May 13-20, 2015

Radio Free Asia (privately run)

“Myanmar Government, Kachin Rebels to Form Peace Commission” May 13, 2014.

• Myanmar’s government and ethnic Kachin rebels agreed in talks recently to form a peace monitoring commission in a bid to curb ongoing clashes that have threatened to upset progress on a nationwide cease-fire agreement, according to officials and rebel leaders.
• This commission would observe the movement of troupes from Myanmar’s military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in an attempt to determine who is responsible for sparking any clashes.
• Clashes between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the KIA have been ongoing in the area and it is time that a more stable peace monitoring commission would be formed to put an October agreement to cease hostilities into practice.
  • Representatives from both sides of the conflict have stated that they intend to uphold the agreement and the ceasefire and begin to create lasting solutions to avoid fighting in the future.
• This commission is part of an ongoing process that the government of Burma is staging throughout the country to create a nationwide ceasefire.

Myanmar National Times (joint state/privately run)

“Meiktila IDPs get green light to rebuild homes” May 16 2014.

• Displaced families in Meiktila have been allowed to leave relief camps and rebuild their homes ahead of the fasting season for both Buddhists and Muslims – provided they can show proof of ownership.
• The lead of the Meiktila district administration office, U Tin Maung Soe, explained that after checking ownership documents with the land records department more than 50 households have been granted permission to rebuild on their original plots.
• More than 10, 000 people were displaced following the communal violence in the Mandalay Region town in March 2013, many of which are still living within the five Internal Displacement Camps. 
• Despite officials’ insistence that they have tried to speed up the resettlement process, very few residents, specifically in the Thiri Mingalar ward have been allowed to rebuild.
  • That being said, the government has been overseeing reconstruction projects, building both detached homes and two-storey apartments.
  • Of course, only those who can show proof of ownership will be given one of the 350 detached houses, while the rest will receive a 600 square foot apartment. 
• Unfortunately, reconstruction projects have been held back due to the recent underfunding of the project, prompting concerns about the living conditions of the IDP camps.
  • Residents of the camps fear that they will be forced to remain in the camps for the duration of the coming rainy season. 

The Irrawaddy News (privately run)

“The Forgotten Gurkhas of Burma” May 20, 2014.

• Under British rule, a Gurkha brigade had fought as an elite force in Burma during World War II, winning nearly half the medals for bravery that were awarded to the colonial army. Gurkha soldiers also fought as allies alongside Burmese freedom fighters to achieve independence from the British in 1948, at which time they joined the infant Burmese army. 
• The Gurkha were significant actors in the Burmese military during the new republic’s campaigns against ethnic insurgents. 
• The original 1947 Constitution had granted Gurkha soldiers full rights as Burmese citizens, however following the military dictatorship, the Gurkhas were not classified as one of the country’s official ethnic groups.
  • As a result, they were faced with many restrictions that prevented them from retaining or applying for citizenship.
  • Many Gurkhas live throughout Burma, including in Kachin, Chin and Shan states, as well as Rangoon and Mandalay divisions.
  • Most practice Hinduism or Buddhism. 
• Chabi Naryan, a 72 year old Gurkha leader in Myitkyina, Kachin State explains that his people were the ones that protected the ones that had protected the sovereignty of the country and that it is unfair that many of these people have been denied current citizenship. 
  • “We feel as though we have been forgotten, although many of our men served important positions in the army for the country. We feel that this government has discriminated against us” Chabi Naryan explains.
• Other Gurkha leaders say that discrimination against the Gurkha begins from an early age, where Gurkha youths are being turned away from schools if their citizenship applications are not approved.
• During Burma’s nationwide census last month, the Gurkhas say they faced pressure to respond a certain way to questions about their ethnicity. Specifically, Gurkhas say they were encouraged to identify as Nepali, although the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says Gurkhas were allowed to choose an “other” category and identify as Gurkha.
• Overall, the Gurkhas fear that the current government is trying to erase their ethnicity and significance that they have held in Burma throughout history. 

Democratic Voice of Burma (privately run)

“Women want their share of peace” May 20, 2014. 

• Sixty women’s rights organizations recently gathered in the Shan State to discuss further inclusion of women in the country’s peace process.
  • The two day seminar was joined by more than 150 representatives from throughout the region. 
• A sixty-point plan was set up as a result of the seminar to further efforts towards a nationwide ceasefire while providing women a decision-making role in the process; creating effective security; and increasing protection for women and children in conflict areas.
  • The group also strategized effective implementation of the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which Burma signed in 1997.
• The discussion of the seminar centered mainly on issues most deeply felt by women in ethnic communities, and how their voices could be more meaningfully integrated into the peace process.
• Across the convention, many women spoke out against issues of rape, domestic violence, drugs and human trafficking, as well as making strides to promote the inclusion of women in decision-making positions, especially during this delicate time in Burma. 
  • Thandar Oo of the civil society group New Generation Shan State, an organizer of the seminar explained that, “leaving women out will make the peace process lopsided.” 
• The decades of civil war in Burma have taken a toll on women’s rights in ethnic areas and women have recently come together to push the government to provide more stable ways of representing women in government and peace processes as well as giving tools and mechanisms to women to empower them within their own communities.

Burma News International (privately run)

“Karen Human Rights Groups Report that ‘Peace’ in South-East Burma Brings Its Own Dilemmas” May 14, 2014. 

• A report released by Karen Human Rights Group has found that new forms of abuse and local concerns are emerging in the evoloving security environment tensions between Burma’s government and the Karen National Union.
• The report documents the conditions of human rights in South Eastern Burma over the last two years, noted that certain human rights abuses including forced labor, had sharmly declined and that ease of travel had increased. 
  • It is argued that the ease to travel, thanks to the end of the armed conflict in the region, is likely the single most positive trend resulting from the ceasefire. 
• Representatives of the KHRG argue however that in spite of the cessation in conflict, the lives of many villages had not improved significantly. Specifically, livelihoods have been significantly impacted by the conflict and have not yet seen a betterment in their conditions.
• Issues that have been on the rise since the ceasefire include the drug trade market.
• It is said that villagers have reported an increase in the production and sale of methamphetamines by BGF soldiers, and have increasingly complained of the negative consequences of drug production, sale and use, as well as related killings and sexual violence, and the negative impacts of its availability on youth and social cohesion.
• The livelihood of villagers is also felt to be compromised, with land confiscation destroying the lives of the villagers. 
  • KHRG representatives explain that, “since the ceasefire, villagers have begun to report increasingly about land confiscation for mining, logging, dams, infrastructure development and commercial agriculture. Land is confiscated by armed actors or the Myanmar government in collaboration with companies for those projects.” 

Rohingya Blogger (privately run online opinion blog)

“Myanmar Military Regiment Deputy Commander Tortures, Hacks and Extorts Money from a Rohingya” May 15, 2014. 

• Images depicting a young Rohingya man with bandages, bruises and wounds from an attack.
• In Sittwe, Arakan Major Myint Naing tortued and hacked a Rohingya and extorted money from him.
• The Major beat the young man, Jaker S/o Arnu Miah, a Rohingya who used to work at a gold shop before violence erupted in 2012. The Major also extorted money from the man, claiming that he would be giving the money to the woman who had called to complain about Jaker herself. Instead of taking matters to the gold shop owner who owed the money to the woman, the officer took matters into his own hands and brutally beat Jaker.
• This is only one example from the many horrible acts committed against Rohingyas every day in the Arakan region. What is most shocking is that the police authority, in this case, is the actor in an authoritative position taking advantage of the vulnerability of others.
• This is further an example of the very human realities that so many Rohingyas face as a result of the political and violent tensions in the region. 

The Irrawaddy News (privately run)

“Government Ignoring Complaint About Arrest of Party Member: SNLD” May 20, 2014. 

• The Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD) has said it has been waiting for more than a week for a government response regarding the arrest and alleged beating of a party member by the Burmese Army.
• Representatives of the SNLD have said that they have been contacting the Burmese officials for over a week in order to help in resolving the case of Ai Kyein, a chairman of a village level SNLD brank in Kengtung Township, Shan State who was arrested in early May. There are also allegations that the Burmese Army may have beaten the man upon arresting him.
• The military has accused Ai Kyein of possessing a gun and communication with the Shan State Army-South, a military wing of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), although no weapon was found, according to the SNLD.
• In the coming week, officials say that a decision will be made to decide whether or not an official charge will be made against Ai Kyein.
• This arrest is significant because it exemplifies the trust issues between the government and the SNLD. This further threatens to undermine trustbuilding efforts between the government and other armed ethnic groups such as the RCSS. 
  • This comes at a time when the government of Burma is in the process of creating lasting ceasefire agreements nationwide. SNLD officials say that they are worried that these actions against their representatives could lead to a collapse of the peace process.

Radio Free Asia (privately run)

“Suu Kyi Challenges Military to Amend Myanmar Charter in 2014” May 19, 2014. 

• Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s opposition leader challenged Myanmar’s military to amend the constitution by the end of the year. o She called on members of parliament from the military to demonstrate their patriotism by voting in favor of changes to the 2008 junta drafted charter, which has been seen as undemocratic by rights groups.
• “I want to urge them to show their ability to the world – that they have no intention of holding to power, and show how much they are willing to sacrifice for the sake of the country,” Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) explained to a 25, 000 crowd in Mandalay this past week. 
  • This gathering was organized in collaboration with the 88 Generation students group as apart of a nationwide campaign to push for constitutional reforms ahead of general elections next year.
• There is particular emphasis on Article 436 of Chapter 12 of the Constitution, which states that any charter reform must take place only with the support of more than 75 percent of the lawmakers, of which, 25 percent are military seats.
• Aung San Suu Kyi also encourages the youth in Myanmar to write personal letters to the military Commander-in-Chief and other military officials to urge them to join in democratic reform in an effort to build a better future for Myanmar.
• The NLD leader has been working closely with the 88 Generation students group to educate the population on the constitution and the necessary reforms that need to be made before the upcoming 2015 elections.
• Many argue that reforms in the constitution are the only way to ensure that Myanmar will be able to exist as a genuine federal democracy.
• The overall message that the NLD leader wishes to convey is one of democratic freedom and progress toward the federal democracy, where the military acts only in the best interest of the national state, and not directly within the politics of the country.