to begin easing sanctions against Burma and the US is set to review theirs immediately after the 1 April by-elections.
Some critics have said however that the response is premature and done with disproportionate enthusiasm. Even if the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, wins every available seat in the April vote, it will struggle to challenge the parliamentary supremacy of the military-backed government.
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said however that a CoI can remain on the table and “be revived very quickly at any time”.
“If there are genuine domestic efforts to achieve justice and accountability, and they have the support of society in Burma, including ethnic people, then the UK is likely to support that process,” he said.
The hurdles a UN inquiry into Burma would face are daunting, not least because the current constitution provides blanket immunity to all former and serving military generals.
Aung San Suu Kyi has voiced support for the creation of a Truth Commission, but even that may be a distant prospect as the international community looks keener to encourage Burma’s ongoing reforms rather than punish it for the crimes of the past.
By MAHN SAIMON
Published: 26 January 2012
Armed men purported to be from Burma killed a man and women and left a teenage girl injured after opening fire on a village in western Thailand, close to the Nupo refugee camp.
The men arrived at Pankhalae village on Tuesday evening and peppered a number of houses with bullets, residents said. The identity of the militants has not been confirmed, but Thai media reported they were from Burma.
A Thai couple died on the spot and a 14-year-old girl was taken to hospital in the border town of Mae Sot. Medics say she is in a stable condition. The motive behind the shootings is unclear.
Pankhalae resident Nai Chetchawan told reporters there were 10 to 15 armed men involved in the attack, and pools of blood were still visible yesterday where the three were shot.
Thai authorities have since tightened security around the village, which lies in Umphang district south of Mae Sot and which borders Burma.
Militants from Burma have been known to cross over the border to carry out operations in Thailand. In January 2010, members of the then-Burmese junta aligned Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) shot a Thai village chief, leaving him seriously injured.
The porous border between the two countries is a source of concern for Thailand, particularly given the vast quantities of illegal drugs that flow in from Burma each year.