Ma Ba Tha Appeals

Ma Ba Tha Appeals

par | Juil 14, 2017 | Religious fundamentalism

Mandalay Ma Ba Tha Appeals Ban on Name

MANDALAY — Nationalists of a sub-chapter of the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion are urging the State Buddhist Sangha authority to reconsider a ban on their group’s name—otherwise known by its Myanmar acronym Ma Ba Tha.

The spokesperson of Ma Ba Tha’s Mandalay chapter told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that it is preparing an appeal to the State Buddhist authority—known by its Myanmar acronym Ma Ha Na—which banned the group’s name in May and ordered all signboards to be removed by July 15.

“We will send this appeal to the Ma Ha Na office in Yangon tomorrow requesting the senior abbots to reconsider the ban and the removal of the signboards,” said U Yatha, the spokesperson.

The sub-chapter announced on Monday that it would continue to use the name and would not remove the signboards in defiance of the Ma Ha Na orders.

“Since our association [Ma Ba Tha] is not illegal and did nothing that is outlawed, we request the senior Sayadaw to let us continue with [the name]. If the Sayadaw decide to go on with their decision to abolish Ma Ba Tha, we will have to listen and follow them,” said U Yatha.

The spokesperson said they would request a delay of a month or two on the order so that they could still use the signboards during the reconsideration period.

Commenting on reports that the group’s members in Mandalay were planning to resist local authorities and senior monks if they attempted to remove the signboards, U Yatha added, “These are just rumors. We have no plan to act against the decision of the senior monks. If the senior abbots of Ma Ha Na decide we are outlawed, and if they want to arrest us, we have no choice but to respect and follow their decision,” said U Yatha.

After a two-day meeting with members from across the country in late May, the association released an announcement that it would “no longer use [the name] Ma Ba Tha, but would go by the Buddha Dhamma Charity Foundation,” rebranding itself as a charity group.

Zarni Mann    –   By Zarni Mann 13 July 2017

Ma Ba Tha Appeals

The Military’s Offensive Against the Media

par | Juil 1, 2017 | Media

The Military’s Offensive Against the Media.

We journalists are under attack. Press freedom is in jeopardy in Myanmar.The last act of aggression happened on Monday when the military arrested The Irrawaddy’s senior reporter Lawi Weng and two Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reporters, Aye Nai and Pyae Bone Naing, also known as Pyae Phone Aung.Now the military has charged them as having violated Article 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act as they ventured into territory controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, as part of a reporting trip.The arrest and charges demonstrate that either Myanmar’s military leaders don’t understand the nature and purpose of the media, or that this was a deliberate act intended to frighten journalists away from covering sensitive issues that could lead to criticism of the armed forces.If the military arrested Lawi Weng and two DVB reporters due to what they describe as a connection to ethnic armed rebels, they would have to arrest hundreds of journalists who work for independent media across the country.I am sure that nearly all Myanmar journalists have made contact at least once with members of “unlawful” ethnic armed groups, as all publications across the country have covered the peace process—one of the most important issues facing the nation.Heads of key institutions, including the army and those within the current government, must understand that journalists need to talk to people from all sides of a conflict in order to verify facts, to be able to provide accurate information, and to interpret complex situations and perspectives. If we were to not do this, we would be failing to provide comprehensive information to the public.Since 2011, when ex-President Thein Sein took office and his administration started negotiations with ethnic armed organizations, we journalists also started covering issues concerning conflict more openly. We approached it with a sense of responsibility to help end seven decades of civil war.

Journalists from many publications in the country have traveled to conflict zones, including areas controlled by ethnic armed groups, to speak with rebel leaders, their soldiers, ethnic civil society groups, residents, and refugees.We have repeatedly interviewed and had conversations with leaders and members of such groups whenever the previous and incumbent governments held meetings or conferences relating to peace and conflict in Naypyidaw, Yangon and elsewhere.

Over the past years, ethnic armed group leaders have flown to the capital or to Yangon from their headquarters to attend talks organized by both ex-President U Thein Sein’s administration and the current Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led administration. The most significant event was the Union Peace Conference, also known as the 21st Century Panglong, held by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.A number of rebel leaders attended the conference and made speeches alongside the State Counselor and the commander-in-chief of the military.The most recent media arrests by the military are damaging press freedom, a principle that is considered a pillar of the democracy that we are trying to create. In fact, the arrests are limiting greater freedoms that have been realized since the lifting of draconian censorship laws by military-backed ex-President U Thein Sein in 2012.These days, I tend to say to international guests and journalists that Myanmar is not an enemy of the press, as it was under the military regimes of past decades. But the situation seems to be headed backward.While the military appears to be solely responsible for the arrest of Lawi Weng and the DVB reporters, the government holds responsibility, too.We understand that the powerful Myanmar Army did not need approval or a green light from the State Counselor or the President or the National League for Democracy government in order to arrest those journalists. But Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Htin Kyaw are the two highest leaders in the country. I believe that they both are responsible for ensuring the protection of citizens’ basic and professional rights, particularly when these rights are abused or mishandled by a powerful institution like the military.

Lawi Weng has been working for The Irrawaddy since 2007. He was a journalist doing his job, as were Aye Nai and Pyae Bone Naing. Since their arrest on Monday, I have sent three letters to the State Counselor, the President and the Minister of Information concerning Lawi’s detention. I have requested that they assist us in finding a way to release him, as he and the other reporters were simply doing their duties as journalists, gathering information in a sensitive area.To be honest, I do not know if either the President or the State Counselor can help out in this matter. But at the very least, I am sure that they can raise the issue with Myanmar’s top military leaders.Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Htin Kyaw, the military can be held accountable by your government: they have to answer your questions.The arrest of these journalists is damaging the norms of democracy you’ve promised to achieve under your government. The charges they are facing are an attack on press freedom, which is essential to rebuilding and restoring peace to Myanmar.As state leaders, you are responsible for securing our professional rights to do our job for our country. Please do not let us down.

By Kyaw Zwa Moe – 1 July 2017 – Cartoon / Kyaw Thuyein Lwin

Ma Ba Tha Appeals

Burma and investigates Rohingya ‘genocide’.

par | Juin 30, 2017 | Rohingyas

 

Burma says it will not let outside world investigate Rohingya ‘genocide’ claims

Officials say an ongoing domestic investigation is ‘sufficient’ to look into the allegations.
Burma will refuse entry to members of the UN trying to investigate the alleged killing, violence and abuse against the Rohingya people, an official said.
The government of Aung San Suu Kyi has already said it would refuse to cooperate with a UN mission following a resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council in March.
Kyaw Zeya, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: « If they are going to send someone with regards to the fact-finding mission, then there’s no reason for us to let them come. »

Mr Zeya added that visas to enter Burma would not be issued to any staff working on the mission.
The Burmese government has repeatedly denied claims that the Rohingya Muslim ethnic group is facing genocide in the country’s remote Rakhine State. It previously brushed away evidence of human rights violations as fake news and « propaganda ».
It also deemed « exaggerated » a UN report published in February which found babies and children were reportedly slaughtered with knives amid « area clearance operations ».
The report concluded counter military operations by security forces were subjecting the Rohingya population to brutal beatings, disappearances, mass gang rape and killings.
Ms Suu Kyi, who came to power last year as apart of a transition from military rule, has been criticised for failing to stand up to the more than one million stateless Rohingy a Muslims.


People in Burma, which is a Buddhist-majority country, have long seen the Rohingyas as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Some 75,000 Rohingyas fled the northwestern state of Rakhine to Bangladesh last year following security operations carried out by the Burmese army.
In March, the EU called for a mission to look into the allegations of abuse in the north of the country.
Indira Jaising, an advocate from the Supreme Court of India, was appointed to lead the mission in May.
But Burma insists that a domestic investigation, which is headed by former lieutenant general and Vice President Myint Swe, is sufficient to look into the allegations in Rakhine.
« Why do they try to use unwarranted pressure when the domestic mechanisms have not been exhausted? » said Kyaw Zeya.
« It will not contribute to our efforts to solve the issues in a holistic manner, » he said.

Last month, Ms Suu Kyi clashed with the EU over the necessity to carry through the UN resolution and send an international fact-finding mission to Burma.
Speaking in Brussels, Ms Suu Kyi said distrust between the two communities went as far back as the 18th century and that what the country needed was time.
« We have not ignored allegations of rape or murder or anything. We have asked that these are placed before a court and trialled, » she said.
She added her government was disassociating itself from the UN resolution « because we don’t think the resolution is in keeping with what is actually happening on the ground. »
During a trip to Sweden earlier this month she said the UN resolution « would have created greater hostility between the different communities. »

La souffrance des civils au Nord Myanmar

par | Juin 22, 2017 | Ethnic conflict

Nord du Myanmar

Actes de torture et exécutions extrajudiciaires, bombardements aveugles de villages civils, entraves aux déplacements et restrictions à l’aide humanitaire… A l’issue de trois missions effectuées récemment, notre organisation apporte des preuves de crimes guerre contre des minorités ethniques.Les atteintes aux droits fondamentaux ont été commises par des membres de la Tatmadaw (nom donné aux forces armées du Myanmar).

Publié le 14.06.2017.

Des violations commises par l’armée myanmar

Depuis que les combats se sont intensifiés en novembre 2016, l’armée du Myanmar (ex-Birmanie) s’est rendue coupable de graves violations contre les civils, qui s’apparentent parfois à des crimes de guerre.
Nous avons documenté neuf cas dans notre dernier rapport où des militaires ont arrêté arbitrairement et torturé des membres de minorités ethniques dans le nord de l’État chan.
Par exemple, en novembre 2016, 18 jeunes hommes ont été massacrés dans le village de Nam Hkye Ho. Selon deux témoins, une centaine de membres de l’armée du Myanmar sont entrés dans le village après avoir combattu la MNDAA non loin de là. La plupart des villageois, dont les femmes et les enfants, avaient fui à l’approche des combats. Les soldats ont laissé partir les hommes âgés avant d’emmener les jeunes hommes sous la menace d’une arme. Peu de temps après, les villageois qui avaient pris la fuite ont entendu des coups de feu en provenance de la direction qu’avaient prise les soldats.
Ils ont franchi la frontière pour rejoindre la Chine. Quand ils sont revenus dans leur village plusieurs semaines après les faits, ils ont trouvé deux charniers où avaient été jetés des restes de corps.
Nous avons vu des restes calcinés de ce qui semblait être un corps. [Il y avait] des os, mais c’étaient surtout des cendres. Nous avons retrouvé certaines de [leurs affaires]… Nous savions déjà que les 18 personnes avaient disparu. Un ancien du village.

….. / ….

Les Exactions par les groupes armés

Près de 100 000 personnes ont dû quitter leur maison en raison du conflit dans le nord du Myanmar.
Même si de nombreux membres des minorités ethniques considèrent les groupes armés comme leurs protecteurs, ils sont aussi victimes d’exactions de la part de ces groupes.
Différents groupes armés enlèvent des civils considérés comme proches d’une partie adverse, pratiquent l’enrôlement forcé, notamment d’enfants, et imposent des « taxes » à des villageois pauvres, pris au piège dans la zone de conflit.
Près de 100 000 personnes ont dû quitter leur maison et leur ferme en raison du conflit et des violations des droits humains dans le nord du Myanmar.

 

Lire aussi : des centaines de personnes Rohingyas disparues au Myanmar

Le terrible déplacement de population

Ces déplacés sont actuellement dans le nord du pays, alors que les affrontements entre les forces armées du Myanmar et différents groupes ethniques armés, dont l’Armée pour l’indépendance kachin (KIA), l’Armée de libération nationale ta’ang (TNLA), l’Armée d’Arakan (AA) et l’Armée de l’alliance démocratique nationale du Myanmar (MNDAA), continuent de faire rage dans la région.

Le gouvernement du Myanmar a exacerbé encore les difficultés pour de nombreuses personnes déplacées en restreignant l’accès des organismes humanitaires à certaines zones en proie au conflit, en particulier celles contrôlées par des groupes armés. Des représentants de ces organismes ont déclaré que ces restrictions limitaient leur capacité à réagir rapidement à des situations d’urgence et à fournir l’aide humanitaire nécessaire, en matière notamment d’abri, d’accès à l’eau et à des installations sanitaires.

Des mines terrestres aux engins explosifs improvisés

Les forces armées du Myanmar comme les groupes ethniques armés se servent de charges explosives, posant des mines terrestres antipersonnel ou des engins explosifs improvisés (IED) qui, bien souvent, blessent des civils, dont des enfants, alors qu’ils vont travailler ou rentrent chez eux après avoir été déplacés. L’armée du Myanmar fait partie des quelques rares forces armées nationales au monde (avec la Corée du Nord et la Syrie) qui utilisent encore des mines terrestres antipersonnel.
Toutes les parties au conflit doivent cesser de se livrer systématiquement à des violations des droits humains contre la population civile, et les autorités du Myanmar doivent mettre fin au cycle de l’impunité en enquêtant sur ces violations et en engageant des poursuites contre leurs auteurs.
Aung San Suu Kyi accorde la priorité au processus national de paix mais, pour qu’il aboutisse, il devra reposer sur l’obligation de rendre des comptes et sur le respect des droits de l’ensemble de la population civile, y compris de ceux des minorités ethniques.

Publié le 14.06.2017.

We Love Wirathu : Campaigns Launched

par | Juin 22, 2017 | Religious fundamentalism

Supporters of firebrand nationalist monk U Wirathu launched campaigns to garner signatures in his support in Karen State and Mandalay Region earlier this month.
 The “We Love Wirathu” campaigns were launched in response to allegations that U Wirathu’s sermons were against Buddha’s teachings, according to campaign organizers.
 “I believe U Wirathu is on the side of Dhamma [the doctrine or teaching of the Buddha], and I’m upset that some people call him on the side of Adhamma [against the Buddha’s teachings],” said a supporter of the petition in Karen State, who declined to give their name. “So, we confirm with our signatures that he is on the side of Dhamma.”
 The campaigns came as the Anti-False Buddhist Doctrine Group collected signatures across Yangon for a petition asking the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, better known by its Burmese acronym Ma Ha Na, if the actions and speeches of U Wirathu conformed with Buddha’s teachings or not.
 One campaign, held at a monastery in Karen State’s Hpa-an Township on June 11, garnered around 10,000 signatures and another on June 14 in Myawaddy Township got more than 300 signatures, campaign organizer and Hpa-an local Ko Thurein told The Irrawaddy.
 “There is an ongoing campaign in Yangon, saying that Sayadaw U Wirathu’s sermons contain Adhamma things,” said Ko Thurein. “We organized these campaigns to show that he is not Adhamma, and that there are many people who love him.”

 

People from other townships in Karen State and in Mon State’s Mawlamyine (Moulmein) Township have contacted him to organize similar campaigns in their respective places, he said. The signatures collected will be presented to U Wirathu, he added.
Last week, the Patriotic Monks Union (Mandalay) and U Wirathu’s supporters conducted a campaign and garnered over 55,000 signatures, said U Wirathu’s supporter Mandalay local U Naing Win Tun.

“Those who speak ill of the Sayadaw [U Wirathu] online do so because they don’t know exactly what Sayadaw is doing,” he said.
The Anti-False Buddhist Doctrine Group conducted a petition against U Wirathu in nine townships in Yangon Region from May 21 to June 17. The founder of the group Ko Myat Kyaw said the number of signatures would be announced on Wednesday.
“We don’t want him to be jailed or ruined, we just want to show that we do not accept his false doctrine,” Ko Myat Kyaw told the press in May.
The petition will be put forward to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture on Wednesday, and will also be sent to the President’s Office, the State Counselor’s Office and the Ma Ha Na.

Regarding the “We Love Wirathu” campaigns, Ko Myat Kyaw said: “I agree to disagree. They have the right to [campaign], and I cannot do anything.”
The campaign organizers of “We Love Wirathu Campaign” said similar campaigns would continue across the country, and an online voting system was also launched on June 17. A total of 13,209 signatures were collected by Tuesday, according to organizers.
U Wirathu was banned by the Ma Ha Na from delivering sermons across the country for one year, starting from March 10, due to his religious hate speech.

YANGON — By Zue Zue 21 June 2017

 

Ma Ba Tha Appeals

A Frontline Dispatch From the Tanai Conflict

par | Juin 18, 2017 | Ethnic conflict

Under the heavy rain, I boarded a boat with a group of fellow reporters and made my way to a patch of Kachin Independence Army (KIA) territory threatened by the Myanmar Army about an hour from Tanai town.
Thousands of locals and migrants working the area’s gold and amber mines have fled the surrounding villages of Tanai in Kachin State since fighting broke out between the KIA and the Myanmar Army, also known as the Tatmadaw, on June 6. Many of the internally displaced people (IDPs) have sought shelter in Tanai town.
But as we stepped off the boat, four KIA mining officers awaited us, looking pleased to have the company. They had not yet received orders to leave, although the other mining workers had left, and so these were our guardians for the trip.
One of the men, Myit Aung, an acting officer appointed in January, told us to sit in a small shop for a while before going to the mines, which are based on land controlled by Battalion No. 14 under KIA Brigade No. 2. On June 15, shop owners were packing up and closing their businesses. They would leave from the same modest dock where we had arrived, but a few shops remained open.
An ethnic Kachin food vendor coerced her dog onto the boat, but the stubborn pet refused to budge. “Ah, the dog does not want to become an IDP,” one of our company reflected.
Myit Aung then offered us some beer, with the assurance that it “was a type of medicine to make you feel brave on the way to the front line.”
We used it to wash down our meals, and climbed into a car, listening to music with the KIA security as we drove to the mines. The rebel land we passed felt safer than the government-controlled areas.

Myit Aung said we would have no problems traveling in the KIA-controlled parts, but later he pointed toward a Tatmadaw base about two miles away. In the amber-rich land of Noi Je Bum Patserm Maw, which has seven mining areas, officer Nan Nan Aung told us they had killed a pig for lunch. At 2 p.m. KIA soldiers brought us plates of meat.
Back in the car, we drove another two hours to Chyasam Hka—the last KIA post on the frontline. The area was dense with rebel soldiers, who planned to fight in bunkers drenched by the seasonal rains, though it did not seem to deter them. A KIA colonel pointed toward Inn Kar Kar village, saying it was about 10 minutes away. “You will see the Myanmar Army there,” he said.
The colonel did not stay at the post for long, as they feared an imminent attack. Both sides had troops monitoring the other side’s movements.
At 4 p.m. we traveled to Nam Kham village, where we met Dashi Naw Tawng, the head of the village. Nam Kham’s 300 or so houses had mostly been abandoned—Dashi Naw Tawng’s own family had left for Kachin state capital Myitkyina—but he was adamant not to leave his house. He was “not afraid of fighting.”
“I know how to get out of here if I have to leave,” he added.
He gave us dinner at his house, encouraging us to drink as much beer as we wanted, as the drinks would probably have to be abandoned with the rest of his shop.
We spent the night back in the mining area, once a bustling community of thousands, where the Myanmar Army used the power of paper instead of arms to force out the residents. They dropped leaflets from helicopters – warning people they would attack and accusing the KIA of destroying the environment with mines.
“In my eyes, they tried to block the income of the KIA by stopping the mining,” said Myit Aung. Judging by the ghost town, the strategy was a success.
“They are not attacking on the basis that the mining is damaging the environment,” he added. “We did not have a big mining project here; only mobile mining, that’s all. They should stop mining in Hpakant first if they care about the environment.”

By Lawi Weng 16 June 2017 – Photo: Lawi Weng/The Irrawaddy