Myanmar Parliamentary Panel Against Suu Kyi Vying For President

 
A Myanmar parliamentary committee tasked with considering changes to the country’s military-written constitution has decided against amending a clause in the charter that bars opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming the country’s president, according to panel members Friday.

But Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party said her chances of vying for the country’s number one post in 2015 elections were still alive as there was a possibility of the legislature removing another controversial clause that effectively bars any reform of the charter without full military approval.

The parliamentary committee voted 31-5 to retain Article 59 (F) in the constitution that prevents anyone married to a foreigner or with children of foreign citizenship from becoming president, news reports said, quoting some members of the panel.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s late husband was British, as are her two sons.

The same committee had last month called for an amendment to the constitution’s Article 436, which prescribes that charter amendments require the approval of more than 75 percent of lawmakers.

The constitution was framed in 2008 by the previous military junta.

It gives the armed forces a mandatory 25 percent of parliamentary seats, effectively handing it veto power over any change in the constitution, which requires greater than 75 percent approval, followed by a nationwide referendum.

No reason given
No reason was cited for the decision last week by the committee, which is dominated by members from President Thein Sein’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

“We heard the news that the committee didn’t vote yes for 59 (F) reforms,” NLD spokesperson Nan Khin Htwe Myint told RFA’s Myanmar Service.

“But it is not unexpected,” she said. “That’s why we are pushing for reform of Article 436—which is the key provision for any amendment to the 2008 constitution. If we can amend 436, we can easily go after any amendment, including 59 (F),” she said.

Hla Swe, a USDP MP, said amending Article 59 (F) was not an easy task.

“That’s why I said before that I didn’t see that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi can become a president,” he said.

Hla Swe claimed that support for amending the controversial clause was “very low.”

Fourteen of the 31 seats in the constitutional review committee are held by the USDP, while the military has seven and the NLD has two. The remaining seats are held by either smaller opposition or ethnic parties.

Final say by parliament
A final resolution on making any changes to the constitution still rests with parliament, which has to debate the committee’s decision.

Any decision is expected to have a major impact on the 2015 general election in which the popular NLD is expected to mount a strong challenge to the ruling USDP.

The NLD and prominent civil society group 88 Generation students have held mass rallies which drew tens of thousands of supporters calling for an amendment to Article 436 and other clauses deemed “undemocratic” in the constitution.

But the USDP, which is largely comprised of former junta generals, has been slow to accept reforms to the charter, and the military is reluctant to give up its political privileges.

River of haunting memories

 
Sophiline Cheam Shapiro was 12 years old when she witnessed the end of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. On the long road home from the labour camp, the group she was with encountered communist cadres and attacked them with machetes. They were angry over all they had suffered during the past four years.“I didn’t see it because I was afraid. But I was asking myself whether I should [look]. This was a way I could seek my revenge,” said Shapiro, 47, whose father and two brothers were among the regime’s two million casualties.More than three decades later, revenge propels the narrative of her latest choreographed work, A Bend in the River, which opened on Friday at the Chaktomuk Theatre this weekend by her dance company Sophiline Arts Ensemble.
A Bend in the River tells the story of a young girl, Kaley, who, after her family is eaten by a crocodile, transforms into a crocodile herself to avenge her loved ones. But once she becomes the animal, she finds revenge to be no simple task.

Speaking at her theatre in Takhmao, Shapiro said that the dance, which is based on a Khmer children’s book, Kra Peau Kaley, stirred up old emotions within her.
“When I read this story, I felt, ‘this is me, as that crocodile’… That stayed in my head for a long time, and I was looking for a moment to develop it,” she said.
The dancer and choreographer first stumbled upon Kra Peau Kaley at a Phnom Penh market and kept it for years, but it was misplaced when she moved to the US with her husband John in 1991.
When she returned in 2006 to establish the Cambodian arm of what used to be Khmer Arts Ensemble, she searched the city’s historical archives for the book, without success.
She and John wrote the dance-drama from the parts of the story she could remember.
In 2012, she approached the composer Him Sophy, who was also a young boy in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge came to power, and the artists Sopheap Pich and Kong Vollak about collaborating, and they agreed.This weekend’s performance is the Cambodian premiere, but A Bend in the River was previously performed in the US in April last year.

Fifteen dancers tell the story through movement, using rattan structures made by sculptor Pich Sopheap to signify the crocodile. Sopheap originally made one crocodile, but Shapiro suggested splitting it into pieces and asking the dancers to carry one each. “I thought that if we moved the dancers, each with a piece of rattan crocodile, then the crocodile would move in such a way that it became one,” she said.The river is central to the set, with Kong Vollak creating two frames made from small circular transparent tubes that hang from ceiling to floor and reflect the light to create a shimmering, water-like effect. Vollak, 30, picked the plastic material to make a comment on the effects of waste on the river’s environment. “I also went to sit by the river, and saw the direction in which water went: a lot of it swirling around,” he said. “That’s why I decided on the shape of the tubes.”

Live music by Him Sophy and narration will accompany the dance, which will be subtitled in English. The dancers will wear costumes by designer San Vannary.
With a central theme that explores complicated emotions following the Khmer Rouge era, it is by a strange chance that Sophiline’s production should be staged at the Chaktomuk Theatre. In 1979, this was the venue for a “show trial” of regime leaders Pol Pot and Ieng Seary. “It’s a fitting coincidence that this is the same place where the trial organised by the People’s Republic of Kampuchea was, and that we will perform here,” Shapiro said.

A Bend in the River will be performed at the Chaktomuk Theatre at 7pm on Saturday, June 14 and 4pm on Sunday, June 15. Tickets are $10, $5 and $2.50 for students with valid ID and are available from Java Cafe, Amrita Performing Arts, Platinum Cineplex and Lotus Silk.

Fear and loathing in Poipet

 
Poipet is starting to resemble a refugee camp. As thousands of Cambodians flee across the border after a crackdown by Thailand’s security forces on illegal migrants, the town is shrouded in panic.
Nearly every kind of bus, truck or military car that can fit more than 10 people is packed with poor Cambodian labourers desperate to get home. To add to their pain, Poipet has experienced blackouts and torrential rain, turning the streets into muddy tracks and hampering soldiers, medical staff and aid workers who are trying to help.

“Our employer gave us a choice: go home now, or stay and face the soldiers who may arrest or even shoot you,” said Thai Phoun, 28, a construction worker who moved to Thailand last year to earn the equivalent of $10 a day.Phoun said all 24 workers at his site, including his wife, decided to head back to Cambodia.But to escape the turmoil in Thailand, they had to pay 1,800 baht per person to the broker who had originally smuggled them across the border.Phoun was one of just 15,000 undocumented workers to return to Cambodia through Poipet on Friday. He left his job and home to sleep on a piece of cardboard with his wife and one-year-old son.

Since June 1, around 25,000 Cambodian workers have been deported from Thailand, where the junta announced this week that all illegal migrants would be arrested and deported.
About 7,000 women and 2,000 children have so far been part of the unprecedented exodus, each marked with a number in indelible ink on their forearm as they crossed the checkpoint. They also had to thumbprint a document as proof of their departure.Fear stalked their footprints. Unconfirmed rumours spread like wildfire that migrant workers had been beaten or shot. This fuelled Facebook postings that up to 30 Cambodians had been killed in Thailand since the military seized power on May 22. Government officials from both countries on Friday were unable to confirm the rumour, and denied any shooting incidents.

Prompted by eyewitness accounts, Adhoc, a rights group, said it was investigating nine cases where Cambodian workers were allegedly killed during violent Thai police-led raids. The group said one death had already been confirmed by the victim’s family in Prey Veng.
“We will continue to look into the rest of the cases, and ask for witness accounts for any incidents,” said Chhan Sokunthea, an Adhoc programme coordinator.
There was no shortage of people. Poipet is crammed with the dispossessed. Many workers reported having to pay large bribes of up to $66 to Thai military officers to guarantee safe passage to the border.

“[The military] came to pick up all 300 workers from our [construction] site. First they took our luggage, and then they took us,” said Kim San, 35. “They detained us and told us we would have to pay 300 baht (about $10) each to get out. When we got [to the checkpoint] police threatened us with sticks, telling us to form a line. They treated us like that.”Despite encountering a growing hostility in Thailand towards illegal workers, many of the Cambodians and their relatives returning home expressed anger and frustration at the Phnom Penh government.“This isn’t Thailand’s fault, it’s the fault of the leader of Cambodia who cannot provide enough jobs for his people,” said Serey, a vendor and migrant worker. “Earning just five dollars a day is not enough to live on, to buy food and to send kids to school. There will only be more jobless people in Cambodia now who cannot afford to feed their families, and this time they cannot go abroad to earn more money.”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said Thai officials had promised the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok that workers could return if they went through the legal channels. He also added that for now, there were no plans to launch a large-scale work programme in Cambodia.
“We are addressing the immediate issue of transporting workers home first. Maybe after that the Ministry of Labour can talk about jobs,” he said.Provincial officials also reiterated that with an estimated 125,000 illegal workers still on the other side of the border, they were too preoccupied with getting them home to worry about their immediate futures.

“Once they [are] home the problem doesn’t just end,” said Joseph Lowry, spokesperson for the International Organisation of Migration. “They’re going back to somewhere they left because they couldn’t afford to live there in the first place and they probably aren’t going to be welcomed back, as they’ll be seen as a drain on the community.”And for some, going “home” isn’t even an option. “Right now, right here is all I have. I don’t have a home, I don’t have work,” said Ney Sarey Roth, 56, while sitting on a wooden pallet, where he slept the night before, during a downpour. “I will have to try hard to just live day by day.”

China's gradual expansion in East Sea poses challenges for regional countries

He said that Beijing may remove its illegal oil rig from Vietnam’s continental shelf, but continue enforcement of a restricted area in the East Sea.
Many international experts predict that China's expansionist actions may continue towards Vietnam and other regional countries. What are your thoughts on this?
China has already imposed its “nine-dotted line” policy on some other regional countries. The international community is aware, and is keeping track of China's actions in this area.
China has shown that it is not reluctant to apply coercive methods to expand its area of control in the East Sea. The forceful invasion of Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago in 1974 is a prime example. Such actions have threatened regional security and breached international law.
What do you think about the idea of creating a coalition of regional countries with the same concerns over China's intentions in the East Sea?
Similar ideas have been put forth by several foreign experts. Vietnam and ASEAN countries should set up a multilateral body to form a coherent policy to deal with China's actions in the East Sea.
In recent days, China has been facing strong opposition from the international community. Do you think this is enough to dissuade China from pursuing an aggressive expansionist policy?
There has been much support for Vietnam in the international community. The US and a number of European countries have made official statements condemning aggressive actions by the Chinese. Some Asian countries, such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia have also requested that China stop its provocations in the East Sea. But I don't expect such statements to achieve immediate results.
The setting up of the Chinese oil rig in Vietnamese waters should be seen as just part of a larger agenda by the Chinese to increase their control. The oil rig itself may not be a long-lasting venture, but we must view it in the backdrop of their ambitions in the area.
In your opinion, what is the limit of Vietnamese patience in this matter?
First, let me say that Vietnam is a peace- loving country. With that said, there are limits to what we can peacefully endure. We have no intention of exchanging our national sovereignty for some sort of dependent friendship. If China decides to drive us up against the wall, we will defend ourselves.
Even though Vietnam is a small country, we have never yielded to unjust or illegal pressures from any country, no matter how big they are. When the country is in danger, what we have is a national solidarity that is quite strong. We have the national strength to protect our sovereignty.

China arrests prominent human rights lawyer

 

Chinese authorities formally arrested prominent lawyer Pu Zhiqiang on Friday for "picking quarrels and creating a disturbance."His other alleged crime was "illegally obtaining citizens' personal information," Beijing police said on their official microblog, adding that the investigation into Pu is still ongoing.Pu, 49, was detained in early May after attending a low-key seminar in a private home to mark the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. State-run Global Times newspaper said in an editorial at the time that he had crossed "a legal red line" by associating himself with a topic still considered taboo in China.Pu took part in the student-led demonstrations in 1989 that ended in a bloody military crackdown on June 4 of that year. He later become one of the best-known lawyers in China for defending human rights in courts as well as in the media.

A fierce critic of China's once ubiquitous forced labor camps, Pu took on several high-profile clients who were victims of the "re-education through labor" system. His cases gained nationwide attention and support, pressuring the government to re-examine the controversial system and leading to its eventual abolition late last year.Although his work had often put him at odds with the ruling Communist Party, Pu dismissed the risks in an interview with CNN last summer.

"I think I'm fine," he said. "I'm a moderate, and the government has treated me well. I'm a veteran lawyer and haven't made mistakes in my career. I'm not radical, and I don't threaten the government."

Pu's arrest comes as the latest development in a new wave of government crackdowns on human rights advocates. Police put nearly 100 people in detention or under house arrest before this year's Tiananmen anniversary, said Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a Washington-based monitoring group.When President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, some activists hoped he would preside over a system more tolerant of dissent and discussion. His government, however, is now widely seen as tightening the screws on the work of activists and intellectuals, including the sentencing of Xu Zhiyong, another well-known human rights lawyer, to four years in prison in January after he pushed for financial transparency for senior officials