An Independent Survey of Events in Myanmar
[Notice to readers: No fresh materials will be added to this website until after the Burma Studies Conference in Singapore which lasts from 1 to 3 August 2014.]
The nationwide ceasefire agreement at a glance
Aung Naing Oo: Myanmar Times - 30 July 2014
At 20 pages, with seven chapters and about 120 different points, it’s hard not to agree with the international conflict resolution expert who recently called Myanmar’s draft nationwide ceasefire agreement as the world’s lengthiest ceasefire deal.
Negotiating parties have spent the past nine months coming up with the current version of the agreement. At the beginning of the talks there were several different drafts. It took some time for negotiators to consolidate these into a single document, a feat achieved in April.
The nationwide ceasefire agreement is supposed to be a ceasefire text. To me, it is really more of a political document, and this may explain why it has taken some time to get to where we are now. Continue reading.....
'Deeper changes bring deeper resistance'
The Irrawaddy - 29 July 2014
Tom Malinowski, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, recently made his first visit to Burma, leading a delegation of senior officials to Rangoon, Naypyidaw, and Mon and Karen states from June 22-28. Formerly the Washington director of the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), Malinowski has long concerned himself with the rights situation and democracy movement in Burma, and he visited the country several times before.
The Irrawaddy’s Editor-in-Chief Aung Zaw recently interviewed the assistant secretary of state via email and asked what he thinks of the democratic transition, the 2015 elections, human rights issues and the ongoing media clamp down, as well as US-Burma military-to-military engagement and the US sanctioning of “crony” businessmen.
Statement by Ms Yanghee Lee on the conclusion of her visit
Mizzima - 27 July 2014
At link is an edited text of the Statement made on 26 July 2014 by Ms Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, on her departure. She said: "I have just concluded my first official ten- day mission as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. The objective of my visit was to assess the human rights situation in Myanmar through a better understanding of the realities on the ground. Accordingly, I sought to engage constructively with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including Government officials, political, religious and community leaders, civil society representatives, as well as victims of human rights violations and members of the international community. I was pleased to have had a frank and open exchange of views on a range of matters related to my mandate. And I am grateful that many were so forthcoming in their views on sensitive issues.
"Today, I would wish to highlight some preliminary observations from my mission and from additional background research." Continue reading.....
International experts meet to discuss Census issues
Press Release UNFPA - 23 July 2014
An advisory group of census experts from around the world will meet on 23 and 24 July 2014, the fourth meeting of the International Technical Advisory Board (ITAB) and the first meeting following the census enumeration.
One key issue that members will discuss is possible ways to respond to the under-coverage of households in the Rakhine and Kachin States. In Rakhine, areas occupied by specific Muslim populations, were not counted in the census following the Government’s decision to refuse to allow them to self-identify as Rohingya. Populations were left out or only partially enumerated in a number of non-state controlled areas of Kachin.
Members will also discuss the Observation Mission Report. The Ministry of Immigration and Population, to support transparency efforts on data collection for the census, invited an Independent Census Observation Mission to Myanmar. The Mission comprised 47 experienced observers, 23 international and 24 Myanmar nationals. These teams of experts were composed of statisticians, census experts, demographers and social scientists. They are currently in the process of finalising their report that will be available, together with a summary of key findings, on both the Department of Population and UNFPAs’ websites. Derek Tonkin writes: The UNFPA has been slow to respond to criticisms that the Census was little short of a fiasco. No doubt it has taken time to collate reports, but apart from preliminary comments from international observers indicating that the Census was on the whole succesful, there has been a total silence from UNFPA and international observers over the past three months. There has been no official report either of what happened at the meeting on 23-24 July.
UNFPA public relations have fallen well short of what has been needed.
Myanmar's Parliament works on constitutional amendment
Xin Hua - 24 July 2014
The Constitutional Amendment Implementation Committee of Myanmar has submitted its preliminary report. The Committee has said in a statement that it has reviewed a total of 340 clauses from several sections of the 2008 constitution, taking into consideration advice from all parties including the public, organizations, political parties and the army. The remaining clauses will be reviewed similarly, the committee said….
Following the final report, it is expected that the proposed constitutional amendments will be brought to the agenda of the parliament for discussion in the near future. Two key sensitive sections of the constitution, which are Section 436 and Section 59(f), will top the debate.
Section 436 of the constitution prescribes that the amendment of the constitution needs the approval of more than 75 percent of all parliament members (MPs). Of them, the non-elected military representatives account for 25 percent or one fourth dominating the parliament, while the rest are shared by various political parties and ethnic groups.
Moreover, changes to some provisions of the sections of the constitution also need the prior support of over 75 percent of all MPs and following the approval of the MPs, a national referendum is to be held, in which more than 50 percent of eligible voters have to support the move. The committee is said to propose to revise the percentage to 66 percent or two thirds so as to enable the possibility of amendment by the parliament.
Derek Tonkin writes: Xin Hua revealed as early as 21 May that the Committee would be likely to propose replacing 75% by 66% in Section 436. The NLD signature campaign does not include any recommendation concerning the percentage. The NLD say that their campaign is directed primarily at influencing opinion in parliament, not in the Committee itself where they are represented.
Myanmar: Between economic miracle and myth
Stuart Paul Larkin: ISEAS Perspective - 11 July 2014
The writer, who is a Visiting Fellow at ISEAS in Singapore, points out that U Thein Sein’s government and international donor agencies are optimistic that Myanmar can become a middle-income nation and significantly increase its per capita income by 2030 if political reforms and current growth rates of around 8 per cent are maintained.
However, foreign investments into resource enclaves and the recycling of “resource rents” earned by government elites into the country’s real estate and consumer imports boom may undermine its economic potential and perpetuate a “resource curse”. For growth to be inclusive and sustainable, the economy requires structural change to accommodate labour-intensive manufacturing-exports platforms. A currency devaluation is necessary to promote competitiveness, along with infrastructure development. Continue reading…..
Latest News and Views
Myanmar media say latest Mandalay clashes caused by false rape claim
Agence France-Presse - 20 July 2014
Myanmar's latest clashes began after a Buddhist woman was paid to make false rape claims against two Muslim men, state media reported Sunday. Two men - a Buddhist and a Muslim - died in riots in Mandalay that flared on July 1 following social media reports that the Muslim men had raped a Buddhist employee at their tea shop. More than 20 others were wounded as violence rocked the city for several days, the latest in a series of sectarian clashes that have troubled the nation for two years.
But a police investigation found the woman was paid to fabricate the accusation against the men, the New Light of Myanmar [in fact, only the Burmese-language version 'Myanmar Ahlin'] reported. The report, citing the Ministry of Home Affairs, said a medical examination of the woman - named as Phyu Phyu Min - found "no sign of rape or other violence. After a detailed investigation she confessed that she accused the two men because she was paid" to do so by two other people who apparently had a personal dispute with the tea shop owners. The woman has been arrested alongside one of the people alleged to have paid her.
British Chamber of Commerce launched in Myanmar
British Chambers of Commerce - 16 July 2014
Today, the UK has become the first country to launch a completely new, locally registered Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar. The role of the Chamber is to promote, foster, support, and represent UK business interests in Myanmar - directly helping British firms identify market opportunities and providing them with a first port of call when looking to trade in that particular market.
This is part of the wider Overseas Business Networks Initiative (OBNi) - an ongoing partnership between the British Chambers of Commerce, UK Trade and Investment and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The aim is to transform the support available for British SMEs looking to do business in high-growth, hard-to-access global markets. It is also a crucial part of the Prime Minister’s drive to double the UK’s annual exports to £1 trillion and to increase the number of UK exporters by 100,000 by 2020.
The British Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar is being supported by four British businesses who are acting as founding patrons - BG Group, Jardines, Prudential and Standard Chartered Bank. The Chamber has five Gold Sponsors - Agrekko, British American Tobacco, Herbert Smith Freehills, Shell and Stephenson Harwood and it has already secured 86 founding members.
Derek Tonkin writes: This is the latest in a series of British trade, investment, development and financial services initiatives in Myanmar which as a result and for all practical purposes now exclude the likelihood of any return to the days of sanctions and isolation which characterised British policies from 1988 to 2011 - unless there were to be a very serious reversal of the reform process. The only Western country not yet committed to whole-hearted engagement is the United States where notions of 'conditionality' still persist, particularly in Republican circles anxious to deny President Obama's claims of a foreign policy 'success' in a country the US still calls 'Burma' on every possible occasion, though in other Western countries the dichotomy Burma/Myanmar is no longer an issue of any real substance.
Government reactions to the visit by Ms Yanghee Lee
- Government rejects UN envoy's reference to shrinking democratic space - Mizzima
- The 'R' word. Government warns new rights rapporteur - Myanmar Times
- Government disagrees with UN envoy's rights concerns - The Irrawaddy
Statement by Ms Yanghee Lee on the conclusion of her visit
Mizzima - 27 July 2014
At link is an edited text of the Statement made on 26 July 2014 by Ms Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, on her departure. She said: "I have just concluded my first official ten- day mission as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. The objective of my visit was to assess the human rights situation in Myanmar through a better understanding of the realities on the ground. Accordingly, I sought to engage constructively with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including Government officials, political, religious and community leaders, civil society representatives, as well as victims of human rights violations and members of the international community. I was pleased to have had a frank and open exchange of views on a range of matters related to my mandate. And I am grateful that many were so forthcoming in their views on sensitive issues.
"Today, I would wish to highlight some preliminary observations from my mission and from additional background research." Continue reading.....
- UN Myanmar envoy worried over displaced Muslims - Associated Press
- 2015 Election not genuine if rights are oppressed: UN Envoy - Eleven Media
- UN envoy: Myanmar camps for Muslims deplorable - Voice of America
- Conditions 'deplorable' in Arakan IDP camps: Alex Bookbinder - DVB
International experts meet to discuss Census issuesPress Release UNFPA - 23 July 2014
An advisory group of census experts from around the world will meet on 23 and 24 July 2014, the fourth meeting of the International Technical Advisory Board (ITAB) and the first meeting following the census enumeration.
One key issue that members will discuss is possible ways to respond to the under-coverage of households in the Rakhine and Kachin States. In Rakhine, areas occupied by specific Muslim populations, were not counted in the census following the Government’s decision to refuse to allow them to self-identify as Rohingya. Populations were left out or only partially enumerated in a number of non-state controlled areas of Kachin.
Members will also discuss the Observation Mission Report. The Ministry of Immigration and Population, to support transparency efforts on data collection for the census, invited an Independent Census Observation Mission to Myanmar. The Mission comprised 47 experienced observers, 23 international and 24 Myanmar nationals. These teams of experts were composed of statisticians, census experts, demographers and social scientists. They are currently in the process of finalising their report that will be available, together with a summary of key findings, on both the Department of Population and UNFPAs’ websites. Derek Tonkin writes: The UNFPA has been slow to respond to criticisms that the Census was little short of a fiasco. No doubt it has taken time to collate reports, but apart from preliminary comments from international observers indicating that the Census was on the whole succesful, there has been a total silence from UNFPA and international observers over the past three months. There has been no official report either of what happened at the meeting on 23-24 July.
UNFPA public relations have fallen well short of what has been needed.
Myanmar's Parliament works on constitutional amendment
Xin Hua - 24 July 2014
The Constitutional Amendment Implementation Committee of Myanmar has submitted its preliminary report. The Committee has said in a statement that it has reviewed a total of 340 clauses from several sections of the 2008 constitution, taking into consideration advice from all parties including the public, organizations, political parties and the army. The remaining clauses will be reviewed similarly, the committee said….
Following the final report, it is expected that the proposed constitutional amendments will be brought to the agenda of the parliament for discussion in the near future. Two key sensitive sections of the constitution, which are Section 436 and Section 59(f), will top the debate.
Section 436 of the constitution prescribes that the amendment of the constitution needs the approval of more than 75 percent of all parliament members (MPs). Of them, the non-elected military representatives account for 25 percent or one fourth dominating the parliament, while the rest are shared by various political parties and ethnic groups.
Moreover, changes to some provisions of the sections of the constitution also need the prior support of over 75 percent of all MPs and following the approval of the MPs, a national referendum is to be held, in which more than 50 percent of eligible voters have to support the move. The committee is said to propose to revise the percentage to 66 percent or two thirds so as to enable the possibility of amendment by the parliament.
Derek Tonkin writes: Xin Hua revealed as early as 21 May that the Committee would be likely to propose replacing 75% by 66% in Section 436. The NLD signature campaign does not include any recommendation concerning the percentage. The NLD say that their campaign is directed primarily at influencing opinion in parliament, not in the Committee itself where they are represented.
- Free and fair? No, say Opposition - Myanmar Times
- Lower House to discuss proportional representation system - IANS
Myanmar: Between economic miracle and myth
Stuart Paul Larkin: ISEAS Perspective - 11 July 2014
The writer, who is a Visiting Fellow at ISEAS in Singapore, points out that U Thein Sein’s government and international donor agencies are optimistic that Myanmar can become a middle-income nation and significantly increase its per capita income by 2030 if political reforms and current growth rates of around 8 per cent are maintained.
However, foreign investments into resource enclaves and the recycling of “resource rents” earned by government elites into the country’s real estate and consumer imports boom may undermine its economic potential and perpetuate a “resource curse”. For growth to be inclusive and sustainable, the economy requires structural change to accommodate labour-intensive manufacturing-exports platforms. A currency devaluation is necessary to promote competitiveness, along with infrastructure development. Continue reading…..
Latest News and Views
- MSF invited back to Rakhine State - Myanmar Times
- Between resource curse and export-led development: Stuart Larkin - Financial Times
- Fears about Myanmar's political and economic realities: Kat Caulderwood - IBT
- Tipped as next Army Chief, Mya Tun Oo gets promotion - The Irrawaddy
- Burma opens up, but true democracy is still elusive: Annie Gowen - Washington Post
- NLD says 5 million sign petition to change Constitution - Reuters
- Myanmar's Constitutional Uncertainty: Sebastian Sergio - The Diplomat
- New UN Rights Rapporteur meets with Rohingya, Arakan leaders - The Irrawaddy
- The real victims of US sanctions on Myanmar: Simon Tay, Cheryl Tan - Japan Times
Myanmar media say latest Mandalay clashes caused by false rape claim
Agence France-Presse - 20 July 2014
Myanmar's latest clashes began after a Buddhist woman was paid to make false rape claims against two Muslim men, state media reported Sunday. Two men - a Buddhist and a Muslim - died in riots in Mandalay that flared on July 1 following social media reports that the Muslim men had raped a Buddhist employee at their tea shop. More than 20 others were wounded as violence rocked the city for several days, the latest in a series of sectarian clashes that have troubled the nation for two years.
But a police investigation found the woman was paid to fabricate the accusation against the men, the New Light of Myanmar [in fact, only the Burmese-language version 'Myanmar Ahlin'] reported. The report, citing the Ministry of Home Affairs, said a medical examination of the woman - named as Phyu Phyu Min - found "no sign of rape or other violence. After a detailed investigation she confessed that she accused the two men because she was paid" to do so by two other people who apparently had a personal dispute with the tea shop owners. The woman has been arrested alongside one of the people alleged to have paid her.
- Criticism over slow response to rape charges - Myanmar Times
- Hluttaw silent on religious conflict: Ei Ei Toe Lwin - Myanmar Times
- Authorities say rape case causing Mandalay unrest was faked - The Irrawaddy
- Myanmar finds rape case causing unrest was faked - Associated Press
British Chamber of Commerce launched in Myanmar
British Chambers of Commerce - 16 July 2014
Today, the UK has become the first country to launch a completely new, locally registered Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar. The role of the Chamber is to promote, foster, support, and represent UK business interests in Myanmar - directly helping British firms identify market opportunities and providing them with a first port of call when looking to trade in that particular market.
This is part of the wider Overseas Business Networks Initiative (OBNi) - an ongoing partnership between the British Chambers of Commerce, UK Trade and Investment and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The aim is to transform the support available for British SMEs looking to do business in high-growth, hard-to-access global markets. It is also a crucial part of the Prime Minister’s drive to double the UK’s annual exports to £1 trillion and to increase the number of UK exporters by 100,000 by 2020.
The British Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar is being supported by four British businesses who are acting as founding patrons - BG Group, Jardines, Prudential and Standard Chartered Bank. The Chamber has five Gold Sponsors - Agrekko, British American Tobacco, Herbert Smith Freehills, Shell and Stephenson Harwood and it has already secured 86 founding members.
Derek Tonkin writes: This is the latest in a series of British trade, investment, development and financial services initiatives in Myanmar which as a result and for all practical purposes now exclude the likelihood of any return to the days of sanctions and isolation which characterised British policies from 1988 to 2011 - unless there were to be a very serious reversal of the reform process. The only Western country not yet committed to whole-hearted engagement is the United States where notions of 'conditionality' still persist, particularly in Republican circles anxious to deny President Obama's claims of a foreign policy 'success' in a country the US still calls 'Burma' on every possible occasion, though in other Western countries the dichotomy Burma/Myanmar is no longer an issue of any real substance.
- UK FCO Minister of State Hugo Swire on Burma - The Diplomat
- Launch of British Chamber of Commerce - UK Government.
- UK supporting Burma's business governance - British Embassy Yangon
- UK supporting Burma's green growth - British Embassy Yangon
- Oxford University strengthens ties in Burma - The Irrawaddy
