Acts Adopted Under Title V of the Treaty on European Union)
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Report on Tourism in Burma March 2011
Report on Tourism in Burma March 2011 Info Birmanie 74, rue Notre Dame des champs 75006 Paris www.info-birmanie.org e-mail : [email protected] 1. Introduction (p.1) 2 . The History of Tourism in Burma (p.2) 3. The issue of tourism in Burma (p.3 to 9) The Reasons for a Call to Boycott Tourism in Burma : Illusions & Realities 4. An Analysis of the Junta’s Economic Supports (p.10 to 14) Revenues Transport Hotels 5 . Accessible Tourist Zones (p.15 to 22) 6. Travel Agencies Ethics (p.23 to 25) The Absence of Ethics Which Agency to Choose? Which Travel Guide to Use? 7. The Official Statistics of Tourism (p.26 to 27) 8. Conclusion (p.28) 9. Practical Advice (p.29) Chronology (p.30 to 33) 1. Introduction ‘Burma will be here for many years, so tell your friends to visit us later. Visiting now is tantamount to condoning the regime.’ The above statement, which dates from 1999, is a famous quote of Aung San Suu Kyi, Laureate of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize and leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the main Burmese opposition party. It reminds us that since the call to boycott launched in the mid-90s by the Burmese opponents of the military dictatorship, travelling in Burma remains a moral dilemma that is still relevant fifteen years later. However, some plead in favour of Burmese tourism, forgetting both the opposition’s numerous calls to boycott and the terrible situation in which the Burmese people live. In May 2011, the NLD has published a policy paper that put an end to the call for boycott but calls for responsible and independent tourism in Burma. -
Reform in Myanmar: One Year On
Update Briefing Asia Briefing N°136 Jakarta/Brussels, 11 April 2012 Reform in Myanmar: One Year On mar hosts the South East Asia Games in 2013 and takes I. OVERVIEW over the chairmanship of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014. One year into the new semi-civilian government, Myanmar has implemented a wide-ranging set of reforms as it em- Reforming the economy is another major issue. While vital barks on a remarkable top-down transition from five dec- and long overdue, there is a risk that making major policy ades of authoritarian rule. In an address to the nation on 1 changes in a context of unreliable data and weak econom- March 2012 marking his first year in office, President Thein ic institutions could create unintended economic shocks. Sein made clear that the goal was to introduce “genuine Given the high levels of impoverishment and vulnerabil- democracy” and that there was still much more to be done. ity, even a relatively minor shock has the potential to have This ambitious agenda includes further democratic reform, a major impact on livelihoods. At a time when expectations healing bitter wounds of the past, rebuilding the economy are running high, and authoritarian controls on the popu- and ensuring the rule of law, as well as respecting ethnic lation have been loosened, there would be a potential for diversity and equality. The changes are real, but the chal- unrest. lenges are complex and numerous. To consolidate and build on what has been achieved and increase the likeli- A third challenge is consolidating peace in ethnic areas. -
COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2003/297/CFSP of 28 April 2003 on Burma/Myanmar
L 106/36EN Official Journal of the European Union 29.4.2003 (Acts adopted pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union) COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2003/297/CFSP of 28 April 2003 on Burma/Myanmar THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, will not be imposed if by that time there is substantive progress towards national reconciliation, the restoration of a democratic order and greater respect for human Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in parti- rights in Burma/Myanmar. cular Article 15 thereof, (6) Exemptions should be introduced in the arms embargo Whereas: in order to allow the export of certain military rated equipment for humanitarian use. (1) On 28 October 1996, the Council adopted Common Position 96/635/CFSP on Burma/Myanmar (1), which (7) The implementation of the visa ban should be without expires on 29 April 2003. prejudice to cases where a Member State is bound by an obligation of international law, or is host country of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (2) In view of the further deterioration in the political situa- (OSCE), or where the Minister and Vice-Minister for tion in Burma/Myanmar, as witnessed by the failure of Foreign Affairs for Burma/Myanmar visit with prior noti- the military authorities to enter into substantive discus- fication and agreement of the Council. sions with the democratic movement concerning a process leading to national reconciliation, respect for human rights and democracy and the continuing serious (8) The implementation of the ban on high level visits at the violations -
TRENDS in MANDALAY Photo Credits
Local Governance Mapping THE STATE OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE: TRENDS IN MANDALAY Photo credits Paul van Hoof Mithulina Chatterjee Myanmar Survey Research The views expressed in this publication are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of UNDP. Local Governance Mapping THE STATE OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE: TRENDS IN MANDALAY UNDP MYANMAR Table of Contents Acknowledgements II Acronyms III Executive Summary 1 1. Introduction 11 2. Methodology 14 2.1 Objectives 15 2.2 Research tools 15 3. Introduction to Mandalay region and participating townships 18 3.1 Socio-economic context 20 3.2 Demographics 22 3.3 Historical context 23 3.4 Governance institutions 26 3.5 Introduction to the three townships participating in the mapping 33 4. Governance at the frontline: Participation in planning, responsiveness for local service provision and accountability 38 4.1 Recent developments in Mandalay region from a citizen’s perspective 39 4.1.1 Citizens views on improvements in their village tract or ward 39 4.1.2 Citizens views on challenges in their village tract or ward 40 4.1.3 Perceptions on safety and security in Mandalay Region 43 4.2 Development planning and citizen participation 46 4.2.1 Planning, implementation and monitoring of development fund projects 48 4.2.2 Participation of citizens in decision-making regarding the utilisation of the development funds 52 4.3 Access to services 58 4.3.1 Basic healthcare service 62 4.3.2 Primary education 74 4.3.3 Drinking water 83 4.4 Information, transparency and accountability 94 4.4.1 Aspects of institutional and social accountability 95 4.4.2 Transparency and access to information 102 4.4.3 Civil society’s role in enhancing transparency and accountability 106 5. -
NAY PYI TAW, 12 Daw Kyaing Kyaing Were Aung Myint Oo, Chairman Guests
Established 1914 Volume XVI, Number 301 4th Waning of Tabodwe 1370 ME Friday, 13 February, 2009 Auspicious and historic Day “Union Day” is an auspicious and historic day, on which the Union of Myanmar, through the might of unity of national people, managed to throw off the yoke of servitude under the colonialists who enslaved the nation for more than one hundred years, and the nation became an independent and sovereign nation again. Senior General Than Shwe Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services (From the 59th Anniversary Union Day message) Senior General Than Shwe, wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing host Union Day commemorative reception and dinner NAY PYI TAW, 12 Daw Kyaing Kyaing were Aung Myint Oo, Chairman guests. ister General Thein Sein and Chief Justice, the Attorney- Feb—Chairman of the State welcomed at City Hall of Management Commit- Senior General wife Daw Khin Khin Win, General, the Auditor-Gen- Peace and Development Square by Vice-Chairman tee for Observance of the Than Shwe and wife Daw Chairman of Central Com- eral and their wives, mem- Council of the Union of of the State Peace and De- 62nd Anniversary Union Kyaing Kyaing hosted the mittee for Observance of bers of the central commit- Myanmar Senior General velopment Council Vice- Day Commander of Nay dinner to the guests. the 62nd Anniversary Un- tee and management com- Than Shwe and wife Daw Senior General Maung Pyi Taw Command Maj- It was also at- ion Day Secretary-1 of the mittee for observance of the Kyaing Kyaing hosted a Aye, Member of the SPDC Gen Wai Lwin and offi- tended by Vice-Chairman SPDC Lt-Gen Thiha Thura 62nd Anniversary Union reception and dinner to General Thura Shwe cials. -
Weekly Security Review (27 August – 2 September 2020)
Commercial-In-Confidence Weekly Security Review (27 August – 2 September 2020) Weekly Security Review Safety and Security Highlights for Clients Operating in Myanmar 27 August – 2 September 2020 Page 1 of 27 Commercial-In-Confidence Weekly Security Review (27 August – 2 September 2020) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. 3 Internal Conflict ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Nationwide .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Rakhine State ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Shan State ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Myanmar and the World ......................................................................................................................... 8 Election Watch ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Social and Political Stability ................................................................................................................... 11 Transportation ...................................................................................................................................... -
B U R M a B U L L E T
B U R M A B U L L E T I N ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞A month-in-review of events in Burma∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ A L T E R N A T I V E A S E A N N E T W O R K O N B U R M A campaigns, advocacy & capacity-building for human rights & democracy Issue 20 August 2008 • Fearing a wave of demonstrations commemorating th IN THIS ISSUE the 20 anniversary of the nationwide uprising, the SPDC embarks on a massive crackdown on political KEY STORY activists. The regime arrests 71 activists, including 1 August crackdown eight NLD members, two elected MPs, and three 2 Activists arrested Buddhist monks. 2 Prison sentences • Despite the regime’s crackdown, students, workers, 3 Monks targeted and ordinary citizens across Burma carry out INSIDE BURMA peaceful demonstrations, activities, and acts of 3 8-8-8 Demonstrations defiance against the SPDC to commemorate 8-8-88. 4 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi 4 Cyclone Nargis aid • Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is allowed to meet with her 5 Cyclone camps close lawyer for the first time in five years. She also 5 SPDC aid windfall receives a visit from her doctor. Daw Suu is rumored 5 Floods to have started a hunger strike. 5 More trucks from China • UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma HUMAN RIGHTS 5 Ojea Quintana goes to Burma Tomás Ojea Quintana makes his first visit to the 6 Rape of ethnic women country. The SPDC controls his meeting agenda and restricts his freedom of movement. -
Yangon Region Gov't, HK-Taiwan Consortium Ink Industrial Zone Deal
Business Yangon Region Gov’t, HK-Taiwan Consortium Ink Industrial Zone Deal Yangon Region Minister for Planning and Finance U Myint Thaung delivers the opening speech at a press conference at the Yangon Investment Forum 2019. / The Global New Light of Myanmar By THE IRRAWADDY 29 April 2019 YANGON—The Yangon regional government will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a consortium of Hong Kong and Taiwan companies next month to develop an international-standard industrial zone in Htantabin Township in the west of the commercial capital. Worth an estimated US$500 million (761.2 billion kyats) the Htantabin Industrial Zone will be implemented on more than 1,000 acres and is expected to create more than 150,000 job opportunities, said Naw Pan Thinzar Myo, Yangon Region Karen ethnic affairs minister, at a press conference on Friday. The regional government and the Hong Kong-Taiwan consortium, Golden Myanmar Investment Co., are scheduled to sign the MoU at the 2nd Yangon Investment Fair on May 10, which will showcase about 80 projects across Yangon Region in an effort to drum up local and foreign investment. It is expected to take about nine years to fully implement the Htantabin Industrial Zone. The MoU is the first to be implemented among 11 industrial zones planned by the Yangon regional government in undeveloped areas on the outskirts of Yangon. A map of the Htantabin Industrial Zone / Invest Myanmar Summit website At the country’s first Investment Fair in late January, the Yangon government showcased planned international-standard industrial zones in 11 townships: Kungyangon, Kawhmu, Twantay, Thingyan, Kyauktan, Khayan, Thongwa, Taikkyi, Hmawbi, Hlegu and Htantabin. -
Shwe U Daung and the Burmese Sherlock Holmes: to Be a Modern Burmese Citizen Living in a Nation‐State, 1889 – 1962
Shwe U Daung and the Burmese Sherlock Holmes: To be a modern Burmese citizen living in a nation‐state, 1889 – 1962 Yuri Takahashi Southeast Asian Studies School of Languages and Cultures Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney April 2017 A thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Statement of originality This is to certify that to the best of my knowledge, the content of this thesis is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources has been acknowledged. Yuri Takahashi 2 April 2017 CONTENTS page Acknowledgements i Notes vi Abstract vii Figures ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Biography Writing as History and Shwe U Daung 20 Chapter 2 A Family after the Fall of Mandalay: Shwe U Daung’s Childhood and School Life 44 Chapter 3 Education, Occupation and Marriage 67 Chapter ‘San Shar the Detective’ and Burmese Society between 1917 and 1930 88 Chapter 5 ‘San Shar the Detective’ and Burmese Society between 1930 and 1945 114 Chapter 6 ‘San Shar the Detective’ and Burmese Society between 1945 and 1962 140 Conclusion 166 Appendix 1 A biography of Shwe U Daung 172 Appendix 2 Translation of Pyone Cho’s Buddhist songs 175 Bibliography 193 i ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I came across Shwe U Daung’s name quite a long time ago in a class on the history of Burmese literature at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. -
China, India, and Myanmar: Playing Rohingya Roulette?
CHAPTER 4 China, India, and Myanmar: Playing Rohingya Roulette? Hossain Ahmed Taufiq INTRODUCTION It is no secret that both China and India compete for superpower standing in the Asian continent and beyond. Both consider South Asia and Southeast Asia as their power-play pivots. Myanmar, which lies between these two Asian giants, displays the same strategic importance for China and India, geopolitically and geoeconomically. Interestingly, however, both countries can be found on the same page when it comes to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. As the Myanmar army (the Tatmadaw) crackdown pushed more than 600,000 Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi’s government was vociferously denounced by the Western and Islamic countries.1 By contrast, China and India strongly sup- ported her beleaguered military-backed government, even as Bangladesh, a country both invest in heavily, particularly on a competitive basis, has sought each to soften Myanmar’s Rohingya crackdown and ease a medi- ated refugee solution. H. A. Taufiq (*) Global Studies & Governance Program, Independent University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s) 2019 81 I. Hussain (ed.), South Asia in Global Power Rivalry, Global Political Transitions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7240-7_4 82 H. A. TAUFIQ China’s and India’s support for Myanmar is nothing new. Since the Myanmar military seized power in September 1988, both the Asian pow- ers endeavoured to expand their influence in the reconfigured Myanmar to protect their national interests, including heavy investments in Myanmar, particularly in the Rakhine state. -
Macadamia Market Systems Analysis Shan State, Myanmar ______March 2020
Macadamia Market Systems Analysis Shan State, Myanmar ___________________________________________________________________________________ March 2020 Commissioned by ILO and authored by Jon Keesecker Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Ko Ko Win and Jonathan Bird for their technical inputs to the research and report writing for this study. This document has been produced for the International Labour Organization (ILO) with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the consultants and do not necessarily reflect those of the ILO, NORAD, SECO or any other stakeholder. International Labour Organization (ILO) No.1, Kanbe (Thitsar Street) Yankin Township Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: (95-1) 533538/566539 2 Executive Summary Macadamia is among the rarest tree nuts in the world, but global interest is growing quickly. In 2019, global production of macadamia kernel stood at 59,000 MT, or less than 8% of other individual nuts like almond, walnut, cashew or pistachio. However, macadamia production rose 57% between 2009 and 2019, faster than any other tree nut. Sixty-seven percent of output originates in Australia, South Africa and Kenya, but other sources such as China and Vietnam are also increasing cultivation. Imports have swelled, rising 23% between 2007 and 2017 to reach a total of 32,000 MT. Export markets are fairly consolidated. In 2017, the U.S. accounted for 28% of imports, followed by the EU (20%), China (12%) and Japan (10%). Along with rising prices, global supply value for macadamia rose three-fold from $370 million USD in 2008 to $1.14 trillion in 2019. -
Regional Reverberations from Regime Shake-Up in Rangoon.Qxd
Asia-PacificAsia-Pacific SecuritySecurity SStudiestudies RegionalRegional ReverberationsReverberations fromfrom RegimeRegime Shake-upShake-up inin RangoonRangoon Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies Volume 4 - Number 1, January 2005 Key Findings The reverberations from the recent regime shake-up in Rangoon continue to be felt in regional capitals. Since prime minister Khin Nyunt was the chief architect of closer China-Burma strategic ties, his sudden removal has been interpret- ed as a major setback for China's strategic goals in Burma. Dr. Mohan Malik is a Professor with the Asia-Pacific Center for However, an objective assessment of China's strategic and eco- Security Studies. nomic needs and Burma's predicament shows that Beijing is His work focuses main- unlikely to easily give up what it has already gained in and ly on Asian Geopolitics through Burma. From China's perspective, Burma should be and Proliferation in Asia-Pacific region. His satisfied to gain a powerful friend, a permanent member of the most recent APCSS UN Security Council, and an economic superpower that comes publication is “India-China Relations: bearing gifts of much needed military hardware, economic aid, Giants Stir, Cooperate infrastructure projects and diplomatic support. and Compete ” The fact remains that ASEAN, India and Japan cannot compete with China either in providing military assistance, diplomatic support or in offering trade and investment benefits. With the UN-brokered talks on political reconciliation having reached a dead end, it might be worthwhile to start afresh with a dia- logue framework of ASEAN+3 (ASEAN plus China, India and Japan) on Burma. This would also put to test China's oft-stated commitment to multi- lateralism and Beijing's penchant for "Asian solutions to Asian problems".