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Showing posts from November, 2014

Koh Tao’s dark side: dangers of island where Britons were murdered

Koh Tao, where Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered, is steeped in paradoxes. Photograph: Alamy Six weeks on, there is little to mark the spot on the idyllic rocky beach inlet on Koh Tao where Hannah Witheridge and David Miller met such brutal deaths ; just two tiny piles of stones separated by a line of twigs in the sand, someone’s modest, anonymous, temporary memorial. A few hundred yards away along Sairee beach, the main tourist drag on the Thai holiday island, life continues as normal. Business, says a French man running a dive shop – much of Ko

Yangon’s Hero, Wielding Power of Stop and Go

By THOMAS FULLER NOV. 21, 2014 Sgt. Khin Myint Maung directing cars in Myanmar’s largest city, where his accolades are also an indictment of others’ corruption. Credit Tomas Munita for The New York Times YANGON, Myanmar — For 12 hours nearly every day, Sgt. Khin Myint Maung stands in one of the most chaotic intersections in this chronically gridlocked city, untangling traffic snarls with patience and unflagging good humor. It is not the most likely résumé for a recipient of a hero of the year award from a leading daily newspaper, or designation as a “role model” officer by the Yangon police force or a “real-life hero” by a German foundation. But the 26-year-old from the provinces, only recently promoted to sergeant, has earned all those awards, rising to fame purely by word of mouth. It is nearly impossible to find a taxi driver in Yangon who does n

Burma leads the world in people giving money to charity

November 19, 2014 Burma leads the way in terms of public engagement in giving – image by Brett Ciccotelll via Flickr The 2014 World Giving Index has found that a larger proportion of Burmese people give money to charity every month than any other country on earth – by far. On November 18 th , the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) published the fifth edition of the worlds only global index of charitable activity which ranks nations based on the proportion of people who, according to Gallup’s World Poll, had given money to a charity, volunteered or helped a stranger in the past month. Remarkably, this year Burma (Myanmar) shares first place with the United States of America. By taking into account volunteering and informal acts of kindness to strangers, the World Giving Index can build a picture of generosity that is less skewed by wealth than a study that merely looks at financial giving. Many developing and transitional economies have vibrant and long standing

The sceptre of Rakhaines

The sceptre of Rakhaines Interview with Myentthein Promila   Asmaul Husna Publish Date : 2014-11-10 The almost sinking ship of Rakhaines, mainly in Patukhali and Barguna district, is in a hand of a lady who is giving her utmost effort to hold the mast tightly. She is none other than Myentthein Promila. She was born, in 1981, and brought up in a remote place of Patuakhali, Kola Para. From her childhood, she was determined to work for her community as she was discriminated and teased in school for her food habit, dress and physical appearance by the non-Rakhaines. Her father, Soe Shoue Hawlader, completed his graduation from Fine Arts Institute of University of Dhaka who preferred to teach in the remote area, Kola Para, instead of making good fortunes in Dhaka. He established a Fine Arts Academy there. Her mother is a housewife. When she was a college student at Kola Para, she engaged herself in different forums to raise voice on behalf of women. Later, she moved to Dhaka as she

Myanmar rebels say 22 recruits dead in army attack

A heavy artillery attack by the Myanmar army in the far north has killed 22 Kachin rebels and injured 15 when it hit a training camp near the rebel stronghold town of Laiza.  YANGON: Ethnic minority Kachin rebels in the far north of Myanmar said 22 of their troops were killed in an army heavy artillery attack on Wednesday (Nov 19), amid foundering efforts to reach a nationwide peace deal. The barrage also injured 15 when it hit fighters at a training camp near the rebel stronghold town of Laiza, a spokesman for group said, in the largest attack in recent months in a conflict that has uprooted tens of thousands of people and tempered optimism over political reforms. "It's the biggest loss for us in a single attack, compared with the fighting in recent years," La Nan, of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), told AFP. Myanmar's quasi-civilian government has said negotiating a historic nationwide ceasefire is a central pillar of reforms that have seen th

Myanmar army attacks Kachin rebel stronghold

New offensive launched against ethnic group near China border, killing more than 20 people in day of fighting. Last updated: 20 Nov 2014 Myanmar's army has launched a new offensive  against ethnic Kachin rebels around their headquarters near  the Chinese border, killing more than 20 people in a mortar attack and skirmishes  that lasted the whole day, rebel officials said. Most of the casualties occurred when government troops hit an officer  training academy used by the rebels near the frontier city of Laiza, leaving  22 fighters dead and 15 more wounded, according to La Nan, a spokesman for  the Kachin Independence Army. La Nan said the army fired from a nearby hilltop about 50km outside Laiza. He said at least one Kachin villager was also killed in skirmishes in the area that began in the morning. Mya

Kachin rebels say 23 cadets killed by Myanmar army shell

(Reuters) - Twenty three cadets of the ethnic insurgent group the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) were killed when they were hit by a single shell fired by Myanmar's army on Wednesday, the KIA said in a statement on Thursday. The KIA is the last ethnic insurgent group still fighting Myanmar's government after a 17-year ceasefire broke down in 2011 and a peace process to end conflict with ethnic minorities in Myanmar has stalled. U.S. President Barack Obama called on Myanmar's leaders to push forward with the peace process on a visit to the country last week. The number of dead in the shelling was the largest made public in the conflict between the KIA and army for many months. In April, General Gun Maw, deputy commander in chief of the KIA and a member of the insurgents' main political committee, said that the KIA had suffered over 1,000 casualties since hostilities resumed, including 280 killed. The KIA took up arms in 1961 and is the second lar

Deadly Myanmar shell 'mistakenly hit' Kachin rebels

20 November 2014      The Myanmar army has denied it deliberately targeted a Kachin rebel camp in a mortar attack that killed 23 people. The shell had been intended as a warning shot and was not aimed directly at the rebels, Kachin State's security minister, Col Than Aung, said. The rebels have threatened to abandon ceasefire talks because of the attack. Myanmar's government has been in peace negotiations with the Kachin and other ethnic rebel groups. The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Yangon says the government will hope its statement will be enough to persuade the rebels to show up at the next round of talks in December. The attack took place on Wednesday, in the rebel stronghold of Laiza, bordering China. A spokesman for the Kachin Independence Army told AP news agency that government troops fired from a nearby hilltop while the rebels were conducting military training.  He claimed at least 15

Nearly Two Dozen Kachin Rebels Killed in Myanmar Military Attack

2014-11-19 Kachin sources say the bombardment targeted an officer training center. Myanmar government troops fired mortars on an ethnic Kachin rebel training center in northern Kachin state Wednesday, killing as many as 22 insurgents and wounding at least 15 others, in the deadliest attack in three years, according to rebel officials. It dealt a fresh blow to efforts by the government to forge a nationwide cease-fire agreement with Myanmar’s rebel groups, which have balked on signing the pact amid disagreements on future political rights and ongoing clashes with the country’s military in remote border regions. Lamai Gum Ja, a member of a Kachin peace mediation group, said the assault on the Kachin officer training academy near the Kachin Indepen

Myanmar army attack kills over 20 Kachin fighters

EPA/NYEIN CHAN NAING   New fighting in Kachin State has left over 20 dead after a mortar attack on a training facility yesterday. A compound outside Laiza, Kachin State was shelled yesterday afternoon by members of the Tatmadaw, killing as many as 23 cadets of the Kachin Independence Army or KIA. Around 15 other KIA members were reportedly injured in the attack, a release from the group said. The government did not respond to requests for comment. The attack is reported to be the largest in recent months in a conflict that has uprooted tens of thousands of people. A 17-year ceasefire between the KIA and the Myanmar military broke down in June 2011. The United Nations estimates that around 100,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in the resource-rich Kachin State. The attack comes as the government and armed ethnic groups are struggling to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement. The most recent round of talks between the gov

An Open Letter to Ban Ki Moom by Dr. Aye Chan

An Open Letter to Ban Ki Moom. Dear Ban: The term you used, So-called “Rohingya” wa s a brazen insult to the people of Myanmar. You have said, you used the term for it has been accepted by the United Nations and International community. However, has been certain that you and United Nations have bluntly supporting the Tyranny of Majority on the Rakhine people from the Rakhine State of Burma. I am a historian and I have written many treatises about the etymology of that term, although you are ignoring. “Rohingya” derived from the Bengali corruption of “Rohong,” “Roshang,” and “Roan,”that all refers to Rakhine. French scholar Jacques Leider, U Khin Maung Saw, and I have proved that with Bengali, and British colonial administrative records. It is sure that “ja” is “man” in Bengali.Therefore, “Rohingya” refers to Rakhine and “Rakhine Ethnic Identity.” If they use that term to call themselves it is surely a snatch of national identity. A French man will call a German “Almany.

An Open Letter to American President Barack Obama

Dear Mr. President Obama As you note, the time is now on the brink seeking for the equitable way of peaceful co-existence between the conflicted communities in Rakhine State of Myanmar.  In such scenario, one should know the truest facts about of those communities in order to find out the truest solution. One should not be happened to come into the arena with overwhelmingly biased facts, fabricated propaganda, pretentious diplomacies, and treacherous plots, but with truth, sincerity, broad mind and most importantly humanitarian approach to both sides. Regrettably, there is wide spreading untrue facts in and out of Myanmar about our Rakhine land and Rakhine (Arakanese) people who are victimized as reversed elements due to a few opportunities for us to tell the truth and to revert the lies of other side. In fact, we Rakhine people are the most neglected indigenous human beings for their basic human rights in this world, and we dare to proclaim hereby such as to all t

China and the United States Are Preparing for War

BY Michael Pillsbury NOVEMBER 13, 2014 Despite the Obama-Xi handshake deal, the probability of confrontation will only heighten as long as the PLA remains a black box.  t a Nov. 12 news conference in Beijing, General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed to notify the other side before major military activities, and to develop a set of rules of behavior for sea and air encounters, in order to avoid military confrontations in Asia. "It's incredibly important that we avoid inadvertent escalation," Ben Rhodes, a U.S. deputy national security adviser, told the Wall Street Journal . An "accidental circumstance," he said, could "lead into something that could precipitate a conflict." Should we really be worried about war between the United States and China? Yes. Over the last four decades of studying China, I have spoken with hundreds of members of China's military, the Peo