U.S. Ambassador Derek Mitchell and Assistant Secretary Tom Malinowski will host a discussion on national identity, tolerance, and technology in the new Myanmar with youth, civil society, interfaith leaders, and technologists from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Yangon time (4:30am EST) on Tuesday, January 19 at Phandeeyar in Yangon. Follow the conversation live on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/usembassy.rangoon/ or on twitter using #ONEMYA:https://twitter.com/hashtag/ONEMYA.
How can you participate in this important discussion? We’re soliciting questions from our Facebook and Twitter audience! Do you have a question or comment about national identity and tolerance in the new Myanmar? Use the comment section below or #OneMYA to submit a question or tell us what you think by 5:00 p.m. Myanmar time onMonday, January 18. Then follow the conversation live on the same platforms, and Ambassador Mitchell and Assistance Secretary Malinowski will feed in a few of your advance questions to the discussion on Tuesday. Check back during the event and next week for their responses! (Courtesy of humanrights.gov)
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Rampaging elephants force Myanmar villagers into tree-top refuges
Pushed from their forest home by encroaching farm land, wild elephants are driving fearful villagers in a Myanmar township to seek refuge in tree houses while the animals storm their rice paddies looking for food.
The elephants have trampled crops, destroyed homes and even, villagers say, killed people in their path -- forcing families in Kyat Chuang to build new shelters made of wood and bamboo on higher ground.
"We have had to move our huts into the trees, so we are safe," explained San Lwin, who dashes several metres up a tree to his thatch-roofed shelter when the elephants are near.
Villagers in Kyat Chaung, a farming community 100 kilometres north of Yangon, told AFP they yearned for the days before the elephant rampages started three years ago. (Courtesy of AFP)
The elephants have trampled crops, destroyed homes and even, villagers say, killed people in their path -- forcing families in Kyat Chuang to build new shelters made of wood and bamboo on higher ground.
"We have had to move our huts into the trees, so we are safe," explained San Lwin, who dashes several metres up a tree to his thatch-roofed shelter when the elephants are near.
Villagers in Kyat Chaung, a farming community 100 kilometres north of Yangon, told AFP they yearned for the days before the elephant rampages started three years ago. (Courtesy of AFP)
Myanmar releases new environmental impact rules
The Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry has issued new procedures for evaluating the environmental impact of local projects, as well as new guidelines on emissions.
The Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure – approved by the cabinet in November – was drafted with support from the Asian Development Bank and based on guidelines from the International Finance Corporation. They are tailored for Myanmar, with the government also drawing conclusions from the experiences of its neighbours, the Myanmar Times reported on Friday. The procedures were issued in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday, it added.
Deputy Environmental Conservation and Forestry Minister Thet Then Zin said the EIA process helps identify possible consequences of projects on socioeconomic development and minimise their impact on the environment. EIA systems would be applied in Myanmar as they have been across Asean countries, she added. (Courtesy of Bangkok Post: News)
The Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure – approved by the cabinet in November – was drafted with support from the Asian Development Bank and based on guidelines from the International Finance Corporation. They are tailored for Myanmar, with the government also drawing conclusions from the experiences of its neighbours, the Myanmar Times reported on Friday. The procedures were issued in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday, it added.
Deputy Environmental Conservation and Forestry Minister Thet Then Zin said the EIA process helps identify possible consequences of projects on socioeconomic development and minimise their impact on the environment. EIA systems would be applied in Myanmar as they have been across Asean countries, she added. (Courtesy of Bangkok Post: News)
The Litmus Test of Leadership
It was no small feat at the Panglong Conference in February 1947 when Bogyoke Aung San united the country's ethnic minorities behind his vision of a federal Burma. In one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world he convinced them to subscribe to the concept of one Myanmar family, comprised of several constituent elements.
Even though Aung San was only 32 at the time, he showed a capacity for leadership beyond his years.
Aung San formulated a far-reaching vision on the fabric of his country and his compatriots chose to follow him on the path to an independent and peaceful Myanmar. Sadly, the Bogyoke was assassinated six months before the country gained the independence for which he fought so hard. Aung San had the ability to bring people together and unite them and after his death there was no one to uphold the Panglong Agreement. Myanmar descended into civil war.
aung san’s insights are relevant to this day. Every ethnic leader and aspiring politician in post-conflict Myanmar should re-read his speeches and comments on federalism, a concept with many faces that few in Myanmar fully grasp. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Even though Aung San was only 32 at the time, he showed a capacity for leadership beyond his years.
Aung San formulated a far-reaching vision on the fabric of his country and his compatriots chose to follow him on the path to an independent and peaceful Myanmar. Sadly, the Bogyoke was assassinated six months before the country gained the independence for which he fought so hard. Aung San had the ability to bring people together and unite them and after his death there was no one to uphold the Panglong Agreement. Myanmar descended into civil war.
aung san’s insights are relevant to this day. Every ethnic leader and aspiring politician in post-conflict Myanmar should re-read his speeches and comments on federalism, a concept with many faces that few in Myanmar fully grasp. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Myanmar: Inland port Mandalay to be handled by Singapore and local company
Myanmar is building up new inland rail terminals to have an alternative to transport of goods and services. Kerry Logistics Network that provides integrated logistic services across Asia and Myanmar’s Resources Group of Logistics will be handling the inland port work near Yangon’s Ywar Thar Gyi station and Mandalay’s Myit Nge Gone station, according to a report in 7day news.
The ports which is responsible to Myanma Railway opened for tender in September 2014 to both local and foreign companies.
The trade port will be mainly be for the rail terminal that would be an alternative to a bus terminal that could face high traffic.
The construction will take place from January 2016 to end of 2017 with a build, operate and transfer system on a 50 year lease. (Courtesy of dealstreetasia.com)
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Rakhine Extremist Send Rohingya Man to Hospital after Failed Attempt to Murder
A Rakhine (Magh) extremist sent a Rohingya man to hospital after his failed attempt to murder him (the Rohingya) in Sittwe (Akyab) Township yesterday (i.e. January 15, 2016) morning, the local sources report.
The Rakhine extremist is identified to be ‘U Kyaw Bo (son of) U Hla Tun Phru, 39, from Rakhine hamlet of ‘Thae Chaung’ village tract. He trapped the Rohingya man after reportedly hiring him for plucking Coconuts from his ‘Coconut Farm.’
Meanwhile, a Rohingya man passer-by witnessed that he (i.e. the Rakhine extremist) along with a Rakhine extremist group was beating him up and attempting to kill the Rohingya man (hired as a labour). As soon as the man witnessed that, the extremist group leader, U Kyaw Bo, called up the village administrator, U Kyaw Win Swe (also known to be an extremist leader), and the commander of the Security Force (Hlun Htein) Battalion 36, Captain U Than Shwe (a staunch supporter of Rakhines); and sent the victim to the ‘Thakkay Pyin’ clinic. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
The Rakhine extremist is identified to be ‘U Kyaw Bo (son of) U Hla Tun Phru, 39, from Rakhine hamlet of ‘Thae Chaung’ village tract. He trapped the Rohingya man after reportedly hiring him for plucking Coconuts from his ‘Coconut Farm.’
Meanwhile, a Rohingya man passer-by witnessed that he (i.e. the Rakhine extremist) along with a Rakhine extremist group was beating him up and attempting to kill the Rohingya man (hired as a labour). As soon as the man witnessed that, the extremist group leader, U Kyaw Bo, called up the village administrator, U Kyaw Win Swe (also known to be an extremist leader), and the commander of the Security Force (Hlun Htein) Battalion 36, Captain U Than Shwe (a staunch supporter of Rakhines); and sent the victim to the ‘Thakkay Pyin’ clinic. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
Rakhine Refugees Await Return After Arakan Army Clashes
More than 250 people are waiting on the green light from the government to return to their villages after clashes between the Arakan Army and the military sent them fleeing from their homes at the end of last year.
Several days of fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army beginning on December 27, around 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Sittwe at the border between Kyauktaw and Mrauk U townships, left an unknown number of military personnel dead and more than 30 civilians missing.
The Tatmadaw has not released casualty figures but it is believed that at least five soldiers and an officer have been killed in the fighting. State-run media carried an obituary on December 31 for an officer who died in action.
A senior government official in Rakhine State told Frontier that troops had been deployed to Mount Yamchaung, where fighting broke out, to examine the situation on the ground and make a decision as to whether it was safe for the refugees to return. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Several days of fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army beginning on December 27, around 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Sittwe at the border between Kyauktaw and Mrauk U townships, left an unknown number of military personnel dead and more than 30 civilians missing.
The Tatmadaw has not released casualty figures but it is believed that at least five soldiers and an officer have been killed in the fighting. State-run media carried an obituary on December 31 for an officer who died in action.
A senior government official in Rakhine State told Frontier that troops had been deployed to Mount Yamchaung, where fighting broke out, to examine the situation on the ground and make a decision as to whether it was safe for the refugees to return. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
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